Chapter 11
Jett didn’t know what she was doing, prodding the big old grump, but she was having more fun than she’d had in a long time.
The last bed partner she’d entertained, three freaking years ago, had turned out to be so boring in the sack that she’d jettisoned him after a week without any regrets.
Before that, she’d had a few other partners, but the fun had quickly gone out of any of those longer-term relationships as well when they’d ended up trying to “organize” her. Each had dwindled to a halt, naturally.
But that didn’t mean she hadn’t been on the look-out for someone sharp and enticing to grace her bed ever since.
And Lord help her, she believed she’d found that in Trask.
Was the man too uptight for his own good?
Yes.
Was he demanding and arrogant?
Again, a big affirmative. But not a deal killer. His bossiness might make sex an awful lot more interesting.
Jett could also sense a spark of fun in the man; one that seemed to have been snuffed out over his long, military career. She’d be looking to reignite that, even if it was just for a few hours.
She was disappointed that the clueless man was willing to write her off so quickly, but also excited to see if she could change his agenda. Jett knew she was no slouch in bed; enthusiastic, adventurous, spontaneous.
Maybe, just maybe, he’d find her too appealing for a simple one-off.
Jett snuck a peek at the man’s chiseled, masculine face, and sure hoped so. It would be no hardship to look at that mug from the pillow next to his for an extended period of time.
Another thought snuck into her head.
She’d proven herself to him today; working coolly under fire. Perhaps she could convince Trask that her skills would make a valuable addition to Diver Downeast.
It wasn’t tops on her mind since she had plenty of money in the bank, but she was jobless, about to be homeless, and Diver Downeast…
The timing was perfect, and they might be able to use her. She had a freaking plane, after all.
Wouldn’t it be advantageous for the newly formed company to utilize her services; have a way to get to remote jobs, quickly?
On top of being a pilot, and having stellar skills as a Pararescue Jumper, she was also fully up to date on her diving certifications.
It seemed to Jett that she should be able to slip right into the Sothard brothers’ new company, seamlessly.
Of course, Trask might have different ideas.
Especially if she slept with him.
She chewed the inside of her cheek, turning that thought over in her head.
Which did she want more? A job and a new career that incorporated all her skills? Or a romp with Trask.
That was a tough decision, and considering she didn’t have a crystal ball, both might turn into nothing-burgers.
Working for Diver Downeast could be a dead-end if the company ended up not doing well. Although, from everything she’d heard, they were hitting the ground running.
And sleeping with Trask, if he had anything to say about it, would be a one-time occurrence, as he’d warned.
But Jett hadn’t accomplished so much in her life by being scared off, and she wasn’t about to start now. She truly believed that if she gave both things her all—employment and sex—she’d end up acing them equally.
Just as she finished ruminating, Trask pulled up next to the office at the airport, idling his big truck.
Now there was a metaphor she liked.
But it was time to take care of logistics instead of perseverating on what might or might not be in her libido’s future.
Sooo…
“I’ll only be a second,” she told him, then turned to her pooches.
“Stay, boys. Then we’ll get your food and bed out of the plane.
” She screwed up her face in consternation.
“Uh, your parents won’t mind a couple of four-legged visitors, will they?
” she asked, having thrown that worry around in her head for a while, along with everything else in her mental spin-cycle.
“Oh, please,” he scoffed. “They’ve been hit with more grand-dogs lately than they can keep track of; the newest being Izzy, Duck, Reyghan, and Cooper. Two more aren’t going to tip the scale.”
“Good to know.”
If he’d said differently, she would have been willing to pay for an Uber home, even though it would have been a long, crappy drive, costing an arm and a leg. She’d also have to grab a ride back to pick up her plane, so the whole thing would have sucked.
“You take care of business, and while you do that, I’m going to call our girl Sheila and tell her that the moose rescue went well. She’ll be worried about it all night if I don’t give her details.”
“She sounds like a dedicated employee,” Jett said.
“She is. She’s also…on the spectrum, so leaving her hanging when she’s a stickler for detail, would just be cruel.”
So there was a soft side to Trask, Jett speculated.
She’d pondered the possibility after he’d spontaneously jumped into frigid water to come to her aid, but that could just as easily have been a brain-freeze; that the newly formed Diver Downeast couldn’t afford a lawsuit if Jett had croaked.
A cold thought, but in this litigious day and age, she wouldn’t rule out that that’s where his thoughts had gone.
Now, however…
Maybe she shouldn’t be giving him credit for considering Sheila’s feelings, but she would.
Especially because so far he was sorely lacking in the positive column of the mental chart she’d been compiling.
He needed a few chits in the plus column other than his good looks, stellar lips, and his obviously high IQ.
“Okay. Going now,” Jett said, opening her door then closing it behind her to head into the office. Was she imagining it, or did she feel his eyes on her as she walked the couple dozen steps inside?
She put a swing in her hips, because… It wouldn’t hurt to start teasing Trask sooner, rather than later.
Jett was seriously drooping by the time she walked back to the truck. Her busy day had finally caught up with her, and she could barely keep her eyes open. Passing out on Trask’s comfortable, new upholstery sounded like the best idea in the world as she got in, and he must have seen it.
“Use this turn-out jacket as a blanket and have a nap. I don’t need it anymore. And I promise I’ll get us home safely.” He’d taken off his borrowed coat while she was inside, and was holding it out to her.
“Nice. Home,” she repeated drowsily, taking the covering he offered and draping it over herself with a big yawn. “Twenty minutes ought to do it.”
Jett felt a hand on her arm.
“Jett. We’re here.”
“Mmmph,” grumbled, wrinkling her nose and snuggling deeper into the warmth she didn’t want to leave.
The smell of what covered her was glorious, and she was having such an erotic dream.
The deep voice trying to wake her up had a lot to do with that.
The compelling vibrations she heard had been, just a few seconds earlier, tickling the most sensitive parts of her body.
“Hey. You can sleep once we’re inside,” the voice said again. “And your dogs probably need a walk by now.”
“Dogs.” Jett repeated, and her eyes flew open. “Crap. We forgot to get their food.”
“Nope. I did it while you were conked out,” Trask said with a smugness she was beginning to like. “Along with their beds, and what looked like a go-bag for you.”
Jett sat up and stretched. “Oh. Thanks.”
“Do you always sleep this hard?” he questioned.
Hah. Only when her dreams were so sexy and life-like that she didn’t want to leave them. But Jett refrained from handing over those details. She needed to get her head out from between her legs in order to buck up and meet his parents.
“Umm, not necessarily,” she answered. “I’m normally an up-and-at-em kind of girl, but that moose rescue seemed to kick my ass.”
That would make sense to him.
He took her at her word. “I get it. Let’s get the dogs taken care of, go inside, and then my mother can fuss over you. I hope you feel like eating again. She loves to cook, and there’s no way she’s going to let us disappear to our rooms until she’s fed us.”
“She sounds delightful,” Jett acknowledged. “I never had that. My mother was a wonderful woman up until she passed a few years back, but she was not a cook. Her idea of putting food on the table was ordering pizza.”
The look on Trask’s face was priceless. He was clearly appalled.
“You’re kidding? No home-cooked meals? No baked goods?”
“Not unless I did it myself or was at a friend’s house.
But what my mother did impart to me, was the knowledge that a woman could be a partner as well as a muse to the right man.
She was an integral part of my father’s business, and an equally accomplished diver.
She could fix most anything you put in front of her, and she had a zest for life and exploring things that couldn’t be matched.
I wouldn’t have traded that for fettuccini alfredo, any day of the week. ”
Trask actually chuckled, and that damned dimple came out again.
Jett’s new goal was to foment as many sightings of that freaking thing as she possibly could.
“Does that mean you cook?” Trask asked. She didn’t sense anything but politeness behind the question.
“Hell, yes I can,” she told him. “I can whip up an awesome gourmet dish with practically one hand tied behind my back. I taught myself at a young age. It was either that or subsist on take-out.”
The divot in his cheek popped again, and…
…the dogs began whining, which took her straight out of her insta-dimple-licking fantasy.
Crap.
“Okay boys. I get the picture.”
Jett handed the turn-out jacket back to Trask, and with her own coat on, she slipped from the truck, opening the back door for her dogs. The pair flew out, prancing and sniffing, peeing and snuffling, learning excitedly about this new environment with their sensitive noses.
After five minutes of giving them their autonomy, Jett called to get their attention. When they ignored her, Trask, who’d come up beside her, gave a sharp whistle.
Two furballs came barreling toward them to sit at his feet, tongues lolling.
“Okay. You’re going to have to teach me that,” Jett huffed. “I don’t get it. I feed them, I love them, and they choose to listen to you while they ignore me.”
“That’s because they see you as one of the pack, and not the alpha,” Trask told her smugly.
“Oh, and you’re the alpha I suppose?” She raised a brow at him.
“Uh, huh. In every situation,” he sent back with such heavy innuendo, that her nipples perked up.
This man was going to be such a challenge.
The door opened and a woman who absolutely looked too young to be Trask’s mother took a step out onto the big front porch.
“Well, are you coming in to introduce us, or do I have to pretend I haven’t been looking out the window, wondering who you’ve brought home, Trask?”
Wow. Jett guessed the woman really was his mother. But how was that possible? Her hair was only delicately streaked with gray, and she looked like she must use the gym on the regular. With Trask’s talk of food and nurturing, Jett had been expecting someone more…squishy.
Trask took Jett’s hand and led her forward.
What the hell?
A spontaneous gesture from Trask? Jett would have bet he’d try to keep his distance in front of his folks, but she’d just been proven wrong.
Here she was thinking she’d keep Trask on his toes with her unpredictability, and duh, he was leading the charge.
Jett decided she liked it. A lot.
“Mom, this is Jett DeLuca. Jett, my mother, Ellen Sothard.”
“Come in, come in,” the delightfully smiling woman encouraged after taking Jett’s free hand.
The dogs needed no further invitation. They scooted around the group of humans as if they already owned the place.
“Langly! Tinker!” Jett yelped. “Get back here.”
“Oh, they’re fine, dear,” Ellen assured her. “There’s nothing under this roof they can get into that hasn’t already been destroyed many times over by my eight boys.”
“Eight?” Jett felt her eyes go wide. “I knew about maybe four of them. But eight?”
Ellen laughed, clearly staring and taking in Jett’s differently colored eyes, but she didn’t mention them. Points for Ellen.
“It was a full house, for sure. And they were all so unpredictable.” She eyed her son up and down. “Just like now, when one of them, at an advanced age, decides to play…fireman?” she snickered, pointing at his outfit. “I’m guessing there’s a good story behind that.”
“There sure is,” Trask assured her. “And you’ll hear all about it.”
“Over supper,” Ellen decreed. “Which is almost on the table. Beef stew and homemade bread tonight, so we have plenty. You’re staying, correct?” she asked Jett.
“Uh. If you’ll have me. It got too late for me to fly my plane back to Portsmouth, and Trask kind of told me there’d be a bed I could use…” Jett finished a little tentatively.
“Of course. Of course,” Ellen assured her. Tugging her away from Trask she linked arms with Jett and walked them into a warm, inviting kitchen. “You have a plane?”
“Yup. Complete with pontoons,” she stated proudly.
“Well, that tweaks my imagination. I can’t wait to hear what the two of you have been up to, today.”
Jett stifled a snort.
She’d keep some of those details to herself.