She was floating. Somewhere warm and safe.

Sunshine filled her senses, and she breathed the salt air into her lungs.

Off in the distance, the whistle and chirp of a bird blended in with the whispering sea breeze. She didn’t feel the sand between her toes because she was drifting above it, over the churning tide, and over into a private bungalow with white, billowy curtains, thick pillows, and … him.

She moved into his open arms. Her eyes closed, yet she could still feel the heat of his intense blue-eyed stare through her eyelids. She pushed the swag aside with a gentle sweep of her hand. Crawling on her knees, she crept into the cushions that held him, nestled in nakedness, tanned, muscled, and spattered slightly with ashen hair.

She rested her head in his lap and took a deep breath as his fingers combed through the wind-styled tresses. A sigh escaped her lips, only in true pleasure and no frustration.

Even though she didn’t see him clearly, she felt him, sturdy, strong, and manly beneath her. He touched her thigh and ran a finger all the way up the inside of her leg, begging for approval at the line of her bikini bottom. She bit her lower lip and held her breath. She so wanted to open her eyes and see who was making her horny, wiggling about and needing a release, but she couldn’t lift her eyes, no matter how hard she tried. She was so exhausted, spent, and tired from her toils and journey. His masterful touch was the soothing salve and medication for her ailment like nothing ever.

His hand continued to tease the softness of her upper thigh, teasing at the side of the bikini straps that held the scrap of material together on her. She gasped and nearly bucked up when his other hand slid up her stomach and cupped her breast. Deft fingers squeezed gently, only on the very tip of her nipple, pinging her with pleasure that traveled all the way down to her aching clit.

Nicole had never felt this way ever before, not from a single touch. From one tiny flick at her ever-so-sensitive nipple. Her heart pounded away, racing a hundred miles an hour. She bit her lower lip and slowly spread her legs, giving him instant approval to take her. Here. There. Anywhere. Everywhere. All of her.

His finger delved into her, moving up, up, up…

Nicole was already dripping wet. She almost jerked back out of reflex when his first finger was joined by a second inside her throbbing pussy. Her mouth opened and she grabbed his strong arms, pulling him down her body even while he pleasured her on the way down.

She whispered two words into his ears… “Taste. Me.”

Although he chuckled, he didn’t object. His head bowed between her legs which were trembling both in a mélange of fear and anticipation all at the same time. His teeth nipped at the top of her thigh, and then they moved her dampened bikini panty to the side. He blew his warm breath over her just-been-waxed pussy causing her insides to melt, tighten, and cry out in need. She felt a shot of passion ringing from her clit all the way to her spine, leaving her breathless and damn near to the point of passing out.

As his mouth moved over her, they rocked back and forth, bouncing on the cushions and…

Bouncing…

A jolt of awareness.

Was someone tugging on her?

Knocking her away from him?

The surprised movement shook her away from him, away from his—

“—experiencing some unexpected turbulence. The captain has turned on the seatbelt sign for your safety. Please return to your seat and fasten your seat belt…”

Nicole shot up, completely discombobulated and no clue where she was for a sec.

“Are you okay?” a man asked near her.

That voice.

That same low, sexy voice from her… what was it? A dream? A fantasy? A vision?

“Nicole?” he pressed.

She blinked hard and sat up, knocking the pillow and blanket she’d been using to the floor. Oh, now she remembered. Flight. New York. Upgrade to first. Hunky, hot man. Chivas. And, way too much of it for that matter.

Lifting her head, she remembered him immediately. Not like the man she’d met at the airport or the one who she’d been sitting with, but the same powerful presence, deadly eyes, and masterful touch that had hand fucked her in her dream.

It couldn’t be a dream. It was so real.

She touched her hand to her lips as if to recall the memory of his lips on hers. Her mouth actually tingled from his whiskers, or, at least, she felt like they did. It couldn’t be, though. First of all, she couldn’t have slept through something that erotic and personal. Second, they were on a plane, in public, and people certainly would have seen him go down on her. Too bad because her jeans rubbed uncomfortably against her crotch now, hot, wet, and primed for action with no way to get a release.

Dammit… disappointment coated her with the realization it was all a fantasy induced by stress, exhaustion, altitude, and Scottish whiskey.

And, there was nothing she could do about it.

Or was there?

“You all right?” Nick asked her quietly.

“Hey. Yeah. Wow, how long was I out?” she asked, trying out her voice.

“About forty minutes.”

Her eyes popped open now. “I missed the food, didn’t I?”

Nick reached up and pressed the attendant button. Soon enough, the nice woman appeared.

“There you are. Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty. Usually, if anyone misses our food service, there’s nothing we can do about it, but your fiancé here told me about your medical condition, so I can make an exception for you. I’ll be right back with your food, sweetie.”

Nicole glanced first at Nick and then the flight attendant as she rushed away. Then, back to him, she asked, “Fiancé?”

“I couldn’t tell her I was a complete stranger.”

Nicole thought it over and nodded. “I suppose. And, what medical condition would she be referring to that would rate such special service?”

Slanting toward him, she watched an evil grin cross his face. “I told her you were pregnant.”

“What? Get the fuck out of here,” Nicole spewed out, almost choking.

He wagged his eyebrows and gave her a smile. “I scored you a plate of lasagna, at least.”

She furrowed her brows. “That’s all? Being fake pregnant should get me stellar treatment.”

He shrugged. “It’s first class, but then again, we’re here, so…there’s that.”

“Still…”

She scrunched up her nose for a moment, but then laughed. “You’re quick on your feet. Something they taught you in Ranger school?”

“I’m a natural,” he said.

“Oh, I get it. A natural born bullshit artist.”

He bowed his head in her direction. “In the flesh.”

She lowered her eyes and let out a gust of breath. “It’s a damn good looking piece of flesh,” she mumbled under her breath.

At first, her heart nearly stopped after the words came out. She was never that forward. But she’d let the words escape her thoughts and roller coaster off her tongue and out of her mouth. And by that sideways glance he gave her, he must have heard it. Yet he didn’t laugh it off or anything. His eyes darkened with what she could only interpret as…maybe intrigue.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” he finally said.

With her heart drumming in her chest and extra freedom on her lips, she whispered, “I have a tendency to be a very bad girl… with pretty naughty thoughts.”

His brow arched with curiosity. “Yeah?”

“I had a particularly yummy dream about you. And me. In a delicious compromising position.”

“Me too,” he said, dipping his head close to hers. “It wasn’t a dream, though. More of a full-fledged fantasy.”

“Too bad we have to part ways in New York. Or else we could—” She let the thought die on her lips, wondering if she’d pushed too far.

Too bad they would part ways in New York.

Suddenly, that made her insides ache all the more. Was it because she’d probably never see him again, or because the security of being in the air would be over and the stress would restart. If she wasn’t ever going to see him again and if she was going to be tortured, threatened, or even killed for what she knew, then what the fuck did she care? She didn’t want to die this way. Stressed out, alone, sad.

There were so many things a girl could do with a man she’d never see again.

“We could what, Nicole?” he asked ever so slightly.

Had he simply asked her the question, she might have been able to fight the urge from deep within her. However, when he sexily said her name, her pussy tightened in anticipation, and her skin tingled with a burning fever. One to touch and be touched. One to satisfy and be satisfied. One to fuck and be fucked.

She licked her lips and took the plunge. “You know what I’ve never done?” she teased.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“I’m not a member of the Mile High Club.” She couldn’t believe she actually admitted that to a complete stranger. It had to be the alcohol still stirring in her veins. Then again, Nick wasn’t exactly a stranger at this point. They’d shared information about their childhood, their life, hell, they’d been flirting from the get-go. This was no different than meeting someone in a bar, dancing, and then going home with them. The only thing was there was no convenient bed or couch and opting for the cabin floor wasn’t going to work. The obvious choice was to toss out the sex in-flight option.

Nick sat up and looked at her with one eyebrow cocked. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. How about you?”

“Me? Sure. I’ve got the membership card to prove it,” he said with a gravelly laugh. “But, do military flights count?”

She pulled her bottom lip in with her top teeth to consider it. “Were other people around?”

He shook his head. “Just the flight crew in the cockpit. She and I were in the cargo hold on standby fly with supplies going from one base to the other. We were both transferring out to another unit, so it was just us, a bottle of arak she’d picked up in Iraq. She wasn’t even that nice to me. More of a convenient thing after coming out of a war zone.”

“What’s arak?”

Nick made a sour face. “Arabic liquor. It’s this nasty shit that tastes like licorice.”

“Gross. Maybe that’s why you let a mean girl into your cockpit.”

“Maybe so,” he said, chuckling. “How come you’ve never done it on a plane?”

“I never had the nerve to try because I’ve actually always worried about being caught.”

Nick harrumphed. “Don’t worry. They don’t make you parachute out afterward or anything like that,” he assured her. He looked her up and down, and playfully added, “I’d be happy to help you get initiated if you’d like.”

“Now, are you serious?” She felt like a teenager about to do something that could get their privileges revoked from a parent. Was she seriously considering having sex with this guy she met less than two hours ago? In the airplane restroom, no less.

“I’ll go on up to the bathroom. You should wait a minute before you come in. Not that I care, but you might not want to experience the mean stares of judgy strangers if we go in together.”

Fuck, he’s a real pro at this.

“But, aren’t we engaged?” she added, overly batting her eyelashes for emphasis.

“Ohhhh… right. We should tell Gloria to keep your food warm for the time being.”

Nicole smirked at him. “We’re on a first-name basis with her, are we?”

He flattened his mouth. “She’s sixty. Please.”

Nicole raised her brows at him and felt a rush of heat overtake her. “Well, then, I guess I’ll see you in a few.”