“I’ll go check with the captain,” Gary said and disappeared into the cockpit.
The tension drained from him and for a moment, Zach felt weak and shaky. He sank into one of the seats and ran a hand through his hair.
“You can relax now,” Dani murmured. “The plane’s guaranteed safe.”
He wanted to snap at her that he wasn’t concerned how the hell safe he was, but again he bit back the words. Because it was obviously clear that he was bothered about something and if it wasn’t his own safety, what was it? That wasn’t a conversation he wanted to get into right now and certainly not with Dani.
“Good,” he muttered.
She smiled and shrugged out of her jacket, then unbuckled the shoulder holster, stripped it off, and lay the gun down on one of the empty seats. She took the chair across the aisle from him and fastened her seat belt. He watched her, trying to puzzle out why she fascinated him, as she struggled with the seat belt, which she couldn’t seem to get tight enough. She swore and yanked it hard and finally clicked it closed.
Sitting back in her chair, she grinned at him. “There. I’m now officially off duty.”
“Am I such hard work?”
“No, but it’s nice to relax.” She glanced around her. “And this is definitely better than flying commercial.”
This area of the plane was divided into two, the part they were sitting in, which had rows of seats like a normal plane, and then a comfortable seating area, with soft leather couches around a coffee table. Zach had flown on it before; he knew there were also an office area, a bedroom, and a shower room at the back of the plane.
He had a momentary urge to get up, unfasten Dani, toss her over his shoulder, and carry her into that bedroom, to forget the acid taste of fear in the hot, tight grip of her body.
Unfortunately, before he could act on the impulse, Gary reappeared and took the seat behind him. “We’re cleared for takeoff. And we’re leaving any moment—” The roar of the engines interrupted him. “Now.”
Zach sat back in his seat and tried to relax as the plane taxied along the runway and then rose smoothly into the air. Once they leveled out, he unsnapped the seat belt. He glanced over his shoulder. Gary’s eyes were closed, and he was breathing evenly.
“He was famous for that back in the army,” Dani said softly. “He could drop off anytime, anywhere.”
“Useful.”
“It is. Always takes me forever to come down.”
He stood up. “Let’s go get a drink then, and see if we can’t both relax.”
She looked from him to the seating area beyond him and for a second he thought she might refuse. Then she grinned. “Why not? I’m unlikely to get to travel like this again. I may as well make the most of it.”
“You’ll be flying back, won’t you?”
“I guess.”
She stood as he led the way to the seating area. He dropped down onto one of the sofas, then patted the seat next to him. “Come on, Dani, we still have our chaperone, even if he is unconscious.”
…
Dani glanced over to where Gary lay in his seat. He’d lowered the back and lay almost prone, eyes closed, mouth slightly open. Yeah, he was asleep.
She turned back to where Zach sprawled on the cream leather sofa. His jeans molded to his long legs and the T-shirt stretched tight, showing off his tanned forearms. Stubble shadowed his cheeks and his eyes were sleepy but watchful. His earlier tension seemed to have left him and he appeared relaxed and at ease. He’d surprised her during the walk through the airport. For some reason, she hadn’t expected him to get so uptight…so scared. She was curious, or at least that’s what she told herself. And she wanted to sit beside him, but only so she could appease her nosiness. In some part of her mind, she knew she was deluding herself, but this felt almost unreal, cocooned in the metal box flying high above the world.
So she sank down beside him, kicked off her boots, and folded her legs beneath her. Then she sat back against the soft cushions and scrutinized his expression until he raised one eyebrow.
“Trying to work out what makes you tick,” she said. “You know, I really thought you weren’t taking this seriously. The threat, I mean.”
“I wouldn’t be holed up hiding if I didn’t take it seriously—the fuckers nearly blew me up. So what’s your point?”
“Coming through the airport—you looked…” She trailed off.
“Shit-scared?” He considered her, his head cocked to one side, and she had the impression he was deciding what to say. “I was. Fucking terrified you were going to get hurt keeping me safe.”