I cut him off with a glare this time around instead of words.
It expresses my every demand without a word seeping from my lips.
“Fine. I’ll reach out to Smith, but if Tallis hears about this—”
“He can vent his annoyance to me. I’ll be sure to remind him who gives the orders around here.”It sure as fuck isn’t him.
Needing to end this meeting before it makes me the grouchy bastard my competitors believe I am, I shift on my feet to face Hugo. “Bring around the car. The quicker we get Col off Isabelle’s tail, the faster life can return to normal.”
Before he can voice that my life has never been anything close to ordinary, I head for the room at the back of the private jet Isabelle has been sleeping in the past couple of hours. My chest swells with smugness when I enter the sex-scented space. Isabelle is cradling the pillow I tucked under her naked body when I snuck out of bed to answer Scout’s tap, and only the slightest portion of her kiss-swollen lips are peeking out from beneath her hair fanned across her face instead of her pillow.
After brushing away the locks clinging to her hued cheeks, I slide my phone out of my pocket before bobbing down to take a picture. The way a woman sleeps exposes a lot about her personality.
Isabelle’s sleeps are peaceful and free of nightmares.
Ophelia’s never were.
After taking enough photos to capture every unique feature of her face, I return my phone to my pocket before endeavoring to wake her up.
“Isabelle…”
She murmurs before rolling away from me. The change-up awards me the slightest peek of her rosy, pink nipple.
After brushing the needy bud, doubling the size of the bumps on her areola, I raise my hand to her lips. My bite at the end of our exchange hours ago was rougher than planned. Her lower lip is wearing the imprint of my cruelty, and the knowledge has me desperate to fix my mistake.
After huskily breathing out her name again, I swipe my tongue over the bite mark in her lip, chuckling when she shoos me away. I’m about to nibble on a mouth as sinful as the hardness of my cock, but before I can, Isabelle jackknifes into a hard seated position. Our headbutt at the airport was brutal, but it has nothing on the crack my nose makes when our heads collide.
As I take a stumbling step back, Isabelle rubs the sting in her head while cursing under her breath. “Shit.” Her worries about her being injured fly out the window when she spots me pinching the bridge of my nose. “Oh god.” When she scuttles across the bed, the sheet hiding her body from my hungry gaze pulls away. “Is it bleeding?”
“It’s fine, Isabelle,” I reply, my focus no longer on my nose.
She’s naked, and despite my head knowing Hunter and Scout are just outside the door, my cock thickens so quick, I make a mental note to thank my tailor for my zipper’s durability.
“Isabelle, I’m fine,” I growl out with a moan when she continues to fuss over me.
After sinking back until her delicate ass is resting on the balls of her feet, she drags her tongue over her mouth, sampling the same delicious taste I just consumed. “Were you kissing—”
“We’re back in Ravenshoe,” I interrupt, happy to skip an interrogation that will make it seem as if my reputation has nothing to do with respect and everything to do with fear.
“What?” She gasps out a shocked breath when her eyes rocket to the window of the private jet. The darkness of the hangar makes it appear later than it is, but it gets across my point that she’s been sleeping for hours.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You look tired. I wanted you to sleep.” With honesty the strongest point of my reply, it comes out sounding that way.
Isabelle’s smile has me wanting to rip off the shirt and jeans she’s tugging on.
As quickly as joy enhanced her beautiful features, panic mars them. “So we did the whole landing without a seat belt?” When I nod, she chokes out.“Are you crazy?”
“Do you truly believe a scrap of material will save you when a plane is plummeting to the ground?”
The color drains from her face when it dawns on her that I’m right.
If a plane is going down, ninety-nine percent of its passengers are going down with it.
After grinning at her shocked expression, I curl my hand around hers, then guide her to the main part of the jet. I feel the increase of her pulse when her eyes scan the deserted plane. Even Hunter has made himself scarce.
“We landed over two hours ago,” I announce when her eyes seek the time on the clock of a microwave oven in the galley.
