And Vadim never asked for anything. Wyatt didn’t say it, but Roman knew it was true and part of the man’s reasoning. Vadim was a fucking genius and someone Wyatt would never want to lose. “Fair enough. I’m driving her back. Shouldn’t take us more than five or six hours. And I’m taking her directly to the police station.”

“You can take the private jet. I’ll have Ellie set it up.”

“I thought Ellie was off.” Ellie was Wyatt’s assistant but Roman was sure she’d taken off work with her new husband, Jay. He had friends in town who hadn’t been able to make it to their wedding and Jay had wanted to show off his new wife. He hadn’t said the words but Roman knew Jay well.

“Damn it, I forgot. I’ll have her temp do it or I’ll just do it myself,” he grumbled and Roman figured he was counting down the seconds until the efficient blonde returned to work. “Just show up at the hangar when you can, I’ll make sure you’ve got a ride.” He disconnected before Roman could respond.

Not exactly surprising. When Wyatt was done talking, he was done talking and nothing else needed to be said.

The jet ride was a nice surprise, faster, and a whole lot more secure than him driving Taylor. He didn’t think she’d have an issue flying considering she’d mentioned taking her company’s jet, but he had a feeling she’d have an issue with him going. Not that it mattered, it was happening. Because he was making sure she made it to California safely and he wasn’t trusting her safety to anyone but himself.

Taylor was more than just an obligation. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t known her long, he found that he wanted to know every little thing about this woman. And he wasn’t letting her out of his sight.

Chapter 8

Taylor gratefully took the bottle of water the flight attendant gave her and tried not to wonder what Roman was doing at the front of the plane. The tall, slender woman was beautiful and looked runway ready even in her blue and white uniform. Her inky-black hair was pulled up into a complicated-looking chignon and her lips were a ruby red that made the woman look like freaking Snow White.

Meanwhile Taylor was wearing borrowed clothes that didn’t fit right, had no makeup on and was wearing her zombie heels. Okay, her heels were actually awesome and the only thing that made her feel better. But she felt like crap otherwise and the dull throbbing in her side wasn’t helping any. And she really didn’t like the flirty looks the flight attendant had been giving Roman when they’d first boarded. Even if she couldn’t blame the woman.

It wasn’t like Taylor had a claim on him and he didn’t even want to be with her so whatever. His brother had taken them to the airport so she’d mainly talked to him, basically ignoring Roman. She’d felt as if he wanted to talk more to her, but she just couldn’t deal with how he made her feel all manic. Shutting her eyes, she leaned back against the plush, leather seat and tried to relax even though it was impossible when she knew what was waiting for her at the end of the flight.

“What you heard me tell my brother was bullshit.” Roman’s voice startled her.

She hadn’t even heard him approach. Opening her eyes, she turned in her seat to find herself staring into his mismatched eyes and fought that increasingly familiar sensation of being swallowed up by the man just by looking at him. “Excuse me?” As soon as they’d boarded he’d headed up to the cockpit and she hadn’t seen him even during takeoff. It was clear he knew the pilot and co-pilot, probably from previous travel with his boss. A shockingly jealous part of her had wondered if he’d been on more than friendly terms previously with the flight attendant. Ugh, she didn’t like feeling like this.

He sat directly next to her in one of the big, comfortable, leather seats instead of across the aisle from her, his nearness putting her on edge. That familiar masculine, woodsy scent wrapped around her as he leaned closer, his body heat scorching. “I don’t want to get rid of you.”

She wasn’t going to pretend she hadn’t heard him at his place, because his words had hurt. “Then why’d you say it? Are you embarrassed by me?” That insecure part of her she thought she’d left behind in high school flared to the surface. The girl who’d never quite fit in—and still felt awkward in a lot of social situations—and wondered why a man like Roman had even kissed her.

He blinked as if she’d truly surprised him, something she figured didn’t happen too often. “Embarrassed? Why would I be embarrassed by you?”

His surprise soothed her ego, but she still wanted an answer to her first question. She shrugged. “Why’d you say it?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t know.”

“That’s helpful,” she muttered, annoyance ratcheting up more than hurt.

Gritting his teeth, he met her gaze. “That kiss took me off guard and… I don’t fucking know. You make me feel crazy and I didn’t want to deal with questions from my brother when I had no idea how to answer him.”

Okay now she was confused. “I make you feel crazy?”

“Yeah.” His voice dropped an octave and he leaned in a fraction before he stopped himself and pulled back. Not enough to put actual distance between them, his masculine scent teasing her senses as it wrapped around her. “I’m near you and I want to kiss you. I think about you, and I get fucking hard,” he growled.

Her lips parted in surprise and just like that, his gaze dropped to her mouth and he let out a soft groan she might not have heard if they weren’t sitting so close.

“Are you hard right now?” she whispered, unable to take her gaze from his face.

“As stone.” His words were a guttural confession.

Just like that her nipples hardened and heat flooded between her legs. His words were like a full-body caress for how they affected her.

Unable to stop herself, her gaze dipped down but he had his laptop case placed over his lap. When she looked back at him, his gaze seemed to darken as he watched her intently, waiting for a response.

She leaned a fraction closer, as if drawn by the magnetic pull between them. “My nipples are hard too,” she whispered, the bold admission unlike her. Everything going on in her life might be insane, but the attraction she felt for Roman probably took the cake. There was no explaining it.

“I’m not looking for a relationship,” he quietly blurted.

Okay, that doused some of her desire, but…her gaze fell to his mouth again and her nipples tightened even harder against her bra cups. “Good. Neither am I.” Which was mostly true. She didn’t have time for a relationship, especially now, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want Roman. Maybe some good sex would be enough to get him out of her system. Though part of her was really disappointed by the no relationship statement even if she wasn’t looking.

The flight attendant chose that moment to interrupt them, asking Roman if he needed anything else. He answered no without looking at her, which made Taylor smile. Once they were alone again, she leaned back against her seat and tried not to fantasize about going to bed with him. She felt guilty for her thoughts with everything else going in.

It was definitely time for a subject change. “How do you like working for Wyatt Christiansen?”

Roman paused for a long moment, as if he didn’t like the shift in topic, but then he sighed and seemed to relax, the tension in his shoulders loosening as he leaned back against his seat. He was still turned in her direction. “He’s a good boss. Benefits are good too. He takes care of his people.”

“That’s a very succinct answer.”

His lips twitched as if he wanted to smile—she wondered what it would take for him to full-on smile at her. “There’s not much else to say. The guy’s a hard ass when he needs to be, but he’s fair. I like working for him and I like the people I work with. Did he offer you a job again?”