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I want to slap the smug expression right off his face. Or kiss it.Down, girl. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
“Don’t be so upset.” Mason slowly unwraps his arms and leans forward, his heat swirling around me like a warm blanket. His beard brushes my cheek as he leans close to my ear. He lowers his voice to practically a whisper. “The last time you were in my plane, you were calling out my name. Pretty enthusiastically if I recall.”
My neck and cheeks flush at the memory. The one thing we always got right was the sex. Fuck, it was incredible. But I’m not staying. Getting tangled up in the sheets with my ex is the worst thing I could do. It would only hurt both of us in the end. “Not happening.”
He winks at me, the bastard. “We’ll see about that.”
CHAPTER2
Mason
Ialways knew Willow Gray would come back someday. But until I saw her name on the roster minutes before takeoff, I had no idea it would be this soon. I should hate her for what she did. Leaving me standing at the altar with a full church and no explanation. I found a note, hours after she’d already fled. Afuckingnote.
Ishouldhate her.
Only, I’ve never stopped loving her. Never stopped believing she’d come back to me.
“What brings you home, Willow?”
She stares at me, indecision dancing in her brown eyes. She looks so damn sexy in that low-cut sunflower yellow top and a headset, sitting in the passenger seat where she belongs. “Grandma Rose.”
I don’t pay much attention to gossip—which Caribou Creek has plenty of—but I feel certain I would’ve heard something if Rose Clayton or her diner were in some sort of trouble. The restaurant is busier than ever, and she recently won a bridge jackpot—or poker. Depends who you ask.
I drop my gaze to Willow’s hand, yearning to take it in my own. Old habits and all that shit. “Everything okay?”
She lets out a heavy breath and folds her arms across her chest. Lifting those magnificent tits. I’ve missed having them in my mouth.Not the time, Mason.“I don’t know.”
“If it helps, I haven’t heard anything.”
“And why would you?” she snaps.
“Because I didn’t run away from my hometown.” The words slip out before I can pull them back, but I stand firm by them. I’d wager I know more about her grandma than she does.
Willow lets out a slow sigh. Her shoulders visibly lifting and falling with the long exhale. “Fair point.” She untangles her arms and drops her hands to her knees. The red polish is chipped. The first indicator that everything is not bright and sunny in her dream life. “Look, Grandma Rose summoned me and my sisters back. Said it was a matter of life and death. All in a freaking text message.”
“I didn’t realize she knew how to text.”
“She doesn’t. Or she would’ve replied to the dozens of texts I sent her back.”
“Did you try calling—” Before I can get the whole question out, I’m forced to shift all focus ahead. Visibility that was ten miles out when we left Anchorage has dropped to hardly a quarter of a mile in a matter of seconds. The thick cloud cover around the mountains promises it’s only going to get worse. Where the fuck did this weather come from?
“What’s wrong?” Willow demands, likely sensing my tension.
“I have to land.”
“What?” She lifts out of her seat as far as the belt will allow her and frantically peers out every window she can reach. “We’re in the middle of nowhere, Mason! You can’t land now. Aren’t we almost to town? Can’t you just take it slow?”
I start to descend as her panic heightens. I’m not going to risk meeting another aircraft I can’t see and taking us both out. Even if we make it to Caribou Creek, tower might not clear me for landing under these conditions. It’s far too dangerous.
“Mason, say something!”
“After we land.” Finding a strip of barren land, I ease my Cessna down. A sense of familiarity—and relief—washing over me as the wheels touch the soft earth. I know where we are. I’ve landed in this same place dozens of times when dropping off groups of fishermen.
When the plane fully stops, the fog is so dense I can barely see the nearby trees. I turn to face Willow and reach for her hand. She yanks it away as if I burned her skin. The contact, though quick, is enough to reassure me the sizzle of electricity is still strong as ever.
“What thehell, Mason? This is not the time for plane sex.”
I let out a low, deep chuckle. One that’s both automatic and on purpose. Because I know it’ll make those pretty little cheeks flush bright red. “In case you haven’t looked outside in the past few minutes, I can’t see shit. Grandma Rose will kill me if I risk your life. You know that.”
