“There’s a dress code?”
Tabon laughed. “It’ll be colder than you might expect.”
“You could keep me warm.”
“I plan to. You’ll still need long pants, warmer shirts, and at least one jacket.”
“I thought we were going to Oregon, not the Arctic.”
Gunner came aboard with someone Ava didn’t recognize.
“Hello, sir,” said the man.
“Monk, meet Ava McNamara,” said Tabon.
The man shook her hand and sat next to Gunner in a seat across from them.
“Gentlemen?” he said.
Gunner looked at her and then back at Tabon.
Ava got the hint and stood to move.
“Where are you going?”
“I thought I’d sit over there,” she answered, pointing to another seat. “That way you can talk, or whatever.”
“I’ll talk, or whatever, with you next to me.”
“Raze…” said Gunner, but Tabon appeared to be ignoring him. Instead of answering, he ran his hand down her arm and intertwined her fingers with his.
—:—
“We’ll talk later,” he said to Gunner, motioning for the two men to change seats.
“Go to sleep, Avarie,” he whispered once they’d moved. “You’ll need your rest.”
He knew as soon as she had. First, her breathing evened out, and then, she rested her head back on his shoulder. Razor shifted so he could put his arm around her, and then reclined both their seats as far as they would go. A few minutes later, snoring softly, she put her arm around his waist. Only then did he allow himself to drift off too.
He opened his eyes when he felt the plane begin its descent, and rested his head against the top of hers. She felt so good in his arms.
He felt his body come alive with the realization that the woman of his fantasies was once again snuggled up against him. He shifted a little, which only made things worse when her hand moved from his waist down to his hips and he could feel her breasts against his chest.
When her forearm moved against the now-straining zipper of his jeans and she softly moaned and snuggled closer, Razor almost jumped out of the seat. It was that, or strip them both naked and make whatever she was dreaming about a reality. Instead, he moved her arm away from his body, and turned so he could run his fingers down the side of her face.
He wanted to continue his exploration of her body by letting his fingers move from her cheek, down her neck to where her thin t-shirt was stretched tight over the lace of her bra, but knew that was the last thing he could do. Not with an audience, and not until he had all the time in the world to enjoy her breathtaking body.
“Time to wake up,” he said softly, not wanting to let her go.
“Tabon?” she said, rubbing her eyes. “Where are we?”
“About to land.”
When she went to sit up, he held her close and kissed her forehead.
“We have five more minutes. Give it to me, Avarie,” he said.
“Give you what?”