“Chocolate,” Jack told the man.
The attendant smiled at her.
“And I’ll have a bloody Mary.”
She could easily get accustomed to this, she realised. Being treated like a princess suited her.
Too bad there was no prince in the picture, only a very rich toad.
Despite the fact she’d already had more than enough sugar, she accepted the porcelain plate with a pastry the size of a small country. Some people travelled with real silverware and china?
She picked up the croissant and bit into it. Almost-liquid chocolate oozed into her mouth. Oh
yes.
Not only was the pastry gorgeous, rich, buttery and flaky, but it had been warmed. She could definitely get used to being treated like this.
The captain came out of the cockpit to greet them.
She wiped her fingers on a serviette while Jack stood to greet the woman.
Wasn’t the man a study in interesting contrasts? A black woman piloted the craft, a hunky man waited on them. From what she knew of Jack, he was fairly traditional, but the first people she met stood that stereotype on its head. That he wanted to spank her and fuck her wasn’t a shock, but his other choices were.
Sinead put the plate on a table and shook the pilot’s hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms O’Malley,” the pilot said. “You’ve led us on quite a merry chase across the States.” While still retaining her professionalism, the woman smiled at her, as if in solidarity. “I’ve seen airports I didn’t know existed.”
“She’s a wily one,” Jack agreed.
“I look forward to being of service to you in the future.”
Sinead narrowed her eyes at Jack. Just what the hell had he told his people about her?
“I hope you and Mr Quinn have an enjoyable flight. Do let us know what we can do to make you comfortable.”
As if being treated like royalty wasn’t enough?
Once the flight attendant notified them it was safe to be up and about, Jack excused himself.
She flipped through a magazine and looked out the window. She’d been kidnapped. Well and truly.
Every part of her chafed at the indignity. Her entire life she’d made her own decisions, and her family, God bless them, had encouraged her independence. Now to have a man dictating to her…
Shite.
He returned a few minutes later. She looked up with a scowl.
“Such a beautiful face, with such an unpleasant expression.”
Standing in front of her, he reached out and captured her hair in one unyielding fist. He held her tight, but not unpleasantly so.
“Let’s see what we can do to see your mouth partially open, your lips swollen from my kiss.”
“No…”
“There are far better uses for your mouth than to deny me.”
His hand still in her hair, he moved towards her.
Damn.
He stopped just centimetres from her face.
He smelt crisp, of spice. He’d obviously freshened up, and his jaw was freshly shaven.
He’d donned a clean shirt and a khaki pair of slacks. He looked corporate and masculine and in charge. Her blood slowly heated and her mouth parted a bit. She had trouble drawing a deep breath. She cursed her own feminine reaction. She’d never had a man drag this kind of response from her before. Up until now sex had been fine, all right, even enjoyable. But this man kept her on simmer all the time.
“Open your mouth,” he ordered.
“No.”
“Open your mouth to me, Sinead.”
He stared at her intently. She read determination in steel blue eyes and the set of his angular jaw. He tightened his grip on her hair and pulled her head back slightly. She resisted the impulse to touch his face. Her fingers seemed to itch with the need to feel his smooth skin.
He licked the exposed column of her throat.
Dampness flooded her thong.
Damn him.
Slowly he started over. He kissed his way up the side of throat.
By the time he nipped her chin, she’d willingly opened her mouth.
He thrust his tongue in her mouth. God. She was lost. He tasted of mint and man. He ran his tongue across her teeth, a gesture more intimate than any man had ever been with her.
His kiss went on endlessly, tasting, encouraging, demanding, simulating the intensity of his sex act.
By the time he ended it, she realised she’d curled her hand into his shirt, as if hanging on for dear life.
She’d arched her back, silently asking for more.
“You’ll beg me for this.”
Terrified he might be right, she didn’t respond.
His inflight
phone rang.
She blinked as he released her hair slowly, behaving like he had all the time in the world. He traced her bottom lip with his thumb. “It’s swollen. As it should always be.”
While he took his seat and answered the call, she knit her hands together to stop them from trembling.
He talked on the phone, powered up his notebook computer and moved a table into position to spread out a pile of papers. He ignored her. That annoyed her as much, if not more, than his constant attention and demands.
Jaysus. Was she fickle?
The flight attendant had been nowhere around while Jack accosted her, but now that they were settled, the man refreshed Jack’s Bloody Mary and brought her a cola in a proper glass. Sugar and caffeine in one handy package.
Jack’s fingers seemed to move nonstop over the computer keyboard. She glanced over to see that he had a web browser open. “E-mail? You’re looking at e-mail?”
“Wi-Fi,” he explained.
“Have you thought of everything?”
He turned in his seat and looked at her. “I’m thinking about little save having your sweet cunt.”
She blushed and sucked her cola through her straw.
What was it about him that could turn her insides molten with only a few words?
“I’ve a conference call,” he told her, reaching for the phone. “Shouldn’t take more than half an hour. I’ll try not to disturb you.”
She nodded
She’d always seen him as the hated enemy, if not a devil, then maybe a grotesque stone gargoyle, but never as a real person with an empire to run. Truthfully it didn’t endear him to her.
She and her family worked hard, and they’d had to make compromises along the way. Their lands were now shared with anyone who booked into one of the cottages, and she worked diligently to keep those places rented. She and her cousins were the handymen, the marketing department, the reservations department, gardeners and the cleaning crew when needed while Jack Quinn commanded his parts of the world from the Earth’s atmosphere with fresh coffee at his disposal.
She put on a set of headphones he provided and reclined her seat slightly. Even the sound from the in-flight television and addition of the headphones weren’t enough to drown out the deepness of his voice.
She flipped through all the channels and there was an obscene number of choices. When nothing intrigued her, she started over again. She had a difficult time focussing on anything except her emotions. She generally read or slept or composed music while flying. But her thoughts were turbulent, and she was having trouble clearing her mind.
Since the devastatingly handsome and determined Jack Quinn had shown up at the pub last night, her life had been turned on its axis. If he had his way, it would be a permanent state. And what in the hell was she supposed to do about it?
She debated calling home and letting them know she was on her way back from America. But what would she say? That the Quinn had kidnapped her? Wouldn’t that go over well with their bad blood. And they’d certainly not endorse a marriage if they knew the truth of it.
If she said she cut her tour short because she was worried about the comb, her mother would scoff. Her cousins would be supportive. But damn it, they needed the money.
If Jack were telling the truth, that she wouldn’t have any financial worries if they were married, where did that leave her?
She’d be a whore to a man whose family she hated.
Some choice.
Amazingly fast, they landed in New York. The flight attendant told them there would be a layover, hopefully of less than two hours while they refuelled and refreshed the cabin.
She and Jack were warmly welcomed at his private club where they were plied with more food and alcohol.
Everyone travelling was dressed posh, and she was beginning to regret her choice in T-shirt. Still, Jack didn’t order her to change. Of course, if he had, she probably would have dug in her heels.
“Would you like to go for a walk?” he offered. “We can get outside for a few minutes.”
She wanted to object on principle. “You could go alone.”
“Not on your life.” He smiled at her as if her motivations were transparent. “We’ll sit here and have another round, then. Getting you slightly drunk has some pleasant implications.”
She sighed. Did he always have to win? “I’d like to take a walk,” she admitted.
“That wasn’t all that painful now, was it?”
Her jaw ached from clenching her teeth.
He grabbed a bottle of water before guiding her outside.
New York was stinking, blazing hot. The sun scorched and the humidity drenched. The tarmac all but seemed to melt beneath their feet. “Jaysus,” she said. “It’s not supposed to be this hot at this time of the year, is it? Isn’t it early autumn?”
“On the calendar,” he agreed.
She was ready to be home, feeling the coolness of the breeze and the crisp autumn air.
They walked around the area. The private airport obviously catered to the world’s elite as well as hobbyists. Planes of all types taxied and took off while a steady stream landed. At times the planes would be met by limousines, and other aircraft would disgorge passengers who headed to the terminal. One couple was met by a woman carrying a large umbrella to protect them from the sun. She’d had no idea this type of world existed.
Fifteen minutes later, they stopped in the terminal’s shade. He uncapped the water bottle. She looked at it longingly.
He offered the drink to her before taking a sip himself. She chugged half the bottle before returning it to him. He didn’t even wipe the rim before taking a long draught.
The act seemed somehow emotionally intimate. Lovers routinely shared food and drink. Enemies didn’t.
He placed two fingers in the small of her back and guided her towards the terminal. He opened the door for her. The man had manners in public even if he were a beast behind closed doors.
While she glanced at the flat screen televisions broadcasting international news and the latest stock market results, he checked in with the pilot. Once assured the flight plans had been filed and everything was in order, he turned to her and said, “Your chariot awaits. Shall we?”
Within minutes, they were airborne.
“It’ll be late when we get home. You might as well try and rest. There’s a bedroom in the back where we’ll have some privacy.”
She turned in her seat to look at him. “A bedroom? You seriously have a bedroom?”
“Transatlantic flights are long. And flights to Asia can be just as wearing.”
“So, I can go to sleep, and maybe when I wake up this nightmare will be over?” She smiled sunnily.
“Maybe I’ll wake up and you’ll be a pleasant companion instead of a shrew.”
Direct hit
. She flinched from it, even though she knew the retort was well deserved. She wondered what it would have been like if they’d met under different circumstances, if their families didn’t share eight hundred years of hatred and bloodshed. What if she’d been at a bar and met a rich, gorgeous hunk who wanted to take away her problems and fuck her senseless?
He reached over and unfastened her safety belt. “I’ve waited long enough for you.”
She’d never admit it, but she wanted it, too. “You’ve work to do, don’t you?”
“You’re my focus now. I want to woo my future bride.” He stood and pulled her from her chair. “And I’ve decided I want you to suck my cock.”
Chapter Five
She blinked and her stomach plummeted. He was raw and crude. And it made her wet. “Silver-tongued devil. No wonder you have to kidnap women.”
“Baby, you’ll be begging for my cock in your mouth.”
She would have rolled her eyes if she weren’t afraid he was right.
He snagged her wrist and led her towards the back of the aircraft.
The bedroom was smallish, with barely enough room for a double-sized mattress. But the fact was, he had a flying bedroom.