Strong And Sexy

“I just have a quick flight to Santa Barbara.”

“And you, what, think I’m going to sit and wait for you?”

He came around the car for her and pulled her out, holding her hips, pressing her back against the car as he looked into her eyes. “You won’t be alone here.”

“I’m capable of taking care of myself.”

“More than,” he affirmed, sliding his fingers into her hair, holding her face up to his for a long, sweet, slow kiss that pretty much melted all her resolve. “But this isn’t about you, Dani. It’s about me.”

“That’s ridiculously Neanderthal.”

He closed his eyes, then opened them again. “I’m worried about you. I’m so goddamned worried about you that I can’t see straight, not even to fly.”

She stared up at him, her throat tight.

He glided his thumb over her lower lip, his gaze on her mouth, which he covered with his for another extremely nice kiss. “You turn me upside down.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “So completely, fucking upside down.”

What did that mean? Before she could ask, Bella barked with enthusiasm to get inside. Shayne took her hand and led them inside. He waved at Maddie, who was at the desk talking into a radio while working not one but two keyboards and looking like a supermodel while she was at it. She waved at Dani, handed Shayne a stack of files, tossed Bella a doggie cookie, and went back to multitasking.

Shayne took Bella to his office, then brought Dani onto the tarmac, where they walked past two hangars. They entered a third, a huge steel building housing four planes, all shiny and gleaming and looking very expensive. “Are these all yours?” she asked, awed in spite of herself.

“Those two.” He pointed to the two planes in the back. “The Moody’s on the left, the Learjet on the right.” He gestured to the front planes. “That’s a Piper, it’s Brody’s new baby. Cost a pretty penny, and once we fix her up, she’s going to be the new girl on the block. The other’s a Beechcraft. It’s a client’s, in for some regular maintenance.”

They walked up the middle of the hangar, between the planes, and Dani swallowed hard. She felt so small in here. But then Shayne opened the Lear and nudged her inside, and she gasped.

It was like looking into a beautiful, elegant, sophisticated house. A mansion. The interior was all plush, soft- looking leather, the carpet as thick as a forest. “But…it looks like someone’s living room.”

“I know.” Nudging her in, he shut the door behind them.

“We’re not-”

“Not going up, no. At least you’re not.” He led her down the body of the plane and opened a door at the end, which opened to a mouth-dropping master bedroom suite that might have been ripped right out of Architectural Digest. “There’s a TV,” he said, lifting a remote, “a small library, and hell, there’s even an exercise bike. Make yourself at home until I get back.”

“And then?”

“The kitchen’s fully stocked.”

“Shayne. You can’t baby-sit me forever. You have a life. Flying. Running Sky High Air. Perpetuating that lazy, sexy image.”

He came back to her, a frown on that sexy mouth. “Yeah, my life’s full. So’s yours. And I’ve lived my life just the way I wanted to, I won’t deny that. Neither would you. But maybe I’m…”

She stared up at him. “What?”

“Maybe I’m ready for some changes.”

Well, if that didn’t send her heart skittering. But he looked unaccustomedly uncertain, and she wasn’t used to seeing him look that way. Not this man, who’d never doubted himself, not once. “Changes or not,” she managed. “I’ll handle whatever comes.”

“On your own, right? Just like always?”

Was there an option? “Of course.”

“Of course,” he echoed quietly. “Dani.” His hands came up, cupped her face, his fingers sinking into her hair. “Maybe I’m not the only one who should be thinking about making changes.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean? She was fine, just fine-

Okay, she wasn’t exactly fine.

In fact, she knew exactly what he meant. She’d been a loner, too independent. She closed people out.

But she was going to work on that. She just didn’t plan to reveal her heart to the man who was most likely to break it. “Shayne, seriously. I can’t just live here.”

“Just today. Give me that much.”

When she only stood there, he made a low, rough sound in his throat and pressed his mouth to her temple, then her ear. “Come on, has it been that bad hanging with me? Have I been that bad to you?”

Memories of the past four days pelted her-Shayne playing the relaxed, smooth host of her mother’s party, him coming to her aid whenever she’d wanted, and even when she hadn’t, anticipating her, which took an excellent judge of character, not to mention the depth of caring.

And that, that caring, was what kept tripping her up. No, he wasn’t who she’d thought he was.

He was better.

And she wanted him. “No,” she whispered, her voice hoarse and just a little bit raw. Damn him for making her admit this. “You’ve been wonderful. Amazing.”

With that endearingly crooked smile, he lifted one of her hands to his mouth. “Okay, then. So the problem is?”

That you’re going to break my heart. That you are breaking my heart.

“Dani?”

Knowing now what she had to do, hating what she had to do, she turned her face into his throat and just breathed him in, wishing she could bottle him up and keep him forever. But if she let this go on much longer, it would kill her. “The problem is me, Shayne. All me.”

He went still for a beat and pulled back a fraction. “I’ve used that sentence. That’s an I’m-dumping-you sentence.”

She just looked at him.

“You are. You’re dumping me,” he said.

Cutting my losses…

“Why?”

“Shayne-”

“No. Don’t give me more of that it’s just you crap, okay? Don’t give me any excuses, just the damn truth.”

“Okay.” She stepped back. She needed space for this one. “I’m protecting myself.”

“I thought we were past this. I’m not going to hurt you.”

But you already are… She couldn’t help it, her love for him was spilling all over, and as she looked at him, with all that love most likely completely obvious, something in his eyes changed. Filled with the knowledge of what was already wrong.

She loved him.

She nodded. “It’s for the best, really,” she managed. “I’m going to be busy with my work, and you’re also extremely busy.”

“Yes.” But he shook his head in the negative. She’d have sworn his eyes were suspiciously shiny as he pulled her in.

A hug.

A good-bye hug.

His body was warm against her, and she wanted to cry so she tried to pull free but he held on. “For me,” he whispered, and she found her arms winding up, around his neck, pressing closer.

He let her in, fisting his hand in the back of her shirt as if maybe he couldn’t quite bring himself to let go.

Their eyes met. His mouth curved slowly in a smile that reached his eyes but was sad, so damn sad she actually felt her heart crack. Then he leaned in and kissed her. A good-bye kiss. An I’m sorry I can’t be more for you kiss. A you’re breaking my heart kiss…

She clung. Only for a moment, she told herself. A moment was all she needed, but that moment turned into two…and then they were straining toward each other, hands colliding for purchase, suddenly breathless and not so