Page 10 of Hold Still

When I walk in front of him, his smile widens. “Knew you couldn’t stay away for long.”

What? Does he think I’d join in and make this a threesome? Well, I might have done so years before. But not now. Too much has changed. “I need to ask you a favor, Ozzy.”

“Sure thing.” He pats the server on the butt, eliciting a squeal of delight, before she leaves us alone. He gives me his full attention. “What’s up?”

“I want to take you up on your offer for a ride.” That came out wrong.

Ozzy’s tongue swipes his lips. “I’m always up for a ride with you.”

The last time I climbed aboard the Ozzy-train was last year, and I loved every second. His cock is huge and he certainly knows what to do with it. And then I had to face Mom’s reality. Shaking my head to clear the images—and reminding myself he’s high—I say, “You mentioned you flew out here on a private plane.”

“Sure did. Want to join the Mile High club?” His eyebrows wiggle.

My spine tingles at his suggestion, but I tamp it down. I’m doing this for Mom. “When are you flying out?”

“I can leave whenever.” He waves his hands. “Figured sometime after brunch tomorrow, since my next concert at the Jade is tomorrow night.”

“Think you could disappear with me any sooner?”

“Now you’re talking.”

“How about now?”

Ozzy takes a step back. “Now?”

I shrug. “Yeah. Got something to attend to at home and I figured you could set your own flight schedule.” Not a lie.

A slow grin lights up his face. “Well, sure. Vámonos. Give me a minute to call the pilot and we’ll be thirty-thousand feet up in no time.” He pulls out his cell. “I knew you’d see it my way.”

More like the other way around, but I don’t correct him. “Great! I’ll say my goodbyes and get my things.” I point my head toward the ballroom.

Leaving him to make the arrangements, I hug the warm, wonderful people who came to celebrate with Rose and Cole. None of whom have to deal with a family member with early onset dementia or a small business on the brink. Since the newlyweds already had their grand exit, no one questions why I’m ducking out.

When I’m done, I race back to my room and grab my purse and luggage. I open my bag and quickly switch out my stilettos for a pair of ballet flats. Taking another few minutes, I exchange my tight maid-of-honor dress for a pair of black yoga pants and a long, purple top, and inhale deeply for the first time all day. After doing a quick sweep around the room to ensure I didn’t leave anything behind, I return to where I left Ozzy. He’s still on the phone so I take a seat and text Becky to let her know I should be home in the middle of the night. She says Mom calmed down after watching TV and is now sleeping. Good. I’ll be by her side before Elaine starts her morning shift.

“All set, babes.”

Ozzy saunters toward me then drops to his haunches at my side. I look down at his upturned face. With full lips and long eyelashes I pay to get. But his pupils are still dilated. He places his overly-large hand on my thigh and squeezes. “We’ll meet my pilot at the airstrip in a half hour.”

My pilot. Yeah, he’s never had a shred of worry about money in his life. Bouncing my thigh to dislodge his grip, I reply, “Great. I’ve already said my goodbyes. How about I call an Uber while you do the same?”

He stands and strokes the back of his hand over my cheek. My heart races and my cheek tingles where he touches me. “I can’t wait to get you alone up there. You know, there’s a shower on board.”

Stop it, McKenna. Donotget sucked in again. “At least you’ll be clean!”

He chuckles. “Oh, I think we’ll both be clean by the time we land. Or very, very dirty.” He strides back into the ballroom.

I spend the next five minutes wrestling my heartrate back to normal. Five hours trapped alone on a plush plane with my kryptonite—how hard can this be?

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