Crashed into Love: Boxed Set (9 page)

T
he air traffic control
tower was a jumble of men in floral island shirts and khaki shorts. We’d
royally screwed up their arrivals and departures for the rest of the night, and
they scrambled to reshuffle to a small grass strip that may or may not be a legal
airport.

I crossed my arms against my bruised chest, staring
at the broken plane in the oasis of charred runway. It looked like a giant in
the sky decided to hit it repeatedly with a hammer. It was a dead paperweight.
Bent wings, shredded belly, and tail.

Once again I shook my head, unable to believe how
Anderson and I won the battle to get here. I think we should go down in the
record books for weight lifting a jumbo jet.

“Co-pilot Mikin?”

I turned and focused on the controller who’d talked
us through the landing. I was indebted to his quick thinking and problem
solving. I didn’t even know his name. I scanned for a name tag or something.
Nothing.

“Yes—?” I raised an eyebrow.

He shook his head, sticking out a hand. “Sorry. My
name’s Mack. You guys did a great job. Seeing you come in hot with no landing
gear was pretty nerve wracking. I felt like I was right there with you.”

I nodded. “You and me both. Thanks for helping out.”
I nodded toward the window. “What can I do to help?”

He wafted away my comment with his clipboard. “No
need. I’ve arranged for the plane to be towed to the hanger. It’ll be gone by
tomorrow morning.” He looked at his notes, pursing his lips. “I’ve been
informed by Kiwi Air that a Nikolai Rivers is coming to assess the damage, along
with some other stuffed shirts. In fact,” he checked his bashed-up watch, “he
should be here any moment.

My guts twisted at hearing Nikolai’s name. That guy…
would I never be able to get away from him? It wasn’t that I didn’t like him. I
did. Or at least, I
had
. He was friendly, had a good head on his
shoulders, and I’d shared more than a few highlights of my life with him. But
there was something inside me that would never be able to forgive him. Time
didn’t heal all wounds, not between us anyway. 

I didn’t want to acknowledge it, but I also suffered
major insecurity around him. He was good looking, and I happened to know ladies
threw themselves at him to dance. I personally thought Salsa was a bit gay, but
it worked for him. 

“He’s a top engineer, so I have no doubt he’ll find
out what went wrong.” I tried to shove off the seed of apprehension. Why was I
nervous?

“That’s awfully nice of you to say, Mikin.”

Someone slapped me on the back. I winced as my head
screamed like an aircraft engine. I cranked my neck, forcing a grin. “Rivers.”

He looked past me to Mack, sticking out his hand.
“I’m Nikolai.” He shot me a look and added, “Here to clean up Mikin’s mess.”

Mack took his hand, saying, “Glad they could arrange
a charter flight to get you here so fast. I’ll take you to the hanger and
settle you in. The plane is due to be towed in the next hour or so.”

“Sounds good.” Rivers swiped a hand through his
brown hair, snorting, “Did you give us anything to work with, Liam, or is it
totalled?”

A surge of temper caught me by surprise. I shrugged.
“That’s
your
job to decide. Not mine.” Any shmuck could see the aircraft
was a goner. Why the hell was I so irritated? What was in the past should stay
in the past. I thought I’d moved on. Not forgiven or forgotten, but dealt with
it the best I could. Turns out, I didn’t do such a great job.

Rolling my shoulders, I sighed. “Did Kiwi Air hook
you up accommodation wise? Perhaps after you’ve finished work, we should grab a
bevy?” Was that my way of keeping my enemies close, or was I finally ready to
stop being a dick-wad? Then again, I wasn’t the bastard in what went down
between us.

Nikolai smiled. “Yep. I believe I’m at the same
shindigs as you. I’ll track you down tomorrow.” Rubbing his hands, he said, “Now
excuse me while I go and take care of your wreckage.”

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes later, I strode through the airport
looking for my wayward step-sister and her incredibly hot friend. Nina was in a
class of her own. Working in this business guaranteed a bunch of ladies who
were well groomed, nicely spoken, and easy on the eyes.

However, none fit into the level of awesomeness that
Nina did. And I had to watch everything I said around her as I knew the
real
her, or as much as I could by my underhanded tactics of watching her from a
distance. Was I creepy? Probably. Did I care? Not really. It meant I found a
woman who was my perfect ideal in every way and didn’t have to deal with the
heartache of rejection. But that was all about to change. I was rusty when it
came to putting the moves on women. My life never seemed to have room for too
much emotional attachment, but I wanted some. More than I probably knew.

Even Joslyn and Theo had helped armour me with a
stack of facts about Nina, so I’d have an arsenal of things to talk to her
about and break the ice between us.

Now I was sucked deeper into a crush I’d been
nursing for almost a year. I knew she flew. I knew she had ambition and drive.
I also knew she snuck out of the hotel in Sydney dressed in a yellow dress
looking like a delicious lemon dessert. My hands still clenched when I wondered
who she might’ve gone to see. God, I was an idiot. I suffered jealously even
before I’d asked her out for a simple coffee.

I also knew she was fiercely passionate about chasing
her dreams, but was either too shy or embarrassed to share what she wanted with
others.

They say opposites attract, but in this case it
wasn’t true. Nina was the female equivalent of me. And I wanted her. After Jos
told me she refused to date any man with wings attached to his lapel, I’d been
hesitant—just in case I crashed and burned. No pun intended.

I had dreams. Drive and ambition. I had places I
wanted to be; things I wanted to achieve. But I kept those dreams to myself.
Even Joslyn didn’t know what I ultimately wanted; I was afraid it sounded
idiotic.

I turned a corner in baggage reclaim and spotted
Joslyn slouching over a desk talking to Nina. My heart scrunched at Nina’s
rumpled appearance. Her hair suffered static tendrils and curls framed her
oval-shaped face.

She smiled tiredly at something Jos said as her eyes
connected with mine across the space of the reclaim hall.

My throat imitated a desert cactus and my limbs
forgot how to listen to my brain.
God, Liam. Get a grip.
I’d been so
good the last few days keeping my emotions in check rather than see-sawing
between gazing at her with puppy-dog eyes and acting like the egotistical pilot
I pretended to be. I constantly ping-ponged between wanting to ask her out and
pissed at myself for being so besotted. 

To her, I was a complete stranger. To me, she was
mine. I just had to make her see that in a non-creepy kinda way.

I finally got my legs to obey my brain synapses and
stopped beside Jos. She gave me a hip bump and a weary smile. “Hey. Can we get
the hell outta here please? I have blisters on top of blisters and need to
crash.”

Nina laughed. “You already did the crashing part.”

Jos groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

Nina rubbed the back of her neck. “All I want is a
soft bed with tons of pillows I can dive into.”

The mental image her feminine yet husky voice gave
me was a little too good. There wouldn’t be just a bed as I’d be there too. And
clothing would be non-existent. As for pillows, they’d be on the floor.

I cleared my throat. Shattering my R-rated daydream.
“The hotel shuttle is waiting outside. Let’s go.”

I
t was dark and my
stomach was past hungry, running on fumes. If it wasn’t for the corset holding
my snarling stomach in place, I might have buckled over with emptiness. Every
bump the hotel shuttle went over sent another spasm in my neck.

I couldn’t stop looking at the back of Liam’s head
in front of me. The way his eyes darkened in the harsh glow of the airport when
I’d mention tumbling into bed kept repeating. As much as I
did
want to
sleep and drown myself in pillows, another part of me desperately wanted to
dance, to writhe and jig; to prove I was alive and kicked death in its face.

Samantha moaned beside me where we sat in the back
of the minivan. Her skin was ashen, and I had a feeling delayed shock had set
in. She moved to speak, but a wracking cough erupted. Her eyes widened as she
pulled at her throat.

I scooted upright from my slouch, patting her on the
back. “Sam. Are you okay?”

Liam swivelled in the seat in front of us, passing
me a water bottle. “Here. Give her this.” His voice was a whisper, barely
audible over the swish of tires on the road, but caused my heart to accelerate.

“Thanks.” I took the bottle and waited for Sam to
breathe again. “Take a sip.”

After wheezing a few times she raised the bottle to
her lips as we pulled into the lobby of a huge, glittering resort with fairy
lights threaded through palm trees and a welcoming committee at the top of the
oversized marble stairs.

I clambered out of the van and my trolley was
promptly whisked from my hands by the bellboy. The dark-skinned man, probably
late teens, grinned. “Welcome to Lagi Loto.”

The stress of the crash and aftermath washed away; I
returned his smile. “Thanks. I’m happy to be here.” And truly I was. I was
happy to be alive. Now all I needed was some music and a dance to soothe the
remaining tension.

I followed the crumpled looking Samantha and Joslyn
to reception, waiting quietly as we checked in. Dispatch had phoned ahead and
approved our little envelope of cash and a debrief letter on what would happen
next.

A gentle breeze whispered through the open-air
lobby, almost as if the island welcomed us. Liam made eye contact with me and a
crooked grin graced his lips. His eyes were strained, but clear as blue glass.
Worry niggled a little over his head injury. A good night’s sleep and he should
be okay—hopefully.

Anderson passed the letters from operations, along
with our room keys. He didn’t look well either. I think everyone needed a good
rest. Samantha and Joslyn had turned into zombies—standing half-asleep,
wobbling on their feet.

“Everyone get to bed. We’ll talk more in the
morning.” Anderson gently pushed us toward the inner workings of the hotel.

No one argued, and I fought heavy eyelids. We
stepped down the sweeping staircase and entered luscious tropical gardens, sprawling
in the dark like a secret maze.

A concierge zoomed out of the glow-tinged night
riding a golf cart. “If you please get on, I’ll take you to your fales.”

“Fales?” Joslyn asked.

The driver nodded. “This resort prides itself on
individual fales.” He frowned, then smiled. “It is similar to what you call a
bungalow.”

My eyes popped. “We have our own
bungalow?
”
Images of airy rooms and four poster beds came to mind. Kiwi Air did well
choosing this hotel.

The man nodded, waiting as we all clambered on board—a
lot more awake and eager.

Anderson swiped a hand over his face. “You know
what, I’m going to walk. I’m feeling a little odd from the stress of the day.
I’ll see you guys in the morning.” He strode into the soft blackness, a
silhouette against the lanterns scattered in the trees.

Liam watched him go with a worried look, but nodded
for the driver to leave.

We took off. The only sound was the electric whir of
the golf cart as we drove around soaring palm trees and flower-laden bushes.

We stopped outside a grass-roofed, timber-cladded
bungalow. Pillars and a wraparound balcony welcomed, and gentle lights
illuminated the interior through carved windows.

“That one’s mine.” Joslyn hopped off and gave us all
a wave. “See ya tomorrow.”

Two minutes later we dropped Samantha at an
identical fale and Liam was next door to her. He jumped off the golf cart and
held a hand out to me.

“Is my room here, too?” The sounds of wet slaps and
hissing of sand enticed, along with salt-laced air. The sea wasn’t far. How
perfect would it be for midnight swims and romantic interludes?

The driver pointed across the path. “You are
opposite.” 

The fale was the same as all the rest, but it seemed
brighter, more beguiling. Just knowing it was mine for the next night or two
made it all the more special.

I let my hand slip into Liam’s, and he guided me off
the cart. We waved at the driver as he whirred away.

My skin sparked with awareness and heat seeped from
Liam to me. He gave my fingers a squeeze before letting go.

His eyes glowed like a blizzard in the night.

I swallowed. “How’s your head?”

“Fine. Bit sore, but nothing worth mentioning.” He
smirked. “I’ve had hangovers worse than this.”

I laughed gently, unwilling to disturb the sultry
whispered night.

He leaned into me, searching my eyes. “Are you okay?
You’re not suffering delayed shock are you?” He frowned. “I don’t like the look
of Samantha—she’s vacant, a sure sign of PTSD. And Joslyn seemed a little
strained, too.”

I held up my hand. It was perfectly steady, no
shakes in sight. “I’m unflappable. See? No delayed shock.” I didn’t need to
mention my sore neck. If he could pass off his head bump as nothing, so could
I.

He grinned, stole my hand and flipped it so my palm
faced upward. His lips caressed my over-sensitive skin. “Yes, you look pretty
stable.”

Shock zapped my veins. He’d just taken our tentative
friendship to a whole other realm in a second. Maybe he’d decided the same
thing as me: life was too short to play games. Even so, I struggled to stay
light and carefree. The seriousness of what we lived through weighted me. “I
owe you a huge thanks, Liam. If I have to crash again, I hope you’re the one
driving.”

He chuckled. “You’ve already thanked me, and don’t
joke about things like that. I’ve been there and done it. Don’t want to do it
again. Anderson was fantastic. He was so calm. I thought we were going to ditch
at one point. I was getting my snorkel ready.”

We laughed together and a flurry of wings sounded in
the trees around us.

“Uh oh, we disturbed the roosting birds,” I
murmured.

He stepped forward, on the precipice from
professional to lover distance. “I like your laugh.” His eyes burned into mine
and my knees wobbled as the air solidified.

Oh God. 

He tried to grin, but it looked more like a grimace.
He couldn’t stop looking at my lips and I had a mental image of jumping him on
the path. What was it therapists said? That survivors of a traumatic event
sought sex as a confirmation they were alive? I knew Liam was very much alive
by the pheromones he shot into the air. 

He said darkly, “I’m going inside. I don’t have the
willpower to behave.”

Did he really just admit to that? Whoa, talk about
no inhibitions.

My throat clogged; my body broiled for his touch.
Taking courage from his forwardness, I decided to throw all caution to the warm
island sky. I whispered, “You wouldn’t have to behave… I wouldn’t mind.”

His nostrils widened and he groaned. “I didn’t mean
to say that. I thought you’d bolt.” His voice deepened. “But I’m really glad I
did now. I really like you, Nina. And after today, I think we’re both a little
too willing to be irresponsible.” He took another step forward so his chest
pressed against mine. “I want to kiss you so much. But I won’t, as you might
hate me in the morning for taking advantage of you in your post-traumatic
state.”

Is that what this was? Purely a release?
Disappointment flashed, even as understanding that if it
was
just a
lustful attraction he wasn’t acting on it. That meant something… right?

My breath became erratic; denials screamed in my
head. I wasn’t suffering PTSD. I knew what I was doing, and I
wanted
him
to kiss me. It wasn’t anything to do with what we lived through. It was my
promise to stop fighting what I thought was right and take what I desired. To explore
every avenue and indulge in every taste.

He pressed his forehead against mine with the barest
of brushes before pulling away. “I’ll let you rest. Tomorrow morning we’ll know
how long we’re stranded here. For now, good night.”

I pursed my lips, deciding if I should just kiss him
and take the responsibility from his hands. But what he said made sense. Our
brains were fuddled with the crash. If I kissed him—when I kissed him—it should
be with no confusion as to our motives.

Taking a step toward my fale, I nodded. “I’ll see
you tomorrow.”

I had to force myself not to bolt up the steps and
lock myself in. Instead, I meandered down the pebbled path, and collected my
trolley placed by the front door. I stepped inside as Liam waved from his
balcony.

Returning his wave, I retreated into my own space
and drew the blinds. Just knowing Liam was so close teased and bedazzled me. He
proved level-headed in an emergency, and my instincts screamed he could protect
me from anything. I didn’t want to think—‘he big alpha male and can protect
me’—but I couldn’t deny the thread of contentment knowing I was safe when he
was around. It was soothing but exciting all at once.

The only problem was the moment I was in the room
with solitude and silence my body craved a pulsing beat and rhythm. Sitting in
a quiet room wasn’t going to cut it. No matter how gorgeous the understated
elegance of island décor was. The furniture was hand-tooled, the carpets
hand-woven. The roof was vaulted with sprigs of grass sprouting here and there.

Dang namit, I wish I didn’t have to give into the
need, but I’d never sleep otherwise.

Quickly striping from my uniform, I dumped it all on
the floor and opened the envelope of cash. It was double the normal amount. A
bit of island shopping would be in the cards if we were still here tomorrow. I
supposed the airline felt rather guilty for letting their crew fly a faulty
plane. Then again, until the exam of the aircraft came back, we wouldn’t know
what caused the crash. 

Inside the cash envelope was a letter addressed to
all of us. I moved to the mosquito-net draped bed and opened it.

Circumstances of KA93 from Sydney to Samoa.

Due to an unknown problem, flight KA93 suffered
electrical malfunctions, and landing gear failed to engage which resulted in an
emergency landing at 1700 hours.

The crew: Nina Poppins, Joslyn Duncan, Samantha
Wiggins, and pilots: Liam Mikin and Captain John Anderson are assigned rooms at
the Lagi Loto until further notice. The aircraft will be entrusted to Samoan
International Airport and inspection will be overseen by head engineer Nikolai
Rivers.

More information will be forthcoming but will
consist of one of these scenarios:

Scenario One:

Crew will wait until Kiwi Air can arrange passage
home, either on another service, or on one of their scheduled flights. (Next
flight to Samoa is not scheduled until six days from now.)

Scenario Two:

Crew may find their own way off the island and be
reimbursed to a realistic dollar value.

I re-read the beginning. Oh my God. Nikolai Rivers
was going to be here. I stared at the time. What if he was already here? 

My heart beat faster at the memory of dancing with
him in Sydney. If he was here, I might be able to get my fix after all.
You’re
using him, Nina
. So what if I was. I needed to purge my nervous energy from
today and I refused to entertain the small sliver of guilt at what Liam would
say if he knew.

Not wasting another moment, I stripped out of my
turquoise blue corset and stockings, and unhooked my garter belt. The last
thing to go was my lacy G-string, and it landed on the tiled floor of the
bathroom.

The shower was heavenly as I washed away the grime
of stress. I bounced on my heels as I blow-dried my hair and applied the usual
make-up before slipping into a grey dress with a tight bodice.

After devouring a few of the complimentary biscuits
from the minibar, I was out of my fale and charging through the gardens.

* * * * *

The hotel was too big; I found out almost instantly.
There were five bars: One poolside, one beachside, one open-air in the lobby
with gentle notes of a piano player, and another in the restaurant upstairs.
The last one I checked was a little ways from the fales and the threads of
island music, flutes, and drums pulled me along, caught in its spell. Sure, my
neck prodded me with pain, and I knew I shouldn’t dance with an injury, but so
what. I survived a crash. I’d do what I want… within reason.