Temporarily Yours(6)

God, she needed to stop sounding like a fool.

If they’d met under any other circumstances, she would have remained cool and collected the whole time. Flirted with all of the ease and confidence she could muster.

Instead, he got this.

Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind the half-wit state she was currently stuck in. Grinning, he shoved his bag in the overhead. As he reached up, his sweater lifted, showing off his taut abdomen peppered with the same color light brown hair that was on his head. Only this time, the hair led down below his beltline to his…

Never mind where it led, thank you very much. She curled her hands into fists at the ridiculous urge to touch the thin strip of skin.

“If you’re going to have a party, the least I can do is join you.” He looked over his shoulder at the attendant who hovered in the corner. “Excuse me? Could I please have what she’s having?”

“Of course,” she said, the appreciation for the fine male specimen in front of her clear in the attendant’s enraptured expression. This was not lost on Kayla. Miraculously enough, Cooper didn’t seem to notice, though. “I’ll be right back with that.”

“Thank you.”

As the attendant hurried off to make his drink, Cooper sat beside Kayla, dragged a hand through his hair and turned those bright green eyes her way. When he looked at her like that, all concerned and warm, her insides went all gooey and hot. She wondered if he knew the effect he had on her.

Not if she could help it. She lifted her chin and clenched her teeth together, flashing him a smile. She would not lose herself in him like some foolish besotted schoolgirl. “So…?”

“So…?” He smiled back, those lips she was so obsessed with parting to show his perfect white teeth. The man was flawless everywhere. So not fair. “Are you topping this drink off with some sleeping pills? I saw you had something out earlier.”

Crap. She hadn’t moved fast enough. “Uh, no. They were vitamins.”

He cocked a brow. “Vitamins? On a plane?”

“Yeah. Haven’t you heard of them before?” she teased, tugging on a piece of hair and looking at him through her lashes. “They’re good for you—unlike the vodka I’m about to down. I figured I’d balance out the bad effects of the alcohol on my liver with something good. Life is all about ratios, after all.”

The attendant brought him his drink but he didn’t tear his eyes from Kayla. Having his full attention made her tremble. She looked out the window, needing a respite from…well, him.

The attendant set the drink down—along with a refill for Kayla, bless her heart—and cleared her throat. “Here you go. If you need anything else, just press the call button.”

“Could you bring us a blanket? Besides that, we should be fine,” Cooper said. After the attendant left, he shifted closer to Kayla until his leg pressed against hers. Then, with his voice low and his gaze locked on her mouth, he said, “You looked cold.”

The shudder? Yeah. That hadn’t been from the cold. But let him think it was. “Yeah, a little.”

“I’ll do my best to distract you from the flight,” he promised, taking a sip of his drink. “You know that, right?”

She furrowed her brow. “Why do you want to? You don’t even know me. What’s in it for you?”

“Does there have to be something in it for me?”

“There usually is.” She met his eyes. They looked as kind and open as they had earlier. Was it all an act or what? “Most of the time, anyway. What’s your play?”

He shrugged. “I like you. I like talking to you. That’s about it.”

“And now you want to sit with me and make me happy?” She crossed her arms. “It sounds like you’re trying to fill the role of my make-believe boyfriend for the next couple of hours.”

“Yeah, maybe something like that.” He reached for the vodka cranberry and his woodsy scent teased her senses. “I find you intriguing and I enjoy your company. Isn’t that enough of a reason to try to help you? To talk to you?”

“I guess.” She watched him closely, taking in all his perfection with the eye of a cynic. Guys that looked like him usually weren’t the selfless type. That might be stereotyping a bit, sure, but it was true. “And yet, not really.”

His gaze fell to her lips. She could practically feel his mouth on hers already, kissing her until she forgot all about her fears. This was bad. Really bad. He might be here out of the kindness of his heart, but her body was far too drawn to him.

How long had it been since she wanted a man? Months? Years?