Chapter Four
Clay
If he’d been able to doze off he could have had relief from the primitive lust clawing his body. She nestled against his side, his coat wrapped around her delicate form. A honeyed fragrance hung about her. He shifted to ease the discomfort of his hard cock.
Not just that, but the reservation for his room in Napa lay tucked in the coat’s breast pocket. He wanted to grab the coat from her so she wouldn’t come across that little tidbit. He hadn’t planned out every detail of his Napa trip yet, but, at some point, he aimed to arrive at her room with a dozen roses and request an evening with her company.
He needed to play this just right. He hadn’t missed the fear in her eyes back at the airport. She looked spooked. Maybe it was because he was a big guy. She might have some history, bad history, with some big dude. He clenched his fist as he wondered what might have hurt her.
Never before had he wanted a woman like he wanted Victoria Singleton. He needed to play his hand close to the vest. Carefully. Very carefully.
A spate of turbulence hit the plane, jostling them. Charlie kept on sleeping and so did Victoria. He was grateful, deeply relishing the way she felt pressed next to him. In a short while he’d have to say good-bye. When the plane landed in Anchorage, he’d wish her well and probably watch her walk away, counting down the days until he could leave his family to head down to California and sweet talk her into bed.
He leaned closer to the crown of her head and inhaled a little of her sweetness.
Every so often the boy glanced back, his blue eye appearing between the seats and fixing his gaze, studying him. Appraising him. The boy looked somber, depressed even. The girl was no happy camper either. Her face was tight with worry.
Victoria shifted against his shoulder. It was nothing short of a miracle that he kept from touching her. He wanted to unsnap the seatbelt, pull her onto his lap and wrap her up in his arms. He’d keep her warm all right. A trickle of sweat rolled down his neck.
When she murmured in her sleep, he forced his thoughts elsewhere. To Paul. The man either lay in a hospital bed or on an operating table. Clay had no desire to see him or speak to him, but wanted to support Vanessa and Lauren. They loved Paul and he was crazy about his daughters.
The bad feelings between Paul and Clay had nothing to do with his sisters. When his mother died, and left with two girls and a boy that wasn’t his, Paul took out his frustrations on Clay. They clashed, violently at times, but never in front of the girls. The tacit understanding was to shield Vanessa and Lauren from their brawls. Paul might be short, but he packed a punch. Clay rubbed the scar over his lip. Not only could Paul hit hard, but he hit with the same hand he wore his Air Force Academy ring.
God, he hated that fucking ring. And Paul was so damned proud of it, showing it off every time he could, telling people “his boy” was going to follow in his footsteps.
In the end, a judge forced Clay’s hand. After Clay had broken Paul’s nose during a particularly violent fight, he found himself facing assault charges. The judge offered a choice between the military or a two-month jail sentence. Just a month out of high school, Clay took the military option, both to stay out of jail and to get away from home.
Everyone hoped he’d get his shit together. Nobody expected him to excel within an elite program and no one imagined he’d be decorated.
Victoria stirred again. The plane lurched and she woke, sitting up and looking at him with panic in her eyes. “These little planes sure get tossed around, don’t they?”
“It’ll be all right.”
The boy peered back and Clay nodded. “It’s just thermals. Warm air probably. Nothing to worry about.”
Victoria shifted in her seat. The coat fell from her shoulders and the reservation fell out of the inner breast pocket and dropped to her lap. Clay watched as she picked up the folded paper. So much for his stealthy plan.
She read the first few lines and turned to look at him, her eyes wide, her lips parted with surprise. “You’re coming to Napa?”
“I’m checking out the other hotel.”
That was the truth, sort of. Doubt darkened her gaze and she swallowed hard. “I suppose we’ll be there at the same time.”
He took the paper, folded it and shoved it in his pocket. “You’re acting like I’m Ted Bundy or something.”
“I’m not either.” She sat back in her seat, edging away from him. “We don’t even have fishing there. Ponds with Koi, but no fishing.”
She bit her lip.
Clay scrubbed a hand over his face. She was looking at him as if he were a predator. The plan was to spend time with her, not frighten her. When he’d imagined sweeping her off her feet, he hadn’t known about her policy of avoiding tall men. Who the hell had anti-tall-guy dating policies. His height and size had never been a liability before.
“I don’t even know if I’ll end up going to Napa. I have family stuff to take care of before I go anywhere. So you don’t need to worry, princess. This might be the last you see of me.”
The girl popped up from the seat. Her mouth quirked with a crooked grin. Her eyes sparkled. She’d been eavesdropping and clearly heard the entire exchange. “You’re going to Napa?”
“It sure looks like it,” Victoria said with a mix of shock and irritation. “Not that I invited him.”
The girl shook her head with mock dismay. “Am I going to have to separate you two kids?”
Well that was just perfect. A smart-ass offering to trade seats. Maybe he should take her up on it so Victoria wouldn’t have some sort of panic-attack. He groaned, thinking about how his romantic, far-fetched scheme was going down in flames.
“No, it’s okay.” Victoria folded her arms across her chest and pressed herself into the corner of her seat. “We’ll be landing soon.”
He clenched his teeth. The thoughts of the sweet moment soon to come, when he’d surprise her with tickets to her favorite opera, mocked him now as the plan failed before he’d even had the chance to put it in motion.
In a few moments, the plane would touch down and they would part ways. All he had to look forward to now was a shit storm in Anchorage, and maybe a restraining order from Victoria. Paul, his sisters and the family drama would give him something else to think about and he would try, once again, to forget about Victoria Singleton.
“What do you mean ‘family stuff’?” Victoria asked.
The look she gave him was actually a little more accusatory than a moment ago when she found the reservation.
“Are you married?” she asked.
He almost smiled. She wouldn’t ask if she didn’t care. She watched him and waited for his answer. The girl shifted in her seat in front of him. He was about to answer when a movement beside him drew his attention. Charlie lifted his head and gave a low, deep growl. His fur bristled as he stared at the cockpit.
The plane jerked to the left.
“Jesus,” he muttered.
“What the heck was that?” Sydney yelped.
Before he could answer the plane careened to the right. Victoria cried out in surprise. Clay launched from his seat to get to the cockpit.
Henry lay forward in the pilot’s seat, collapsed, his bulk pressed against the controls. Clay cursed, grabbed the man’s coat collar and hauled him to a seated position. The man’s eyes stared, blankly. The plane was dropping. The sight of blue water below drew a curse from his lips. Lifting Henry by his waistband and collar, he hoisted him out of the seat and shoved him out of the way.
The children’s cries of terror registered somewhere in Clay’s mind. He sat down in the pilot’s seat and grabbed the control, easing the stick back. Bringing the plane out of the near-free-fall, he steadied the nose and assessed the situation.
“Two thousand feet,” he muttered. He’d been distracted by Victoria and hadn’t noticed they had descended to such a low altitude.
A light flashed. The fuel indicator. Nearly empty. White-capped waves dotted the stretch of blue. A snowy mass on the horizon might be land or it might be an ice berg. He steered the plane toward the white band, praying for two things. That the snowy area was solid ground and that he could reach it before he ran out of fuel.