God, I was tired. I should be sleeping, but I couldn’t when I kept getting flicked with a rubber band. Maybe I could fall asleep here, in this tiny space. There was a thin counter. I could wedge myself onto it, somehow strap myself in like I was luggage in a compartment.
A slight smile curved my lips. I was getting silly, the lack of sleep messing with my brain. Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I pulled out my phone. It was allowed to be on right now for listening to music or reading, but no phone calls. No signal. I snuck a glance down the aisle—empty, dark—and switched the airplane mode setting to off.
Nothing.
Maybe it wouldn’t work. We definitely weren’t supposed to be doing this. The flight attendant had made that very clear, along with the pre-flight safety video.
Ah, there they were. Three bars.
Hunter’s number was first in the list, most important, but he wouldn’t even get this text. Miss you, I typed. I pressed the Send button and waited.
Nothing again.
That should have discouraged me, but instead it felt like a blank check. I could say anything. He wouldn’t respond, couldn’t respond, and it gave me carte blanche to be playful. How much should I say? How graphic could I get? Maybe the boredom pushed me to the edge. Or maybe thinking about Hunter always put me on edge.
And thinking about kissing you, I typed. If you were here, I’d kiss you everywhere.
Send.
Oh, he’d be mad about that. Naughty texts when he couldn’t even get at me. Maybe it wasn’t that dirty in the realm of sexting, but he would know how hard it was for me to say the words. He would know exactly what I meant when I said I’d kiss him everywhere—and that was dirty. The thought made me laugh under my breath.
A sound came from outside the curtain. I froze, listening. One second passed, then two. The screen of my phone went dark. Only the slightest whisper alerted me to the movement of the curtain. Then someone was inside with me, their heat and presence soaking up all the air. I gasped and shoved myself back into the corner, but there was nowhere to go.
“What are you—”
A hand covered my mouth, cutting off my question. My heart beat too fast, thumping wildly in my chest. Someone had to hear the rapid beat or my harsh breathing. I tried to pull his hand away. My fingers fumbled, clumsy and stiff with terror. The cell phone clattered to the floor, its sound almost completely enveloped by the roar of the engine beneath us.
We were completely insulated back here. And alone.
“I ask the questions.” The voice cut through the darkness, low and raspy.
I shook my head, whether in refusal or shock I didn’t know. Let me go, I tried to say, but my lips couldn’t even form the words beneath the force of his palm, my throat didn’t make a sound under the threat of his body.
His hand tightened, cutting off the air flow to my nose. I struggled, kicking out and catching him on his leg. He grunted and eased up, enough to let me breath, not enough to let me go. I sank back against the wall, limp with relief, until he picked up my phone.
“What have we here?” Pale blue light from the screen traced broad shoulders and blunt facial features. He looked up. His eyes were impossibly cold, almost reptilian in their unfeeling. An animal. “Are you placing a phone call?”
“No,” I whispered.
“Let’s see.” He still spoke low, barely audible above the rushing sound in my ears. “You’ve sent a text message…two minutes ago. Surely you realize that’s not allowed.”
“I’m sorry. It was just one. Or two! I won’t do it again.”
“Two messages. What could be so urgent?” He pressed a button. “Miss you.” His gaze met mine over the top of the phone. A wicked light danced in his eyes. He was enjoying this. “And thinking about kissing you.”
My cheeks heated beneath his hand.
His smile was sly and calculating. “Lonely, are you?”
I had to look away, humiliated, my innermost thoughts laid bare, flayed open by cold condescension. My stomach tightened into knots. Typ
ing them in the dark, all alone, had been one thing. But I’d never expected this.
“And what’s this? If you were here, I’d kiss you everywhere. Well, well. Was this so important you had to violate FAA regulations? I wonder what the security personnel in France would have to say about that. They would detain you, at the very least.”
A tear leaked from my eye, skating down my cheek and over his hand.
What? Why? My eyes asked the question.