Hot Item (Hot Zone 3)

She was cute when she was mad but when piqued by jealousy, like when she hadn’t been sure who Elizabeth was, Sophie was downright sexy. He’d followed her into the small bathroom to…what?

“I’m not joining the mile-high club with you.” She glared at him, but those wide blue eyes flashed with definite interest, contradicting her words.

“And here I thought you were already a member,” he said.

No way had she ever had sex anywhere but a bedroom. He’d bet his Super Bowl ring on it. Suddenly the thought of initiating her to sex in different places and positions held great appeal. He had a damn hard-on to prove it.

Shit.

This wasn’t the first time his impulsive behavior had gotten him into trouble. Like the time he’d been caught making out with the teaching assistant in the janitor’s room in college. The difference was, the T.A. had been older and willing.

Sophie, for all her N.Y.C. chic, was definitely a lady in every sense of the term. It was part of what drew him to her, Riley knew. The lure of someone different, someone special.

She deserved better than a quickie in the sky, no matter how much fun it might be. To distract himself, he reached over and pulled some paper towels from the holder, dampened them and began to blot her shirt where the wine had stained.

He gritted his teeth, determined to ignore her full breasts and pointed nipples. Perfectly rounded breasts and hardened tips just made for a man to suckle and tease. He tried to focus instead on her flat belly, where the liquid had concentrated.

She grabbed his wrist, stopping him. “Seriously, Riley. What are you doing in here?”

He groaned. Good question. One he was still trying to sort through himself. No way would he admit he’d just followed her on impulse. “Since we’re going to be spending time together, I thought we could come to an understanding.”

She shifted in an obvious attempt to get more comfortable in the cramped space, but her thighs came in direct contact with his and the flame burned hotter. Her sweet sugary scent, more refined and classy than most women’s, sent his already heightened senses soaring.

Sophie drew in a startled breath, an admission that the awareness between them definitely wasn’t one-sided. Yet she sighed in clear annoyance.

“Just what did I do to piss you off so badly?” he asked.

“You were late.” She said the word as if he’d committed a cardinal sin.

She turned toward the mirror and he followed her stare so she was unable to look there without seeing his shocked expression. “That’s it?” he asked. “I arrived a few minutes late and you’re holding it against me?”

“It was rude! We agreed to meet before the flight. You left me wondering if you were even going to make it in time.” Her voice quivered and she glanced the opposite way, this time toward the safety of the empty wall. “I told you routine gives me comfort.” She spoke the last words softly.

A quiet admission of weakness, Riley thought.

Aw, hell. He hadn’t meant to alarm her. He’d forgotten how seriously Sophie took life. Even with the dim lighting in the restroom, he could see her cheeks had turned pink and she’d sucked her lower lip into her mouth, embarrassed at admitting her neuroses aloud.

“Hey,” he said, softly. “I said I’d be here.”

“And I was supposed to take your word for it? The minutes ticked by and boarding had begun—”

“Were the cabin doors closed?”

She shook her head.

“Well then, there was still plenty of time for me to arrive.”

“I don’t work that way. I don’t think that way. I plan ahead. And right now I need to find Spencer before my whole place of business falls apart. I have Cambias sniffing around and no sign of Spencer. He said he’d be in by nine on Monday and he wasn’t. You said you’d meet me at the gate,” she said, the implication clear.

He’d let her down. The thought didn’t sit well with him. Not a normal reaction for a man who did his own thing on his own schedule and answered to no one.

Most people accepted his behavior.

Sophie wasn’t most people.

She folded her arms across her chest, as if that would provide a barrier between him and her emotions. Between them.

As if.