Remember that scene in The Incredibles where the father grabs the family under his arms in slow motion as he runs away from the explosion they caused? That’s pretty much how we leave the island.

Marv has Kara over his shoulder, and he’s practically dragging me and Dex behind him as he runs down the hallway in a panic.

“What the fuck, Marv?” Dex shouts, trying to remove his wrist from Marv’s grasp.

Marv squeezes us even tighter as he runs. “We’re getting out of here before he changes his mind!”

We don’t stop running until we get to the plane. Marv yanks the stakes out of the ground with a savage grunt as Dex jumps inside.

“Get in,” Dex says to me as he waves me over.

“What about the walk-arou—”

“Go!” Marv barks, giving me a look that has me sprinting to the passenger side of the plane.

“Why are we bringing her?” Kara asks as she glares at me. We’re climbing into the airplane at the same time. “She doesn’t even work for us anymore.”

I just ignore her as Marv tosses the rope on the sand and opens the door.

“Wait!” Prince Kalib shouts as he runs down the path toward us.

Marv slams his door closed. “Go! Go! Go!”

Dex is a bit of a wild man, but he is a good pilot, and even he wouldn’t leave without doing the necessary inside safety checks. He tries to do them quickly, but the prince catches up.

“Mr. Dex,” he says, knocking on the window. “Please. A word.”

“I can’t hear you,” Dex says, pointing to the headset covering his ear.

“I just spent over a hundred million dollars!” the prince shouts as he turns red. “You can give me thirty seconds of your time!”

Dex takes a deep breath and pulls out the key, placing it in my hand as he opens the door.

“Get the fuck back in here!” Marv shouts. “That’s an order!”

He doesn’t know who he’s talking to. Dex doesn’t take orders from anybody.

I try to ignore Marv’s grumbling from the back as I lean toward the window, trying to hear what they’re saying.

“That was a clever move,” Prince Kalib admits. “I’m willing to tack on an extra million if you can make what we discussed a reality.”

My stomach flutters. What they discussed? What did they discuss?

I have a bad feeling that it somehow involves me.

“And what’s that?” Dex asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

The prince looks uncomfortable. Anyone would look uncomfortable with a powerhouse like Dex staring them down like that.

“One night with your wife,” he says with a gulp. “For one million dollars.”

My mouth drops. Am I worth that much?

“No,” Dex growls. “She’s mine and only mine.”

Dex turns back to the plane, but the prince doesn’t know when to stop. He’s used to getting everything he wants, so he probably doesn’t recognize how close to getting punched he is right now.

“Five million.”

Dex turns and cracks him in the face with a hard jab. His thunderous fist slams into the prince’s royal nose and he falls on his ass, staring up at my man in shock.

“You want to make another offer?” Dex asks, stepping toward him with his hands squeezed into fists.

Prince Kalib shakes his head. Blood is trickling from his nose onto his chin.

“Good,” Dex says, straightening back up. “You can’t have everything in this world, Kalib. Riley is mine.”

My heart is racing as Dex gets back into the plane. He puts the headset back on and starts the engine without saying a word.

I finally take a breath when we take-off and are flying away from the island.

I guess I’m his.

A smile breaks across my face as Dex levels the plane off.

I’m his, and he’s not sharing me for anything.

He still hasn’t said a word as he reaches out and takes my hand, giving it a little squeeze. My heart skips a beat.

I think I’m going to like being his.

* * *

Dex slows the engine when we’re safely in the air, flying away from the island. I lean back in my seat and take a breath of relief as I watch him behind the controls, expertly maneuvering the plane.

He’s wearing a tank top, and his large tattooed arms look simply beautiful as he moves them around, flicking switches and turning dials. I wish the back seats were empty so I could undo my seatbelt, lean over, and find out the true reason why this space is called a cockpit.

But unfortunately, we have company behind us.

The worst kind of company.

“Tell her,” Kara says through the headset. She sounds like a snotty, spoiled brat. I look around for the red emergency lever that controls her seat, but unfortunately Cessnas don’t come equipped with ejection seats.

“Tell her she’s fired,” Kara says, glaring beside her at Marv.

Marv is grinning widely as he stares out the window. His knee is bouncing up and down in excitement. Good for him. He can add another hundred and twenty million to the pile of money that he’ll never get through.

“Marvin,” Kara whines. “Tell her.”

I hold my breath as Marv leans through the gap in the seats and pats my shoulder. “Great job back there, Riley. You too Dex.”

“But…” I say, starting the sentence that I know he’ll finish.

“But nothing,” Marv says. “You’ll get your commission, and you can keep your job.”

“Really?” I ask, turning in shock. But it’s not Marv that I look at, it’s Dex. He’s smiling contently as he flies.

“I see what you mean about her,” Marv says, turning to Dex with a nod. “She is a clever one.”

“And hot too,” Dex says, shooting me a wink.

I swallow hard as I stare at his face, finally believing that he loves me. Oh, my God. That’s so terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

Dex loves me.

But of course he does. It’s fate. I know that now.

No way can two polar opposites like us get together without a little nudge from lady fate. She may be a stubborn bitch, but if I ever meet her, I owe her a thank you.

“What?!?” Kara screams when she hears the news. “The yachts are sold. You’re supposed to fire her!”

Marv just rolls his eyes, not looking back at his bitching wife.

“When you finish flight school,” Marv continues, “you have a job as a pilot waiting for you with Gladstone Industries.”

“Really?” I ask, whipping my head around. “A pilot?”

“Co-pilot,” Dex corrects.

I grin at him and he gulps. “We’ll see.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Kara asks, clawing her husband’s shoulder. “She’s just a fuc—”

Dex smiles as he shuts off her mic.

“That’s better,” Marv says as we all take a breath of relief. Kara folds her arms across her chest and sits back down in her seat, sulking like a spoiled kid.

I can’t stop grinning. I just got six hundred thousand dollars and a job as a pilot. Not to mention my sexy pilot boyfriend. Things are looking up for Riley!

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I ask Dex. We’ll be flying together everywhere. We’re both control freaks, and I don’t know how we’re going to fly a plane with our two completely different styles, but I just know that it’s going to work.

“You said it yourself,” he answers with a grin. “The FAA requires that all jet air transport aircrafts have at least two pilots. I may be as smart and sexy as two people, but I’m still only one.”

“Are you going to be able to share the controls?”

This is going to be so much fun!

He flicks off Marv’s headset and I chuckle.

“Just remember,” he says, turning to me with a heated stare. “In my cockpit, you follow my rules.”

“Our cockpit,” I correct, raising my chin in the air. “Our rules.”

“Better brace yourself.”

“For what?”

He looks at me and smiles. “For some heavy turbulence.”