Colin’s private jet sat on the runway, silent and still as the pilot ran through his safety checklists out in the lightly falling snow. The cabin was quiet and warm, bright against the gloomy sky, making it easy to fall into work. I needed to keep my mind off the mistake I’d made—off how disappointed Colin would be—and focus on fixing everything. I emailed several Chinese contacts from my phone, setting up my visit. There was leverage to use, history of money spent, and the potential for future orders to threaten with. The steel had to be on the water before Chinese New Year, or we’d lose more than a month. We’d be cutting it close even with me there monitoring everything. I could’ve kicked myself for losing over a week of work time because of a distraction.
A sexy, sweet, amazing distraction who might never forgive me, but a distraction nonetheless.
I wasn’t paying attention to the comings and goings of the pilot or airport crew—wasn’t aware of anything but the plans playing out in my head, the virtual GANTT chart happening behind my eyes—until someone sat beside me.
Colin.
Still as stone, he stared straight ahead. Barely even breathing. My heart raced, and my stomach bottomed out as I inspected him quickly, sizing him up.
He looked pissed.
“Colin, I—”
“A trip to China is going to make it difficult to get to our seven o’clock reservation.” Words clipped, tone dark. Definitely pissed.
“I didn’t know we had a reservation.”
He finally looked my way, those stunning hazel eyes holding mine and refusing to let go. “I didn’t know we had a trip to China on the schedule.”
“We don’t, but I need to fix the mistake I made. That requires me to be in China.”
“And instead of coming to me and us making a decision on how best to proceed, you decided to go on without my input.”
And right there was the problem. Personal life overlapping business. Two weeks ago, he would’ve praised me for getting the job done no matter what. Now…not so much. “Our personal relationship would have influenced the business decisions you needed to make.”
He let out a breath, looking irritated. “You’re not giving me a whole lot of credit, Sloane. I didn’t get where I am by making stupid decisions.”
“Would you have told me to go? Knowing that the entire build would be held up if someone didn’t take over and get the job done? Would you have put me on a plane to fix this? Even though I’d miss Christmas with you?”
“If that’s what needs to be done, yes.”
He laid his hand on his knee, palm side up. I had this vision of teenagers in a movie theater, of a young man sending a signal and giving the girl with him a chance to respond. That hand was Colin’s move, and he waited to see if I’d respond.
I slid my hand into his without so much as a blink, making his lips turn up the slightest bit.
“But,” he said as he wove our fingers together. “I’d put you on the plane knowing you’d come back to me.”
“I am coming back to you.”
“And yet your resignation letter says you’re not.”
Oh. He thought…no wonder he looked mad. He was hiding his hurt. I reached for him, cupping the side of his face and running my thumb over his stubble. “I resigned the job, not the relationship.”
He leaned into my hand, turning to kiss my palm. “What if I said I wanted both?”
“We can’t work together, Colin. I’ve quite possibly cost you enough money to buy a fleet of yachts because I was too busy blowing you to do my job. That’s a problem.”
“It’s not ideal, I’ll give you that. But I don’t throw out a good thing and start all over when problems arise. I’ve never run my business that way—that should be clear to you by now. Why would you think this was any different?” He lifted our joined hands, kissing the back of mine softly. “Especially this.”
“Colin, I want this, too… But it won’t work if I’m more of a detriment to a client than not. I’d never forgive myself if I made a mistake that cost you money, that kept your crews from working and getting paid. I won’t destroy your business and my reputation when I know stepping away would be a better option.”
“Sloane, you’re the best Operations VP I’ve ever hired, and this one hiccup doesn’t change that.” He took a deep breath, grabbing my other hand so he held both. “I’ve negotiated with you once, and I’m ready to do it again. So tell me what it’ll take to make sure I get to keep my hot-as-hell spitfire in my bed every night, and the take-no-prisoners Sloane in my office every day.” Colin leaned in to nip my bottom lip, sending a shiver up my spine. “I want to see those sexy legs taunting me under your desk before they’re wrapped around my head in our bedroom.”
I bit back a smile. “Be serious.”
His eyebrows went up, his face totally deadpan. “I never joke about your legs.”
But the humor only lasted so long, and reality found a way of creeping back into our romantic bubble. “I won’t fail this project—I simply don’t fail. I also won’t put myself in a position where that’s a high risk. I want you, Colin, but I don’t think I should be your Vice President of Operations anymore.”
He blew out a breath and stroked my wrist with his thumb. “You know I want you. And you know I’m greedy. I want you in my bed and in my office. We can make it work. Even with this snag, I have complete faith in what you can do. Just promise me you won’t make any decisions until you get back.”
Before I could respond, the pilot stepped into the seating area. “Sorry to interrupt, but if Ms. McLaren is going to make her flight, we need to get in the air.”
Colin’s lips twisted into a frown. “Two minutes.”
I kept my eyes on his, leaning closer as the pilot stepped outside. Pressing my lips to his just once. “I have to go. I need to fix this.”
“You will fix this. It’s what you do.” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me across the seat and onto his lap. “You’re going to kick ass over there, and then you’re going to come back to me so we can finish this discussion. Because I’m not giving up.”
“So stubborn.”
“It’s how I get what I want.” He brought his lips to mine again, this time taking us from sweet to hot and deep in a matter of seconds. His tongue slid against mine as he gripped my thighs. I shifted, moving to straddle him, to rub against him. This was it, our last few moments together before I flew off to the other side of the world for who knew how long. As much as we started out adversarial, our relationship had changed. Morphed into something else entirely. And being without him for these next few weeks—
“Going to miss you,” I murmured as he dragged his mouth down my neck. “Going to miss this.”
“Me too.” He gripped my legs, pulling me closer. Rocking me against his hard cock. I fell into his rhythm without thought, breathing hard as he pulled us closer.
At least until the plane engines came to life.
We stopped moving, both staring. Both breathing hard. This was it—time to go. No more distractions.
“You should go back to the mansion.” I slid off his lap and into my seat, wanting so badly to drag him with me. “I need to get to work.”
I was expecting another fight, another discussion, but instead, Colin smiled in a sad sort of way and stood. “My bed’s going to be awfully lonely while you’re gone.” He braced his hands on the arms of my seat and leaned down, close enough for me to feel his breath across my cheek. To practically feel his demand. “Be sure to schedule phone sex into your planner. And send nudes. Lots and lots of nudes.”
Some sort of knot released inside me, the fear that he’d really stop me from doing my job because of our personal relationship. I should’ve known better, should’ve trusted. “You’re ridiculous.”
He gave me a sexy smile and one last sweet kiss before standing to his full height. “Call me when you land.”
“Promise. I’ll be back in a week or so.”
He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I think one nude picture for every hour you’re gone should suffice.”
I laughed as he walked off the plane, watching him cut across the falling snow through the windows. I’d miss him, that was for sure. Miss his sweet side and his filthy side. But I had a job to do. I’d finish what I started with The Huntley Group, make sure their project went smoothly so there was no loss of money or work time, and then…
Then I’d come back and tell that man how much I loved him.