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I swallow hard.“And what if I have secrets I want to keep?”
He moves his hand farther up my thigh and slips a finger beneath the hem of my shorts, tracing the line of my slit through the embarrassingly damp fabric of my panties.“You may hide behind your cool reserve and those enigmatic eyes, but your body can’t lie.Your body will have no secrets from me.”
My heart pounds at his bold assertion.He abruptly removes his hand and I keenly feel the absence.I’m suddenly unnerved without his touch to center me.
“What do you want, Ava?”he asks, his voice low.“Do you want me to touch you?”
It’s tempting.Oh, so tempting.I’ve never felt this way with anyone before.My body is drawn to his like there’s a physical force pulling me in.The effect is disorienting, and I suddenly want more than anything to feel the touch of his hands again—somewhere, anywhere—if only to ground me.I nod.
“Say it!”he demands softly.“Tell me what you want.”
“Please, touch me again,” I whisper.
The silence is deafening.I know what he wants.“Please touch me, Sir.”
Then his hands are in my hair, his mouth on mine, ruthless and plundering, claiming me with his lips and tongue.Stunned by the kiss, it takes a minute before I realize the car has come to a stop.Instead of removing the blindfold, Roman moves away from me, and I hear the sound of a car door opening and then closing.Seconds later, the door next to me opens and Roman grasps my hands and helps me from the car.
“I guess you’re not ready to take the blindfold off yet, huh?”I grumble.
The sound of his chuckle sets my nerve endings racing again.“I like you blindfolded.It makes you more dependent on me and dilutes that cool composure you seem to rely on like it’s armor.”He lowers his voice.“But I also like the hint of fear and uncertainty I see in your eyes when you look at me, so don’t worry, I won’t blindfold you too often.”
My breath catches.That’s supposed to make me feel better?
He wraps a strong arm around my waist and guides me across a smooth surface that feels like asphalt beneath my feet.We’re outside and the wind catches my hair, whipping it around my face.I can feel the warm sunshine, and wherever we are, it’s noisy, the whapping sound of air being churned like butter filling my ears.The noise grows louder as we come to a stop, and Roman unties the blindfold.
I blink into the sunlight, my eyes unaccustomed to the sudden brightness.We’re standing beside a huge helicopter, its blades slicing the air above us.I look at Roman questioningly.
“Are you afraid of heights?”he asks, tucking the blindfold back into his pocket.
I shake my head.“No.”
“Good.”He smiles and gestures toward the helicopter.I look back at him once and then climb in as he follows me.He reaches across me, buckling me into the seat, and my body comes alive again at his touch.
“Where are we going?”I ask.
“We’ll fly over the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead on our way to the Grand Canyon.We’ll see some of the Canyon and then land at the bottom for a picnic lunch before flying back.”
I look at him disbelievingly, unable to keep the smile off my face.This is beyond anything I’ve ever imagined.Although the circumstances of this unconventional date of sorts are seriously messed up, the man is ruining me for ever dating anyone normal.“Are you serious?”
“I’m always serious,” he says, but there’s a small smile playing at his lips.
“What if I’d been afraid of heights?”
“Then I’d have talked you through it,” he says as if he has the power to banish all of my fears by the sheer force of his will.I’m starting to wonder if maybe he does.
The pilot shakes hands with Roman and introduces himself to me before giving us headphones to wear that will allow us to hear and talk to him and each other.Then we’re taking off, slowly rising vertically off the ground.We hover for a moment before tilting forward slightly, and then we swoop into the air.It’s like riding on a roller coaster, and I instinctively grip Roman’s hand, needing something to hold on to.His fingers close around mine and he smiles at me, sending warmth spreading through me.He has a nice smile.It’s the kind of smile that transforms his entire face and makes his eyes crinkle at the corners.
Once we’re airborne, it feels like we’re floating, and I stare out the window, mesmerized by the sight of Hoover Dam sprawling beneath us as the pilot tells us about the history of the construction of the dam.It’s amazing to see the ever-changing landscape below us from the bird’s-eye view of the helicopter; however nothing could have prepared me for magnificent grandeur of the Grand Canyon.As we hover at the rim, I feel like I’m teetering on the edge of something beautiful and ancient and beyond comprehension, and I get goose bumps, the hairs on my arms standing up in primordial recognition.The beauty of the vast canyons cracks something in me, and some long-buried emotion swells, filling my senses and overwhelming me.A tear spills down my cheek, and Roman leans over to wipe it away with the pad of his thumb, an odd expression on his face.
Without taking his eyes off mine, he brings his thumb to his mouth and licks the tear away.He holds my gaze for a long minute.Something passes between us, and then it’s gone as he points out landmarks among the towering buttes and rugged cliffs—the glass Skywalk that extends out over the Canyon itself, the Dragon’s Corridor, and the Colorado River that has carved this vast majestic wilderness.
We descend slowly, privy to amazing views of the ancient rocks before coming to a stop at the bottom of the canyon.Roman helps me out of the helicopter, and I glance down at my watch, surprised to see it’s one o’clock.The pilot hands him a wicker picnic basket and then takes the controls again, and I watch as the helicopter slowly climbs the face of the canyon and disappears from sight, leaving Roman and me alone on the floor of the canyon, the red walls towering on either side of us.
Roman unfolds a picnic blanket and spreads it on the ground and we sit as he unloads the hamper.There’s cheese and crackers, caviar, grapes, strawberries, slices of cold roast beef threaded onto a skewer with bleu cheese, and a bottle of champagne, which Roman expertly uncorks and pours into two crystal glasses.
He hands me a glass, and then clinks his with mine.“To winning.”
I smile.“To winning.”
