“The captain says it’s time to fasten your seatbelts,” one of the flight attendants said. “He just got clearance to head to the runway.”

The seatbelt had shoulder straps as well as a lap belt. Reid showed me how to adjust them.

“This is the safest jet you’ll ever fly on,” he said.

“It’s beautiful.” I gazed around at the lounge area, which included two long leather couches with plush pillows and blankets. I glanced at a door beyond. “What’s through there?”

“The lavatories,” he said, “and…”

“And what?”

He cleared his throat. “A bedroom.”

“Oh.” I looked down at my lap and fidgeted with the seatbelt buckle.

A bedroom. How many women had Reid Wolfe bedded in this jet? A lot. He was known as a womanizer.

Yet he’d been gentle with me so far. He hadn’t tried anything other than a light kiss.

I wasn’t the jealous type. I never had to be, as I wasn’t interested in a relationship with any man.

Until now.

A lump formed in my throat.

Reid Wolfe.

The man most likely to never fall in love with me.

And I was halfway in love with him already.

22

Reid

I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

I forced myself to, though. Staring would make Zee uncomfortable, and I didn’t want that.

Her blond hair cascaded over her shoulders. It was a few inches shorter, but still long and lush. Her cheeks glowed a natural pink, and her lips… God, her lips. Normally she painted them bright red, but now they were a soft pink, full and plump.

This was what she’d looked like when…

Hard as it was for me to go there in my mind, I had to. I had to remember what she’d been through at my father’s hands. If I forgot, even for an instant, I might do something she wasn’t ready for.

She’d freaked a little at my mention of the bedroom.

That bedroom had seen a lot of action. The norm for me was to bring a companion along on my business trips.

And we always joined the mile high club.

I was a lifetime member at this point.

I squirmed slightly, adjusting my boner without Zee knowing. At least I hoped she didn’t know. That would freak her out even more.

As hard as I’d been for her before, I was even harder now. Seeing her the way she was meant to look…

This was the real Zee.

Not Zara Jones, but Zinnia Rehnquist.

Fuck.

I had to have her.

I would have her, one way or the other.

The plane taxied to the runway, and when it increased speed for takeoff, Zee grabbed her armrests.

A white-knuckled flier.

I covered her hand with mine. “Don’t be nervous.”

“I’m not.”

“Your body language says otherwise.”

“Oh, I’m not nervous about the flight.”

“What, then?”