All Messed Up: Windy City Kink, Book 2 (3 page)

“What?”

“Before you put your phone away, give me your number.”

“Why?” She frowned at him.

“So I can send you a text message on the plane.”

Now it was her turn to give him a look, a side-eye, tight-lipped look. He beamed his most charming smile and she shook her head but gave him the number. He entered it into his contacts.

The airline crew were handing out pillows and blankets to anyone who wanted them; he accepted two for him and Mallory and led the way to the far corner of the gate area, where an empty row of seats faced out the windows into darkness. The bar and restaurants in the concourse were all now dark and closed up.

He parked Mallory’s case and they dumped purse, backpack, jackets, pillows and blankets onto a couple of seats.

“Do you want to lie down?” he asked.

She gave him another wary look. “I’ll just sit, thanks.”

“Sure.” They both took a seat and he stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his hands over his abdomen. “So, where were we? Oh yeah. Talking dirty in bed.”

She giggled. “Back to that, huh?”

“I was thinking more about it while we were sitting on the plane.” Thinking about talking dirty to her, both of them naked in bed—but he didn’t add that. “Sometimes it’s not so much the actual words as the tone of voice.”

“True.”

“Even when you say something innocent like, ‘Do you want more?’ if you say it in the right tone of voice, it can sound dirty.” He demonstrated, lowering his voice to a husky rasp and leaning closer. “Do you want more?”

She shivered.

He smiled. “’Cause I’ve got more. How would you like it? Are you having fun?”

“You’re a very bad boy,” she said in a throaty tone that made his dick harden.

“You know it. Let’s be bad together.”

“I’m not a bad girl though.”

“Oh yeah? The way you were talking dirty in the bar earlier sounded pretty bad.” He held her gaze, smiling a bit, and then he touched his fingertips to her cheek. Soft.

He sensed a bit a tussle going on inside her.

“Hey,” he said softly. “We’re in an airport with hundreds of people around. We’re just playing around. Right?”

“Right.”

She was gorgeous. Smooth and polished, perfect shiny hair and satiny skin, sky blue eyes that he could now see were flecked with tiny shards of mauve and silver. “I wanna kiss you.”

Her lips parted and her long eyelashes fluttered down. And that was enough for him. He leaned closer to her and found her mouth with his.

Fuck yeah. Her soft lips clung to his. Her scent rose around them, warm and feminine and faintly floral. His fingertips caressed her cheek, his thumb on her chin in the gentlest touch. She lifted a hand and laid it on his arm, but she wasn’t pushing him away. She was holding on.

He deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth a little more, opening his mouth over hers, pushing her lips open too, and his tongue traced over her plush bottom lip. She tasted sweet, fruity, faintly like wine, and when the tip of her tongue rubbed against his, his blood surged hotly through his veins, straight to his dick.

“How’s this?” he murmured, now cupping her face. “You are so sexy. I wanna take your clothes off and lick you all over. Wanna make you come.”

“That’s pretty good,” she replied breathlessly. “You’ve got a knack for talking dirty, I think.”

“Thank you. Maybe we should work at it some more.”

Their eyes met as she peered up at him through her long eyelashes.

Chapter Three

This was crazy. She didn’t do things like this. Kissing a stranger in an airport. God! This was like the old her, the wild child who’d gotten into trouble and let people down. She didn’t do that anymore.

But damn, he was a good kisser.

She tried to breathe but her lungs felt constricted. Her pulse jumped and her mouth dried up. She stared at him and caught that glint, that sparkle in his eyes that dared her to do this. And as always, that challenge provoked her, playing to the wild streak she kept buried deep inside her.

“You want to do this,” he whispered. “Don’t you?”

She’d worked so hard not to be that girl, that reckless, hormone-driven girl. She now had so much more to lose. But here they were, trapped by circumstance, a few hours out of her life when she could have a taste of the forbidden. Why not, indeed? She hesitated only a few more seconds before her eyelashes fluttered closed and she leaned in.

His mouth slanted over hers, firm and warm and masterful. She liked to be in charge, but he was melting her and she loved it.

They were in a public place. And strangely, that just added to the hotness of it.

“Sexy mouth,” he whispered against her lips.

“Somehow the talking dirty isn’t quite the same when you’re not in bed.”

He smiled. “It’s working for me. Damn, I like kissing you.”

They moved together again, hands gripping each other, mouths meeting, tongues sliding. It was like an explosion, lust flaring inside her, burning hot. Consuming her. Shocking her. The fact that there were people nearby, that they were sitting in front of an expanse of window, didn’t matter. She didn’t care. She just wanted his mouth on hers. His hands on her.

Goddamn, he was a good kisser.

They shifted in their seats, getting closer still, kissing ravenously. He turned slightly to move over her and she slid one hand behind his back, the other onto his waist. His tongue was strong and sleek against hers, with the faint bitter taste of beer lingering along with his singular male taste. Her skin ached to feel his against her. Her fingers wanted to test the warmth of his flesh and grip those muscles with nothing between them. A moan climbed her throat as she sank into his kiss, her bones turning liquid. He slid a hand around her neck, then up into her hair where he twisted his fingers and tugged on her scalp. Shivers cascaded over her body.

His other hand slipped around her waist, over her hip and then—God—down inside her pants, fingertips brushing over the top curve of her butt. So sexy. And anyone looking at them from behind wouldn’t see a thing.

The exhibitionism part of this added a dark little thrill to it all. The fact that the windows in front of them were dark, only revealing lights out on the runways, gave a feeling that nothing was there. The other passengers sitting in the rows of seats behind them could see them kissing, but nothing else. And so she let her hand drift from his waist, over his flat, hard abs, and then lower to the thick ridge behind the fly of his jeans.

He groaned. “Mallory.” His fingers dug into her ass, inside her pants.

Okay. Okay. She panted for a few seconds as he released her mouth. Her mind whirled. This was not her. This was so not her. But holy hotness, she wanted this. “I can’t do this.”

“Sure you can.” His voice was seduction all by itself. “I dare you.”

Oh jeez. Did he know what that did to her? She’d tried to lock away that part of herself, the part that always had to respond to a challenge, but now it came screaming back to life. And what the hell? She was in an airport in a strange city, with nobody she knew anywhere near her. Why couldn’t she indulge in a little sexy fun for once? She kept it all so pushed way down inside her, all the time, now it came bubbling up almost uncontrollably.

Okay, she could put a stop to it. She thought about it. But she didn’t want to. The only ones who would ever know about this were her and Joe.

Joe. God. He was sexy. Charming. Uninhibited. Relaxed. She freakin’ envied that. She wanted that.

She was having that. Even if it was for a short time in an airport between flights.

She dove into his kiss again. His mouth ate at hers. His teeth nibbled. His tongue swept inside her mouth. Their bodies pressed together and his hand in her hair made her dizzy with lust. Her nipples tightened into painful points, her breasts aching for more.

A hot pressure built low down inside her.

Their kiss was raw and ferocious. Her brain went hazy and her heartbeat accelerated to the point of breathlessness. Holy hell, this guy could kiss. She loved it.

This wasn’t tentative or cautious. This was carnal and hot and wet. Hungry. They breathed in each other’s breath and she tasted him on her tongue, male and delicious. Every nerve ending in her body sizzled as their mouths met again and again, tongue licking, teeth nipping. He sucked on her tongue and heat stabbed right to her core, making her shift in her seat, eager to get closer to him. She found the hem of his sweater and delved beneath, searching for skin and when she found it, she breathed a sigh into his mouth.

“Mmm, yeah,” he groaned.

She stroked her tongue along his and his hands tightened on hers, his breathing hitched and he murmured her name into her mouth. “Mallory.”

That was so fucking sexy.

He shifted again, pressing her back into the seat, his ferocity startling her. Thrilling her. His mouth moved on hers, his tongue licking inside, and a moan escaped her. He took charge of the kiss, something she wasn’t familiar with. She liked to be in control. But his aggression excited her. Comforted her, actually. She wanted to think more about that, but thoughts spun away from her as sensation took over.

His tongue slid between her teeth yet again, and she clutched his big torso, fingers digging into smooth skin beneath his sweater. God! Heat flowed through her veins and her skin tightened. She forgot to breathe, her focus only on where their mouths joined and their bodies touched. His hot skin beneath her hands. His mouth on her. His tongue in her mouth. A fierce ache grew behind her clit, and she longed to be touched there. Her hips shifted in the hard seat.

They needed to be closer. Closer. Body to body. Sitting in these seats wasn’t good enough, wasn’t close enough. She wanted to climb onto his lap and devour him, but a tiny voice of reason in the back of her head reminded her where they were.

Shockingly, she didn’t even care if people saw them kissing. But she knew there was a limit to how far they could go sitting in an airport. She paused, panting, heart thudding.

“What?” he murmured against her ear.

“Airport,” she mumbled. “People can see…”

“They can’t see much. And who cares? Will we ever see them again?”

“Um. Probably not.” She sucked in air, her entire body pulsing with need. “But…but…we can only go so far, and this is…torture.”

“I know. For me too. Torture. But sweet.”

“Mmm.”

“Okay.” His hands swept over her hips, her waist. “Let’s take a break.”

They drew apart. Heat suffused her body, every nerve ending pulsing with need. She blinked and glanced around. Nobody was looking at them. Some people slouched in chairs, eyes closed. Others sprawled on the floor, heads on backpacks, blankets spread over them, feet sticking out. “Okay,” she breathed. “Apparently we’re not that exciting.”

“We are to me,” he vowed, and she smiled.

“Oh, me too.” Her hands swept up and down the sleek skin of his back beneath his sweater and T-shirt.

“Come back here,” he murmured and captured her mouth again. She surrendered to another long, narcotic kiss of intense pleasure. Hard to resist. Impossible to resist. His hands moved over her, sliding up her waist, over her ribs. Her breasts ached and throbbed, and her body quivered with anticipation of his touch. And then he cupped one breast through her sweater. So delicious. So achingly sweet. Her breast swelled into his palm and a small noise escaped her throat.

“Seriously. We have to stop,” she gasped. She covered his strong wrist with one of her hands, panting. “I can’t…it’s just too much. Torture. When we can’t do anything.”

He gave a low groan. “I hear you.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever in my life been so turned on by kissing,” she whispered.

“Huh. Me either.”

They sat there, faces still touching, noses side by side, breathing in the same air, fighting for control.

“Okay,” he said finally. “Let’s just talk.”

She went to move away, but he stopped her. “Uh-uh. Still wanna touch you.”

“Oh.” She hesitated then curled under his arm, tucking her feet up onto the seat under her. He picked up one of the blankets and gave it a shake, then draped it over them, tucking it behind her shoulder on one side, and his shoulder on the other.

“Warm enough?”

“Yes. You give off a lot of heat.”

“I do my best.”

She smiled. This was pretty crazy, sitting here curled up with a total stranger in an airport after sucking face like wild. “This place is depressing at night.”

“No kidding.”

“We’re not going to be leaving tonight, are we?”

“I’d say it’s looking doubtful.”

“There were other planes taking off. I could see them. Why couldn’t they get to our plane?”

“That is a mystery. Or maybe, it’s just fate.”

She tilted her head to look up at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe this is the way we were meant to meet.”

“Oh my God.” She caught the glint in his eye and the twitch of his lips. “You’re bullshitting me.”

“Hey. It could be true.”

“Well. Sometimes I do think things happen for a reason. Like, what happened to this guy at work. He was rushing to get home to his family from a business trip in New York but he missed his flight. He was all pissed off, but then the plane that he was supposed to be on crashed.”

“Wow.” Joe shook his head. “Stuff like that can freak you out.”

“He totally was. He got all choked up when he was telling the story. So maybe it’s a good thing if our plane doesn’t leave. For some reason. Or…” She sighed. “Maybe it’s fate trying to piss me off, not save my life.”

He chuckled and smoothed back her hair. Oh, that felt so good, tiny shivers working their way from her scalp down her spine.

“You sound like fate’s been pissing you off a lot lately.”

“Yeah. I guess.” She gave a heartfelt sigh. “But the thing is, I’m not sure I believe in fate. I like to think I’m in control of my life.”

“And you hate it when you’re not. Like right now, when you can’t get that plane up in the air.”

She pursed her lips. “You’re good.”

“Thank you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you like to be in control?”

His lips curved into a sexy smirk. “In bed, yeah.”

“Not otherwise?”

“Sure I like to be in control. But I’m not a control freak. And I’m a cop. I had to learn how to take orders.”

“Interesting.” She shifted more to look at him. “Tell me about your job. What do you like about it?”

“I get to play with cool toys.”

She rolled her eyes. “Such a guy.”

“Yes, ma’am. Glad you noticed.”

“Seriously.”

He didn’t answer for a long moment. “I like helping people,” he finally said. “I guess that’s why I went into the profession. I’m actually a lieutenant in the SWAT unit.”

She blinked. “Whoa. You didn’t mention that earlier. SWAT team, huh? That’s impressive. Isn’t that an elite team? Like a Navy SEAL or something?”

“You bet. I am elite.”

He sounded confident, but she sensed cockiness that hinted at an underlying sense that maybe he didn’t actually believe he was the best.

“But that can be dangerous. Right?”

He shrugged. “It can be. There’s a lot of training that goes into it though. We all know exactly what we’re doing.”

“Kicking down doors, using machine guns.”

“Throwing flash bangs. We have all the good toys.”

“Lieutenant. Aren’t you pretty young to be a lieutenant?”

He grinned as she repeated his words to him. “I’ve worked hard too. But you have to put in your time. I started as an officer after I got my degree in criminal justice and worked my way up. I actually just got promoted a few months ago.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

She tipped her head. “You don’t seem too happy about it.”

“Sure, I’m happy. Like I said, I worked my ass off. But it’s just a job.”

Just a job. His casual dismissal rang false and once again, she sensed something else lurking beneath the surface. “Are your brothers police officers too?”

“Nah. Jamie’s a doctor. Mitch is a computer geek. He works for Microsoft.”

“What do your parents think of your career choice? Do they worry about you?”

“I think my mom does, yeah. But she’s good with it.”

The lack of mention of his dad, and the odd comments he’d made earlier about visiting his dad yet his parents weren’t separated, triggered her intuition and even more, she sensed there was a lot that Joe didn’t want to talk about. But since they barely knew each other, and he seemed so determined to keep things light and easy, she wasn’t about to dig deeper.

But jeez. This guy was seriously making her hot for him. Brains, brawn and a wicked sense of fun were a potent combination. Her attraction to him was growing, a powerful tug at something deep inside her, a warming anticipation. A need. It was sexual, yeah. Because he was sexy as hell. But as they talked, it was more than that.

“So, you grew up in California,” he said. “And you’re an only child. Did you have any pets?”

“We had a dog. A Jack Russell terrier named Harry.” She smiled wistfully remembering her little dog. “Why are you asking that?”

“It’s called making conversation. So, you’re a dog person then.”

“I suppose. I don’t have one myself, but I like dogs. Harry was a little nutso but we loved him. What about you?”

“We had big dogs. A golden lab when I was little and then a black lab. He was nutso too, actually. He could not stay out of trouble. One time we were all out and Ace—that was his name—found a big sack of flour in the kitchen. He ripped it open and chowed down on it, probably ate about five pounds of flour, then drank all the water in his bowl.”