Casanova In Training (18 page)

* * * *

On the evening of the final full day, they lay together in his large bed. She lay draped partially over him while he indolently stroked a hand up and down her bare back.

“Jaydee.”

She halted in her idyllic drawing of abstract designs. “Yes?”

“Stay tonight as well.”

“I cannot. We are due back on base come morning.”

“Leave from here,” he coaxed.

If only. “No, that isn’t advisable.”

“Making me feel like a dirty little secret here, sweets.” There was thick displeasure in his tone.

“You are.” He stiffened and she pushed up on his chest so she could meet his gaze. “We’re not supposed to be together like this, Gio. You know that. It
is
a secret. It’s had to be one. And can’t continue after this.”

“What!”

Her heart felt like it was being ripped from her chest. “You need to be the man you were before I arrived. Giovanni Cassano…Casanova. If we’re going to be figuring out about Mike and his accident there can be zero reason for Fentress to think there’s something between us other than a work relationship.”

One black eyebrow rose. “Are you telling me to date other women aside from you? You want me to fuck another woman? Take her in this bed, where you’re lying now? Where we’ve made love? All for appearances’ sake?” He sounded incredulous.

Hell no! She swallowed. “I have no claim on you.”

His eyes darkened dangerously. “So this is it, then.”

He was mad. Furious even. She could see it but didn’t understand. Surely he’d known they’d not had a chance of being a real couple. Not with the rules they were breaking.

“This thing is just sex between us. You know that, right?” Better question would be, did she know that? And could she live with it?

“Right.” His voice was flat. Cold. Unemotional. After a deep breath he asked, “So how do we discover about Mike?”

She edged off the bed, expecting—no, hoping—he’d stop her. He did no such thing, just stared at her with dispassionate eyes. Swallowing, she made her way to her clothes. She could feel his eyes on her but he never moved or said a word.

“I’ll let you know what I find. After all, we’ll still see each other at work,” she told him after drawing her shirt on over her head, movements slow and stiff, for her body was sore after the weekend spent in his bed. His arms.

Gio sat up but never left the bed, his white sheet pooled around his waist. She ignored her own pain at the way this had unfolded. Not how she’d anticipated it would happen.

Should have backed off before the attachment was formed.
Like that would have been possible. Even she couldn’t deny there was something between them. But, whatever it was, it had no future.
They
didn’t have one.

Reaching for her bag, she grabbed her jeans and drew them on. It didn’t take long for her to gather the few items she’d brought with her. Forgoing socks, she shoved into her shoes and tossed her bag over one shoulder. She didn’t want to leave but she had to. Gio remained in his bed, bare chest taunting her. The man appeared to be cast from marble, for all the warmth he exuded.

In silence, she made her way to his bedroom door. She stepped through and paused. One hand on the doorjamb, she glanced at him over her shoulder. His hard body in the exact place, his expression the same—angry. She allowed herself a final indulgent look before she walked away. On her bike, she put on her helmet and opened the garage door.

She didn’t want to leave. She wanted him to come after her. Sweep her up in his embrace and carry her back to his bed. Revving the engine, she shook her head. This wasn’t on him. She had made the decision.

Goodbye.

And so she left, ignored the pain, and made her way home. Along her way, she drove slow and took the time to build up her walls. Had she really just told him to find, date, and yes, even sleep with other women? A heavy sigh. Apparently, she had.

She parked her motorcycle and walked inside the old building. Unable to think any further on Gio with another woman, she shoved it into the back of her mind, in a box, and ran through the information on her tablet. Work. That would fix it.

Before long, she straddled a chair, dressed in shorts and tank top while eating a carrot stick as she studied what she’d written on the board. A sigh of relief slid from her lips as she realised something. It couldn’t have been an attack geared to hurt or kill Gio. Lieutenant Walker…Mike had flown his own plane.

Of course, someone could have fixed whatever they did to Gio’s plane only to turn around and sabotage it on Mike’s. But that didn’t seem likely. Then there was the fact that nothing else had happened to Gio’s plane.

Still, I’m basically nowhere.

Gaining her feet, she ambled to the kitchen where she put together a light plate of finger foods. Bringing that along with her ice water, she returned to her seat and began looking over the file Sedin had transferred. Yes, she knew it all, but she felt a bit out of focus and therefore went to the hard copy.

She munched on her array of fresh veggies and read through the information. Every so often, she’d jot something down on the notepad beside her. When the plate sat empty, she stopped and readied for bed. Lying down, she tossed and turned, unable to capture the sleep she needed. It dodged her, elusive, until the wee hours when she finally acknowledged she’d had no problems falling asleep in Gio’s arms.

When morning arrived, exhaustion lingered but, like usual, she ensured none of it showed as she walked into the facility. She sat in the room with a bottle of water and waited for the other pilots to arrive.

“Morning, Dusti.”

She glanced up in time to witness Keel grab himself a cup of joe and two pastries. Then he made his way to her side and sat next to her. A genuine grin lifted her lips. She truly liked him.

“Morning, Keel. Coffee and pastries, did you not eat this morning?”

He dropped his head and sighed. “Not this morning. Baby wasn’t very happy and my wife needed the sleep.”

“You’re such a considerate husband.”

He winked at her while he bit into the fruit-filled treat. She smiled and took another drink.

“You free tonight?” he asked.

“I’m sorry?”

He met her gaze. “Free. Unencumbered by previously made plans. Free. Dinner. My house. Meet the wife and kid?”

“Are you sure?”

An affronted look spread across his face. “Of course I am.”

Keel continued talking but, honestly, the words ceased making any sort of sense to her. It wasn’t his fault, it truly wasn’t. She was distracted by Gio in his green flight suit as he walked through the door. He turned his head and stared at her, eyes devoid of anything other than a cool dismissal.

“Dusti?”

He walked in their direction and she forced herself to pay attention to Keel who was in the process of finishing off his last doughnut. She could feel Gio closing on her, she didn’t have to see him. He had this presence that she couldn’t ignore even if she wished.

“Yes,” she said. “Dinner would be wonderful.”

“Great.”

Chapter Twelve

Gio advanced further into the room. It hurt seeing her. He hurt. Hell, he knew he had it bad for her. But he was also angry. Her words last night had been like a knife to his heart.

When their eyes met today, he had maintained his icy demeanour. Still, he wanted to be closer to her and had strolled in their direction, telling himself he wanted some coffee. He stared at her as he moved. Her flight suit showed off her form in ways that should be illegal. But, then, she could wear anything and he’d want to strip it off her and sink his hardness completely in her.

He got his coffee and overheard her accepting dinner with Keel.
Oh, so it’s just me she has a problem being with.
Jealousy rose up swift and deadly inside him.

“Breathe, man.”

He blinked and Lizard’s face came into view. “What?” His question rang sharp.

“What’s with the scowl? Didn’t you have a good weekend?”

A quick glance told him they wouldn’t be overheard. “Yeah, it was. Right up to the part where she told me it was over and I should spend time with other women.”

The expression on Lizard’s face was priceless and any other time would have made him laugh. However, right here, right now, it pained him. Had he been a fool thinking it was more than just really amazing sex with Jaydee? Lizard stared at him and he knew what his friend waited for.

“There’s no punchline, Jason, don’t expect one.”

He turned to walk off only to freeze when his friend grabbed him. Eyebrows arched, he waited for him to speak.

“Are you kidding me? I thought…” Lizard lowered his voice, “you two had a thing.”

That damn pain made itself known again. Gritting his teeth, Gio found a small measure of restraint. A sarcastic smirk filled his features. “She said it was best to end it.” He almost told Jason about their still working together dealing with Mike’s accident but at the last minute kept that nugget of information to himself.

“I’m sorry, man.”

He didn’t want sympathy, damn it! He wanted…Jaydee. With a nonchalant shrug, he drank some coffee, relishing the burn as it slid down his throat. “She was a fuck. A good one, but still just a fuck.”

Lizard’s snort told of his disbelief but he didn’t say anything, merely grabbed his own mug of java. Gio observed the room and, consequently, Jaydee again. This time her gaze waited for his. A punch to his gut almost took his breath. Those large tortoiseshell eyes shimmered with emotion briefly, before they cooled to how he remembered them from when they’d butted heads.

He could do this. He
would
do this. If it killed him. Which it very well might do. Clapping a hand on Lizard’s shoulder, he drifted towards the shared table of Keel and Jaydee. He held her gaze the entire way, daring her. Stay or go. If she stayed, she had to deal with him. If she ran, she looked like a coward.
He
wasn’t about to run.

At the last minute, he grabbed a chair, spun it around, and straddled it as he set his cup down on the tabletop.

“Morning,” he said.

Keel smiled. “Hey, Casanova. How are you? Have a good ninety-six?”

Flashing the man a quick check he went back to study Jaydee. He raked his gaze over her and said, “Oh yeah, I sure did. You know how it is when you’re single.”

“Man, I’m a married man now. I’ve not been single in a long time.”

Jaydee’s expression was bland and so he purposefully moved his gaze from her to Keel. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her chat with someone who’d stopped by the table on their way past. That jealousy began growing again from deep in his gut and spreading throughout his body.

She lifted her bottle to her lips and drank. His gaze was drawn to the graceful way her throat moved. The light sheen of sweat on her skin made him recall how she looked above him, riding his cock. Hell, even beneath him. He wanted to lean close and lick it from the column of her neck before biting it.

He knew what reaction that would give her and he jumped slightly when a foot connected with his shin. Slashing his gaze to Lizard, he scowled at him but stopped when he realised what he’d been doing. Losing his mind as he daydreamed about Jaydee.

The CO entered and strode over to their table. “Morning.”

A chorus of “Good morning, sir,” filled the air.

He grabbed a chair and drew it close before leaning his lanky body against it. “We will be briefing in the air today. Be ready to take to the air in thirty.” Then he left.

Gio watched the man stride away. Was he behind the incident? He hated the indecisiveness that filled him over this entire situation. Keel and Lizard rose and he took his time. He returned his empty mug in the rack and pivoted on his heel. His pulse skyrocketed.

Jaydee stood a way back from him, waiting with what he knew to be endless patience. A sudden icy contempt burst through him and he narrowed his eyes while stiffening his posture. He knew that they were alone but couldn’t make himself move.

“Thought this was not to be advised,” he forced through clenched teeth.

A brief spark of hurt lit her gaze before it vanished, leaving him once again facing the unflappable, ever calm Jaydee Amos.

“I had a thought about Mike,” she said. Her voice dragged over him like crushed velvet, setting nerve endings on fire.

Ignoring his physical reaction, he strode towards her, all attention on Mike. “What?” he demanded.

She twisted around and headed for the door. He fell into step beside her. It barely took any time and his mind was drifting back to them.

“I don’t think it was an attack on you. Mike took up his own plane and while I don’t know what purposefully caused the accident—if anything—it would take a lot to fix your plane and sabotage Mike’s without anyone noticing.”

He mulled that over for a bit. Made sense. “Okay, so it would be hard, but would it be impossible?”

They pushed through and made their way to where their bombers waited.

“No, not impossible. I haven’t figured it all out yet but wanted to let you know, taking into account I said I would keep you apprised.”

“Jaydee.” Her name sounded tortured as it rolled from his lips.

She met his seeking gaze, her own brimming with sorrow and passion. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.” Her tone was soft yet insistent.

He watched her walk away with part of his heart. It had been hard as hell to lie in bed and let her leave. How the hell would he get through this? In his periphery, he saw her meet Keel and begin their pre-flight.

“What the hell, man?” Lizard asked.

“Let it go.”

“Fuck that. What’s going on?”

Moving his gaze from the underside of the wing to Lizard’s questioning face, Gio sighed. “I told you.”

“So, what, that bitch can just—”

One step put him directly into Jason’s space. “Do
not
call her that!” He shook with the extent of his anger. The urge to throw Lizard against the landing gear and beat the shit out of him swam over him.