Chapter 27
“I have to fly out of town for business this weekend.”
Noah’s heart leapt in his chest. How in the hell did his world stop just from those simple words?
Hoping his panic didn’t show, he tucked his hands behind his head and watched Leia from the bed. She crossed from the bathroom to the closet in nothing but an ice-blue garter and matching thong. “When and for how long?” he asked.
“I leave on Sunday night and get back on Wednesday morning.”
Today was Friday. He’d planned a leisurely weekend for them, perhaps even a double date with Damon and his wife, Birdie, since Gabe and Angela were fighting again and had headed out of town to fuck knows where.
Now, he was supposed to contemplate four days without Leia? No fucking way was that going to happen. “Where are you going?” he asked nonchalantly.
“Hong Kong. Production hit a snag. I need to make sure things get back on track asap. The launch is creeping up fast. I can’t afford to sit back and let the stupid bureaucracy sort itself out.”
Unable to lie there and pretend he was okay with it, he got up from the bed and paced to his closet. Pulling out a pair of shorts, he stepped into them.
“Is there any reason you’re attacking your shorts like you want to rip them apart?”
He whirled to face her. At the amused smile on her face, he exhaled. “Yes, dammit, I can’t keep an eye on you from halfway across the world.”
She dropped the silk shirt in her hand and slid her arms around his waist. “Noah, my stepfather’s back in prison. We don’t need to keep our guards up so much anymore?—”
“Yeah, but Snyder’s still out there. He wouldn’t have gone underground if he didn’t suspect we knew he’d orchestrated that fucked up delivery to your place. Wishing he’s gone quietly into the night would be fucking naive.” Worry made his voice harsh.
She leaned back and glared at him. “I get that, but don’t bite my head off for wishing the danger was over, Noah.”
He forced calm into his body. Waking up to her this morning, sexily tousled, warm and so fucking ravishing, he’d let himself entertain that same wish. But wishing was foolish when the reality was so much more unsettling.
During the police investigation, before he’d been sent back to jail a week ago, it had become clear very quickly that Willoughby had been a puppet controlled by Snyder.
When Stephen was sixteen, Warren Snyder had turned up out of the blue at the Willoughbys’ family ranch looking for work. Willoughby Senior had offered him a job as a ranch hand.
Within months, the Willoughby family had been destroyed.
Stephen’s mother had walked out and his father had hung himself.
Snyder had taken Willoughby under his wing.
It was during that time that another underage girl had been sexually assaulted.
The cops had never managed to pin it on Willoughby.
Snyder had stuck around until the inheritance money ran out and then disappeared overnight.
He’d only contacted Stephen again after Logan Michaels died. He hadn’t directly introduced them, but he’d made sure Stephen was well-positioned to meet the newly widowed Mrs. Michaels.
The psychopathic long game he’d played was what made Noah wary of Snyder.
With him still out there, no way in hell was Noah letting Leia out of his sight.
“What exactly is going on with production?” he asked.
She relaxed back against him, her long nails lazily raking his back.
“I’m not sure. My last half a dozen emails and phone calls have gone unanswered.
I know there was some sort of labor strike last week but indications are that it’s over.
Besides, the strike had nothing to do with La Carezza or any overseas company as far as my people could tell.
Which is what’s puzzling about the whole thing. ”
He leaned down and brushed her lips with his. “I have contacts out there. Want me to sniff things out, see what I can find?”
Her tongue snuck out and brushed his. His body thrummed and he almost groaned when she pulled away. “I’d rather go see for myself what’s going on.”
“Hmm, but you do know there’s no way I’m letting you go on your own, don’t you?”
A mutinous look entered her eyes. “Noah…”
He clenched a hand in her hair and pulled it tight. “It’s non-negotiable, sweetheart. I come with or you’re not going. ”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “You? I thought you were going to sic me with Paddy again.”
Noah chuckled. “I wouldn’t do that to Paddy. He hates to fly.”
Her answering laugh warmed his heart. “Small mercies, I guess.” She gave a long moan when he massaged her scalp. “Can you really come with me?”
Bending his head, he trailed his mouth down her throat, then lower to graze the top of her breast. “It’ll be a good opportunity to test the waters for new deals by day and indulge my insatiable sex slave by night.” He caught her nipple into his mouth and suckled. Her whole body shuddered.
“I think I can… work with that.” Her nails dug deeper as she tried to hold on.
Noah smiled and flicked the hard nub. “Great, I’ll make the arrangements.”
About sixty hours later, Leia rolled over in bed, sat up and was hit by another skewed sense of déjà vu.
She was back in Noah’s suite on the Indigo Lounge jet. He handed her a glass of champagne, then sipped his whiskey while flicking through the list of onboard and off-board activities on the screen.
When he said he’d make the arrangements, she thought they’d fly to the Far East on his private jet or even commercial. Another trip on the Indigo Lounge had been an unexpected and thrilling surprise.
“Are you scheduling any sleep into this trip at all, or are we going to survive on sex and booze?”
He turned his magnificent body toward her. “We never finished our list of highs. If we time it right, we can work the last three in there somewhere.” His grin was wicked and borderline savage.
Leia wondered which ailment she’d expire from first—overwhelming love or wall-to-wall sex with Noah. She raised her glass and took another mouthful. Either way, she supposed it was a good way to die.
A bout of turbulence hit the plane, and he laid a hand on her thigh to steady her.
Her heart lurched with elation. Noah took care of her in big, possessive ways, but it was the little, almost absent-minded gestures of protectiveness that she treasured most.
He made a selection and clicked. She peered around his broad shoulder, but the screen disappeared.
“What was that?”
“If you didn’t see it, then it’ll remain a surprise. Wanna order in?”
About to nod, she tilted her head. “Have we actually had dinner out before? I mean, with other people in a restaurant, like normal—” She stopped when she realized what she’d been about to say.
Dropping the remote, he turned to fully face her. “The masked ball dinner in Prague doesn’t count?”
She grimaced. “I was too nervous about how you’d react to my past to enjoy it.”
He shrugged. “Then we’ll dress up, go out and pretend like we’re normal.”
“You mean we’re not?”
He winked at her. “Baby, we’re fucking extraordinary. But we won’t tell anyone.”
She dressed in a long, black leather-sleeved dress with a thigh-high slit and strappy silver Louboutin heels.
Noah chose a silvery grey shirt, which did incredible things to his blue eyes, dark pants and a black jacket.
Foregoing a tie, he left the two top buttons of his shirt undone.
His hair had grown an inch longer and gave him a rakish look that made her heart stutter.
“Ready?”
Watching his long sexy stride as he crossed to where she waited by the door, she swallowed, unable to pry her eyes from his arresting body.
“Mmm hmm.”
Smiling, he offered her his arm.
The Indigo Lush restaurant was as normal as one could get on a flying sex palace.
Cozy privacy booths with white linen tablecloths and exquisite silverware made her feel like she was on a proper dinner date with Noah.
Until she sat down and realized the booth held a compartment with sex toys, and that the candle set into the solid silver candelabra was giving off a scent that made her head swim and her pussy clench with ravenous need.
“What is that candle?” she blurted, after five minutes spent talking herself down from jumping Noah and humping him like a wild rabbit.
His strained smile indicated he hadn’t escaped the effects of the aphrodisiac. Picking up the candelabra, he brought it to his nose, sniffed, and set it back with a deep chuckle.
“What?” she demanded.
“I detect a distinct whiff of a certain weed.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh my God. Is that why…?”
“You suddenly feel like my cock is the only meal you want to devour?” he rasped.
She looked down at his crotch—his very full and tight crotch—and nodded jerkily.
“I’m sure there are other mood-enhancing properties in there, but yes. You’ve never tried weed before? ”
“No. I took half an E once, when I was sixteen. All it did was make me horribly thirsty and not-in-a-good-way spaced out.”
A loud crash sounded behind their booth.
A good-looking couple, clearly feeling the effects of their surroundings, were letting their inhibitions fly. The woman lay naked and spread eagled on the table, her nipples clamped with tiny silver pegs, while her partner drove into her with thick grunts.
Two waiters approached, swept away the broken china on the floor, then discreetly withdrew.
A sharp tap on her wrist snapped her round. Her face flamed at Noah’s narrow-eyed look. Swallowing, Leia tried to block out what was happening behind her.
Noah beckoned a waiter over, gave their food and wine order, and sat back, watching her with hooded eyes.
“We’re going to enjoy our meal like a normal couple, then I’m going to take you back to our room and introduce you to your surprise.”