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“Are you sure?” He wondered if she’d regret going to the game with him if she waited to read his assessment until later.
“Very sure. I asked for your opinion on the property and I want to hear it. But for tonight, I’d like to just enjoy each other. No business.” She gazed up into his eyes with a mixture of hunger and wary hope.
And he couldn’t deny he felt the same way.
They’d bought themselves a reprieve for a few hours. He had one evening to convince Alicia they belonged together.
* * *
No surprise that travelling with Jack meant flying in style.
Alicia liked the quick check-through security at the small airport to start their journey. Then, the private plane he’d arranged came equipped with a full bar and all the amenities- not that she could indulge anything more than seltzer water with her nerves strung tight about this first official “date” with Jack. He seemed as interested as she was in testing the waters of a relationship. And that was both fun and nerve wracking.
What if dating turned into another fiasco? Another broken heart?
She shut down the worries as they buckled into their seats to prepare for take-off in the sleek, small Cessna. The cabin was set up with four luxurious seats facing each other, conference style. Behind the seats where she and Jack had settled, a deep sofa nestled into the back of the plane. Not exactly a bed, but an intriguing use of space nevertheless.
After sleeping alone in the old sea captain’s home the night before, Alicia realized how much she missed Jack. Longed for him.
Testing the leather seat, she reclined all the way while her seltzer water remained safely in the cup holder alongside her on a small table.
“This is awesome.” She stretched her legs their full length, right down to pointing her toes. “Will you look at the leg room?”
“If you don’t behave, I’m going to tell the pilot that your seat isn’t in the upright position.” Jack pushed the button to lift the back of her seat.
“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a wet blanket?” She shivered in anticipation as her electronic chair rose — slowly, to where he hovered over her.
The sight of him, scent of him—everything about him made her heart beat faster. And they were all alone. On the first real date in four years.
“My younger brothers. All the time.” He shrugged as he released the button on her arm rest, his shoulder brushing hers. “But I was a lot tougher on them than you.”
She knew that a great deal of responsibility had fallen to Jack after the Murphys moved from South Yarmouth out to the big house in Chatham. Robert Murphy’s business interests had exploded in the early nineties, and his wife and eldest son helped out as much as they could. That left Jack in charge of the younger boys. He’d pointed out before that being a kid in charge of kids meant you had lots of responsibility and no real authority to back it up. No doubt that’s where his need to take charge and protect others started. Even when the autocratic ways bugged her, she had to admit he was good at it.
He didn’t lay down the law just for kicks, the way her dad always had. Jack listened. Worked for equitable solutions for all parties concerned. Except for that one time when he’d taken off on her…
Blinking back the old insecurity, she reached out to him, sliding an arm around his neck as the plane’s engines kicked into a higher gear. The growl of the motor rumbled through her feet and kept pace with her racing heart. She wouldn’t let the past rob her of the present with Jack.
“Has it ever occurred to you that it wouldn’t hurt to play more? Take charge less often?” Her fingers speared through the short hair at the back of his neck, the feel of him already familiar again.
A chime sounded overhead, followed by an announcement from the pilot regarding take-off. The plane taxied down the runway, picking up speed.
“Play more?” He sketched his fingertips down her cheek, igniting a fluttering heat in her belly. “That might be the first time anyone has ever suggested that a Murphy male didn’t play enough. You realize we’re going to see a hockey game?”
She knew he referred to the non-stop contests that had gone on in his backyard growing up. Speed skating on the homemade hockey pond on one end of the backyard. Swimming races in the pool. Tug-of-war battles where the whole neighborhood took sides.
“I’m not referring to that kind of play.” Her admission coincided with their lift-off, and Alicia couldn’t say which one made her heart lurch more.
Pinned to her seat by the speed of the aircraft, she felt mesmerized by Jack’s green eyes as he watched her.
“This isn’t a long flight,” he reminded her, though his hand already drifted down her neck, his fingers skimming along her collarbone and just beneath the collar of her simple white blouse. “We won’t be in the air for long.”
Her nerve endings danced under his touch, as if all feeling was concentrated wherever his hands went. She arched in her seat, defying the force of gravity to be closer to the source of the pleasurable sensations.
“I think we can have some fun and be highly efficient about it too.” The tingling sweetness humming along her skin spread to the tops of her breasts, the sweet ache spreading like the ripple effect of a pebble tossed in water. “Haven’t you ever heard of a quickie?”
“You know how hard men strivenotto be quick about sex?” His touch stilled just over top the lace of her bra. The heat in his eyes singed her.
Electrified her. The buzz travelled from her breasts to her womb, warming her sex until she squirmed in her seat.
