Page 21 of Falling for the Playboy Pilot

Laser took a sip, then sighed like she’d been waiting for this invitation.

“Herc flew for the military,” she said. “Don’t know all the details—he doesn’t talk about it—but he was in some deep stuff. After that, he came home and flew commercial for a while.”

I blinked. “Commercial? With passengers? Paying passengers?”

“Yep,” she said. “Which blows my mind too, because the man has the social skills of a brick.”

“No kidding.”

“Anyway, he racked up hours, bounced around from airline to airline. And somewhere in there, he managed to sleep with every flight attendant from here to Timbuktu.”

I choked on my beer. “With that personality?”

Laser snorted. “Honey, they weren’t sleeping with him for his sparkling conversation. I heard it was practically a badge of honor. Like an exclusive Dalton Lucas club.”

I shook my head, half-horrified and half-intrigued. “Tough to picture the Dalton I met charming anyone.”

“He wasn’t always such a monster,” she said. “Dalton went through some shit that changed him. But he’s hot, obviously. Even now, that man could scowl his way into anyone’s bed.”

She wasn’t wrong. I tried not to think about the way his eyes had lingered on me in the simulator. Or how good he looked with sweat on his neck and frustration in his jaw. As long as he kept his mouth shut, a night with him would be one to remember.

“Have you…?” I asked. It was probably a little bold to ask, but I was dying to know.

“Hell no,” she said with a snort. “That is too much anger for me. I think we’d probably kill each other before we ever got to the good part.”

I felt a strange sense of relief. “If he flew commercial, how did he end up here?”

Laser leaned back, looking very at ease. “A few years back, he started working fire contracts in the summers. He was a wildland firefighter for one season and then a smokejumper. I think he was looking for the next big thrill. Then he started flying full time for Reddington.”

“Commercial pilots make good money,” I commented.

“Yeah, but not nearly as fun.”

“Good point.” I reached for another onion ring.

“Herc and I started together,” she said. “The job took its toll on him. He saw things out there. Let’s just say, he used to smile more.”

That hit me in a way I didn’t expect. It did make me feel a little bad for my behavior earlier today. I understood why he was so damn serious about perfection.

“Does he always put the newbies through the simulator like that?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “They usually keep him away from the fresh meat. Don’t want to scare them away.”

Laser looked over my shoulder and her expression twisted into a slow, mischievous smile.

“Well, well,” she drawled. “Speak of the devil.”

I turned. And there he was.

Dalton stepped through the bar’s front door, and it was like everything stopped. My pulse kicked up at just the sight of him. I didn’t miss the way the energy shifted in the bar. The man obviously had a reputation. Was he here to pick up a woman for the night?

Oh my god. Why was I always thinking about sex? I wasn’t usually quite so horny. If I didn’t take the edge off somehow, I was going to do something really stupid.