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I nodded.

“Good, because after all that air marshal talk, I don’t think I can just go sit down.”

I pushed against his arm. “You tease me too much.”

“Is that possible?” He rubbed my back. “You like my teasing.”

“Maybe a little.” I slid my hand under the bottom of his shirt.

“I think it’s a lot.” He tickled my ear with his lips. “You like it a lot.”

How could a discussion on teasing me be so hot? I leaned my head back, letting him know I wanted his lips on my neck. He got the hint, and at the same time his hands started to move up my shirt. They slipped easily under my bra. Before I’d registered it, he had my shirt and bra off. I tugged off his shirt and moved on to his pants. I wanted him, and I didn’t want to wait. Neither did he. He had me out of my pants and underwear and down on my back. “Ready to admit you like when I tease you?” His mouth did the teasing this time as he moved it down from my neck.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

I prepared myself for all the pleasure I knew was coming, but my excitement was short lived.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Toby

Casey jerked back from me as soon as the knocking started.

“Yes?” I called without bothering to hide my annoyance.

“Sir? You have a phone call,” the flight attendant said through the door.

“Can you take a message? We’re, uh, a little busy here.”

Casey playful pushed me. I laughed.

“Okay. I’ll tell them.”

I waited for the sound of her footsteps to fade away before returning my attention to the beautiful and very naked Casey underneath me. I’d never get tired of seeing her that way. She was truly the most amazing site, and I couldn’t wait to see what she looked like naked with her wings.

I’d just lowered my mouth to her breast when the knocking started again.

“What?”

“Sir. They won’t leave a message.”

“Who is it?”

Casey rolled out from underneath me and started to get dressed. So much for enjoying the flight. I reluctantly got dressed as well.

“It’s Jared Florence, sir.”

I groaned. By then, we were both dressed so I wrenched open the door and took the phone from the flight attendant who was doing a poor job of hiding her amusement. Casey really didn’t need to worry about embarrassing the shifter.

“What do you want?” I barked out. Getting interrupted was bad enough, but did it have to be Jared? You’d think that after getting Casey back, my annoyance level would have dropped, but it didn’t. I was still so angry at him for using her, and hurting her. She acted like it didn’t matter, but I know his response to her Pteron nature stung. Whether she wanted to be with him or not, rejection still hurts like hell. Either way, he was going to have to apologize. I didn’t like it, but she was a Laurent, and they’d be seeing a lot of each other.

“Is that any way to greet the head of security?” I could practically see his smirk.

“What do you want?”

“We need to talk.”

I sat on the edge of the bed. “Evidently. That is why you called, isn’t it?”

Casey looked at me questioningly. She could probably hear his side of the conversation too.

He let out a deep breath. “I know you hate me, but I hate you too, so it kind of equals out.”

Casey laughed.

“Is that Casey?” His voice lilted. Her name and voice still meant something to him. Maybe he wasn’t the cold, heartless bastard I thought he was. At least not completely.

“Yes.”

“Could you put her on?” His voice went back to hard and serious.

“Why?”

“Because I need to talk to her.”

She nodded so I handed over the phone.

“Hi.” Her voice was so soft and tentative. Gone was the confident tone she used with me. I hated that he did that to her, but I was glad she could still be strong with me. I stayed close enough to listen in.

He didn’t respond for a second. “I’m an ass. Let’s just get that out there.”

She laughed. “I’ll agree with you there.”

“But that said, we have to move past what happened. I want to help you, and you need to help me.”

“You want to help me?”

“Yes. But first, I need your help and Toby’s.”

“With?”

“Can you put me on speaker?”

She handed me the phone, and I changed it to speaker mode. “Go ahead.”

“This wedding is important. I don’t really get it, but Levi really cares about how it goes.”

“Of course he does. He wants it perfect for Allie.” Casey smiled. “Most guys want to make their bride happy.”

“Whatever. That part doesn’t matter. The bigger issue is that I’ve got a bad feeling about it.”

“A bad feeling?” I tried to keep the skepticism from my voice. “We act on feelings now?”

“Allie wanted to get married in Hawaii… I get that, but it’s the one U.S. territory on rocky ground right now for us. It’s the perfect location for a strike.”

“You’re worried Murphy’s going to attack.” It hit me. Jared wasn’t just worried about Allie and Levi. He was worried about Casey too.

“Make a stop in L.A. I’m getting on.”

“Where are you now?”

“Waiting for you.”

“Wait. You’re getting on this plane?” Casey didn’t hide her anxiety. She was probably more afraid of facing Jared than she was of Murphy.

“Yes. Is that a problem?” There was a challenge in his words. He knew Casey better than I thought. She never stepped down from a challenge.

She clenched the comforter in her fist. “No. Come on aboard.”

“I’ll wait till you land.” The phone call ended.

“Oh, I guess we’re going to have company.” She walked to the doorway.

I stopped her and looked right into her eyes. “If you don’t want him to, we don’t have to stop.”

“Yes, we do.” She smiled lightly before walking out of the room. I didn’t like the flash of sadness that crossed her eyes. It wasn’t just about Jared, it was about everything. Her life as she knew it had spiraled out of control. I knew those feelings and wanted to make it better. The only trouble was I wasn’t sure how.

So much for an enjoyable fight. I followed her back out into the main cabin of the plane. She took the same seat again and watched out the window. After telling the pilot to detour to LAX, I sat silently beside her for a few minutes. Then she got up and started to pace. She walked up and down the aisle, and I could see the wheels turning in her head. If things weren’t so stressful, it might have even been cute.