Love Redone (26 page)

Having picked up on Sophia and Alejandro’s fluent interaction, Shannon immediately began speaking in perfectly nuanced Spanish
, completely in tune with the dialect and regional eccentricities they displayed in their speech.

Watching as Shannon spoke in rapid Spanish to an obviously delighted Sophia, Nick thought to himself,
this is what she does. This is what I remember so clearly, how she could read a situation like nobody’s business.
 

The two women chatted away like old friends as Nick watched
contentedly, proud of her abilities, the ladylike way she behaved, and the intuitive way she had of putting everyone around her at ease.

When one of her beautifully delicate hands reached up to ruffle the dark
-brown curls of the half-sleeping child, Nick’s heart flipped over in his chest watching the natural and loving interaction.  He was immediately assaulted by the vision of Shannon lovingly moving her fingers through the long blonde curls of a little girl who looked to have the cute-as-a-button mouth of her mom and the adorable dimples of her daddy. Didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess where that vision came from since all of Nick’s thoughts and senses were specifically focused at all times on grabbing that longed-for future with both hands and doing whatever it took to seal the deal and make her his forever.

Suddenly, as she was lovingly stroking the adorable baby in Sophia’s arms, Shannon looked up, directly at him, straight into his soul. They stayed like that for long moments, staring intently at each other as another thread was rewoven between them, stitching some small, still
-unspoken part of their tattered hearts back together.

“This is your woman, Nick?
She is special, this one,” Alejandro said just loud enough for her to hear.

Nick, never taking his eyes off of her
, replied, “Yes, yes she is. We are both lucky men, Alejandro.”

Alejandro laugh
ed out loud as he said for all to hear, “My luckiest day was finding my Sophia, and I dare say you seem to have done as well, my friend!” He slapped Nick on the back and extended his hand once more in a bonding handshake, bringing nods of approval from all assembled and smiles of delight from the two women at the center of it all.

Taking
their leave of the charming Reyes family, Nick and Shannon retreated once again to the front of the massive plane to sit in the well-appointed main cabin for takeoff. Each had been relatively silent, lost in private thoughts and musings, after having seen to the safety and comfort of their guests during the long flight ahead.

N
ick was grateful for the chance to sit down and relax after having to help Shannon to her feet when they left the rear cabin.  Kneeling down next to Sophia and her adorable grandson had caused a hesitation when it was time to rise, a reminder of the injury that had started this long, odd journey they had embarked upon. Her ankle, while doing so much better every day, was still a bit stiff and unyielding at times. Was it total reflex that had her reaching out for Nick’s assistance when she went to stand?  He wasn’t sure, but regardless, he was enormously glad that his ever-watchful eyes had been one step ahead of her, for he was already preparing to help when her hand shot out.

Now that they were away from the effusive praise of the Reyes’
s, Nick was happy to focus his full attention and energies on Shannon. Helping her to a seat had allowed him to wrap an arm protectively around her waist, aiding her passage through the plane, a simple action that brought him immense pleasure and contentment. 

He hoped his gentle touch and solicitous attention was making those emotions clear to her. Nick wanted Shannon to fully understand how important to him and precious she was in his life. Their long night
s sleeping in the same bed when he’d held her and their limbs had twined together in total perfection had set the stage.

The fancy luggage he’d had delivered for her to use, the limo ride to the private hangar, the huge private jet with the Barrett logo emblazoned on the side
—all of that was part of who he was and pretending otherwise wouldn’t be truthful.  Since being completely open and honest was the only way to move beyond the outright lies and half-truths from the past that had almost destroyed their future, Nick had sagely decided to just let it all unfold as normal. There was also real effort being made on his part to open up so she could see inside his heart and mind.  These things, he knew, were important to her.

A
female flight attendant approached them with a polite smile and a basketful of cookies and bottles of fruit juice, which she carefully placed into a special holder on the small shelf next to them.

“Mr. Barrett, Miss Reynolds
, the Captain has informed me that we are in line to begin taxiing the runway. Your guests and crew are secure, sir.” she said directly to Nick. “Are we ready to get underway?” After getting a quick nod and a “Thank you, Nadia” from Nick, she efficiently evaporated back to wherever one’s private flight attendant went, giving Nick an opportunity to lean closer to where Shannon was seat-belted in.

“Off we go
, little one,” he said gently as he ran a finger down her face from ear to chin. “East coast, here we come!” he added in a jolly tone, bringing an adorable soft pink blush to her cheeks and those beautiful eyes to his. Her face told a million stories, all of which warmed his heart, for at that moment there was no shadow of lingering doubt or anger from the past hovering nearby. It was a gloriously free moment when he couldn’t stop himself from straining against his seat belt to lean close enough to place a tender smooch on her sweetly kissable mouth.

As the plane began to taxi to their assigned runway, Shannon sat back in the outrageously comfy leather seat aboard the equally outrageous
, luxurious company jet that would take them from her simple, uneventful Southern California life to the east-coast realism of Nick’s grown-up world and a long-put-off visit with her parents and brother.

Okay, so maybe h
er boring and ordinary life was not so much that anymore, she marveled inwardly.  Not since she’d slammed full speed into her past in more ways than one. In just a few short days, she had retreated from the business that had been defining her life for far too long, leaving everything in the more-than-capable hands of her assistant, Rory, and allowed Nicholas Barrett to overtake her life like a hurricane. Life as she knew it had certainly changed in oh so many ways, including the part where she had allowed him into her bed. To sleep, yes. But even that had been a huge step for her.

She watched out the window as the plane picked up speed, hurrying down the runway, gathering energy to take off and glide to the sky. Still feeling the
after- glow of the gentle kiss Nick had gifted her minutes ago, Shannon was suddenly glad he was next to her. He had reached out and taken her hand, giving it a gentle little squeeze at the moment of takeoff. She was not a secure flyer, preferring distraction to watchful attentiveness when she had to travel, but his reassuring presence and the way he always seemed to know what she needed relaxed her immeasurably. She gave herself up to enjoying the plane’s quick ascent and the capable way the pilot brought them in short order to a cruising altitude, which he announced via the onboard communications system.

The second the seat belt sign went off, Nick reached out
and unbuckled her so quickly that she gasped in surprise, hauling himself out of his own seat and bringing her with him to sit side by side, legs touching, on a soft, leather sofa.

His unexpected actions and physical movement of her body had caused Shannon’s dress to hike up her long, tanned legs before she knew what was happening. It was a naturally modest reaction for her to instantly try to tug it back into place because
she never had been one for showing too much skin in public. While being alone in a sequestered cabin aboard a private jet didn’t qualify for public, Shannon was trying to readjust herself when she caught sight of Nick’s face.

His fierce gaze all but burned her legs as he stared at her bare limbs with undisguised appreciation. She act
ually gulped because right then the air around them became drenched with a blatant sensuality that scrambled her thoughts and dried her throat.  She stopped trying to tug down the hem of her favorite vintage Ashlynn McVeigh dress, feeling a twist of feminine delight unfold at her core as she simply allowed him to look to his heart’s delight.

His eyes became dangerously hooded with desire and something she else couldn’t quite pinpoint.
Her breathing became short and shallow with expectation since she had no idea what would come next.

* * *

Nick’s mind clouded with erotic imaginings as he devoured the long, lissome limbs bared to his hungry eyes. That he wanted those tanned, soft-skinned extremities wrapped securely around his hips as he hammered her body with his powerful thrusting hips was a no-brainer. So far, they’d weathered a storm of raw emotions from their painful parting that hadn’t completely killed the opportunity for a handful of kisses and stolen caresses.

Hell, any time they were even in the same room
, he had an instant hard-on and experienced a deep, insistent need for this woman that no amount of time or her denial was going to change.  Allowing Shannon to set the pace was by far more difficult than any business deal he’d ever been involved in, for his need to take control and move her along to the desired end game was an instinct he knew had to change.  His past actions when he had chosen for her and taken away her right to have a say was a bitter lesson learned the hard way. This stage was all about Shannon. With time now on his side, he was sure they would get there because her need for him was so painfully obvious; each time he touched her she all but went up in flames.

Being a man
, however, meant that sometimes he had to constantly test the waters and keep taking chances. Reaching out and stopping her small hands from tugging down the hem of her dress was just such a test. When she didn’t resist he ran a large, warm hand up her calf to the outside of an exposed thigh, eventually sweeping underneath the fabric of her lovely outfit until his questing fingers touched the elastic of her lace panties.

A startled Shannon began to reach for his hand to stop what he was doing until
, at the last second, she instead laid her hand upon his forearm a second before dropping her eyelashes lest he get a full look at the powerful yearning surely evident there.  Things were spiraling out of control as she careened from one set of potent emotions to the next.

Was this her happily ever after? Shannon wondered.
Was she brave enough to let the past stay in the past? So many of her carefully constructed arguments against this man had been dismissed over the last week that she was left with a lot of empty space in which to create a more truthful version, warts and all, of Nicholas Barrett. No longer a demon and far from being an angel, Shannon was finally allowing herself to admit that she’d willingly take the bad with whatever good she could find as long as, in the end, he would stay by her side this time and not throw her away when the going got tough. Did she have the spirit necessary to demand what she saw as hers?

The cabin lights dimmed fractionally
as Nick muttered, “We’re on cruise control now,” in a distinctly gravelly voice. “Nadia will come around to serve dinner if you’re hungry.” She didn’t miss the special emphasis on the word
hungry
. He sat discreetly back a notch so they wouldn’t be embarrassed when the attendant approached. Shannon knew twin flares of regret and longing when the fingers at her hip, which had been deftly tracing the lace pattern of her panties, retreated. Ever the gentleman, he hastily rearranged her dress.  She’d been so wrapped up in the sensation of his touch against her skin that she’d completely forgotten they weren’t alone by any stretch of the imagination.

M
oments later, Nadia appeared as if on cue to let them know that a light repast had been set out for them to eat at their leisure in the private lounge.

Private lounge? Oh, good grief!
Storing this piece of information away in the
wonders never cease
file, Shannon rose as Nick did and, with his hand solicitously at her waist, allowed herself to be escorted to a space kept for Nick’s exclusive use when onboard. 

The functional and sumptuously comfortable lounge included a flat-screen TV with a
small table set for two next to a sideboard of secured serving dishes that smelled heavenly. A cushioned loveseat and a built-in desk sectional with overhead storage completed the room.  None of what she saw suggested the rich, spoiled playboy she’d seen him as and accused him of being.

Nadia efficiently set about detai
ling what was available, asking solicitously if there was anything else she could get them before engaging in a brief back-and-forth with Nick about flight details and accommodations for the Reyes’s and the flight crew. Nick expressed his thanks before dismissing the woman with an assurance that he would call if they needed anything at all.

Before exiting, Nadia had the good sense to address Shannon directly with a respectful inquiry into her comfort after having noticed
that she was moving with a slight limp. Her deferential manner toward the woman at his side gave Nick intense satisfaction both at his employee’s perfect assessment of what was so obviously going on and Shannon’s always ladylike interactions. She was perfect for him; they complemented each other so well that Nick was hell-bent on showing her just how well they fit. Intimately.