I racked my brain.How could I help him get through this?The heat was rapidly becoming suffocating. I shifted in his lap, my dress riding up slightly, and when I saw his gaze sweep over my thigh, a light bulb blinked on.Distraction.
I placed my hands over his on the yoke, which he currently had locked in a death grip. I wiggled my butt in his lap again, and he stiffened. “What are you doing?” he croaked. His voice came out thin and reedy.
“Getting into character,” I said innocently, massaging myfingers over his on the yoke. I chuckled, low and husky. “Breathe,” I purred into his ear, and he exhaled a jagged breath. “Think about the scene. Holden and Melody are in love. They can’t keep their hands off each other. They’re ready to jump each other’s bones.”
I felt his hands slacken under mine, his grip on the yoke loosening ever so slightly. “Holden’s finally got her alone for the first time, away from her parents, away from Tate. What would he be thinking right now?”
Ryder licked his lips. “He’d…want to impress her. Show off.”
“That’s right,” I cooed. I noticed the sweat gathering at his temples and blew a little cool air over them. “He’d be confident and competent. He’d be in control.”
I felt the barest nod against my neck.
I ran a fingertip down the back of his hand to his wrist. “Would he be wanting to slide his hand under her skirt?”
“Jesus, Scarlett,” he swore, and there was no hesitation this time, his voice coming in strong and clear.
“I’m not Scarlett,” I murmured, and nuzzled my nose against his neck, letting my lips graze his collarbone. “I’m Melody, remember? And you’re Holden.” I pulled back and stared into his eyes, wanting to make sure he understood, to urge him to play along. Acting meant living inside someone else’s skin, and Ryder needed to force himself to do that now.
Incredibly, this Hail Mary of mine appeared to be working. Gone were the glassy eyes and shallow breaths. His gaze was now sharp and focused on mine, a flush returned to his cheeks, his breathing evening out. “Holden isn’t afraid to fly. The air is where Holden feels the most comfortable, the most free. This plane is an extension of himself.”
Ryder blinked, his chest expanding with a deep lungful of air. “You’re right.”
I arranged my features into wide-eyed hero worship and toyed with the buttons on his shirt. “You’ve got Melody in your lap. It’s her first time in a plane and she’s excited to see what you can do. Where are you taking her?”
His amber eyes were fixed on mine, his pupils dilated. “To see the sunset.” His voice was an idling engine, low and rumbling.
I scratched my nails through the hair at his nape, brushing it away from his collar. “That’s right. A romantic twilight flight.” Our mouths were just a millimeter apart, so close that his breath warmed my lips. His hands found my hips and he repositioned me on his lap, sliding me back to fit more snugly against his groin.And here I thought it couldn’t get any hotter in here.
There was a short rap on the plane’s fuselage as Captain Gary climbed aboard and fired up the engine.Perfect timing.He turned his head to glance over his shoulder and smirked at our closeness, like he’d just caught us mid-thrust. “You two ready?” he called over the roar of the propeller.
I looked at Ryder with raised eyebrows, and he nodded, his hand tightening on my hip. “Ready!” I called back, flashing Gary the thumbs-up.
We were halfway down the runway when I felt his lips at my ear. “Thank you.”
I laced my fingers through his and gave them a squeeze, doing my best to ignore the heat coiling low in my belly. “Anytime.”
His opportunity torepay the favor came quicker than expected.
The day had been a comedy of errors. A malfunctioning camera delayed our start time, and then lighting issues set us back further. Now we were all so cranky and tired that it was showing in our performances. It was late, something or someone seemed to screw up every take, and no one was at their best. Nevertheless, Nate had made it clear that we wouldn’t be wrapping until we got this scene in the can.
Making matters worse, the headache I woke up with this morning had progressed from a nagging nuisance into a full-blown migraine. I’d dealt with migraines since I was a kid, and this one was bad.Reallybad. I’d taken some of my prescription medication a couple of hours ago, but it didn’t seem to have made a dent. I was suffering. I was doing my best to gut it out, but hiding how much pain I was in was getting progressively more difficult the longer the night dragged on. Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it—I wasn’t the only one screwing up tonight.
In a perfect world, I’d tell Nate I needed to stop, but I knew what a huge deal it would be—not to mention how costly—to suspend filming for the night only to have to reassemble everyone again later for a reshoot. I’d have to be bleeding out to disrupt a set like that, and even then I wasn’t so sure. I was a team player, and I would push through the pain if it killed me.
I continued to muddle through as best I could, but when Nate called for a reset after yet another botched take, I toldhim I needed five and escaped outside for some fresh air (or perhaps so I could break down in private, one of the two). Of course, a set was about as private as Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, but I managed to find an empty bench behind the building and sank onto it, leaning over to put my head between my knees.Please God, help me get through this, I prayed, exhaling a ragged breath.
“What’s wrong with you?”
I jerked slightly at the sound, but didn’t bother looking up. I knew that voice.
“Nothing. Just having an off day,” I said to the ground, my head still between my knees.Nothing suspicious about that.
“You don’t have off days.”
I exhaled a pained whimper. “I assure you, I do.”
I sat up gingerly, my head throbbing at the movement, and tried to act normal. “I just needed some air. I’m fine.”
