Frostbitten (Otherworld 10)

He laughed. "You do miss me."

"I do."

A moment of silence. "Just a sec. I think we had a bad connection.

I could have sworn you admitted--"

"I miss you. Horribly. I can't wait to see you."

"They're serving the booze already, aren't they?"

"Ha-ha. Keep that up and I'll never say it again."

"The question is whether you'd say it if I was there."

"No, because if you were here, I'd be in your lap, wondering how we could slip into the bathroom."

"Tease," he growled.

My head shot up. I could have sworn I heard that growl... and not just through my phone. I scoured the aisle, but there were only a few passengers still boarding, none of them Clay. Still, I scanned the first-class section. No familiar blond curls peeked over any of the seats.

"Elena?"

"Sorry." I pushed back the stab of disappointment. "So when does your flight get in?"

"Around eight."

"I'll wait at the terminal for you, then."

The attendants started making the preflight rounds. We said good-bye and I turned off my phone. As I settled into my seat, I fought off that lingering disappointment. It'd been so good to hear his voice that I'd even felt that slow wave of calm that comes whenever he enters a room, a deep instinct telling me I could relax now, that my mate was close.

As I tucked my bag under the seat, I caught that feeling again and picked up a scent as familiar as my own. I twisted to see Clay looming over the back of my seat.

"Can't fool you, can I?" he said.

I grabbed him by the shirtfront, nearly yanking him over the seat as I pulled him into a kiss.

"I definitely need to go away more often," he said as I let him go.

"Absolutely not, unless it's a trip for two."

"Agreed."

He came around and took the seat beside mine. I should have wondered when Jeremy insisted on booking my flight, then said he could only get me into first class. Clay hates coach--can't stand being that close to strangers.

"I believe I heard something about sitting on my lap--" he began.

I shot onto it and was kissing him before he finished the sentence. His eyes widened before he recovered enough to kiss me back.

To say I'm not one for public displays of affection is an understatement. But over the years I've come to care less about what strangers think, and Clay has made equal strides to care more... or at least learned to act as if he does. So I sat in his lap and kissed him, and he didn't snarl at the woman across the aisle when she started harrumphing and glowering, and all was good.

"Now, how about that bathroom trip," Clay said as I slid back into my seat.

I looked up at the first-class bathroom... past two flight attendants and six rows of passengers, all facing it.

"You know, it always looks so much easier in the movies."

He laughed and fastened his seat belt. "So this was a good surprise, I take it?"