Page 31 of A Way Out
A moment later, they had drinks in hand, and the rest of the passengers began filing onto the plane.
“Cheers,” Maria said with a full-wattage smile.
Oz touched the rim of his little plastic cup to hers, and she tipped back half her mimosa before dropping her hand onto his thigh and giving it a squeeze.
He should remove her hand from his leg, especially before Travis and Cash walked by, heading toward coach, and both men’s gazes zoned in on her appendage.
But he didn’t. He liked the way the warmth of her palm seeped through his jeans and soaked into his soul.
Damn, that would make a solid song lyric. Leaning over, he tugged his notebook out of the backpack he’d stowed under the seat in front of him.
“What are you doing?” Maria asked, blatantly observing as he scribbled on the paper.
“An idea for a song just popped into my head.”
She studied what he wrote. “I like it. Wait. Is that about me?” She snatched her hand away.
“Not exactly,” he hedged. “The action gave me an idea, that’s all.” He hurried to shove the notebook back into his knapsack, in case she decided to take it from his hands and flip through the previous pages. He’d written a lot of lyrics in the last few days, and it wouldn’t be much of a stretch for her to come to the conclusion that she had become his muse.
Which wasn’t good, because she was his boss, as she’d pointed out yesterday. Yeah, she’d been teasing, but honestly? It was true. She now held the purse strings for his entire family. He had never given that sort of control to another person before.
It’s for the band, he told himself. Repeatedly.
If he were being honest with himself, he was open to other people helping to get the band up and running. Since both Sam’s sister and best friend were in Panic Station, it hadn’t been uncomfortable at all when they introduced Demigoddess Revival to their producer and scheduled studio time so Oz’s band could record their first EP.
And Maria was Holly’s sister, so at least there was a family connection. She wasn’t some stranger off the street who was pretending to believe in them for nefarious reasons. Not that he could honestly come up with a disreputable reason why she would offer up so much money with no guaranteed return.
The thing was, though, she was right. He believed in this band even more than she did. They had the talent, they just needed the break. And she was offering it up.
To make matters worse, he was the reason they were in this holding pattern, not growing, when they should already be touring, possibly even be on the bill at a few summer festivals.
It wasn’t fair to the rest of the band, and he should be grateful to Maria for finally pushing him to do what he should have done months ago.
And he was grateful. He had every intention of paying her back once they started pulling in big enough royalty checks. He’d already demanded she keep tabs on every cent she spent on his family.
So, yeah, he was doing this, and Maria was helping him, and he was still edgy, and he knew damn well why.
Because of this freaking attraction he had to her. Hooking up with her was a terrible idea for a multitude of reasons, and yet he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Imagining what it would be like to slowly slip her clothing off, one piece at a time. To kiss every bit of flesh as he revealed it.
To worship her breasts with his hands and his tongue. To suck her nipple into his mouth until she moaned. To lick that valley between her breasts, working his way down her body, until he knelt before her, his face buried between her thighs. Christ, his mouth watered just thinking about nestling himself between her legs.
“Are you okay?” Maria asked. “You’re as fidgety as Riley.”
He cupped his hands in his lap to hide his erection and forced his leg to stop bouncing. Clearing his throat, he admitted, “I’ve never flown before.” It was the truth, although it wasn’t the reason for his unease.
“Really?” Her eyes went wide. Just another reason he needed to stop thinking about her naked.
They were from different worlds. She’d probably flown a hundred times in her lifetime; hell, he’d bet three-year-old Riley had been on a plane before. Money made it possible for people to vacation, and someone like Maria would not drive to her vacation destination.
At least now his erection was deflating. But his bad mood was returning, damn it.
One of the attendants announced that the door was closing and they would be preparing for takeoff, and then someone collected their empty cups and reminded them to secure their trays and be sure to buckle up.
A few minutes later, the plane was pulling away from the gate and Oz was craning his neck, leaning over Maria so he could watch out the window, his hand clutching the armrest.
Maria covered his hand with her own and laced their fingers together. He made the mistake of glancing at her; their faces were so close their noses were practically touching.
He eased his way back to sitting straight in his own seat.
