Page 81 of Spark

Darren walked up the steps to the plane first, Scott behind me as I stood at the bottom, suddenly frozen in place. Why was I so terrified of flying? I had a better chance of dying in a car accident… or did I? Now that I drove around in bulletproof vehicles.

“Jaden, let’s go,” Darren said, turning back to look at me, but I couldn’t ignore the slight tremor of the growl in his voice.

“Okay, okay,” I said, shaking my head and putting on my big bitch panties to walk up those goddamn steps.

I sucked in a breath as I sat down in my seat within the cabin across from Darren who now looked a little irritated. He patted the seat next to him by the window while giving me a no-nonsense glare. I quickly switched seats while Scott took my place and sat down, opening a laptop on his lap.

Within ten minutes, we were in the air, and my knuckles were ready to burst from my skin from clutching the seat.

“Do you want some water?” Darren asked me, concern in his voice.

“So you can drug me again? Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

When the plane leveled, Darren got up and pulled a bottle of water out of the mini fridge connected to the bar, handing it to me.

“It’s not drugged. I promise,” he assured me.

“Fine,” I said, taking the bottle and nearly downing it. I hated appearing this nervous, but I had no clue where we were going, what direction, and how long the flight was. Maybe I could get some hints. Darren was still typing on his tablet when I finally got the courage to ask him.

“Gonna tell me where we’re going yet?”

“Nope,” he replied casually, his eyes never leaving the screen in his hands.

I sighed. “Can you at least tell me how long the flight will be?”

“Seven hours,” he replied.

“Seven?!”

“Want the drugs now?” he asked with a smirk.

“No,” I snapped, turning away to pull out my iPod and listen to my music.

Two naps, dinner, and seven hours later, I felt myself being woken up.

“Jaden, wake up. We’re about to land,” came Darren’s voice.

I groaned in my sleep, slipping off the blanket that had magically appeared around me, and stretched like a cat. I moved to lift the window blind when Darren gripped my wrist.

“Leave those shut,” he ordered.

“Why?”

“Because I told you to, that’s why,” he said sternly.

“Fine,” I replied and lifted my hand away from the blind like it was a wild animal.

“Clothes have been laid out for you on the bed. I need you to quickly change into them. It’s very cold outside.”

“Cold, huh?”

“Extremely,” he confirmed.

That was when I noticed Darren had changed his clothes. He wore a black turtleneck that showed off every muscular inch of him, dark jeans, and black leather boots. Goddamn him. The man could probably look good in a fucking potato sack.

“Now, hurry up,” he said, pulling me from my seat and giving my ass a light swat.

Making my way into the bedroom, I found a long-sleeved gray sweater dress, thick black fleece-lined leggings, a pair of sleek looking black knee-high snow boots, and a long black wool pea coat, gray scarf, and gloves neatly laid out on the bed. Everything fit perfectly, the dress falling just above my knee, the leggings warm and soft, and the boots sturdy and comfortable. The coat was a little restricting, but most pea coats were. When I was dressed, I made my way back over to my seat, buckling myself in and waiting for the dreaded descent to begin.