Love on Landing (14 page)

"Nothing, never mind." Shit. Why had she let that slip? She hadn't even figured out what she was going to do yet, she only knew she couldn't work for her father forever.

"Tell me what's going on."

"It's nothing. I just—" Damn it. Why had she opened her big mouth? "I thought about some stuff while I was away and I decided I don't want to work for my father's company anymore. I'm only going back now because Stanley had a heart attack and my dad needs the help for a little while."

"Really?" He smirked. "And what does daddy think about your decision?"

"He's not happy. He thinks I'm going to stay, but I'm not. I can't."

Roger slapped his hand across his thigh and laughed. "Well, this is fantastic news."

"I'm not so sure my father is going to agree with you, but great. Thanks for being surprisingly supportive."

"This is perfect. Now you can tell your dad how perfect I would be to take your place at the company. I could be his right-hand man and you could go do whatever weird thing it is you have your heart set on doing."

"Oh no. You know my father. 'The business started in this family and it'll stay in this family,'" she said in her most fatherly-sounding voice. "There's no way he'd ever let you step in for me."

The grin fell off of Roger's face as fast as it had appeared. "True. That does sound like something he'd say." He looked off into the distance and Tali started to relax.

Maybe now he'd leave her alone and go back to his own seat. Tali squeaked as he grabbed her hand and got down on one knee in front of her seat. So much for leaving her alone.

"Tali, marry me." He kissed the back of her hand and she thought she might throw up a little bit in her mouth.

"No," she managed to choke out. "No frickin' way."

"Yes. Don't you see? If you marry me, then I'll be a part of the family. Then your dad won't care if I take over your responsibility at the company, and you'll be free to go and do whatever it is you want to do. It's brilliant."

"It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard you say." She pulled her hand back from his and wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "Get up. I'm not going to marry you."

"Why not? It's a great idea." He took the seat beside her again and leaned into her, invading her personal space. "We'll make it work. We could consummate the relationship once or twice for the purpose of giving your parents grandbabies and then we'd both be free to live our own lives."

"Oh my God. I can't believe you're actually saying these things. Do you hear yourself? No way. To any of it. I don't want you taking my job. I don't want to marry you and I certainly don't want to make babies with you. Gah, the thought is enough to make me celibate."

"That's uncalled for." Roger softened his expression and twirled a piece of her hair in his fingers. "Think about it. Your dad would be happy. I would be happy. You could do your silly art or whatever. You owe it to your father to find a way to give him a capable successor and we both know that person has always been me."

Tali's pulse pounded in her ears as the anger she felt for Roger consumed her. How dare he imply she wasn't a capable successor? Capabilities and skill had nothing to do with her choice to not work for her father. She was more than ready and able to do the job asked of her—she simply didn't want to.

"You're an asshole and you need to get the hell away from me before I clip you in your man jewels again."

"Now, now. Let's not say things we're going to regret. You know if I'd asked you this question a week ago, you would've said yes. You would be pulling off your clothes to jump into bed with me. So let's not go on pretending those feelings aren't there when we both know they are. Just say yes so we can move on to the make-up sex part."

"No. Absolutely—" Tali's protest was cut off as Roger crushed his mouth to hers.
Really? Not again.
"Get off," she demanded against his mouth, but her words were garbled as he stuck his tongue into her mouth, forcefully exploring her.

His fingers, which only moments before had been gently twirling strands of her hair, were now tangled in her thick mane. The fine hairs at the base of her skull screamed in pain as his grip tightened, pulling the hairs taut. His other hand cupped her breast, squeezing and kneading the tender flesh in ways that should have been appealing. But given the current situation, all she felt was fear rising in her throat.

This was worse than in the hotel room. Roger had her pinned between the wall and the seats and she had nowhere to go—no leverage to wiggle out from beneath him. Damn it, no way to get her knee to connect with the one place she knew would make him stop.

Roger dropped his hand from the back of her head and roughly pulled down the shoulder of her shirt, exposing the top of her breast to the cold cabin air. He kissed a path along her jaw, hungrily nibbling her collarbone as he made his way to her breast.

She opened her mouth to scream, but no words came out. Tears pooled in her eyes, blurring her vision. Her thoughts spun out of control. How could this be happening with Gavin so close?

Gavin.

She blinked away her tears and focused on the cockpit door. Please hear me.

"Help," she yelled as loud as she could, but her voice came out strained, barely more than a whispered.

"Oh, yeah, babe. I'll help you. You help me right now, then I'll help you get daddy to understand."

No. She wasn't going to let this happen. She strained her body beneath him, trying to wiggle free or throw him off of her in any way she could.

"Gavin," she yelled. This time her voice was loud and clear. A moment later she heard the cockpit door open and slam into the wall.

Chapter Eleven

"What the fuck?" Gavin cursed at the sight of Roger on top of Tali, her hands pounding his chest and back. Her eyes met his for a fraction of a second and he instantly knew why she'd called out to him. She needed help.

He gripped Roger by the shoulders and pulled him off of Tali, freeing her. She scrambled back toward the window, looking tiny in the oversized seat. He attempted to keep the fury out of his voice as he spoke. "What the hell is going on here?"

"None of your business, dip shit. That's what," Roger said, puffing up his chest. The gesture did little good as Gavin towered over him.

I could break him like a twig.

"Return to your seat," Gavin said through clenched teeth.
Keep it together.

"Sure, no problem." Roger moved to sit in the free seat beside Tali and she shrank away from him, pressing her back against the outer wall of the plane.

"Not that seat." Gavin pointed across the aisle to the seat Roger had originally sat in at the beginning of the flight. "That seat." No way was he going to let Roger sit anywhere near Tali when she was so obviously scared of him. And he couldn't blame her.

Roger smiled and turned on the charm. Gavin was sure Roger used his moderate good looks and his stuffed wallet on anyone he wanted anything from. Little shit probably usually succeeded too. But not this time.

"Come on, man." Roger patted Gavin on the shoulder as if they were lifelong buddies. "We're all friends here. Tali doesn't mind the company do you, babe? What with our new engagement and all, we've been using the flight to get reacquainted with each other."

"Engagement?" Gavin directed his question at Tali. No way. That wasn't possible.

She shook her head. "No. He asked and I said no, then he forced himself on me." Her voice cracked as she said the words.

The vein in Gavin's neck pulsed as his heartbeat raced. He could practically see the fury clouding his judgment, but he forced it away. As long as he was pilot of this aircraft, he had to remain in control, no matter what situation came up.

He turned to Roger, grabbed him by the arm and not so gently tossed him toward his seat.
That's control, right? I didn't punch him.

"You will sit your butt in your seat for the remainder of the flight and keep your thoughts—and hands—to yourself or you'll find a sky marshal waiting for you on the tarmac when we arrive in the States. Understand?"

Roger nodded and fastened his seatbelt before turning to face the window. Gavin took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to stay calm. He could beat the crap out of Roger after they were safely on the ground in the States. For now he'd have to be content to threaten him—threats he would happily follow through with later.

Gavin sat in the seat next to Tali and wrapped her in his arms. "Are you okay?" he asked her softly.

She nodded and gripped his shirt in her hands. "I'm fine now. Thanks to you."

"I'll always protect you." He kissed her on the forehead. "What happened? Did he really ask you to marry him?"

She pulled away from him a little and he could see the pain behind her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Cameron the co-pilot spoke over the intercom.

"Captain Taylor, you're needed up front immediately, please."

The line crackled for a minute as Gavin waited to hear more, but nothing further was said. Odd. Normally Cameron would tell him what he needed.

"I better head up front and check this out. Cameron's a great co-pilot, but he can only be in charge of the controls for so long. We'll continue this conversation when we land, okay?"

"Okay. Do you think something's wrong?"

"I'm sure everything is fine, not to worry." He stroked his hand along her jaw and gave her a quick, soft kiss on the cheek. The tingle of her skin against his mouth was enough to stir the familiar fiery heat in his groin, but that too would have to wait.

He stood and strode back to the cockpit door, then turned back to his passengers. Leveling Roger with a stare that hopefully evoked a bit of fear, Gavin addressed his next comment at him alone. "If you try anything—even speaking to Tali while this plane is still in the air, I swear I'll have an air marshal waiting when the door opens. Don't push me. Got it?"

Roger grunted a reply and sunk down into his seat a little further.

"Good."

* * * *

Tali sat with her eyes closed, gripping the armrests of her seat with both hands. Her white knuckles ached under the pressure. She gasped when the plane jumped with turbulence as they approached the runway.

The last half of the flight had been troublesome. Not only because Roger was a complete asshole and forced himself on her, but also because they'd run into a large weather system stretching almost the entire length of the US coastline and covering a large portion of the Atlantic. Gavin had warned them shortly after returning to the cabin of the approaching weather and had assured her they would be fine.

As much as she believed and trusted him, it was impossible not to be nervous as the plane bounced around above the Atlantic Ocean like a pinball in the clouds. She did her best to stay calm and wondered how on Earth Gavin managed to stay cool in the face of so much pressure. He was so much stronger than she could ever hope to be.

Tali felt the telltale bump of the aircrafts wheels hitting the runway and sighed deeply with relief. Outside, rain streamed down the windows and covered the ground beside the runway in puddles. Off in the distance she could see blue sky beginning to break through. The storm had almost passed.

"So that's it then?" Roger asked, breaking into her thoughts. He'd been silent the rest of the flight. She'd almost forgotten he was still on the plane. "You're going to walk away from your family and everything they've been working for and run off with this pilot. This blue-collar nobody."

"Yep. You've got me all figured out." She held her breath and counted. She didn't want to talk to Roger about her decision anymore. The choice was hers to make, and she'd made it. Any doubt she'd had back in Paris was gone.

Now she knew what people like Roger were willing to do to someone else to get what they wanted. No. She could never be happy if she were a part of that world. Her dad would have to figure something else out.

Roger grunted.

Sexy.

"You're disgusting," he sneered. "I always knew you were selfish but this is too much, even for you."

The jet came to a stop and the engines shut down.

"I think it's time for you to get on with your own life and leave me alone." Tali glared at Roger, daring him to try something again. Now they were back on the ground and she could have help here in seconds to haul him away.
Go ahead. Just try it.

"Afraid I can't do that. See I already emailed your father and requested a meeting. Soon, your father and I will be like this," he said, twining his fingers together. "He'll be so thankful to finally have the son he always wanted."

Tali narrowed her eyes at him. No way. There was no way she was going to let Roger treat her this way, then waltz into her family like he had a right to be there. Nope.

"You're going to email my father and cancel your meeting or I'm going to tell my father and the cops what you did to me on this plane. What you would have accomplished if Gavin hadn't come to my rescue. So unless you want your name splattered across the news and magazines about how you're an attempted rapist, I'd suggest you move on quickly and quietly."

"I hate you."

"Not as much as I loathe you."

The cockpit door opened and Gavin strode out looking even more amazing than Tali remembered. Maybe it was the bumpy flight or maybe it was the realization about what she really wanted in life, but Tali couldn't wait to be with him again—forever, if he'd have her.

"Do I need to radio for the air marshal or are you ready to leave quietly?"

Roger rose from his seat. "I'm going. Have a nice life, Tali. I hope you're happy ten years from now when your trust fund runs out and your 'art' has to sustain you. Mr Blue-collar himself certainly won't be able to."

With that, Roger stepped through the open door and descended the steps without waiting for her to reply, which was fine with her since she didn't have anything left to say to him anyway. The only one she needed to talk to now stood right in front of her.