She smiled, almost shyly, shrugged on a white ski jacket, and then lifted her long, black hair from inside the collar. I shoved my fantasies to the back of my mind and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Hello, baby. You look incredible.” I inhaled her scent, filling my lungs with the fragrance of cherry blossoms—a smell I’d quickly become addicted to.
The apples of her cheeks became tinged with pink, but her plump lips turned down at the corners. “We aren’t there yet.”
I winked and fought a grin when her blush intensified. “Just getting into character,” I explained. I lifted her small suitcase, waited until she shut and locked the door, then placed my empty hand so low on her back, another inch and I’d be filling my palm with her ass. Guiding her out to the car, I helped her climb into her seat and leaned over to buckle her in. She gave me a confused look, but didn’t protest, and I was rewarded with another beautiful blush when my arm brushed across her tits as I pulled back and stood. After storing her bag in the back with mine, I joined her in the front of the car and got on the road.
“There’s coffee there for you,” I told her, nodding toward the center console.
“Um, thanks,” she murmured, picking up the steaming cup and taking a sip. Surprise registered on her face. “How did you know what I like?”
I glanced at her, smiling. “I pay attention, particularly to anything that touches those kissable lips.” Damn, the sweet color on her cheeks was going to be the death of me. It never failed to have my dick standing at attention. The drive to the airport took less that fifteen minutes and I parked in a private hangar at the small airstrip. When I’d informed Elisa that I would take care of our travel arrangements, she put up a little argument, but it wasn’t hard to convince her to make the trip in Maddie’s husband’s private jet. We boarded and took off for Tahoe in no time at all.
A young, male flight attendant served us drinks, then asked, “Is there anything else I can get you, Mr. Mariano?” He didn’t once glance in my direction, too busy staring at my woman’s chest. Resisting the urge to resolve the situation with a broken nose, I growled, “No, I’ll take care of her. You won’t be needed any further.”
His dopey smile drooped and he finally looked my way. A glance at my expression had him scurrying to another part of the plane, leaving us alone.
Elisa smacked my arm lightly and glared. “You didn’t have to be so rude to him, Brysen.”
I rolled my eyes, but kept my thoughts to myself. If I opened my mouth, I was sure I’d say something in Cavemanese and I didn’t want to piss her off and start our weekend on a bad note. Though Caleb was a scotch man, he’d stocked the bar with beer for me and I took a swig of the pale ale. I almost moaned. It was the best thing I’d ever tasted, though I was positive Elisa would taste better. That’s when I noticed the label marking it as a winner of the World Beer Awards. I chuckled at Caleb’s need to always have the best, but that didn’t stop me from texting my housekeeper to order some.
To my surprise, Elisa had ordered a beer too, not wine or champagne. That was fucking hot as hell. Her expression of delight while drinking it had me doubling my order. I hoped to be the one putting that look on her face for the rest of our lives, but I still enjoyed seeing it now.
I unbuckled and turned toward her in my seat. It was time to get down to business. “We need to get to know one another.”
Elisa nodded. “Okay. Tell me about your injury.”
I was used to this question, but it didn’t make it any easier to talk about. Although, telling Elisa the story seemed less uncomfortable. “The short version is I was taken down during a pass and landed wrong. The landing was bad enough by itself, but the other player came right down on top of my shoulder. I tore both ligaments in my AC joint. It took two surgeries and eight weeks of physical therapy for the doctor to tell me it wasn’t likely I would ever regain full motion. I could hope for the best and continue to play, but I knew I’d be playing backup for the rest of my contract. I’d had a true movie moment where the quarterback’s very last throw of his career wins the game. I decided to let the team buy out my contract and end on a high note.”
I had Elisa’s full attention. I loved that she was so openly interested in my life and her eyes hadn’t glazed over at the talk of football. A while back, I’d discovered she’d been raised as a New York Giants fan. Elisa was gorgeous, laid back, a beer drinker, and I could teach her all about football. So, I decided those things outweighed her choice of team. However, we’d need to correct the fault before long. Our kids would be Jets fans; I had no wiggle room on that issue.