Chapter Three
Cooper looked away from Kayla and took a steadying breath. He had the suspicion she wasn’t the type to kiss strangers on a plane, and yet she was letting him touch her. Kiss her. And he wanted more. So much more.
He hadn’t boarded the plane with the intention of getting her into his bed, but now that he was here, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Her lips were sweeter than any he had ever tasted, and everything she did increased his desire. She gaped out the window in shock, but she might as well have been stripping naked for him. The hard-on he was sporting seemed to think she was, anyway.
This was the most fun he’d had in months. Hell, he didn’t think he even remembered what the word fun meant. Not since he watched his best friend get killed in front of him. And not since he’d been forced to watch the woman Josh left behind fall apart—so much so that Cooper doubted she’d ever be the same again. How could she be?
Which was why he’d never put a woman through that shit.
It was why he would be single until he’d fulfilled his duties.
The flight attendant approached and smiled at him, setting down their drinks. After she left, he took a sip to make sure it was less strong than the previous round. He didn’t want Kayla passing out on him. Satisfied, he placed the drink back on his tray.
“So, tell me about this boyfriend you made up for the benefit of your family. What does he do?”
“I’m still trying to decide between a doctor and a lawyer.” She let out a huffy breath and looked up at the unlit seatbelt sign. “I’m not the best liar in the world, so I kind of keep putting the planning stage off.”
“So they didn’t grill you about him? It’s weird considering they’ve been jonesing for you to find a man.”
“Of course they grilled me. Or tried to, anyway. I fed them some lame line about wanting them to be surprised by everything about him when they met him and then made sure I had to get off the phone, like, immediately. Besides,” a flush crept into her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to lie. I kind of just blurted out the boyfriend story to get them off my back. It came out before I had time to think about it. And once it was out there…”
“You couldn’t take it back.”
She nodded. “I’ve been dodging questions ever since. I’m sure they suspect the truth but I’m not backing down.”
“So all they know is that you have a boyfriend and he can’t come home with you for your sister’s wedding?”
“Right. But we supposedly spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve together at his family’s house. And, of course, they wanted to speak to him to wish him a Merry Christmas. I’m still not sure how I managed to convince them that he was helping his mother with something.”
He pictured her all alone for the holiday—all for the sake of perpetuating a lie. “Dump him. If he’s too busy to go to your sister’s wedding with you, then he shouldn’t be your boyfriend.”
“I can’t dump him. He’s not real.”
He picked up her cocktail and passed it to her, his fingers brushing across her knuckles when she accepted the drink. He wanted to grab her hand and hold it in his, but held back so he didn’t come on too strong. Touching her felt too damn good. “If I was your boyfriend, then you damn well wouldn’t be sitting here alone on a plane with a stranger like me.”
“He’s not real, remember?” She took a small sip and wrinkled her brow. “Wow. I can taste the cranberry juice in this one.”
Her comment made him laugh. “Is it a long distance relationship? That would explain why your man couldn’t come to the wedding.”
She rolled her eyes. “You might as well call it ‘dead but don’t know it yet’ relationships. They never work.”
He agreed with her views in this instance, but he couldn’t resist teasing her. “Do you have the numbers to back that up?”
“Not exact statistics,” she peeked at him, her lips curling up. “But I think it’s pretty safe to say that four out of five of them fail.”
He flinched. “Ouch. Though, I agree. I’ve seen it happen.” He pointed at her. “But you need a good reason for boyfriend not to come along—or he’ll look like a loser.”
She tapped her fingers on her leg. “You might have a point. If he’s supposed to be as wonderful as Susan’s fiancé, why can’t he come with me to the wedding? Hmmm… Maybe he needs to work.”
“When is the wedding again?”
“Saturday, and Susan is my younger sister. She is marrying the perfect boy she dated in her perfect senior year of high school, the only man she ever slept with, blah, blah, blah.” She waved her hands in a circle, then rolled her eyes. “You get the point.”
“Sounds like she’s perfect,” he quipped.
“Yeah, pretty much.” She grinned, then took another sip. Watching her pink lips, he’d never been so f*cking jealous of a cup before. “And then there’s me, with no one special in my life. No one I’ve ever been serious about, anyway. Just flings. But my family doesn’t want to hear that. They want weddings and love and security.”
“So you made him up to get them off your back?”
“Exactly. I’m the shame of the Moriarity family. It may seem a bit old-fashioned, but they think a woman of a certain age needs to be married with kids. The fact that I don’t have a boyfriend, and—gasp!—my younger sister is getting married before me…well, let’s just say it’s code orange for my parents. It’s a bit melodramatic, but there it is. I made up a boyfriend just so they don’t worry about me. In all reality, I don’t even want one. But if they knew that, they’d have it in their head that I’m miserable up in Maine all by myself.”
Oh, he knew how that went. He was also one of the only ones in his family who wasn’t seeing anyone. His mother was constantly suggesting nice women she knew. He lifted his glass to Kayla and took a drink. “I’m right there with you on the lack of relationships thing. A few months ago, my mother went so far as to chase down a woman in a parking lot to get her phone number for her ‘hero son fighting overseas.’”
Kayla choked on a snort. “You’re making that up.”
“I wish I was,” he said solemnly. “But it’s a true story. One among many I could bore you with the whole flight.”
She burst into uncontrollable laughter, clutching her stomach. He had a feeling the drink had more to do with her amusement than him, but he’d take it. She was intoxicating when she laughed. After she recovered, she swiped a tear away from the corner of her eye. “Oh my God, I would literally pay to see that. I’m not even kidding.”
Truth be told, he would’ve too. His mother could be downright formidable when she was set on a goal, even if she wasn’t even five feet tall. “If Mom was here with us right now, she’d be whispering little tidbits of information about me into your ear that would make you more inclined to make an honest man of me. Like one of those little angels on your shoulder you see in movies, only much more devious.”
“Ooh, do tell.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to him, with her legs tucked under her. “What would she say to me?”
Her skirt hiked up, teasing him. His fingers itched to trace the hem and inch it a little bit higher on her thigh. Just an inch higher…
He pressed his lips together and shook his head, more at himself than at her question. He opened the package with the blanket and threw it over them. If nothing else, it would hide her tempting legs from his view. “No way. We’re talking about you and your penchant for fake boyfriends. Not me.”
She smoothed the blanket over their legs, pouting. “Not fair.”
“Who said life is fair?” He scooted a little bit closer, cursing the armrest that stood in his way. She tensed, but didn’t move away. “Tell me what your boyfriend would be doing right now, if he was here instead of me.”
“Why bother? He’s fake.”
He shook his head and sighed. “But for the purpose of your family, he’s real. How about we use the rest of the flight to come up with realistic stories? I’ll be your muse.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay. If you were my boyfriend, you’d be doing exactly what you’re doing. Touching me. Kissing me. Making me forget I’m about to crash to my fiery death. You know. Boyfriend crap.”
After glancing around and making sure the stewardess wasn’t behind him and that the rest of the passengers weren’t watching, he cupped her cheeks and looked into her eyes. “If you remember the fact that you might die soon, then I’m not doing a good enough job, am I?”
A flush spread out from underneath his fingers to her nose and she scooted back a little bit. “I didn’t mean—”
“Too late.” His heart pounded in his ears, pronouncing his desire for her with each racing beat. Hoping he wasn’t completely misreading her attraction to him, he leaned forward and melded her mouth to his again. She sighed and opened to him, and he threaded his hands into her hair. He kept the kiss light and teasing, pulling away to suck her lower lip.
Releasing her, he tried to take a deep breath. “Christ, you taste so damn good.”
He didn’t want her to think he was trying to get her into bed, nor did he want to take advantage of her when she was tipsy. But truthfully, he kind of was trying to get her into bed. Even if he hadn’t been originally.
His intentions were no longer crystal clear.
“If I taste so good, then why did you stop?”
She grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him down again. As soon as their lips touched, her tongue was in his mouth. His gut clenched down hard, twisting and turning with need. She kissed him as if she couldn’t get enough. Like she might even want him as much as he wanted her.
She shifted closer—or as close as she could get with the seat divider between them—and her nails raked down his sweater. She then slid her hands underneath the hem, touching bare skin. When she caressed his chest, he reached under the blanket and ran his fingers up her thigh and under her skirt. He brushed against her panties, just a little bit, and she whimpered in response.
Footsteps approached, and he froze.
Was he really doing this with her, on a plane where anyone could see them? What the hell was wrong with him? She deserved better than a public groping. She should have flowers and jewelry and a real hero instead of someone masquerading as one.
He let go of her and extracted his hand from between her legs. “Flight attendant,” he whispered.
Kayla covered her face with shaking hands. With a little squeak, she cried into her hands, “Oh my God. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. You don’t have to feel bad.”
“Yes, I did,” she moaned through her hands. “I don’t even know you.”
“You know enough. Trust me.” He reached out to squeeze her thigh, and she scooted back from him as if his touch would burn her skin.
“Can I get you two anything else?” the attendant asked, eyeing Kayla’s covered face with concern, then looking at the blanket that covered them both. “Everything okay?”
He tried to sound poised and calm, but need was ripping through him like a knife. “No thanks. We’re good.”
The flight attendant hesitated. “Can I get you anything, miss?”
“No, I’m fine,” Kayla muttered. Though the attendant looked uncertain of this, she turned around and left. After they were alone again, Kayla dropped her hands and watched him as if he might bite. “I don’t do this. This isn’t me. I don’t kiss strangers on planes.”
He couldn’t help but notice the last word was more of a whisper than a word. “Then we can wait till we’re off,” he said quickly.
She laughed and smacked his arm. “You know what I mean.”
Reaching out, he grabbed her hands and squeezed them both. “It was just a kiss. We don’t have to do it again if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t.” She flushed and bit down on her lower lip. “But, God help me, I do.”
Oh, thank God. His ego had been taking a hit for a second. “You’re over-thinking again.”
“You’re right. It was nothing.”
Well, he wouldn’t say that…
“Right.” He raised a brow. “It’s not like there’s an actuary law against kissing ex-Marines. Or is there? Will you be fired or arrested? Burned in the town square as an example?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course there isn’t,” she huffed. Then her lips turned up. “But if there was, I’d so be on that stake.”
He grinned. “I’m going to tell you something about me now. I don’t often kiss girls on planes, either, but you’re f*cking beautiful and interesting as hell. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun with someone. If you want to kiss me again, then I’m here waiting. If not, that’s fine, too.”
She opened her mouth, started to speak, then gave a slight shake of her head. “I might want to, but I won’t.”
“I think you’re protesting too much.” But at least she wanted to kiss him, and this passion wasn’t one sided. “You don’t want a relationship, and neither do I. And I’m leaving the country next week. Some might say our situation is perfect for both of us.”
She eyed him suspiciously and sank back against the seat. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“How about if we go back to the topic of your fake boyfriend. We need to flesh him out more. You want him to be realistic, right?”
She dropped her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. “Yeah…I guess.”
“Then how about we base your guy on me? You ask me any questions you want, and I’ll answer them truthfully. Then, when you’re with your family the answers will come easily.”
She pursed her lips and shifted in the seat. She probably thought through everything she ever did in terms of risk assessment. He had a feeling she’d already done so with him, and kissing a guy she would never see again probably fell into the bad ideas section of her brain.
She needed to loosen up some.
Kayla opened her eyes and scrunched her nose. “Let me get this straight, you want me to build the character of my fake boyfriend around a guy I met at the airport and let grope me on my flight?”
“Yep.” Watching her out of the corner of his eyes, he added, “If you didn’t tell them a name yet, you can even use my name. You can use me in any way you desire.”
Something flashed in her eyes. Something that he liked. “Any way?”
She called to him like a siren without even trying. Leaning so close that their noses practically touched, he held onto her gaze and traced a finger down her cheek.
“Any way. Anywhere. Anytime.”