22
Claire glanced up to see the colorful hot-air balloons glide across the early morning sky in different shapes, sizes and designs. There appeared to be thousands of them, and she thought it had to be the most incredible thing she’d ever seen. Umm, maybe not, she thought, glancing at the man standing beside her. There was nothing more incredible than what she and Logan had shared. They’d been in Albuquerque for five days and she couldn’t believe how much their relationship had changed.
She was amazed at how two people could shift from being good friends to becoming the best of lovers. And they were definitely that. Anyone seeing them would assume that they were madly in love. During the day, she and Logan were practically joined at the hip, and at night, they were joined at the center. And she had to admit, those were her favorite times.
Claire also enjoyed those times when they would sit out on the back patio before a roaring pit fire, sipping wine and staring out over the Rio Grande Valley. Because of the festival, there were several balloons in the sky every evening. Most were well-lit and could be seen for miles.
Claire considered her moments with Logan, sitting on the patio, to be their private time. The nights were usually cool and they would lie beside each other on the double lounger, his arms around her and wrapped under a blanket. It was during those hours that she got to know more about Logan. She hadn’t known that he coached a softball team every spring. Nor had she known he’d been appointed by the mayor of Tampa to be on the school board. He also sat on the board of directors at a number of banks and non-profit organizations. In addition to boating, he also enjoyed skiing and playing golf.
She knew the Montgomerys were a close family, and she loved hearing him speak fondly of his father and siblings. He thought Asia and Monique were the best things that could have happened to his brothers, and Connor for his sister. Claire had always known Logan was a nice all-around guy, and spending time with him only proved it. In or out of the bedroom, he had to be the most thoughtful man she’d ever met.
More than once, she had to push the thought out of her mind that she could get used to being around Logan all the time. Because frankly, she knew she couldn’t. In a few weeks, she was due to return to Algiers. And even though she’d made the decision to take a leave of absence from the State Department, that didn’t mean the two of them could get anything going.
In fact, it would be just the opposite. She’d need her space more than ever to embark on a new career. An affair should be the last thing on her mind. What she and Logan had started on this trip would have to end once they went their separate ways. He undoubtedly felt the same way, since he hadn’t mentioned anything about them extending their affair beyond the next few weeks. She was certainly glad of that.
Logan placed his arms around her shoulders and she felt warm and secure. He had a knack for making a person feel special. Just like she loved her nights with him, she loved the mornings as well. It had been years since she’d woke up in a man’s arms, then proceeded to make love before eating breakfast.
And the sights they were seeing on this trip had been worth putting on her bucket list. In Albuquerque, balloons were everywhere, and over the past few days, they’d spent hours watching them take off in the skies. And she enjoyed meeting the number of people who’d arrived for the nine-day event, almost as much as seeing the balloons.
Last evening, fireworks lit up the sky, followed by the Afterglow, where a number of balloons appeared in a brilliant colorful glow across the night sky. Like others, she and Logan had arrived at the park with their blanket to watch the dazzling event, while various loud speakers belted out the Fifth Dimensions’ popular song, Up, Up and Away. Claire was convinced she’d never seen anything so incredible. And sharing the experience with Logan just made it that much more special.
Sharing a bed with Logan was special, too. She recalled her conversation with Asia a couple of weeks ago, and the warning her sister had given her about the Montgomery men.
You haven’t tried a Montgomery man. If Logan is anything like his baby-brother, then you won’t know what hit you until it’s too late…
Claire had dismissed Asia’s words as insignificant at the time, but now she wasn’t too sure. The one thing she did know was that every time Logan took her to bed, the experience was mind-blowing. He knew just what to do to make a woman scream, over and over. She’d never known having an orgasm could be so powerful. Nor had she believed there were so many positions when it came to making love, if two people were inclined to try them. And they had been inclined.
From her conversations with Asia, she’d learned that when it came to sex, Lance was like the Energizer Bunny. You said “let’s” and he would end the sentence with “roll between the sheets.” Lance was a walking sex-machine. Not that Asia had ever complained, mind you. Claire had no doubt that her sister could keep up with her husband in the bedroom.
Claire discovered Logan had just as much enthusiasm for making love as his youngest brother allegedly had. It was hard to believe, but since arriving in Albuquerque five days ago, she’d made love with Logan more times than she ever had with Walter, the entire time they were together. She tried convincing herself the reason was because she and Walter had spent a lot of time apart, since he was in the military and she’d been away at college. But still, she had to admit that even when they’d been together, sex hadn’t been the first thing on their minds. She never thought of him as being overly sexual, and neither was she. That was normal, wasn’t it? But if that was the case, was Logan abnormal? Making love was always on his agenda. They had sex whenever they wanted it, and desire was always there between them, simmering just below the surface. All they had to do was stare at each other for too long and need would overtake them. Logan had the ability to make her scream out her satisfaction like a crazy woman. Walter had never made her scream. With Logan, she was experiencing double, sometimes triple orgasms, in a single night or morning. And like Asia, Claire wasn’t complaining.
As if he detected her attention, he glanced down at her and a smile touched the corners of his lips. “You ready for our balloon ride, Claire?”
She nodded excitedly. She could hardly wait. Logan didn’t know it yet but she had something special planned, just for him. “What about you?” she asked, looking away quickly to stare back up in the sky so he wouldn’t see the mischief written all over her face.
He chuckled. “I’ve been ready. I admit I was afraid you’d chicken out on me, since it’s totally different than being in a plane. In a balloon, you’re out in the open.”
Not too out in the open, she hoped.
They had immediately liked Craig Peterson and his wife Daffney when they’d first met the couple. The Petersons had owned a hot air balloon business for almost five years and only gave private flights. Claire hadn’t known just how private it would be until Daffney had told her. One of their balloons had been designed to look like a blue jay and had double connecting baskets. Daffney’s crew had arrived earlier and the balloon was up, attached to the baskets and ready to fly.
The part of the basket designated for the pilot had a wicker wall where the pilot could not see what was going on in the passengers’ basket. Also, booking a flight on the Petersons’ private balloon included a picnic lunch and wine. Claire’s mind had immediately filled up with a number of naughty ideas. Today, she wanted to be daring and intended to take Logan on an adventure he’d never forget.
“Did I tell you how much I like your outfit?” he asked.
Claire glanced back over at him. Today, she’d decided to wear a very short denim skirt and a white midriff blouse. She saw the way he’d looked at her when she’d finished dressing that morning. “Yes, you’ve told me twice already.”
He chuckled. “So, what does that tell you?”
She grinned. “That you must really like it.”
“I do.”
“I’m glad. I wasn’t sure about it. I thought I might be showing too much legs and skin.” Little did he guess that her outfit had a purpose.
He leaned in close and she took a deep breath. His masculine scent was such a turn-on. “I happen to like your legs and skin.”
Now it was her time to chuckle. “Since I’m here with you, that’s all that matters.”
“Good morning.”
They both turned to see Daffney Peterson approach them, looking all perky. Claire and Logan exchanged greetings simultaneously. “Good morning.”
Daffney was smiling broadly. The woman, who was just a few years older than Claire, was a true romantic at heart and Claire knew why. Craig and Daffney had met on a flight to Vancouver. Daffney was convinced it was love at first sight for both of them, and they’d quickly become initiated into the Mile-High Club while the plane was thirty-thousand feet in the air. When the flight landed, they somehow got separated before exchanging information. The next day, their paths crossed again when she discovered they were both in Vancouver to attend the same wedding. He was a frat brother of the groom and she was a sorority sister of the bride. Needless to say, less than six months later, the newlyweds were attending Craig and Daffney’s wedding.
Daffney believed that joining the Mile-High Club had helped her find her soulmate, so she made it her business to accommodate couples who also wanted to try it out. As far as she was concerned, if a couple wanted to do more than just enjoy floating in the beautiful sky with the wind in their faces and all the spectacular sights on the ground, that was their business, not hers.
“I’m your pilot for today. I’ve got your picnic,” Daffney said, holding up the wicker basket. “You guys ready?”
Claire felt Logan pull her hand into his before saying, “Absolutely.”
Logan was wondering if he’d spoken too soon. He and Claire were in their section of the basket and Daffney was in the pilot section. He recalled Craig mentioning that the two baskets were separated, but he hadn’t known just how that worked. Now he did. It was as if he and Claire were in their own little world.
His testosterone level had shot up a few notches when he’d helped Claire into the basket, which required climbing over the edge…ungracefully. Claire’s short skirt hadn’t helped matters. Up until that moment, he hadn’t realized just how short the skirt was. The moment he’d seen a flash of what he thought were her private parts, he wondered if she was wearing anything underneath. He’d already figured out that she was indeed braless. The thought that she wasn’t wearing panties had his groin throbbing.
“Before we take off,” Daffney was saying, “I suggest you not eat or drink anything while in the air if you’re prone to getting queasy. If that’s the case, you can enjoy your picnic lunch once you’re back on the ground. This is a three-hour flight and I plan to take you over Albuquerque, as well as parts of the Rio Grande. Also, I will be wearing earplugs, so if a situation arises where I am needed, that red button,” she said, indicating a red button on the other side of the basket, “transmits a signal to me. Otherwise, you’ll forget I’m even around.”
That was odd. Logan had assumed that Daffney would serve as a tour guide, commenting on the points of interest they would be flying over. Obviously not. Since Claire had made the arrangements for this balloon flight, maybe she would know how they would get that information.
“Enjoy the flight,” Daffney said, smiling brightly. And then she went around to climb inside the connecting basket.
“This is exciting, isn’t it?” he said. Claire laughed and Logan thought her smile was as bright as Daffney’s had been.
Moments later the engines roared and they were off, being lifted into the air. A feeling of excitement, obviously the one Claire had been feeling since waking that morning, had spread to Logan.
He glanced down and saw over three hundred balloons still sitting on the ground. Before long, the air would be filled with them. Logan had always been a fan of flying, which is why he’d let Lance talk him into getting his pilot’s license. But he’d never had the desire to get into a hot air balloon until now. He figured they were already close to thirty feet off the ground and steadily going higher.
Claire came to stand beside him. Now that they were more than fifty feet or so in the air, all by themselves, her scent enveloped him, drawing him to her.
He couldn’t resist letting his gaze roam over her. She looked sexy as hell. When she leaned over to look down at the ground below, his heart nearly missed a beat when her short skirt rose to barely cover her thighs. Again, he wondered what she wore underneath. He couldn’t see Claire going without underwear, especially with a skirt so short. It was merely wishful thinking on his part.
He was a man after all. And she was a very desirable woman who he not only loved, but loved making love to. Just being around her in such close quarters, inhaling her scent, was getting next to him.
“How high do you think we are now, Logan?”
“A little over a hundred feet,” he said. Had she inched even closer to him? Not that he was complaining. He enjoyed having her next to him, during the day, and in bed at night. If he had his way, she’d always be by his side.
He glanced around. There wasn’t much room in the basket but it was bigger than most he’d seen. This one had a bench, which meant they wouldn’t have to stand the full three hours. The picnic basket containing their lunch was sitting on a miniature table and the bottle of wine was in a small ice bucket. It suddenly occurred to him just how cozy and romantic the setting was, and all sorts of ideas began flowing through his head. Ideas he immediately squashed.
“Look over there, Logan. Isn’t it beautiful?”
His gaze followed to where Claire pointed. It was the Rio Grande Valley, and she was right, it was indeed beautiful. He noticed that they’d broken away from the crowd. Daffney must have set a different course for them. The majority of the balloons were headed either east or west. They were moving south.
“It’s spectacular.” Being able to see an aerial view was one of the things he enjoyed most about being a pilot. Below them were farms with huge spreads. He could even make out livestock.
Claire had eased closer to him and instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, loving the feeling of having her plastered to his side. Logan smiled. He could get used to this. And he was glad that their closeness was extending past the bedroom. They shared long conversations over dinner and during the afternoons when they would wind down from that day’s activities. They were getting intimate, in every way possible.
He knew she still grieved for the friends she’d lost. That remained a hurdle that would take time to get over. But he reiterated that her friends would want her to be happy, and she seemed to be starting to accept that. She even talked to him about Walter, the man she’d loved and lost. They were becoming close—closer than he’d ever been to a woman. Now he knew her favorite color and some of her favorite foods, and that Claire was actually her middle name, although she used it as her first. Her real name was Thomasina. She’d been named after her father, whose name had been Thomas.
This vacation was the best idea he’d ever had, and he hoped she saw it that way, as well. Still, she would remind him, on occasion, that this was just an affair, nothing more. Yesterday, she’d even told him that she hoped he met the right woman soon, because he was a great catch. He’d come close to telling her that he wasn’t interested in other women, just her. But he hadn’t. Instead, he simply nodded, letting her think what she wanted. He could afford to be patient. And hopefully, by the time he returned her to DC, she would realize that she couldn’t live without him.
Claire suddenly moved in front of him to look closer at the sites below. He drew in a sharp breath when her backside rested against his groin. As if to settle in a good viewing spot, she wiggled back against him a few times, moving her ass to cradle against an erection he figured she had to be feeling.
When she wiggled her backside a couple more times, he reached out and placed his arms around her waist. Leaning down, he whispered close to her ear, “Stay still.”
She tilted her head back to look up at him. “And if I don’t?”
Did she know what she was asking? “If you don’t, I’ll be tempted to have my way with you.”
She turned to face him, then wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in close to his lips. “Go ahead, then. Give into that temptation, Logan.”
And then she leaned up on tiptoes to capture his mouth with hers.