Chapter 23
At last, Rory was going to have some time alone with Hank.
Bill had cleared things up with Mrs. O’Donnell, explaining that Rory was Hank’s girl.
Mrs. O’Donnell didn’t like it, but she brightened considerably when Bill said he’d met someone and promised to bring her around as soon as he was able.
It made life at the O’Donnell’s significantly easier, but she still missed Hank, who she’d barely seen since she turned down his proposal.
She didn’t know what to expect today. Hank said it was a surprise but asked her to wear pants or divided skirts.
She hoped this meant they were going up in an airplane.
She wore a one-piece, long-sleeved, navy jumpsuit with a single-breasted jacket collar and buttons down the front.
The loose legs gathered just above the ankle, and she wore matching low pointed heels.
Her hair was tucked beneath a straw cloche hat with a band of navy ribbon.
Hank arrived right on time at noon in his Model T, and he kissed her hand as he helped her in.
Warmth suffused her body. For all her complicated emotions about his proposal, she still desired him as much as ever.
He seemed to have forgiven her for turning him down.
At any rate, he was as attentive as always.
His face showed no hint of sadness or disappointment, just a mischievous smile and a dark smolder in his eyes.
He looked quite dashing in his form-fitting shirt with his pants tucked into knee-high boots. He wore a tie, but his jacket lay discarded in the back seat over a picnic basket.
She held onto her hat as he sped as fast as he could go, the windshield barely breaking the wind as they pushed forty miles per hour.
Soon they were at the local Mineola airfield, as she had hoped, and he helped her out of the car.
She was relieved they weren’t headed to the Belmont Park airstrip.
There was too much chance of running into her father.
Not that Mineola was entirely safe. Papa sometimes came out to Mineola too on Army business.
Hank took the picnic basket out of the back.
“We’re going to go for a little flight, if that’s all right with you, princess.”
She smiled widely as she followed him to the hangar. “Always,” she said, taking his arm.
“I rented a Jenny for the afternoon. I checked her over this morning, and we shouldn’t have any unfortunate incidents like the last time I took you flying.”
She kissed his cheek. “I had a delightful time last time, despite the engine troubles.”
“Well today, I’m hoping to give you some thrills without putting you in mortal danger.”
“Smashing,” she said.
Hank handed her a cap and goggles, and she took off her hat to put them on.
Then he helped her into the front cockpit before climbing into the rear.
Soon he had the engine roaring and the propeller turning, and they were taking off.
The sound made her shiver in anticipation of what was to come.
Her whole body vibrated with the plane, making it impossible to ignore the deep longing she felt every time she looked at Hank.
As they climbed into the air, the familiar thrill of risk trickled through her veins.
It felt different this time, though. It wasn’t an escape anymore.
It was a vindication. She no longer wanted to flee her life.
She wanted to revel in it. They soared up above Mineola, her new home, and she looked down fondly on the town.
She could see the O’Donnell’s and Hank’s house.
It was becoming a familiar geography, and she loved it.
Throwing her arms out, she basked in the sun, loving the way its heat caressed her skin as a cooling breeze blew by. The engine growled beneath her, thrusting them forward through the open skies, and she could sense Hank’s gaze on the back of her head.
He brought them down skillfully in a grass field next to a stretch of beach, and the plane shuddered to a halt. There was no one in sight in any direction: no roads, no houses, just them.
The landing was smooth, and as soon as they stopped, she turned around.
Giving in to impulse, she slipped off her shoes, climbed on her seat backward, facing Hank, and leaned out over the fuselage, kissing distance from Hank’s face.
He took full advantage, standing and kissing her slowly, savoring her lips and tongue as if she were a ripe fruit.
Hooking his hands under her arms, he pulled her to him until she was perched on the fuselage, her legs on either side of him.
“Do you know how many times I’ve imagined you sitting like this in front of me as I flew?” he asked. “You’re a very distracting co-pilot, even when you aren’t there.”
She loved how much he wanted her and was delighted that he fantasized about her when he flew. Whether she was ready for matrimony or not, it was clear she would never meet another man that made her feel so much.
His hands traced her curves, coming to rest on her buttocks, and she wrapped her legs around him, needing his hard muscle between her thighs. Other things too. His arousal pressed right where she wanted him, and he groaned as she moved against him. The friction was such a delicious tease.
“You said you wanted to canoodle in a Jenny,” he said, kissing her again, deeper and longer.
“Yes, I did,” she said, pulling off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt and union suit so that she could touch his delicious chest. Oh, how she loved the feel of him, the taste and smell of him, everything about him.
Her fingers trailed over the newly bare skin, exploring. “Mercy, you are a handsome man.”
Still too much clothing separated them. He unbuttoned her jumpsuit and pulled it partway down, leaving her in her chemise and corset.
Then he pulled it the rest of the way off, and she slid down with him into the cockpit where she straddled him in his seat.
His lips traveled to her chest as he gloried in the taste of her skin, loosening her corset and freeing her breasts.
“God, I’ve missed you,” he said, taking one nipple in his mouth and tickling it with his tongue.
She moaned as he teased and tormented her breast, abrading her nipple lightly with his teeth. The intensity made her moan. Here she was in the cockpit of a Jenny just like she’d dreamed, and he was devouring her, consuming her, making her tremble. “Oh, Hank.”
“Yes, that’s it, princess. Say my name. Let me hear it on your lips.”
The curling warmth of his voice reached her deepest depths, resonating, vibrating, making her want to do sinful things. “Yes, Hank, please. I need more.”
His fingers found the part in her bloomers and began to tantalize her as he continued to make her fantasy come true. This man knew her too well. He handled her with all the tender subtlety he used to fly his plane, and she was melting as his fingers worked their magic.
“Say ‘Hank, I want you to touch me,’” he murmured.
“Hank, I want you to touch me.” She would do anything at all for him at that moment as long as he didn’t stop what he was doing. He was driving her mad.
“Say ‘Hank, I want your fingers inside me.’”
“Hank, I want your fingers ins—” In they went, and speech gave way to an extended wail. She came hard against his hand, the control stick of the Jenny grazing her back as she trembled in his lap.
“Now, tell me what you want. I want to hear you say the words,” he murmured in her ear.
“Please, I need you inside me. Please, Hank.” The hunger inside her could not be contained.
“Yes,” he growled as she unbuttoned his trousers and union suit, and he sprang free. “Yes, Rory.”
She slid down onto him.
“Fuck,” he growled.
The sensation made her eyes roll back in her head. She rode him hard, swiveling her hips and meeting his upward thrusts. God, she wanted this. She wanted him. More, screamed everything inside her. Take all of him. Take everything. Fly through the air with him and never come down.
Her fingernails dug into his back as tremor after tremor took her. “Yes, come for me, princess, right here in the cockpit in the open air where anyone might see if they only knew to look. Show the world you’re mine.”
“Oh, Hank. Oh, Hank…” A spasm took her, squeezing, pulsing as he continued to thrust into her.
The edges of her vision grew dark, and bliss overtook her.
He was losing control, and she welcomed it.
He thrust hard, and she felt the hot pulsation as he spent inside of her.
Fortunately, she was wearing protection because what was happening right now between them was everything.
They collapsed against each other, panting. “I’m sorry I lost control,” Hank whispered in her ear. “I shouldn’t have come inside you.”
“I wanted you to lose control. I know there are risks, but I took precautions. It was worth it. You’re worth it.”
He looked at her with searching eyes. “Does that mean you’ve changed your mind?”
Oh dear. He means… For a moment, panic gripped her. Marriage was a trap, even with him, and she wasn’t ready to surrender her newfound freedom.
“Let’s go have our picnic,” she said brightly, hoping to distract him. Standing up, she started to reassemble her clothing as she watched Hank button up. Such a shame to put away all that decadent muscle, but she needed his attention diverted.
As soon as she was dressed, she slid down the side of the plane to the ground. He handed her the picnic basket and jumped down himself, then took it back from her.
Spreading out a blanket on the sand, he unpacked champagne, strawberries, Italian sandwiches cut into bite-sized pieces, and two delicious-looking chocolate cupcakes. All of it looked tasty and tempting.
He poured the champagne into two sturdy, metal and enamel cups. “I hope you don’t mind. I thought glasses would be impractical out here.”
“Not at all,” she said, raising her glass and catching his eye.
He clinked his cup against hers, holding her gaze, and took a sip. She did the same, her eyes dipping to his lips as she drank.
Hank served her a plate of sandwiches and strawberries and handed it to her. “I’m sorry about last week,” he began. “I should never have proposed when and where I did. You deserve better.”
She listened but said nothing. If he thought her only objection was the circumstances of the proposal, he didn’t understand her at all.
“I know this has been a difficult time for you, and your life has turned upside down. I understand why you want time.”
That’s a relief.
“For my part, I meant what I said. I can’t take it back because it’s true. But I’m happy to wait for you, Rory. I’ll wait as long as it takes. And I won’t stop trying until I get a yes.”
Her stomach clenched. He was still going to press. Why didn’t he understand? He’d had arrangements with women in the past. Why did this need to be different?
“You once told me you preferred no strings attached. Why can’t we enjoy each other’s company without making commitments?”
“That was before I met you. In case I haven’t made it clear, I want you in my life.
I want to commit to you. You are the woman I want to wake up with every day for the rest of my life.
I know this would mean sacrifice on your part.
I’ll never be able to give you Belmont wealth, but I can give you a comfortable life, even a few luxuries. ”
“Hank, that’s not—”
“Wait,” he said. “Hear me out. I’m quitting the postal service.
I resigned my commission earlier this week.
Glenn Curtiss offered me a job overseeing a portion of his manufacturing operation.
I’m going to make Jennies, Rory. And new aircraft too.
I’m going to be at the forefront of aeronautical design.
He’s offered me six thousand a year, which is enough to live like a king in Mineola.
I can give you a good life. I swear I can. ”
Oh, her poor pilot. So determined to solve all the wrong problems. “I never doubted that we would have a good life together. I hope you aren’t giving up flying for my sake. I could never forgive myself if I took you away from what you love.”
Hank shook his head. “It’s time. I need a job that isn’t trying to kill me. And I’m excited about getting to work on these machines I know so well, thinking about how to make them better, faster, more powerful.”
“I’m glad,” she said, “because nothing you do is going to change my mind. My hesitation has nothing to do with you. I care for you, but I need time to learn who I am aside from August Belmont’s wayward daughter.
I need the freedom to live my life in the way I choose.
I can’t tie myself down right now. I need to prove to myself I can stand on my own two feet. ”
“What if there are consequences from today? Even with precautions, there’s a chance,” he asked quietly.
“If there are, we’ll discuss what to do, but for now, I need my freedom.”
He nodded slowly, not meeting her eyes. “I’ll wait. When you’re ready, I’ll be here.”
She caressed his cheek and kissed him, but he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. “It hurts, you know. It hurts to be with you and know you aren’t mine.”
She kissed his forehead. “I’m not anyone else’s either. For the first time, I don’t belong to someone, and I love it. But Hank, there isn’t someone else that’s going to take me away from you. We can continue as we have been. Nothing needs to change. Don’t you understand?”
“No, I don’t, but I’ll accept it. For now.” He took a bit of sandwich and washed it down with champagne. She did the same. It was an exceptionally good sandwich with prosciutto ham, fresh mozzarella, and perfectly ripe tomatoes.
They ate in companionable silence and watched the waves. She could only hope he understood enough to let her be free.