Paris or Bust!

“What’s the matter, you chicken?”

“Of course not.”

“Well, then.” He leaned close enough to drown in her annoyed yet curious-in-spite-of-herself gaze. “Remember now, hold still. No jumping my bones. No showing how badly you want me, or I get to claim a prize.” And when her eyes flashed, he bit back his grin and put his mouth over hers.

CHAPTER FOUR

AT THE TOUCH of his mouth to hers, Kylie thought, Oh. My. God. The man had the most amazingly perfect kiss on the face of the earth. Tender, warm, firm…just right.

Completely beyond herself, she let out a helpless little sound because she wanted more, more, more, and what did he do?

He pulled back! Pulled back and shook his head at her. “No sound,” he whispered gruffly. “Don’t want me to get any ideas, right? And no touching,” he added, unwinding her arms free of his neck-how had they gotten there?-and holding them at her sides. “No talking, no nothing.” His voice sounded thick and raspy, as if he was having trouble breathing. “Because if you’re not careful, I’ll think you want this, really want this.” And before she could slug him in the belly for laughing at her, he’d put his mouth back on hers.

The gentleness was gone now as he dove in, hot and hard, claiming, possessing, using his lips, his tongue, his teeth… She struggled to free her arms and wind them around his neck, her hips arched to his, but his hands held her immobile.

He pulled back again, staring down at her with fathomless eyes, his mouth grimmer than she’d ever seen.

She opened her mouth, to say what she had no idea, but he put his fingers over her lips, shaking his head. Then he pushed her off his lap and went down the ladder, disappearing into the night.

Guess I passed his little dare, she thought dimly, hot as hell in the cool night. When had night come anyway?

Damn it.

Damn him.

THE NEXT DAY Kylie hadn’t even opened the glass doors to the airport lobby when two reporters stepped out in front of her and shoved a microphone in her face.

Beyond them, inside, she could see her mother behind the reception desk, laughing. And one Wade McKinnon in front of that desk standing there with casual ease, also smiling.

What were they laughing at?

Even from here she could see the speculative gleam in Daisy’s eyes…no doubt she was going to try to set Kylie up with him.

She should have stayed in bed.

But in bed she couldn’t be at the airport. Surrounded by everything that was such a comfort.

Besides, in bed, she’d lie there thinking about the night before, being in Wade’s arms, his mouth on hers, driving her right out of her living mind.

And maybe she’d forget why she couldn’t add one more person to her load.

“Kylie Birmingham?” Reporter number one stepped even closer. “Tell us how you feel about your mother’s essay, about the heartbreaking way she wrote about you.”

Kylie blinked in surprise. “I…” Should have read that essay, apparently.

Daisy happened to glance up and catch her eyes. Was it Kylie’s imagination that her mother flushed guiltily? No, it was not. And it wasn’t the reporters that made her mother do so, her mother loved reporters.

Which left Wade McKinnon.

They were plotting something. The thought was confirmed when Daisy broke eye contact first.

The tall, sexy man who kissed like heaven didn’t so much as glance in Kylie’s direction, but he was still smiling. Conspiratorially.

Oh, yes, they were most definitely up to something.

“Ms. Birmingham? About your mother? Can you tell us about your relationship? Does she require your help to run this airport?”

Ha! “No comment,” she said. “And no pictures,” she told them when one lifted a camera. Looking at her mother, she stalked into the lobby. She strutted right up to them in midlaugh and pointed at the both of them. “Stop it.”

Wade, looking vexingly scrumptious in his pilot’s uniform, just cocked a brow.

“Stop what, dear?” Daisy asked. “Did you sleep well? Because you have black circles beneath your-”

“I’m a big girl, just so you both know. I’ll make my own plans when and where it suits me.”

“Well, of course you will,” Daisy clucked. “How about breakfast? I have an extra bagel-”

Kylie crossed her arms. “I’d like to know what you two were talking about.”

Wade, apparently amused, didn’t comment.

Daisy rolled her eyes and pushed a mug of something hot towards her. “Herbal tea. It’ll help you relax. You could use a gallon.”

“I don’t need to relax-”

“We weren’t talking about you,” Daisy said, lifting the mug to Kylie’s lips.

She drank, but would eat her own tongue before admitting the stuff actually tasted good. Then her mother’s words sank in.

“That’s right,” Wade said when her cheeks went hot. “We weren’t talking about you. Contrary to popular belief, there are other things to talk about.”

“You…weren’t trying to make him go out with me?” Kylie asked her mother.

Daisy laughed. “Oh, right. As if anyone could make this man do something he doesn’t want to do.”

Wade smiled sweetly-sweetly!-when both women looked at him.

Right. No one made Wade do anything. She needed to remember that. He might want to kiss her stupid. He might want to buy her airport. But he didn’t want to go out with her, because really, how ridiculous would that be?

“We were discussing quarterly taxes,” Wade said, still sounding amused. “They’re due tomorrow.”

Ah, hell.

Her stomach sank. “I need to get Lou on the forms,” she said to herself, her mind racing. Did her grandmother even have the forms? Had she gotten all the financial stuff together to fill them out? Had she-

“Relax,” Wade said in her ear. He’d pushed away from the wall and now stood so close she could see the yellow specks dancing in his eyes. She could smell the soap he’d used that morning. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek.

And was vividly, vibrantly, unhappily aware that her body wanted to curl into his, that he looked good enough to gobble up in one bite.

“Lou can handle it,” he said. “Don’t get all worked up so early in the day, it’s not healthy.”

What wasn’t healthy was her body’s response to him.

“Your grandma can handle it,” Daisy confirmed, and pushed the tea on her daughter again. “She always talked about going back to college to finish up her accounting degree.”

Grandma loose on a college campus? Terrifying.

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Daisy said. “I have a massage appointment this morning.”

“Mom-”

“Just kidding.” Daisy laughed. So did Wade. “But I do have work, so if you kids’ll stop standing around my desk and making me look bad for the boss…”

“No problem.” Wade took Kylie’s arm before she could escape, before she could finish obsessing over the quarterlies. Dad, how did you do it all?

Wade led her outside and toward the maintenance hangar. Halfway there they passed by a beauty of a Learjet. Standing in front of it was one of their more wealthy customers, Jimbo Stanton. Standing in front of Jimbo Stanton