The urge to fan her cheeks was strong. She needed to cool it right now. This man was way too good.
As they started to gain altitude, she clung to his hand and scrambled for something to talk about besides kissing. “Oh, God. Distraction. Distraction is good. You said ex, right? So, you’re out of the Marines? Were you in for four years? Did you know thirty-nine percent of new recruits quit after the initial four years?”
“No, I didn’t.” He laughed. “Buy, yep, I got out after four years. Now I’ll be working for a private sector security company that’s going back to Afghanistan into enemy territory next week. I start Monday.”
“It’s sending you overseas?”
“Yep.”
Oh, great. So her mysterious benefactor would be gone from the country after this weekend. For some reason that didn’t sit well. “Well, I wish you good luck. Where do you live when you’re not rescuing women in airports?”
“I’m from Maine.” He kissed the back of her hand. “But the company I work for is in North Carolina, so I guess I’ll be spending most of my free time there. How about you?”
“I’m the opposite. I grew up near Charlotte but I live in Maine.” Shivering, she shifted closer to him. She knew he was only touching and kissing her to make her forget about the flight, but if he kept that up, she’d be climbing in his lap before it was over. “I live in Cape Elizabeth, to be exact.”
He turned her hand over and nibbled on her wrist. “My parents live there, too.”
“Mm,” she murmured, not really listening.
He flicked his tongue over her palm this time, his gaze on her the whole time. She watched, mesmerized, as he nibbled at the spot he just licked. Even though she should pull away—she didn’t.
“You taste delicious.”
“You look delicious,” she blurted, and then wished she hadn’t. “I mean, uh…never mind.”
Apparently, he didn’t find her ridiculous at all. He smiled at her and moved his lips to her wrist. Pressing another soft kiss there, he looked up at her through his eyelashes—incredibly thick, long eyelashes that could make a woman weep with jealousy. “Here come our drinks.”
“Wh-what?” She blinked and shook her head to clear the hazy fog of desire. “What did you say?”
He raised a brow. “I said our drinks are coming.”
“It’s been long enough for that? That’s not possible.” She turned towards the window. There was dark sky and…clouds. Freaking clouds. Not a city light to be seen. “But that’s not possible.”
“I assure you, it’s quite possible.”
Her jaw dropped. “How did I miss ten minutes like that?”
With a smug grin, he shrugged. “Distraction.”
Oh, God, he was really, really good.
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…”