Turbulent Intrigue (Billionaire Aviators 4)

By the time the two of them broke apart, Ace was ready to explode in his pants. This woman was twisting him apart, and he didn’t even care.

“Let’s go back to my place and celebrate your first flight,” he said with an attempt at a smile.

Dakota looked at him as if she was trying to decide. Ace’s heart pounded as he awaited her decision. If she said no, he might actually die. But if she said yes, he might burst with excitement.

She licked her lips in the most enticing of ways, and his thickness pulsed. Then she bit her bottom lip, and he thought about stripping them both down and just going for it right then and there. To hell with anyone who might walk in.

“Not yet.”

It took a moment for Dakota’s words to process in his befuddled mind. She was telling him no, but she wasn’t telling him never. Hot damn!

“Any time, anywhere,” he said huskily.

She smiled at him, her tongue darting out to wet her lips again.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said.

He was thinking seriously of pulling her back to him when she let him go and opened the door, quickly jumping from the plane. Ace leaned back in his seat and concentrated on his breathing techniques for several moments. His body was pulsing so painfully he was afraid of even moving.

“I’ve gotta run, Ace. Thanks again for a great day,” Dakota called to him.

He turned in time to watch her tight ass sway as she exited the hangar. Then he leaned back and closed his eyes. With Dakota around, he would never be bored, that was for sure. He also didn’t have time to be stressed. She was a ray of light in a dark world. And he was falling for her more and more by the second.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Dakota paced her house as she fanned her hot cheeks. She couldn’t quit smiling. She’d had such an exciting first flying lesson, not to mention being pressed close against Ace’s side all afternoon. It had been a thrill in so many ways.

This man was getting under her skin unlike any man before him, and she wasn’t in the least bit afraid anymore. It had scared her a little bit at first, but she’d gone beyond that to now being excited for her next visit with him.

She could tell herself all day long that it only had to do with her wanting to help him, that her instincts had kicked in and she knew he needed the kind of therapy she was known for giving, but her connection to him went way beyond that.

She was attracted to Ace in the most basic of ways. Her instincts were to follow through on that attraction. When he’d invited her to spend some private time with him, she’d been more than willing to say yes in a big, bold, exclamation-mark kind of way.

But part of the fun was the anticipation. She’d waited so long to get to this point, and she was terrified of being let down if things didn’t turn out as she expected. Still, Dakota wasn’t sure how long she was going to be able to hold out. She wanted this man—and she knew she was going to have him.

Her energy on high alert, Dakota cleaned her place from top to bottom, working up a good sweat as she blasted music and danced her way through her house. Life without music would be a tragic thing. It didn’t matter what the task was—if there was music playing, it was always better.

When her doorbell rang in the late evening, Dakota almost missed it. When it rang again, she sighed as she tried to decide if she was going to answer or not. She was on a roll and didn’t feel like stopping. At the third ring, she decided the person wasn’t going to leave.

She left her music on high as she floated through her place and swung the door open. It drove Chloe crazy that Dakota never checked who was on the other side before opening it. Dakota figured she’d just drop-kick a person if they were up to no good.

As soon as she saw the wicked smile and sexy dimple on the face of Ace Armstrong, she felt her heart thunder and her knees shake. He was standing on her doorstep with a bottle of wine and a dozen roses. She grinned at him as “Pour Some Sugar on Me” played loudly in the background.

“Nice choice in music,” he said as he leaned in her doorway.

“It’s my motivational music,” she said, unable to help but grin back at him.

“I brought wine,” he told her.

“I can see that,” she said, her lips turning up even more. “I suppose you’re hoping I’ll invite you in?”

“That’s the plan,” he said. She had to respect the man for not trying to barge through her door before she gave him permission.

“I could just take the wine and close the door in your face,” she pointed out.

“But I have flowers too,” he pointed out.

“I’m more of a lily type of girl,” she said, trying to sound unimpressed.