Because You Are Mine (Because You Are Mine #1)(27)
Author: Beth Kery

Her cheeks turned hot at his compliment, and she was glad he turned away. He introduced her to his driver, Jacob Suarez, a middle-aged Hispanic man with a nice smile. Jacob immediately took and stowed Francesca’s bag while Ian opened the car door for her.

She slid onto one of the sofalike seats, absorbing the luxurious surroundings of the elegant limo. The impressions that struck her the most were the cushy, buttery softness of the seat and the smell—leather mixing with Ian’s spicy, clean male scent. The screen on the built-in television monitor was off, but Ian’s laptop was open on the table between the two leather seats. Classical music resounded sedately from the surround-sound stereo. Bach—the Brandenburg concertos, she recognized after a few seconds. It seemed a perfect choice for Ian—the man and the music were both mathematically precise and intensely soulful. A chilled, newly opened bottle of her preferred brand of club soda sat on the table near his computer.

Ian removed his jacket and slid into the seat across from her.

“Did you sleep much?” he asked her once he was settled and the car began to move smoothly down the street.

“A little,” she lied.

He nodded, his gaze skimming over her face. “You look pretty. I like your hair that way. You don’t usually straighten it, do you?”

Her cheeks warmed again, this time in embarrassment. “It takes a lot of time.”

“You have a lot of hair,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips. Perhaps he noticed her blush. “Don’t worry, I’m not complaining. I’m fond of every strand of it. Would you mind very much if I worked?” he asked her with abrupt reluctance. “The more I can get done here and on the plane, the better I can totally focus on you when we get there.”

“Of course,” she assured, set a little off balance by his rapid change of topic.

She didn’t mind his working. She liked being able to watch him while his singularly intense focus was elsewhere. He wears glasses? She watched him don a pair of sleek, stylish lenses. His fingers flew over a keyboard fast enough to make the most proficient administrative assistant envious. Strange . . . to think that those large, masculine hands could move with so much fleet precision.

He would use those hands to make love to her sometime very soon. She couldn’t believe it. Her first lover was going to be Ian Noble.

A heavy, warm sensation settled in her lower belly and sex. She took a swig of her icy club soda and forced herself to stare out the window. A swarm of questions buzzed in her head. By the time they’d passed the Skyway and headed several miles into Indiana, she couldn’t contain one any longer.

“Ian, where are we going?”

He blinked and glanced up, giving her the impression of rising out of a deep trance of concentration. He glanced out the window.

“To a small airport where I keep my plane. We’re nearly there,” he said, hitting a few buttons on his computer and lowering the monitor.

“You own a plane?”

“Yes. I have to travel quite a bit, sometimes on the spur-of-the-moment. A plane is an absolute necessity.”

Of course, she thought. He would never be satisfied waiting for anything.

“I want to show you something tonight in Paris,” he said.

“What?”

“It’s a surprise,” he said, his shapely, firm lips forming a small smile.

“I don’t really like surprises,” she said, unable to look away from his mouth.

“You’ll like this one.”

She looked up into his eyes and saw the sparkle of amusement there, along with something else . . . white-hot heat. She had a feeling his stark declaration about her desires was dead-on.

As usual.

A few minutes later, she stared out the window, her mouth hanging open. “Ian, what are we doing?” she exclaimed as Jacob drove them up a ramp.

“Driving onto the plane.”

They rose into the sleek jet that sat on the tarmac of a small airport. She felt like Jonah going into the belly of the whale. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

She stared at him, stunned, when he chuckled, the low, rough sound causing the skin at the back of her neck and along her arms to prickle in awareness. He reached for her hand across the table and drew her onto the seat next to him. He placed his hand on her jaw, lifted it, and swept down to cover her mouth with his, sandwiching her lower lip between his own, nibbling at her. He dipped his tongue into her mouth and moaned, his coaxing kiss transforming into a voracious one.

He lifted his head when he heard Jacob’s door slam. The car had come to a full halt. She stared up at him, half-slain by his unexpected kiss.

He leaned up and grabbed his briefcase at the same moment Jacob rapped once and then opened the door. Francesca followed him out of the car, feeling dazed, excited, and extremely aroused.

The jet was unlike anything she’d ever seen. They took an elevator up to a second level and entered a luxurious compartment with a wet bar, a full entertainment center and shelving unit, a built-in leather couch, and four luxurious, wide chair recliners. Expensive drapery covered the windows. She would never have guessed in a million years she was on a plane.

She followed Ian into the compartment, her hand in his.

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked politely.

“No, thank you.”

He chose a pair of recliners that faced each other, a table between them.

“Sit there,” he said, nodding at the chair to the left. “There’s a bedroom, but I’d prefer if you rested here. The chair fully reclines, and there’s a blanket and pillows in that drawer there,” he said, pointing at the gleaming mahogany entertainment center.

“There’s a bedroom?” she asked, experiencing a ridiculous wave of embarrassment at just saying the word.

He sat in his own chair, immediately pulling his computer and some files out of his briefcase. “Yes,” he murmured, glancing up at her. “But I would prefer if you slept where I can see you. You are free to use the bedroom, however, if you prefer. It’s in there,” he said, pointing to a mahogany door. “And so is the bathroom, if you should need it.”

She turned away so that he wouldn’t notice her breathless reaction to his words. She returned a moment later carrying the soft blanket and pillow she’d retrieved from the drawer. He said nothing, but she noticed his small smile while he started up his computer.

She sat and studied the electronic control panel on the arm of the lounger, figuring out how to recline it. She started to do so.