“Mrs. Robinson to you.” He half smiles his secret private joke smile.
Elena! Holy Fuck. The evil one has a name and its all-foreign sounding. A vision of a glorious, pale-skinned vamp with raven hair and ruby-red lips comes to mind, and I know that she’s beautiful.
“What happened to the four?” I ask to distract myself.
“So inquisitive, so eager for information, Miss Steele,” he scolds playfully.
“Oh, Mr. When Is Your Period Due?”
“Anastasia – a man needs to know these things.”
“Does he?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want you to get pregnant.”
“Neither do I! Well, not for a few years yet.”
Christian blinks startled, then visibly relaxes. Okay. Christian doesn’t want children.
Now or never? I am reeling from his sudden, unprecedented attack of candor. Perhaps it’s the early morning? Something in the Georgia water? The Georgia air? What else do I want to know?
“So the other four, what happened?” I ask.
“One met someone else. The other three wanted – more. I wasn’t in the market for more then.”
“And the others?” I press.
He glances at me briefly and just shakes his head.
“Just didn’t work out.”
Whoa, a bucket-load of information to process. I glance in the side mirror of the car, and I notice the soft swell of pink and aquamarine in the sky behind. Dawn is following us.
“Where are we headed?” I ask, perplexed, gazing out at the I-95. We’re heading south, that’s all I know.
“An airfield.”
“We’re not going back to Seattle are we?” I gasp, alarmed. I haven’t said goodbye to my mom. Jeez, she’s expecting us for dinner.
He laughs.
“No, Anastasia, we’re going to indulge in my second favorite pastime.”
“Second?” I frown at him.
“Yep. I told you my favorite this morning.”
I glance at his glorious profile, frowning, racking my brain.
“Indulging in you, Miss Steele, that’s got to be top of my list. Any way I can get you.”
“Well that’s quite high up on my list of diverting, kinky priorities too.” I mutter, blushing.“I’m pleased to hear it,” he mutters dryly.
“So, airfield?”
He grins at me.
“Soaring.”
The term rings a vague bell. He’s mentioned it before.
“We’re going to chase the dawn, Anastasia.” He turns and grins at me as the GPS urges him to turn right into what looks like an industrial complex. He pulls up outside a large white building with a sign reading Brunswick Soaring Association.
He switches off the engine.
“You up for this?” he asks.
“You’re flying?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, please!” I don’t hesitate. He grins and leans forward and kisses me.
“Another first, Miss Steele,” he says as he climbs out of the car.
First? What sort of first? First time flying a glider… shit! No – he said that he’s done it before. I relax. He walks round and opens my door. The sky has turned to a subtle opal, shimmering and glowing softly behind the sporadic childlike clouds. Dawn is upon us.
Taking my hand, Christian leads me round the building to a large stretch of tarmac where several planes are
