Page 28 of Catalyst

Katie’s hand wraps around my arm. “I’m sorry I brought it up. I want you to be happy and feel safe.”

“And I love you for that.” I turn back to the tiny hairspray bottles and toothpaste boxes, hoping to focus on something other than the disgusting incident I try never to think about.

“So, is Adam as good of a kisser as I imagine him to be?” Katie’s attempt at changing the subject makes me smile.

“Picture the sexiest kiss you could experience, then multiply it by five, and you might be close.”

“Hot damn.”

“Tell me about it.”

* * *

A sleek grey car pulls into my driveway, prompting me to gather my things. I’m pretty proud of myself for only packing one suitcase for this trip. There was a strong temptation to pack one bag for my work clothes and a second for personal things. I had no idea how to pack clothes for both and ended up choosing my most versatile items. I should be able to make them work no matter what we end up doing. I hope.

At best, we’ll get to have one evening to ourselves; the rest of the time, we’ll be going out with the Jaguars’ team, letting them wine and dine us in their city.

Opening my front door, I set my suitcase on the doorstep right as Adam comes up to take it from me. I mentally run through my list one more time to make sure I have everything before shutting my front door and locking the bolt.

“You’ve got everything you need?” Adam asks, picking up my suitcase with ease.

“I think so. I probably won’t need half the things I packed, but I want to be prepared.”

“Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”

“Exactly!” I set my work bag and purse in the back while Adam adds my suitcase to the trunk with his things. I get into the passenger seat, enjoying the slide of my tights against the leather seat.

Adam looks over at me when he gets into the car. His brown hair is slicked back, and he’s wearing slacks and a button-down shirt. He looks just as gorgeous without the suit jacket as he does with it.

Staring at him for a moment, taking in every detail about him, I finally remember I get to kiss him now. So, I set out to do just that, wrapping my hand around his neck and pulling him closer before he can put the car into drive.

When our lips meet, a little moan slips from my throat. I’ve yet to feel a sensation better than Adam’s full mouth against mine.

And it seems he agrees, judging by his response every time we kiss. It’s intoxicating.

“Hi,” I whisper when I finally pull away from him.

“Hi.” He looks at me softly before pulling the car out of my driveway. “You look hot in that skirt, by the way.”

I grin at him. I chose my favorite swing skirt and lacy black blouse with him in mind. “Thank you.”

“I love being able to say that stuff to you now. It always took a Herculean effort on my part to keep from staring or saying something entirely inappropriate.”

“Well, now you can say whatever inappropriate thing that comes to mind, and I’ll encourage every word.”

Adam’s look is scorching before he turns his eyes back to the road.

After a short drive, Adam pulls into the small hangar designed for small aircraft. There are a couple of helicopters sitting in the open bays, along with varying sizes of planes.

The company jet is sitting on the tarmac, prepped for our arrival. I’m freaking out a little about flying in a private plane. It feels entirely too fancy for the likes of me. My parents, on the other hand, would be all over something like this. They’d probably ask me if they could use it for their vacations. It wouldn’t matter that this is a company jet; they’d want me to figure it out regardless, and then they’d be mad when I couldn’t arrange it for them.

The boarding process is quick, and before I know it, we’re sitting in comfy chairs next to each other while the pilots finish preparing the plane for takeoff. The interior of the jet is all variations of the color cream, with eight seats in the front of the plane, a couch and coffee table in the back, along with the four-top table Adam and I are sitting at.

“How do you stand flying any other way besides on a private jet?” I ask Adam while we wait.

“First class isn’t too bad, and I pay for a club membership to wait in luxury.”

“What a life.” I grin at him.

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