Layover (Open Skies Book 1) Read online

  Bex, the quietest of them all, managed a giggle. “I still can’t believe you had sex with a man you met twenty-four hours earlier. I’d never have balls that big.”

  Libby shrugged, glancing at the front of the hotel. She wanted the four of them to pull away before Jason woke up and found her gone. She half-expected him to come out the front door any second, looking for her.

  As soon as they were all situated inside the SUV, Christa driving, Libby in the front passenger seat, Bex and Shayla behind her, Libby blew out a sigh of relief.

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re in a rush to escape?” Christa asked as she pulled out of the parking lot.

  “Not escape, really. Just… I don’t know what I’m doing.” Libby wasn’t kidding. She was still trembling from everything that had happened, not even close to processing her feelings. Unexpected was all she could come up with so far.

  “He seemed incredibly nice and totally into you. Did he suck between the sheets?” Christa asked.

  Libby laughed. “God no. Best sex of my life, hands down. I’m seriously ruined for all other men.”

  “And how is this a problem?” Bex asked.

  “I’m worried about shaking him from my mind is all.”

  Shayla grabbed Libby’s seat from behind. “Why do you have to?”

  Libby sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “You know how my parents are. My mom would have a stroke if she found out I wasted my time even dancing with Jason. If she thought I had feelings for him, she would drop dead on the spot.”

  “You have feelings for him?” Bex’s voice rose.

  Libby shook her head. “No. Of course not. I mean…no. It was good sex. That’s all. How could I have feelings for a man I exchanged less than a dozen words with? It was nothing more than a one-night stand. I’m sure he would agree.”

  Christa glanced at Libby. “Did you ask him?”

  Libby shook her head. “We seriously didn’t discuss a single thing. We had amazing sex and then he held me in his arms. I couldn’t even fall asleep for the longest time.” It took her over an hour just to calm her racing heart. “But he’s military. Probably travels more than he’s home. And I live two hours away in Dallas. I also travel more than I don’t. It’s not like I could have made plans to see him again later this week. I’m scheduled to work the next four days in a row.”

  “Aren’t we all,” Shayla groaned. “Taking these two days off all at the same time was an amazing feat in and of itself.”

  Christa ignored Shayla, her focus on Libby. “That sure was a long list of excuses. I mean, I know how your parents feel about you dating men who aren’t specifically from Guatemala, but you can’t cater to them your entire life. At some point, you have to stick up for yourself and do whatever makes you happy. If you like this Jason guy, go out with him again. See where it leads.”

  Libby nodded. “I’ll think about it.” She turned her gaze to stare out the window as they sped down the highway. She wouldn’t think about it. Not for a moment. Everything about what happened last night needed to be erased from her mind.

  Besides the distance, their busy work schedules, and her parents’ inevitable disapproval, Jason had awoken something in her she wasn’t willing to face.

  Sure, she’d read erotic romance novels. She’d looked up anything she didn’t understand on the internet. She grasped the concept of BDSM. It appealed to her on a visceral level. However, she’d never considered herself submissive. That didn’t suit her at all. She’d always thought she was the polar opposite of submissive. She was a strong, independent woman. She’d worked her ass off to put herself through school and then flight attendant training. She was still pretty low on the totem pole with the airline, but she intended to climb up in the ranks. She was assertive and a good leader.

  Not submissive.

  Right?

  Last night had caused her to doubt herself. Who did that sort of thing? What possessed her to permit Jason to order her around, force her to keep her hands in one spot and not squirm? She squirmed a bit now at the memory. Order her to come when he was ready? Threaten to spank her?

  Lord, she was out of her mind. She felt raw and vulnerable this morning. Out of control. It had been too intense. She couldn’t let something like that happen again. Not with him. Not with anyone.

  Chapter 3

  “She snuck out? You didn’t even notice?” Kraft, whose real name was Mack Carter, cringed as he took a giant bite of pancakes. Kraft had rightfully earned his nickname as soon as their Delta team formed. The man’s favorite food, which he ate several times a week, was boxed mac and cheese. At least this morning he was having pancakes. Though Jason doubted the hotel restaurant served mac and cheese at this hour. “Hatch, dude, that’s brutal. When was the last time a lady snuck out of your bed?”

  Jason groaned after setting his coffee cup down. He wasn’t hungry. His omelet was still untouched in front of him. “No woman has ever had the opportunity to sneak out of my bed.”

  Kraft chuckled. “For real? No one?” He shoveled another giant mouthful of syrupy pancakes in and chewed.

  “Nope. I don’t bring women back to my place. I go to theirs. If there’s any sneaking, it’s me.” Jason was scowling. He knew it. He couldn’t stop it. He was in a foul mood. The only reason he’d packed up his suitcase and come downstairs to meet up with Kraft was because he’d made that arrangement earlier in the day yesterday. They would meet for breakfast and then head back to base.

  That was before. Before Jason knew he wouldn’t feel like eating breakfast. Before he’d hooked up with Libby. Before she’d rocked his world in his hotel room. Before she’d slipped out of his room while he slept.

  When he’d woken up, he’d bolted to sitting, knowing instantly she was no longer in the room. Her scent lingered. The floral smell of her shampoo was on the pillow. The bed was still warm next to him. Other than that, not a trace.

  Why?

  Jason had dropped onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He’d just had the best fucking night of his life and the woman he’d shared it with was gone. Had he said or done something to make her flee like that?

  And why the hell did he care? He hadn’t brought her to his room last night with the intention of anything more than a one-night stand. He felt confident she’d returned the sentiment. They’d flirted. Danced. Fucked.

  Except it hadn’t been a simple fuck like he’d expected. It had been far more. He hadn’t known she would be submissive. He hadn’t considered the possibility that he might dominate her. Not until he had her in his arms on the dance floor. Not until he instructed her to tell her friends goodbye.

  He still wasn’t sure what possessed him to test her like that. But the moment the words were out of his mouth, her heart rate picked up and she sucked in a breath, her gaze holding his while she licked her lips and shivered.

  His cock had gone rock hard, and the situation had escalated from there. Small talk had flown out the window when he’d flattened her to the wall in his room and started removing her clothes. Emboldened by her reactions, he hadn’t stopped there. He’d continued adding to his demands. She’d obeyed his every word.

  Jason had never dominated a woman who wasn’t already in the lifestyle and with whom he hadn’t negotiated before having sex with her. There were two possibilities where Libby was concerned. Either she was familiar with dominance and submission and therefore fell into step. Or—and he was inclined to believe this latter option—she’d been just as shocked by her reactions as him.

  Either way, she’d rocked his world unexpectedly. And now she was gone.

  “So, you gonna call her?”

  Jason shook his head. “Ball’s not in my court. She’s the one who left without a word. If she wants to see me again, she can call me.”

  “Did you at least exchange phone numbers?”

  “Nope. But obviously, she knows people who could get her my information.”

  Kraft leaned back in his chair and sighed, holdi
ng Jason’s gaze. After a few moments, he rubbed his forehead with two fingers. “Gotta be honest with you, Hatch.”

  “What?” Jason sat up straighter.

  “I don’t think she’ll call. If she was that good and you want to see her again, you’ll have to hunt her down.”

  “What makes you say that?” Hunting women down was not something Jason ever did. If a woman wanted to go out with him, she needed to put herself out there. He wasn’t about to turn into some pansy and go after a woman who snuck out of his hotel room without a word. No matter how good a lay she was.

  Kraft sighed. “I overheard her friends talking after you two left last night. I was in the men’s room. The other women were a bit tipsy and probably didn’t realize they were kind of loud outside the women’s bathroom.”

  Jason could picture Libby’s friends. Her posse of flight attendants. All friends of the bride, Destiny, who was also a flight attendant for Open Skies. “What did they say?”

  “First of all, mostly they were jealous. They thought you were smokin’ hot—their words, not mine—and they fully supported Libby’s choice.”

  Jason narrowed his gaze. “How is this a bad thing?”

  Kraft cringed. “They also laughed about her choice to pursue a one-night stand with a man in uniform. Apparently, Libby’s plan was to get between the sheets with a military man. Her girls were hoping she knew what she was doing and didn’t end up falling for you because it wasn’t her goal.”

  Jason blew out a breath and turned his gaze toward the window at his right, staring out at nothing. He couldn’t really be angry. When he’d lured Libby upstairs last night, he’d had nothing on his mind but a fuck, too. She didn’t even live nearby. She was from Dallas, more than two hours away. She had a busy schedule. So did he. Pursuing her beyond last night hadn’t been on his radar.

  Not until he’d had her.

  No. Even that wasn’t true. He’d known she was special far earlier than that. Within moments of pulling her into his arms on the dance floor, he’d felt the spark. She’d gone from just a pretty girl flirting with him to a sexy woman whose gaze locked on his and didn’t let go.

  “Maybe she’s just a base bunny.” Kraft shrugged. “Sure sounded like it. She can now say she’s bedded a soldier.”

  Jason cringed and shook his head. “No way. Not Libby.” Right? Was there merit to what Kraft was suggesting? Jason certainly wouldn’t have cared one way or the other before they’d headed upstairs. But now… Jesus. He shuddered. He wasn’t willing to entertain that possibility.

  Nope. What he’d shared with Libby last night had not been superficial. Even if she’d intended it to be. It hadn’t remained that way.

  His uncontrolled feelings had clenched when he’d issued his first demand and she’d reacted with a shudder instead of slapping him.

  By the time he’d had her naked underneath him, his face buried in her pussy, her fucking sweet taste on his tongue, he’d been a goner for her.

  The joke was on him apparently. She was the one who was gone before dawn. He couldn’t blame her. They hadn’t discussed a single detail about future plans. Hell, they hadn’t exchanged many words at all. What did he expect? That she would wake up in the morning, smile at him, and agree to be his girlfriend?

  What a joke. Jason didn’t do girlfriends. He didn’t have time for them. When he got out of the Army, maybe then he would think about finding a woman to spend his nights with, but until then he wouldn’t even consider a relationship with any permanence.

  He cringed as he recalled the one and only serious relationship he’d ever been in. It had been three years since he and Veronica broke up, and it still smarted. He’d never let himself get involved with a woman like that again.

  He knew nothing about Libby really, other than the fact that the two of them were incredibly compatible in bed. She didn’t seem like someone who would treat people the way Veronica did, but how much did Jason really know about Libby?

  He took a deep breath and shook the thoughts of last night from his head. He was a fool to mope. He needed to eat this damn omelet and get on the road.

  Libertad Garcia was cute and all, but he didn’t know her well enough to let her take up space in his head. At least that’s what he chose to tell himself.

  Chapter 4

  Six months later…

  He felt her presence even before he saw her. It didn’t matter that it was illogical. No one could possibly sense a woman he hadn’t seen in six months and spin around to find her standing behind him. But that’s exactly what happened.

  Granted, there were other factors. Like the smell of her shampoo maybe, or the distinct tone of her laughter.

  In any case, Jason found himself face-to-face with Libby in the middle of a crowded bar in Dallas. For several seconds, he stared at her. She looked fucking amazing. Her long, nearly black hair hung in thick waves down her back. She hadn’t cut it since he’d last threaded his fingers in those silky locks. She was wearing a killer black dress that hugged her curves perfectly. And that same sexy pair of gold heels was on her dainty feet, making her stand all of about five-three, tops. Even with the heels, she was nearly a foot shorter than him.

  “Hey,” she breathed out, licking those soft lips, the ones he remembered as if he’d tasted them yesterday instead of months ago.

  “Hey yourself,” he replied, feeling like a moron. Of course, that was the exact moment his date wrapped her fingers around his arm, reminding him of her existence. Her bleach blond hair dangled over his arm. Her fake tanned fingers gripped his biceps.

  Jason didn’t even spare her a glance. He didn’t even care if he was being rude. His gaze was locked on Libby until it slid to the man who set a possessive hand on the small of her back.

  Jason’s reaction to Libby was completely unexpected. He thought he’d finally purged her from his head. Apparently not, because now all he could think about was the feel of her skin beneath his palm when he’d danced with her at the wedding. She’d been wearing a backless dress, affording him the luxury of enjoying her smooth skin.

  She was the one to finally break the spell, physically shaking out of their trance. She shifted her attention to the man at her side. The guy seemed younger than her. Maybe twenty-five. He had the same dark skin as Libby and black hair.

  Libby spoke. “Eduardo, this is Jason. I met him at my friend Destiny’s wedding a while back.”

  Eduardo reached out a hand. “Eddie. Nice to meet you.”

  Jason took the man’s hand, noticing his firm grip. He wasn’t as tall as Jason, but he pulled his shoulders back and pumped out his chest. He was wearing a deep purple silk shirt, the top three buttons undone.

  “Oh, how fun. What are the chances we would run into friends of yours?” Tiffany said at Jason’s side. She stuck out a hand next, her hot pink manicure catching his eye. Libby didn’t have fake nails. He would remember. After all, she’d dug those nails into his biceps when he’d finally let her move them from above her head. Libby didn’t have fake anything. Her skin was the same shade over every inch of her body, including her amazing ass and tits. Her hair wasn’t dyed or permed either. It was soft as silk. And her small breasts were just the right handful, not filled with silicone.

  “I’m Tiffany,” his fake date said.

  Libby shook her hand politely, her smile forced. Jason wondered what she thought of his date. The only thing the two of them had in common was they both spoke English. And even that comparison was bad since Jason figured Libby also spoke perfect Spanish.

  “What are you doing in Dallas?” Libby asked.

  “I moved here about a month ago.”

  Libby’s eyes widened and she licked her lips in a way that made him want to yank her out of Eddie’s grip and pull her against his chest to remind her what she craved. “Oh.” Her lips were still parted like she wanted to continue speaking, but she glanced at Eddie and then Tiffany and closed her mouth.

  Jason couldn’t know exactly what she was thinking, but he
agreed with her on one thing. He didn’t want to share any conversation he might have with her in front of anyone else. He wished Tiffany and Eddie would disappear.

  Jason was seriously fucked-up. He thought he’d finally gotten Libby out of his mind and here she was, dragging every detail back to the forefront. His imagination wandered to visions of her lying beneath him. The way her small body accepted his cock. How her gorgeous hair spread out on his pillow. How she writhed beneath him when he made her come.

  The bar was crowded. It hadn’t been Jason’s first choice of places to go this evening, but Tiffany had suggested it. She’d wanted to go dancing. Oddly enough, though they’d been here for half an hour and had been heading to the bar behind Libby to get another drink, they had yet to dance. Jason wasn’t feeling it. At least not with Tiffany. Libby on the other hand… Shit. He would pull her onto the dance floor without any coaxing. And he had. Six months ago.

  Someone bumped into Libby from behind. While Eddie spun around to grab the drunk guy by the shoulders, Libby stumbled forward. She reached out to keep from falling, her palm landing on Jason’s chest. She hesitated for several heartbeats before slowly removing her hand. “Sorry.”

  He reached out to squeeze her fingers as she withdrew, releasing her reluctantly after a second. “Not your fault. It’s crowded in here.” It was also loud. The only reason they could hear each other was because they were a ways away from the dance floor.

  Eddie, however, wasn’t as calm. He snarled at the man who’d bumped into Libby before turning back to face her, his brow furrowed, shoulders back again. A tough guy. “You okay?” Eddie asked.