Page 62 of Into The Light

I stood upright for a minute to verify the ground no longer rumbled beneath me. “Yes, I’m good now. Thank you.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you Miss Charles.” Cyrus folded into a bow.

I stepped forward and threw my arms around his neck. He chuckled his surprise and then patted me on the back. “Thank you, Cyrus. I had such an incredible evening, and it was wonderful to meet you.”

“I hope to see you again, Miss Charles,” he said as we broke our embrace. I saw the accusatory look he shot to Aiden and struggled to stifle my giggle. It seemed I had won Cyrus’ stamp of approval.

The flight attendant stood at the top of the stairs and waited while Aiden and I made our way back up them. I headed back to the private room from the flight out. The elegance of this jet still blew my mind as much as it had the first time I’d stepped onto it. Soft cream leather covered every inch of the furniture and walls, and rich mahogany wood trimmed the small bar and the chairs that sat facing one another. A large couch stretched out the length of the room and a fake fire crackled from the screen on the wall. It was a far cry from the cramped seating and the snoring man beside me the one time I flew commercial before tonight.

“Can we get you anything before take-off?” Sheila asked.

“No, thank you. I’ll buzz you if we need anything,” Aiden answered.

“Enjoy your flight,” she said and pulled the door shut behind her, sealing us into the room alone.

I sat down in the oversized leather seat I had used on our way here. Aiden sat in the matching chair just across from me. The ride in had been unbelievably awkward because I couldn’t stop thinking about our kiss, and now it seemed the ride home would be just more of the same. All I could think about was how much I wanted his tongue in my mouth and his hands up my dress. The incessant thoughts left little room for casual conversation.

The engine of the jet started up and the lights in the room dimmed. Flickering flames from the fake fire made up most of the light left in the room. Crossing my legs, I shifted in my seat, and he watched me with a contemplative gaze, resting his chin on his fist. Curious eyes raked me over while I squirmed beneath the intensity of his stare.

The heat raced back to my face and then settled in my chest while I smoothed my skirt for the umpteenth time since sitting down.

Good God, I’m a disaster.

Crossing and uncrossing my legs, I let my eyes dart between him and out the window. A glance outside showed the plane had started its slow crawl toward the runway and my slight fear of flying only strengthened the pulse I could feel thumping through my veins.

Just do it, Emilia. Get up and kiss him. Finish what you started.

I couldn’t. I wanted to, more than anything, but fear glued me to my seat and forced my eyes back down to the ground. It wasn’t that I didn’t think he wanted to kiss me, the passion that exploded off him in that alley washed away any doubt of the intensity of his feelings. But the moment had slipped away, and I wasn’t sure how to ignite the fire again. Being ballsy and approaching a man felt strange. Wrong. Not to mention my lack of practice. I’d only been with a few guys before Jeff back in high school. It had been over a decade since I’d been in this situation and I felt like an awkward teenager again under the weight of Aiden’s stare.

Closing my eyes, I pushed my head back into the leather seat. Come on, Emilia. You only live once. And if he isn’t into this, just have him erase the memory of the awkward moment away and it will be like it never happened. Just do it. You deserve this.

With a deep breath I squeezed my eyes tighter.

Fuck it.

I would get up, march over there and plant one on him. But just before I rose from my seat, a brisk wind blew back my hair. I inhaled a sharp breath and snapped open my eyes. Just inches from my face I saw his penetrating eyes locked with mine before drifting for a second to my lips.

“Sweet Jesus. You can read my mind, can’t you?” I gasped.

A sly smile tugged up one corner of his lips and he slowly shook his head. A cool hand slid across my cheek, stroking the heated skin before sliding through the soft curls cascading over my shoulders.

“Then how did you—”

He didn’t let me finish. The force of his lips crushing into mine pushed the words back into my mouth. His hand slid behind my head and drew me into him while his tongue demanded entrance. I submitted to his command, my body no longer my own to control. He captured my moan in his mouth and matched it with his own. Our kiss deepened when he pressed into me, and I felt every inch of my body crackle and explode to life. A shiver traveled down my spine and moved all the way to the tips of my toes.

My pulse raced as the jet engine roared and screamed while we careened down the runway. I wasn’t sure if Aiden’s touch gave me the sensation of elevating off the ground or if the plane was taking off. Every sense heightened to the point I could no longer distinguish them, a swirl of emotions and senses all colliding into one explosion of pleasure.

The soft caress of his hand lingered even when it left its place on my cheek and slid down the length of my side, moving to the small of my back. The plane’s takeoff pushed me forward in my seat and I slid tighter into his body, a wall of muscle that supported me and pressed me back into the cool leather. Our lips moved in sync, our breaths mingling into one while our tongues danced and twirled together, desperation deepening our kiss with each passing second.

Reaching up, I slid my arms around his neck, my fingers raking through his hair. His kiss contained an urgency, an urgency that matched my own. An insatiable desire that only increased with each brush of his lips against mine. I needed him in me, on me, around me. Suddenly, I was in his arms and across the room being laid down on the long leather couch. The gentle way he set me down was a stark contrast to the force of the movement that brought me there. It left me spinning while I struggled to catch my breath, realizing how empty I felt with the sudden absence of his lips.

Searching his eyes, I reached up and slid my hand across his chest before grabbing a fistful of fabric and yanking him back down to me. He offered no resistance, and I moaned when his lips reconnected with mine. It was where they belonged, and I felt empty without them. The weight of his body pressed along the length of mine when he settled on top of me. His tongue resumed the tantalizing twirls that sent my stomach plummeting and tumbling as if I had fallen out of the plane and plunged toward the ground.

His kiss softened, and I stifled a whimper when his lips drifted away. Opening my eyes, I found his searching my own.

“Are you sure?” he asked, his usually commanding voice soft and concerned. “If this isn’t what you want, we don’t have—”

“I guess you can’t read my mind after all,” I said, flashing a smirk. “Now stop talking and kiss me.”