“But why?” She hadn’t imagined Will would find china plates the slightest bit interesting.
“The truth?” He gave her a grin that was halfway between cheeky and embarrassed. “I was on Facebook and some guy had posted photos of his new set of French china. People went nuts over that post. And you’d be surprised how many comments were from interested guys, not just women.” His smile still made her heart race every single time. “So I’m looking into it.”
“You think there could be a lot of money there?”
“I see potential. You can show some people a five-hundred-dollar set of china and they shrug it off as merely department store. But charge them five thousand, and suddenly, they’ve got to have it.”
“For the same exact thing?”
“With a tweak—something to make it unique.” He nodded. “It’s about perceived value, not actual cost.”
It was a totally different way of thinking. She’d never bought the “most expensive.” Although sometimes she had to agree that you got what you paid for when the thrifty alternative fell apart after two uses. So okay, sometimes expensive had its advantages.
She waved a hand over the crystal, china, and silver. Everything was first class on Air Franconi. “Speaking of all this fine china—”
“I didn’t pay five thousand for it. So my testosterone is still intact.”
“I never doubted that.” Will had way more than his share of testosterone. “Actually, I was going to say I feel totally underdressed in jeans. I should be wearing an evening dress.”
“You’re perfect exactly the way you are. Besides,” he said as he leaned close, “I intend to have you out of those jeans right after we finish the chocolate mousse.”
A flush of sexual heat washed through her, but she couldn’t help wondering what his flight crew would think when he took her into his private cabin. But since she’d decided to take this trip with him, she intended to relish every single moment until the trip ended.
Raising her champagne flute, she waited until he picked up his, too. “To the Mile High Club.” She clinked the rim against his. “Let’s save dessert for later.”
His eyes darkened with the sexy glint that never failed to turn her insides to liquid. “You always have such perfect ideas.”
He rose, came to her side, and leaned down, his mouth so close that his warm breath caressed the shell of her ear. She actually shivered. With anticipation. With lust.
And with an emotion she was terrified to put a name to.
“I’m going to tell my stewards to keep the mousse on ice and the coffee switch ready to brew.” He nuzzled her cheek. “Then I want to walk in on a naked and willing woman in my bed.”
Air speed wasn’t getting to her now. She didn’t need the power of a jet engine.
Will was all it took to make her crazy.
*
Harper was absolute perfection, her skin creamy and soft, her silky hair fanned across the pillow, her breasts taut and her body sweetly ready for him. “I should commission a portrait of you just like this.” He would put it on the wall opposite his bed so that he’d see her the moment he opened his eyes. Until the day he convinced her to move in with him and he could just turn his head to look at her in all her flesh-and-blood glory.
She laughed, a slight touch of nerves mingled with pleasure at his compliment, sexy and a little shy all at the same time.
“Your champagne.” He came down on the bed with one knee between her legs, tipping the glass until a dribble of sparkling wine filled her belly button. He sipped it away.
She held his head to her stomach and arched up, a little hum of pleasure in her throat. The sizzle of champagne on his tongue and the sweetness of her skin were the only sustenance he needed. But he needed to be skin-on-skin with her, so he backed away and stripped down. Fast. There wasn’t any rush, but why waste a moment covered up by excess clothing when he had Harper in his bed?
The thought made him want to laugh. He felt as though not a single shadow was hanging over him anymore.
He felt happy.
It wasn’t an emotion he’d truly known before. Not until Harper. And now, with everything in him, he wanted to make her happy, too. Happier than she’d ever been.
He stalked her onto the bed, climbing on all fours until he was over her. He hadn’t turned off the overhead lights and the late afternoon rays swept in through the portholes as well. As they flew east, the sun would fall fast. Her eyes were a seductive shade of blue, her lips full and red, and for the next forty-eight hours she was all his.
“Beautiful.” The single word was filled with awe. “You are just so damned beautiful.”
He leaned down to steal a kiss from her lips, taking a sip of her. Then he went deep, kissing her hard, tasting her mouth like a man addicted to sweetness, giving her his entire heart in the kiss.
“You’re beautiful, too.” Her whispered words were almost shy. She traced his tattoo. “And so sexy. I’ve never known anyone with a tattoo.”