Chapter 15
15
Tuesday
Nashville, Tennessee
“Rise and shine, gorgeous. Our flight leaves in an hour—and before you say no, I’m going to cure your phobia with champagne and orgasms. You need to trust your all-knowing guide and guru.”
I open one eye a fraction. This bed is so comfortable. I slept so deeply. “Go away.”
“Nice try, Sunshine. I ordered room service.” I feel the bed move as he sits next to me, propping himself against some pillows. I sneak a peek and he’s freshly showered, wearing jeans and a button-down white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It’s not fair for him to be so hot this early in the morning. “I brought you coffee. ”
“‘ Guru ’ is pushing it a little, don’t you think?”
“People have referred to me as a guru before.” He sounds offended by my skepticism.
“When?”
“When I make them lots of money, that’s when.”
“If you think I’m getting on a plane, you’re dreaming.”
“Sit up and drink your coffee. We’ll discuss this as soon as your brain has rebooted.”
The coffee smells good. It’s the only reason I obey him.
He helps me lean against several uber-soft pillows and he hands me a steaming cup of black coffee, just the way I like it. “Thanks.”
It’s only then, as I feel the stickiness of my hands and my chin, that I remember.
Holy shit. I gave him a seriously horny blow job last night and he came all over my face. I drank as much of him as I could, in lusty mouthfuls. That was right after he gave me three orgasms in a row. With his mouth.
I mean, there’s no point being embarrassed. In fact, I feel…reborn. To be perfectly honest, I feel better than I ever have in my goddamn life.
I take a sip of coffee. He’s even added half a sugar.
“Your hair looks like a bird’s nest,” he comments. “A very sexy one.”
“You’re in a good mood this morning.”
“Of course I am.” I swear his eyes actually twinkle. “Now, hear me out. I chartered us a Gulfstream because it was too short-notice to get one of ours from New York. If we drive, we’ll have to stop for a night in Nowheresville, Kansas. It’s a twenty hour drive. Or, we partake on the king-sized bed in the luxury jet I’ve booked us, get served lunch on the way and arrive in just under five hours. Then we get two nights in Aspen instead of one.”
As if.
“You’re going to love Aspen,” he adds.
“I can’t.”
He’s not deterred at all. “Did you know that your chances of dying in a car accident are roughly one in a hundred and seven? Your chance of dying in a plane crash are one in eleven million. And private jets are even safer than commercial jets because they have to adhere to stricter safety protocols and they have fewer touchpoints.”
“Is that true? One in a hundred and seven?”
“The RV is a veritable death trap compared to the Gulfstream. Plus you’re going to be busy having more orgasms so you won’t be paying attention to us being off the ground.”
I blink at him, ignoring the orgasms comment for now. I’m more concerned with the being off the ground part.
“You were prepared to drive across the country alone in a Toyota that barely runs, Bailey. Let’s be a tiny bit realistic about what the safer option is here.”
I barely shrug. I wasn’t aware of those statistics. And he’s right that my Toyota’s odds of breaking down along the way were extremely high. Definitely higher than one in eleven million.
“Is that a ‘yes, guru, I’m considering taking your very sound advice and I’d rather get to Aspen in five hours instead of twenty’?”
I take another sip of coffee. “It’s a maybe.”
“Why are you scared of flying?”
It’s a good question. “I don’t know. I’ve never been on a plane before. It just seems scary to be way up in the air like that.”
“So you have no actual reason to be scared.”
“That is an actual reason. It’s unnatural. It’s a metal tube that propels itself through thin air at high speeds.”
“So’s a Toyota.”
“Except for the thin air part.”
“You can’t crash into air.”
“You can crash into the ground!”
“You can crash into the ground when you’re on the ground. Or you can crash into a wall. Or a tree. Or another car.”
His argument is annoyingly persuasive. “But all my stuff is in the RV.”
“Not anymore. It’s now on its way to the jet that’s waiting for us at the airport.”
“You probably shouldn’t have assumed that I’d fly when I told you I don’t fly,” I point out.
Colton places his coffee cup on his bedside table. Then he takes mine from my hands and puts it next to his .
“I wasn’t—” I squeal when he dives under the covers, pinning my legs down—and apart—and starts licking my pussy. He’s so freaking strong . And heavy. I push at his head and try to squirm away from him. “ Cole . You can’t just do that.”
“ Mine ,” he murmurs, nuzzling me, circling my clit with his tongue.
I almost surrender because he feels so damn good, but he stops and pulls the covers back over his head. His hair is messed up and he looks playful and sexy as all hell.
He props his head on a bent, brawny arm, his other hand still resting high on my thigh. “Have you ever had an orgasm before last night?”
“I...that’s personal.”
This makes him smile. “So’s drinking mouthfuls of my hot fucking seed, Sunshine. And with gusto, I might add. Tell me. Have you?”
I don’t want to admit this, but I can’t bring myself to lie to him. “No.”
He shakes his head a little, genuinely astounded. “My poor little angel girl. That was your first orgasm? And second and third?”
“Yes. I just said that.”
His chuckle has an incredulous edge to it. “Haven’t you ever heard of a handy little invention called a vibrator, Bailey?”
“Of course I have. I didn’t…I didn’t want to get my first orgasm from a…piece of plastic. ”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. Call me a romantic.”
“What were you waiting for?”
I can tell by the look on his face the exact second he realizes what the answer to that question probably is.
“Fucking Troy ?”
“No. Of course not. Anyway, Colton, you can’t get mad about that. It’s actually none of your business.”
“I’m not mad , Lila. I’m sad. For you. Actually, you know what? I’m glad. I’m not just glad, I’m over the fucking moon. Because the better man got to you first. I’m glad you waited. For me .”
“So am I.”
It’s absolutely true. But that doesn’t change the fact that Colton and I are just having some fun. For three more days. That’s all this is and we both know it.
You don’t know it.
I do know it. Because my heart is locked away from him.
I refuse to fall in love with him.
I completely and totally refuse to fall in love with how fun he is and how easy he is to talk to, like a long lost best friend I never knew about. And I absolutely refuse to fall in love with how easy it is for him to send me spiraling into orbits of insanely beautiful pleasure with a few flicks of his goddamn tongue.
Or that his fucking hot seed—as he insists on calling it—feels like it’s given me superpowers. I feel so healthy and energized I hardly know myself .
And we haven’t even gotten to the Main Event yet.
We’re sort of glaring at each other now, but we’re used to this. We’re constantly pissing each other off, but there’s an edge to it. Like we’re having fun pissing each other off, so we keep doing it because it’s…turning me on.
“Do you want more coffee before you get up?” His question is gruff but with a man-version of patience behind it that’s more than a little endearing. “Because our plane is waiting for us—and do not say no until you’ve at least seen it and talked to the shrink I brought in.”
“Shrink? What shrink?”
“She specializes in the fear of flying and she’s waiting for us at the airport to talk to you if you’re still unsure once we get there.”
“That’s very…thoughtful of you.”
“If you need a shot of whiskey or tequila or something a little lighter I’ve also got mimosas. A chef has prepared brunch for us, which is being loaded onto the plane as we speak. And did I mention there’s a bedroom with a king-sized bed?”
“Yes. You did.”
One of his eyebrows is cocked. “So? Is there anything I haven’t thought of that you need?”
“Can I take a shower first?” Am I really considering throwing my old phobia out the window at the first offer of flying private to Aspen with a sexy billionaire? Apparently yes.
“Take all the time you need. Put on one of your slinky little outfits and we’ll catch the limo that’s waiting downstairs to take us to the airport.”
Wow.
“You’re going to love Aspen.”