CHAPTER 21
Jannie
Jannie pursed her lips as she looked down at her phone, annoyed, again, by her brother’s persistence.
Ian: Call me. I need to talk to you.
She grimaced. She’d known it was only a matter of time before her family got fed up with her radio silence. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nick approach, his damp hair spiked, chest glistening with water droplets, a towel around his narrow hips.
Her eyes drank him in even as his words echoed in her mind, just as they had every damned day since returning from New York.
But I’ll be him for you.
His sex club.
He’d never mentioned it again after that one time. Curiosity had always been her strength but also her weakness, and with every charged smile he gave her, she wondered what he did in that environment.
A tiny thought came out of nowhere, taking unsettling shape in the back of her mind.
Maybe when he has an overnight flight, he goes to a place like that.
Her stomach twisted. Did he? Because in her experience, leopards didn’t change their spots.
He might be craving … whatever the hell he did there.
What exactly was he into? A few times, he seemed on the verge of bringing it up, and Jannie feared he’d once again offer to show her.
Deep down, she was unwilling to find out. She didn’t want to face it, preferring to stay in the safety of this artificial bubble.
It didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. She didn’t want to make these last days feel awkward or ruin what they had right now. This was a temporary break from her real life.
Get over it. You knew this couldn’t last.
She shoved the thought away as tingles racked her body when his heated gaze connected with hers.
He glanced down at the phone she held. “Bad news?”
“Not exactly.”
She indulged herself, looking him up and down, sorely tempted to yank off that towel, frustrated that he had to work this morning. Still, it was tempting. And by the looks of him growing under that terry cloth, he, too, was tempted.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning my family has had enough of my avoidance crap and wants to hear from me.”
“And that’s bad?”
She shrugged. “No. I’m beginning to sort of miss them.”
“Sort of?”
She wanted to bite those lips of his. He’d kept his face clean-shaven, and if she had been ensnared by him before, the attraction had increased a thousandfold.
Every time she looked at him, she got distracted.
“Well. Between the flying lessons and …” She tossed the phone onto the bed. “I’d rather talk to you.”
Eyes never leaving his, she met him halfway and halted right in front of him, her body reacting simply because of his nearness. One flick of her wrist, and that impeding towel could hit the floor.
His gaze dipped to her T-shirt and visibly pebbling nipples, and his mouth curved into a smile that bordered on cocky. “What’s on your mind?”
“You.”
“Mmm.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his powerful frame, planting a kiss on her forehead.
He rubbed her back.
She closed her eyes and nuzzled his chin, enjoying his soothing touch, reveling in his scent, enhanced by his cologne. “One week left.” She sighed. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too.” He bent his head and kissed her.
Maybe he could visit? Did he want to? She hoped he would offer, but Nick broke the sweet kiss, saying nothing, his gaze flicking to the clock on the nightstand.
He started to draw back, but Jannie reached up and pinched his nipple, twisting the way she’d learned he liked.
Nick grunted.
Unable to hold back anymore, she reached under the towel and gripped his already semi-erect length.
“Jannie …” His eyes darkened before drifting shut, his beautiful lips parting.
He swiftly hardened in her hand. “So long,” she murmured, thrilling at the thought of how deeply he could fill her. For a few moments, he let her touch him, slick and hot and beautifully hard as her thumb swirled over his tip.
A moment later, he reached to grasp her wrist and pull her hand away. “I have a time slot to make, woman.”
She gave him a wicked smile. “But you can’t go like this.”
“I can’t finish this, either.” He zeroed in on her mouth, his eyes glinting. “Unless …”
Nope. Absolutely not.
She gave him one last squeeze, then let him go and gently pushed on his chest, not missing the confused flicker of disappointment in his dark gaze.
Oh, well. She wasn’t into doing that.
A scratch sounded at the door, and Rolf trotted in, plopping himself in the doorway, effectively ruining the already de-escalated mood.
Jannie sighed.
From the bed, the phone chimed with another text. She glared at it, preferring to watch Nick head toward the dresser, his superb ass on full display, shifting deliciously with each step.
Did she see nail marks on one cheek?
Apparently, she’d marked him again last night. Jannie couldn’t stop a satisfied smile.
He opened a drawer and reached for a pair of those tight red boxers he liked. “Don’t you think you’ve blown them off long enough? You know, the longer you let these things go, the harder it is to pick them up again.”
He was right, of course. Damn it.
Nick shoved an arm into a starched white uniform shirt. The epaulets, navy and white, thankfully differed from the black and gold ones her brothers wore, so it wasn’t weird to ogle and pant as he donned his pilot uniform.
Two loud tones sounded, followed by a robotic voice: “Wind shear … wind shear … wind shear!”
Nick’s head snapped around. “What’s that?”
“Ian’s ringtone.”
He started buttoning his shirt. “The wind shear alert?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Does every member of your family have one of those ringtones?”
“They each have a unique one, yes.”
“What’s Adam’s?”
“Turbine startup.”
Smiling a little, Nick shook his head and started knotting his tie.
“Wind shear … wind shear … wind shear!”
Rolf did a head tilt, and Jannie’s stomach tightened. She didn’t feel like talking to Ian; she’d much rather watch Nick getting dressed, which was almost as satisfying as watching him undress. The man even made buckling his belt look sexy.
“He’s determined. Could this be an emergency?”
“No,” she muttered. “I set up a specific group chat for that.” But Ian would keep being a pest until he heard her voice. “I’ll take this outside.”
As soon as that last word was out of her mouth, Rolf’s ears pricked, and he scrambled to his feet, then sat nicely, his tail swishing excitedly back and forth.
She had to smile. “OK.”
The dog sprang forward, joyfully leading the way to the patio door, his mouth open in a doggie smile.
Just as she raised the phone to answer, it stopped ringing.
Jannie shrugged. She took her time, sliding the door closed, picking up the periwinkle dragon and sauntering to the middle of the yard. Rolf matched her step for step, gazing up at her with round brown eyes full of anticipation.
She reached down to caress one soft, pointy ear, feeling her chest stir with love for this sensitive, intelligent animal.
He was getting older, and white hair had recently begun to spread across his once jet-black muzzle.
Throughout everything she’d endured over the years, he’d been a steadfast, comforting presence, cheering her up during the dark times, making the good times better.
He sat perfectly still, telling her what he wanted with one excited bark.
“Yeah, it’s good to be you.” She smiled at him, raising the toy, watching his brown eyes sparkle as he obediently made eye contact, ignoring the dragon. “Eat, sleep, play … No decisions to make, no doubts about where your life is going, no worries, just living for the day.”
She realized that was exactly what she had been doing for the past month. And oh, how much she had enjoyed it, mostly because of Nick.
Rolf wagged his tail harder, whining impatiently.
Jannie threw the toy as far as she could, watching it fly across the lawn and hit the fence. “OK.”
Rolf took off like a rocket, bushy tail waving horizontally as he gracefully crossed the distance in no time, his energy and speed belying his age.
Jannie reached for her phone just as it started to ring again, this time with a FaceTime video request. She glanced at the screen. Yup: Ian.
“He’s trying everything,” she mumbled, tapping accept.
Ian’s beaming face appeared. “There she is! Hey!”
“Hey, yourself.” He looked good, she had to admit. Annoyingly so. And happy. Marriage was obviously treating him well.
An involuntary smile curved her lips. “What do you want?”
He smirked. “What do I want, are you kidding me? The whole family is trying to reach you! Mom and Dad are worried sick.”
She chose to ignore that, surveying his black leather jacket and messy helmet hair. “Trying for organ donor status again, Buck?”
He grinned at her use of his childhood nickname, his dark blue eyes, so like her older brother Adam’s and her own, sparkling. “I’m taking Claire dirt biking.”
Jannie grimaced. “She’s going willingly?”
“It was her idea. I know you disapprove, so get in line. Mom said she’d pay someone to break into our garage and steal our bikes while we’re asleep.”
“Love that. I’ll chip in a few bucks.”
He made a face. “At least we won’t be on the highway, weaving between the cagers.”
“Cagers?”
“Drivers in cars, surrounded by metal cages and dangerous as hell.”
“Ah. I guess being covered head to toe in mud is preferable.”
“It’s fun, Freak!”
Jannie shrugged. “If you say so.”
“More than eight million of us say so. The offer is still open, should you decide you want to try riding. It’s really a great de-stressor.”
Jannie wrinkled her nose. “I’ll take your word for it.
” Too many horrific things she’d seen at the ER during her mandatory med school rounds.
Thankfully, Ian was a skilled rider and careful, but she would prefer he give it up, as would the entire family.
Unfortunately, his new bride enjoyed riding motorcycles even more than he did.
“So, what was so important that you’ve been spamming my phone?”
His expression turned serious. “You.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you. It isn’t like you to pull an ostrich act on us.”