AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She wore a T-shirt with a thick cardigan on top. The cardigan did a good job. Too good. Covering her from mid-thigh and up. He considered telling her to lose the sweater too, but they weren’t there yet. He needed to lay his cards on the table. If he was lucky, she’d go along with his ground rules. If he wasn’t, he’d seduce the hell out of her until she agreed.
Matt gestured toward the mattress, inviting her to sit down. He didn’t miss the slight wince when she bent her injured knee, and his temper piqued again.
“You were reckless today.”
She rolled her eyes. “I changed a tire and scraped my knee. I’m really living life on the edge.”
Matt held his tongue. If she were his, he'd have a hell of a lot more to say about her changing a tire on the side of a busy highway. And he wouldn't just say it. He'd back his opinion up with a spanking that would remind her to take care with what belonged to him.
Fuck. Matt pushed that thought away because she wasn't his. Couldn't be his. Not truly.
Grabbing the first aid kit and washcloth, he knelt on the floor in front of her. Her soft intake of breath told him she was recalling the same thing he was. How he’d knelt in front of her the night of the gala, lifted one knee—the now-injured one—over his shoulder and driven her to her first orgasm with his tongue.
Neither of them spoke as he gently cleaned the cut, blowing on it to alleviate any sting. Then he put antibiotic cream on a large Band-Aid and covered the scrape. Leaning back on his haunches, he looked up, wondering at the amusement tugging at the tips of her lips.
“No kiss to make it better?” she teased.
She was good at issuing dares he couldn’t resist. Matt leaned forward to give her knee a soft kiss.
Liza jerked in surprise, not expecting him to take her up on her offer. He’d seen that same shock in her eyes when he’d responded to her comment about him overcompensating in the SUV.
“Thanks,” she said, her brows lowered in confusion. She was struggling to keep up, which made sense. After all, the last time they talked, he’d made that dumbass comment about keeping their relationship professional. He’d also allowed her to continue to believe he was dating Patricia. His actions today were in direct opposition to all of that.
“You’re welcome.”
Time to pull back on the flirting until they had time to discuss where the two of them were going from here.
Liza reached down to retrieve her jeans from the floor, but he picked them up before she could, tossing them onto a chair in the corner of the room.
“Stay there,” he said, rising and walking over to the dresser. “I keep sleepwear on the plane.” Opening the drawer, he pulled out a pair of lounge pants. “These might be a bit big, but they have a drawstring, so you should be able to keep them up with no problem.”
He handed the pants to Liza, who thanked him. While she put the lounge pants on, Matt opened his suitcase, pulling out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. “Give me a moment to change into something more comfortable and then we can go back to the main cabin. We should be taking off very soon.”
He changed in the bathroom, and when he stepped back into the bedroom, he discovered Liza already gone, so he returned to the main cabin, claiming the seat opposite her once more. She’d managed to snag her glass of wine. Matt requested the same, each of them sipping their merlot.
The flight attendant informed them they were about to take off. Buckling their seat belts, they gazed out the window as the jet taxied to the runway. Silence had fallen between them, but it wasn’t awkward. He’d spent too many evenings with women who felt as if they had to fill every moment with conversation, Patricia the worst offender of them all. Liza was the first woman he’d ever spent time with who appreciated the value of quiet companionship.
Once they reached their cruising altitude, the flight attendant refilled their wine glasses, then prepared the cabin for dinner. Liza watched the setup with interest—and a bit of awe—grinning at the ostentatiousness of it all.
“A tablecloth and real crystal goblets?” she murmured softly when the attendant returned to the kitchen area.
Matt smirked but said nothing in reply.
Once the table was set, they moved across the aisle to claim their seats, carrying their wine glasses with them. Placing napkins on their laps, they both thanked the flight attendant as she served the salad course.
“Can I ask you something?” Liza started.
“Of course.”
“Why isn’t Patricia your date for the wedding?”
That hadn’t taken long. He’d intended to bring up the subject himself because he couldn’t move forward with his plans for Liza as long as she believed he was dating the other woman.
“Contrary to what the tabloids say, Patricia and I are no longer dating. You know that, because you saw me break things off in the lobby of the Ritz.”
“Yet you were out with her the next night. You gave her the diamond tennis bracelet.”
“A parting gift. Nothing more. I do a lot of business with her father. I thought it best to clear the air between us so that my association with Richard Eddington wasn’t awkward.”
