For the first thirty minutes on the plane, Silvia acts like a bird hiding from a cat. Then she nestles down and flips through the Sky Mall magazine.
I bump her elbow. “There's an alarm clock in there you need.”
“You're dumb,” she says.
“Coming from the girl I had to shackle to get on a plane.”
I have so many more comments, but now is not the time. The last thing I need is for her to make a scene. So we won't talk about the bathroom horror show.
She slants a glare at me, then turns a page.
I settle back in my seat and close my eyes. Then I realize I'm an idiot. I booked coach.
God dammit.
At least Silvia is too ignorant to notice. Like I want to hear that complaint for the next six hours.
Six hours. Then I'll be back in Phoenix. Back with Syd.
I don't know if this trip was even worth the effort. In the end, all I really learned was that Karl takes his genie secret pretty damn serious, and Silvia should never have any pets, ever. Not even a fish. She would probably find a way to drown that too.
As we claim our luggage in Phoenix and head out to find a taxi, I contemplate what Patricia Kerr had said. Her story explains the charity donation and offing Phil Ballantyne, but I still don't know what the rest of the back-to-back wishes have to do with anything.
***
Thankfully, my Accord is still in my carport. I return Silvia to the mansion by evening and text Syd as soon as I'm on the road back to Phoenix.
In town, tired as hell, but I'll be home in a couple of hours.
Syd doesn't reply. I figure I'll shower and sleep, then try again in the morning.
That plan goes out the window when I near my house and see a black and red Audi claiming the carport.
Syd is sitting on my porch in a long, off the shoulder shirt and black pants. I'm not sure there's a hotter sight in the world. Then she looks up and beams like she's been waiting all week for my return. Somehow, that takes everything up a notch.
There's no way I'm sleeping until I am reacquainted with her, inside and out.
She crosses the lawn as I step out of the car. “You sure that was only a week?”
I wrap her in a tight hug and lift her up, catching her mouth with mine. She sinks into me. I never want to leave town without her again.
As if homing in on the thought, she breaks apart and meets my gaze. “Run away with me. Please.”
I stare at her. Circuits overload. Something inside snaps. I can't reply. I can't really do anything.
The hope fades from her face. She looks away, her cheeks flushed. I want to tell her the issue is me, that I'm trapped here. But I already feel the figurative dagger wedging in the top of my head.
Can't tell her.
Won't tell her.
The developing pain recedes.
I follow her to the porch and unlock the door. She plucks up her purse from the steps, and we head straight to my bedroom without even exchanging a glance. I drop my bag inside the door and sit on the edge of the mattress. She's on my lap, facing me, before I blink.
“I missed you, Dim.” She brings me in for a kiss that awakens every part of me. And I do mean every.
I slide my arms around her shoulders and pull her toward me as I lie back on the bed. Our mouths kind of meld together, and I'm not sure whose tongue is doing what, but it's all freakin' fantastic.
She tries to pull away, but I grin and take her mouth again. Any resistance gives.
I don't know when Syd became mine. I'm not even entirely sure how that development happened, but it's forever. There is no other possibility. At least, not one I'm willing to consider right now.
She pushes herself up, and I let go. She's straddling my stomach. I can't decide if I want her to stay in this position or if I should flip her to the bed and ravish her body.
She pulls her shirt up over her head, revealing a black bra.
I tug the front of it a little. “That needs to do a vanishing act.”
With a flurry of her fingers, it does. “Ta-da!”
“Hey, I got a trick for you.” My hands find their place on her hips. “I can take a rabbit out of your hat, and put it back in, and take it back out … ”
She grins, then tips her head back and arches her breasts out. She is so smooth and curvy and beautiful.
My goddamn rockstar.
I rub my hands over her nipples, eliciting soft moans from her, and trail my fingers down her stomach to the waist of her pants.
She straightens, lifting one leg over me and sits on her knees on the mattress. I tuck my hands behind my head and watch as she works off the rest of her clothes. The best thing about Syd's body is the fact it's mine. The thought of sharing her does something to my brain not too unlike the hum.