“What makes you say that? I’m really not.”
Adwen laughed, nodding toward the seat behind him. “Lass, ye have spent every moment of the flight worrying because the lad heard us. He dinna even see anything, Jane. And I’d wager that most in the castle heard us.”
“Cooper’s different. I don’t want to be the one responsible for exposing him to the birds and the bees. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have cared at all.”
“Is that so, lass? I doona believe ye.”
Jane sat with a blanket draped over her with its end tucked around her shoulders. It would be effortless, simple, to slip his arm beneath the blanket and reach for her in the quiet darkness of the plane. Would her words hold up then, when he had her writhing in silence beneath his hand while so many sat around them unaware of what was happening between them?
“Truly, Adwen. I’ll say anything—do anything. Surely you’ve seen that by now. Did I hold back from saying a thing to you when we first met? Cooper’s just…I’ve more concern for his wellbeing than most.”
“Aye, ye say whatever ye wish, but ’tis no the same. Look around, Jane, I doona see anyone awake save us, do ye?”
She shook her head, and he leaned over in the dim light, kissing her neck as he slipped his hand beneath the covers, reaching for her hand.
“If all are asleep,” he whispered, pulling away from her hand to trail his fingers down her thigh, “there is no reason to be embarrassed, aye? As long as ye can keep from making any sound. Can ye do that, lass? Or will it embarrass ye overmuch?”
He pulled away from her neck, swallowing his own groan of need as he watched her lip tremble in response to him. Her legs parted and he slipped his hand beneath the moveable waist of her pants, biting on his lip to keep quiet as he cupped her warmth.
“Jane,” he leaned in, his breathing shallow and shaky as he whispered in her ear. “I wish to have ye tremble in response to me. Right here, while no one is watching. But to do so will make me verra uncomfortable—swear to me that ye will share my bed this night.”
She said nothing, only turned to him and pressed her lips hard against his. He kissed her in response, pulling away as their lips sped up and their need for one another grew. It wouldn’t do to draw attention. Jane nodded in understanding, leaning back in her chair as he stroked her.
It didn’t take long for her to quiver beneath his hand. As she did so, she crossed her legs to push him away, leaning in to speak as she did so.
“I can’t take any more. Not unless you want me to cry out and cause a scene. You’ll get your turn when we land. Perhaps you should have waited until we started our descent; we’re not even halfway through the flight.”
Adwen ground his teeth as he sat back in his seat. He’d been a heady fool—he would be in agony until they landed.
CHAPTER 33
New York City – Present Day
Everything was louder than I remembered, more crowded, even smellier. My first thoughts as I climbed out of the fancy SUV that picked us up were not at all what I expected. Rather than love and longing, I just felt rather confused. Confused that I couldn’t remember the specific things I missed so much about my beloved city.
Pushing the thoughts away, I put it off to jet lag and the copious amount of coffee that had me feeling jittery and kind of mad. Tomorrow, I was sure, I would see everything in an entirely different light.
Beyond our plane tickets, I wasn’t sure how everything would work once we arrived. I halfway expected Morna to be waiting in baggage claim. Instead, we were greeted by a man named Nick who was tasked with the job of seeing us to, of all places, The Carlyle—one of New York’s most legendary hotels. Upon arriving, we were quickly ushered inside, and I found myself utterly mortified to be standing in such an establishment in yoga pants and tennis shoes. No matter how much I loved slipping them on, it wasn’t worth this.
Thankfully, the man who greeted us didn’t seem to mind my grungy garb, no doubt bribed to ignore my apparel by the hefty bill and tip lauded to the hotel by Morna’s undoubtedly shady credit card. We followed the man to our rooms all a little slack-jawed—Cooper reaching out to touch things on the walls he had no business touching, Adwen and Orick doing their best to keep quiet and not say anything that would garner a crazed look from our host.
We had two rooms—the hotel’s largest suites. It was all completely ridiculous. As the man handed us our keys, I asked him about Morna.
“Is the woman that arranged all of this staying here?”
“No ma’am. She’ll be along in the morning to join you for breakfast. In the meantime, enjoy your evening and let us know if you need anything at all.”
Once he was gone, it took Adwen all of five seconds to step up and direct us each to our respective rooms.