Wicked Heat (4 page)

The corners of her mouth twitched. “No saying the S-word, remember?”

“Spelling it doesn’t count.”

“You always have an answer for everything, huh?”

Some of his amusement faded as he looked away. “Not always.”

Allegra didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed when the flight attendant
appeared to clear their supper. Beneath Jett’s easygoing facade lay a guy with depth,
a guy she enjoyed talking to as much as sparring with.

His insightful assessment of her engagement impressed. Not many guys would read between
the lines and pick up what she hadn’t said.

As for his rebound comment? Maybe she was on the rebound. Not from a broken heart,
but from a lifetime of playing it safe and keeping up appearances.

Rebound Girl. Kinda had a nice ring to it. If only she had the guts to do something
about the rebound part. Back in LA, having a fling to erase her rather dull engagement
would’ve been the last thing on her mind. But here, on a jet thirty thousand feet
in the air, in a cozy first-class compartment with a hot, bronzed Aussie who elicited
raunchy thoughts every time he opened his mouth, quickie sex to clear the slate didn’t
seem so ludicrous.

Especially considering the stress she’d be under when the plane landed and she had
to score an appointment to present to Kai Kaluna. She’d come up with a foolproof pitch
pronto last night. Rather than wallowing over her broken engagement, she’d been up
all night brainstorming and collating, determined to win the pitch of a lifetime.

Maybe a little stress relief on the plane would be good for her? Clear her mind so
she touched down focused and determined.

Yeah, like she needed any further justification.

He touched her arm. “We need to vacate our seats while they do a turndown service.”

Crap, she was in so much trouble. If she could barely resist Jett at his teasing,
sexy best with the lights turned on, how would she resist him in their private cabin,
in bed, in the dark?

…

Allegra’s parents always insisted on the best, so she’d flown in a fair share of business-class
compartments around the world. But she’d never had a shower on board a plane before,
and as she stepped from the first-class private bathroom, refreshed and comfortable
in a PJ combo of cotton shorts and T-shirt, she wondered how she’d ever go back to
business class again.

Thankfully, Zoe had had the foresight to pack sensible changes of clothes along with
the frippery. No way could Allegra have slept alongside Jett wearing a sheer lace
teddy. Even in her pale-pink cotton printed with tiny ice cream cones, she felt underdressed.
And decidedly at risk of removing the few items of clothing she wore should Jett charm
her into it.

As if his deep, gravelly voice wasn’t enough, he had the just-out-of-bed tousled hair,
the ripped bod, and those penetrating green eyes that made a girl like her wish she
could wear the frivolous nonsense Zoe had packed and be confident enough to pull it
off.

She’d examined some of the items in the bathroom, and had been tempted by a designer
white satin teddy with matching panties… Before stuffing them back in her hand luggage
with an exaggerated huff.

All that sexy stuff wasn’t her. She’d tried spicing up her sex life with lingerie
but Flint had seemed oblivious. They’d almost been rote in the bedroom and she’d often
wondered if there was more she could do. A stupid thought that undermined her confidence,
but her thoughts kept drifting to how lackluster they’d been in bed in comparison
with how Jett made her feel within a few hours.

She’d heard the stories at work, women who went to bars with the sole intent of hooking
up with a guy for the night. Women who dated a guy once or twice, slept with him,
then moved on to the next. She’d never understood it, never understood the mentality
of women on the prowl.

Until she’d met Jett.

He exuded a raw sexuality so potent she could forget she wasn’t “that kind of girl”
and happily clamber on top of him and ride him all the way to Palm Bay to become that
kind of girl.

Thirty years old and she’d never had a one-night stand. Maybe it was time to rectify
that?

Dragging in several deep breaths, she grabbed her toiletries and headed back to their
cabin.

She could do this. Could sleep next to a devastatingly sexy guy who turned her on
with one glance and not jump him.

Yep, definitely doable.

Until she slid open the door.

What the…

It wasn’t the fact that their beds had been converted into a queen-size bed and covered
with fine linen that shocked her, as much as the rose petals scattered across the
sheets and an ice bucket with chilled champagne, with strawberries and chocolate truffles
perched within easy reach.

Damn Jett. Looked like the guy was hell-bent on seducing her and was doing a fine
job of it.

“You like?” He appeared behind her, his hand resting lightly on her waist. “I wanted
to surprise you.”

Her initial reaction, to chastise him for being presumptuous, faded in the face of
his audible uncertainty.

“Consider your objective achieved,” she said, stepping into the shrunken cabin now
that the seats had been converted to beds. “Surprised doesn’t come close to how I
feel.”

“How do you feel?” He pressed against her from behind, leaving her in little doubt
how he felt. Ready for action.

“Like I’ve stepped into some other girl’s fantasy.” The truth spilled from her lips
before she could censure it and she instantly regretted it when he eased away.

“Discounting your ex, who we’ve already established was a dickhead for letting you
go, I can safely say all your exes must’ve been putzes for not romancing a woman like
you in the style which she deserves.” He slid the door shut, engulfing them in intimacy.
“I know this looks like a ploy to coerce you into sex, but that wasn’t completely
my intention.”

She guffawed and he held up his hands in surrender. “What I meant was, when I wrangled
this seat after your blatant declaration at the airport, I wanted to make this special
on the off-chance you wanted to follow through.” He held his arm overhead. “Considering
we’re both this tall, I didn’t want our first mile-high experience to be in a poky
restroom.”

Our first
…did that mean their first time together, or he hadn’t had sex on a plane before,
either?

“Joining the mile-high club has always been a fantasy of mine.” He popped the champagne
cork, filled two crystal flutes, and handed her one. “Must admit, I’ve never met a
woman that I’d go to such lengths as taking her ex-groom’s seat.”

A small fact that endeared him to her further. “Let me guess. You charmed some poor
woman into doing your bidding.”

“The only woman I’m interested in charming to do my bidding right now is you.” He
raised his glass to hers and clinked. “Is it working?”

She sipped at her champagne, smiling behind the flute. “Considering I love champagne,
roses, strawberries, and handmade chocolates, you’re doing okay so far.”

“Just okay?” He drained his champagne and replaced the glass on the tray. “Looks like
I’ll have to lift my game.”

To prove it, he gripped the hem of his T-shirt and peeled it upward, revealing abs
that made her mouth go dry.

She stared in captivated disbelief as the T-shirt rode higher, revealing a broad chest
covered in a smattering of dark hair, every muscle on his torso delineated with mouthwatering
precision.

Maybe she should spend more time hanging around Malibu checking out surfers?

After pulling it overhead, he tossed it on the floor. “Enjoying the show?”

“Very much,” she said, unable to control her mouth. With words and otherwise.

Heat flooded her body from head to foot, lingering in several choice places in between,
as he unsnapped the button on his jeans and lowered the zipper.

Slowly.

She held her breath as he pushed the denim down over his hips, revealing…navy cotton
boxers.

The fact that she was disappointed he wore underwear pretty much confirmed what would
happen once they hit the bed.

“Tell the truth.” He stood before her in his bare-chested glory, bronze and buff and
beautiful beyond belief. “You wish I was commando.”

“Maybe a little?” She held up her thumb and forefinger an inch apart.

He winced. “Uh, could you not do that when we’re discussing underwear in the vicinity
of my manhood?”

She laughed, loving how funny he was. Along with gorgeous, intelligent, built, and
the rest. “From the way you’re filling out those boxers, you have nothing to worry
about.”

He straightened, hands on hips, a typical macho guy and proud of it. “You noticed,
huh?”

“Kinda hard not to.” Her greedy gaze zeroed in on his erection. “Impressive.”

“Sweet-talker.” He edged around the foot of the bed toward her, managing to wedge
them both into the corner of the tiny cabin. “Now that I’ve shown you mine, maybe
you can show me yours?”

Oh boy.

The point of no return.

Allegra drank the rest of her champagne and Jett plucked the empty flute out of her
hands. Leaving her free to rest her palms against his chest and savor the hard muscle
beneath.

Her gaze rose to meet his as her palms skated across his chest, skimming his pecs,
his delts, his biceps, the fine sheen of perspiration on his skin matching hers.

“You feel so good,” she said, wondering why she’d never taken the time to explore
a guy’s body before.

Maybe because she’d never been interested
flashed through her subconscious before she blotted out her voice of reason. She
didn’t want to rationalize or reason tonight. Tonight, she wanted just what she’d
asked for.

Hot, wild, climb-the-walls sex.

“Before we get started, there’s something you should know.” He stilled her hands as
she wondered what he would reveal that would prevent her from getting him naked and
into her.

“From what I can see you’re not impotent, so what’s the problem?”

“I only have one condom.” He grimaced as his fingers splayed over her waist. “Which
kinda puts a dent in my grand plans to fuck you senseless.”

Relief filtered through her lust as she gaped at him for his blunt assessment of the
situation.

“What? Does me saying ‘fuck’ offend your sensibilities?” He didn’t give her a chance
to respond, sliding his hands around to grasp her butt and haul her flush against
him. “Because I’m going to be saying it a lot.” He ground against her and she moaned.
“Fuck, I want to be inside you.”

He slid his fingers beneath her cotton shorts and toyed with the satin thong, tugging
it so it rubbed her clit. “Fuck, I’m going to deliver exactly what you want.”

He cupped her butt and hoisted her up so she had to wrap her legs around him. “Fuck,
I want to make you come so badly I’m aching for it.”

His dirty talk ratcheted up her excitement and she slammed her mouth against his in
an unwieldy clash of teeth and lips. She didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything
but getting naked with Jett and having him deep inside her.

He lowered her to the bed, his tongue doing wicked things with hers, mimicking what
she hoped he’d be doing inside her shortly.

She writhed beneath him, needing the few remaining clothing barriers between them
gone. He read her mind, tearing his lips from hers and propping himself up over her
long enough to grab her T-shirt and yank it off.

“Fuck,” he said, staring at her breasts with reverence, before ducking his head to
capture a nipple in his mouth.

Her breasts had never been particularly erogenous, but whatever Jett was doing—flicking
her nipple with his tongue, nipping it, sucking it so hard she arched off the bed—he
was damn good at it.

When his talented mouth moved across to her other nipple, he palmed the other, tweaking
it between his thumb and forefinger until her head thrashed.

He raised his head to look at her. “You’re so responsive.”

His tone held awe. She knew the feeling.

She didn’t want to tell him it had been a while for her because Flint had been busy
with a blockbuster movie premiere, and she’d been working manic hours to secure an
A-list client who would cement her business in the big league.

In fact, even without the rigors of their respective careers, they’d never had a lot
of sex anyway. The few times her irrepressible desire to help improve any situation
had reared and she’d tried to spice things up it hadn’t worked, so she’d settled for
staid. Allegra was a realist and knew there was a lot more to a relationship than
sex. She was hoping that after one night with Jett she wouldn’t have to reevaluate
her opinion.

“That’s because you’re so good at what you do,” she said, cupping his cheek, savoring
the rasp of stubble against her palm.

“I’m guessing you picked up that flattery trick from me.” His adorably bashful lopsided
smile made her want to hug him. “And we haven’t got to the good part yet.”

“We will.” She guided his hands down to her cotton PJ shorts.

He needed little encouragement, sliding them down her legs, leaving his face tantalizingly
close to her mound.

He stared so intently at the scrap of pink satin covering her she half expected it
to burn right off. His fingers skirted her hips, toyed with the thong’s elastic, building
the tension to unbearable.

When he continued to stare at her pubic region and tease the skin around it, she wriggled.
“Jett?”

“I’m one of those annoying guys who hates ripping the gift wrap off too fast,” he
said, then hooked his fingers into the thong and tore it off with one swift move.

“Oh—” The rest of what she was going to say faded into oblivion as his tongue delved
between her folds and licked, a long, slow sweep that ended at her clit.

She gritted her teeth to prevent an inappropriately loud groan from alerting the entire
first-class compartment that she was on the verge of an earth-shattering orgasm. Jett
flicked her clit repeatedly, alternating between gentle nips and hard, deliberate
licks. She grabbed his head and hung on for dear life.