When Carter saw her looking around the airfield as they had clearance to stand up and deplane, he leaned against her. “You’re looking in the wrong direction,” he said.
At first she didn’t know what he meant until she realized that the plane had airstairs in the frontand the backof it. She didn’t see him or any plane bearing his name on the front end, but when they deplaned using the back airstairs and she saw another huge jet parked on the back end of the tarmac withBainbridge Capital Trustwritten on it, it was at least confirmed that he had arrived. It was apparently his company plane. Which meant, Jayda assumed, that he had allowed her to take his personal plane. It felt like an honor, although she didn’t know why.
But that wasn’t the clincher for her. The flight attendant had already told her he had landed an hour before they did. But what really got to Jayda and turned her mood completely around was when she began walking down those airstairs and saw, to the left of her, that Harrison had not only landed, but was actually waiting for her across the tarmac. And as soon as she saw him, her heart soared. And her nervousness left.
She was so happy to see him, and it was so unexpected, that she decided in that very moment to stop fooling herself. Maybe it wouldn’t be reciprocal. Maybe he would rebuke her on the spot. But it was a chance she had to take. He told her to, above all else, be herself, and that was exactly who she was as she threw all that caution to the wind and began running down those stairs.
Even Carter, who sensed by her disappointment when he showed up at her apartment that she had fallen for Harrison, was surprised by her reaction. She seemed more reserved than that!
But nobody was as pleasantly surprised to see her reaction than Harrison. As soon as he saw her running down those stairs and then running across that tarmac to him, he stopped leaning against his limo where he was chatting it up with Vincent, uncrossed his arms, and stared at her. His heart was hammering with joy as soon as he saw her. And the fact that she was running to him? He couldn’t ever recall a woman so happy to see him that she would forget all else to demonstrate how she felt about him.
He couldn’t wait to see her. That was why he hung around that dusty airfield for over an hour waiting for her arrival when he could have easily waited for her at his father’s estate. But there was no way he was leaving that airfield without her. He would have waited all day if he had to.
And that was why he decided to throw caution to the wind too. He walked steadily toward her as she ran to him and as soon as she made it up to him he didn’t hesitate. He lifted her up and pulled her into his arms. He wasn’t going to kiss her. He hadn’t kissed a woman in a public space ever in his entire life. But he kissed Jayda. He couldn’t help himself. He smacked his lips against her lips and kissed her so long and so hard that evenCarter was shocked. Nobody in their circle would ever believe it. It was as if, Carter daresay, they were actually engaged!
But Carter wasn’t the only one shocked on that tarmac. Vincent looked back at Desmond, Harrison’s limo driver, to see if he could believe it. He couldn’t either, and was staring at them too. He’d been with Harrison the longest and he’d never seen their boss so much as show the slightest interest in any woman. Or anybody else for that matter. But he was in the middle of the tarmac kissing her? The same woman he splashed that morning and she dented his limo? And he wasn’t just giving her a little peck either. They were practically making out.
But what nobody realized was that Harrison was showing great restraint. So much so that he knew he wasn’t going anywhere his father’s estate until he had her again.
That was why, when they stopped kissing, and after he pulled Carter aside and spoke with him briefly, he placed his arm around her waist and walked with her to his waiting limousine. Carter instead, on Harrison’s orders, got into one of the two big Ford Expedition SUVs that were waiting to take the two flight crews to their hotel in town until Harrison needed their services again. A still-shocked Vincent opened the back passenger door for Jayda and his boss, got in the front driver side, and Desmond looked through the rearview. He never assumed where the boss was going. He knew him too well.
“My condo,” Harrison said to his driver, and Desmond took off in that direction.
Jayda looked at Harrison. “I don’t know why I ran to you,” she said with a smile. “I don’t know what got into me back there.”
She tried to sit away from Harrison on the long backseat as she was talking, so that they could compose themselves again, but Harrison would have none of that. As soon as she tried to slide further over, he was sliding her right beside him. “Thesame thing got into you,” he said, “that got into me. We were pleased to see each other again.” Then he placed one hand around her waist and held her hand with his other hand. Only he held her hand on his lap, on the aroused part of his lap, and began to rub it there. He looked at her. “Isn’t that it, Jayda?”
They stared into each other’s eyes. It was as if all those lies they told themselves flew out the window as soon as they saw each other again. It was as if they had a pact: no lies. Always tell each other the truth even if they didn’t tell themselves the truth. “Yes,” she admitted. “That’s it.”
Harrison smiled. Oh how he missed being around this woman! And he pulled her closer against him. Then he pressed a button the brought down a private partition between he and Jayda and his driver and bodyguard up front. Then he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and placed Jayda’s hand inside of his pants.
And then Jayda, pulling it out and utilizing her mouth, took it from there.
Harrison leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and moaned. He couldn’t wait to get her beneath him again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Jayda already had a good idea why they weren’t going straight to his father’s estate, but to a condo Harrison owned in Portland instead, and she was pleased for more than the reason he had in mind. It would give her a chance to get comfortable with Harrison again before she met his family. She thought it was a win-win.
But she had no idea just how starved Harrison was for her again. As soon as they entered his condo, he slammed Jayda’s back against the front door and began kissing her passionately. Then he carried her to his bedroom and undressed her and undressed himself so quickly that he had her on his bed within seconds of carrying her to his room.
Jayda knew this was not the way that either one of them had expected their reunion to go, but she could feel in his kiss on the tarmac and could see in his eyes how badly he wanted her. She wanted him too. There was no denying that. But his want, his need for her, was on a different level.
Harrison knew it too. That was why he was kissing her hard as soon as they laid their naked bodies on that bed. And when he moved to her neck, and to her breasts where he spent several minutes there alone, he knew it was going to be a long session. He wanted to eat every inch of her. And when he got between her thighs, that was exactly what he did.
He couldn’t get enough of her. And Jayda couldn’t stop him from getting enough of her. Nearly fifteen minutes later, he was still making love to her down there. And when he moved up and thrust himself inside of her, that rush of pain quickly easedinto that wonderful feeling they’d been waiting to feel again. And it was just as intense again. So much so that they made long, slow love for nearly an hour.
And when they came, they came together. It was so intense, and so explosive that neither one of them thought they could bear it. But they did. It lasted minutes on end. Until they were spent.
By the time Harrison pulled out of her and rolled off of her onto his back, there was nothing left. They just laid there.
But as he stared at her and as she stared at him, something happened to Harrison. Where Jayda was enjoying the moment with no expectations given the way Harrison approached their relationship, Harrison was far beyond that moment. He was for the first time seeing his future. And she dominated it. It was a shocking revelation.
So shocking that he needed some space. He got up and headed for the ensuite bathroom.
But the way he got up, as if he was suddenly uneasy, concerned Jayda. “Harrison, are you okay?” Harrison? Where are you going?”
“Bathroom,” was all he could manage to say as he entered the ensuite and closed the door behind him.
