Layover (Open Skies Book 1) Read online

  He followed that text with his address, guessing she wouldn’t respond.

  She didn’t.

  Now he just needed to occupy his time for the next seven hours so he wouldn’t lose his mind waiting for Libby to arrive.

  Chapter 7

  What the hell was she thinking? Libby was decidedly out of her mind. Showing up at Jason’s door this evening had to have been the most hairbrained idea of her life.

  Sure, she’d had a one-night stand. Yes, it had been the best sex of her life, hands down. Yes, she realized she would never experience anything even close to that again. Still…returning for more was ludicrous. She already knew based on her reaction to Jason the night in his hotel room and last night outside the bar that she would melt the moment he opened the door. He brought out something in her she hadn’t known existed. It both scared her and exhilarated her.

  She stood on his front porch for several moments, wringing her hands together while she stared at the door. She was still working up the nerve to knock when the door opened. Of course. He easily could have seen or heard her pull into his driveway and exit her Honda.

  She sucked in a breath at his appearance. The only thing he was wearing was a pair of jeans. No shirt. No shoes. No socks. Just the jeans. Her mouth watered, and she licked her lips.

  He leaned his shoulder against the door frame and crossed his arms loosely, smirking. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to knock or just stand out here.”

  “Sorry. I was working up to it.” Her gaze roamed to his chest. His damn fine chest. He was living sculpture with muscles upon muscles. She wanted to flatten her palms on his pecs. Hell, she wanted to drag her tongue across them.

  “Are you afraid of me?”

  She jerked her gaze upward and shook her head. “No. I’m afraid of me.” That was the truth. For some reason she trusted him. Maybe because he’d given her no indication he would harm her or anyone. Maybe because Destiny knew him, and surely Trent wouldn’t let a friend of his wife get involved with a known ax murderer.

  He smiled. “I can work with that.” And then he held out a hand, giving her the power to choose to take it or not.

  She took a deep breath and then reached out and set her much smaller hand in his.

  “That’s my girl.” He pulled her against him, trapping her palm against his chest while his free hand threaded in her hair and tugged hard enough to get her to tip her head back. “That denim has to be chafing against your clit, little one.”

  She stopped breathing. It was. But the fact that it was the first thing he pointed out was shocking. “Yes.”

  “Do you like that? Did you get off from it?”

  She squirmed as much as she could in his firm grip. They were still standing in the open doorway, and she wondered when he might back up and invite her inside. A tiny voice in the back of her head warned her that a neighbor might be watching this interaction. Though really, to a distant eye it would just look like two lovers drawn into an embrace.

  “No.” She hadn’t. She had considered it, but she hadn’t touched herself all day either. She’d wanted to let the arousal build before she got here.

  He lifted a brow. “Impressive. Did you masturbate today?”

  “No.” She felt her face heat.

  “Last night?”

  “Yes.” That one word was breathy. “Twice.” No sense lying to him. He’d insisted she not have sex with Eddie—and there had never been any chance of that happening—but he hadn’t said a word about masturbating.

  He tipped her chin back farther and gently kissed her lips before stepping back just enough to shut the door. Before she had a chance to look around, he flattened her to the door and cupped her face, blocking her view of the inside of his home. “Did you let Eddie touch you?”

  Ah. So he intended to continue this line of questioning.

  She shuddered at the thought. “No. And I wouldn’t have, even if I hadn’t run into you. I wasn’t into him.”

  “Why were you out with him?”

  “My mother set me up,” she confessed.

  “Your mom?” His eyes crinkled with humor.

  “Yeah. Long story.”

  “Can’t wait to hear it. But back to your hot body. Did you get yourself off with your fingers or did you use a toy?”

  She swallowed. He was demanding such personal information from her. And she felt compelled to answer every question. “A vibrator. I’ve never been able to come without a vibrator.”

  He lifted a brow. “You came with me after the wedding. I didn’t use a vibrator.”

  She stared at him.

  Both brows lifted. “Have you never orgasmed with a man?”

  She shook her head. “You’re about to go all kinds of cocky on me now, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. Hell, yes.” He smiled as he released her hand and slid his fingers up to touch her chin.

  She flattened her palm on his chest and enjoyed the sheer power he exuded. The warmth of his smooth, hard skin.

  Finally, he released his grip on her hair and slid his fingers down her arms to clasp her hands in his as he stepped back. “Come on. I’ll show you around and then we can talk. I realized I know very little about you except that you’re an amazing submissive, and my cock gets all kinds of hard every time I’m around you because of it.”

  “I’m not a submissive really.”

  He gave her another slow smile. “Is that so?”

  She drew in a breath. “I mean, I never thought about it. I’ve never been with anyone like you. I’ve read about it of course, but never considered something like that for me in real life.”

  “But you’ve fantasized.”

  She shrugged. “Hasn’t everyone?”

  “I have no idea, but I’m not complaining. You’re so pure. It’s hot.”

  It was hot all right. Her face was burning from the level of intimate conversation they’d already engaged in, and she’d been here all of five minutes. “Yeah, well, you should know I have no idea what you might be expecting of me. I’ll probably fuck it up.”

  He chuckled. “For right now, I expect you to talk to me while I feed you. We’ll see how things go after that. I don’t follow some sort of protocol. It’s more of a natural thing. I’ll take my cues from you and do my best to meet your needs.”

  “My needs?”

  “Yep. That’s what it’s all about, really. Dominance and submission, I mean. I love nothing more than fulfilling a woman’s every desire.” He tapped her nose. “And you, little one, get off on having a firm hand in control. So, if we move to my bedroom later, then I’ll expect you to submit to me. But for right now, I want you to relax and tell me everything there is to know about Libertad Garcia.”

  She smiled at him. “Your Spanish accent is amazing.”

  “I learned it in the Army. Part of the job. Language immersion. I’m not the best, but I can get by.” He tugged her hand as he turned toward the room.

  She was shocked to find it empty. “You, uh, lack furniture.”

  He laughed. “Yep. Just bought this place a month ago. I haven’t had a chance to fully furnish it. I’ve been working a lot, so I had to choose one room at a time on the weekends. I started with the master bedroom and then moved to the office. One of these days maybe I’ll add a couch,” he joked.

  “Destiny told me you got out of the Army recently.”

  “Yes. I was tired. It was time.” He slowly led her through his empty living room and into his kitchen on the other side. This room lacked a table and regular chairs, but it at least had an island and two bar stools. “And here we have my equally unfurnished kitchen.” He swung an arm around. The room smelled of pizza and there were two boxes on the island.

  Libby liked the house. It was a new build in a new neighborhood, so the walls were standard builder off-white. The carpet in the living room was beige. The kitchen echoed with every word from the lack of furniture. The cabinets were a dark brown, and the island and counters were a brown speckled granite.
/>   “I hope you like pizza,” he said as he lured her closer and pulled out a barstool.

  “Are there people who don’t like pizza?” she inhaled the delicious scent, surprised she could manage an appetite amid the sexual tension she’d experienced all day that had only intensified since her arrival.

  He shrugged. “I haven’t met any, and I’d probably be seriously concerned about you if you told me you hated it.”

  “I’m safe for now then.” She smiled up at him. Even though she was now seated higher than her normal short self on the stool, he was still towering over her. “You might be seriously concerned about me for any number of reasons after you get to know me, but I do pass the pizza test.”

  “Good.” He slid the top box next to the bottom box and lifted both lids. “That brings us to the next question. Are you picky or easy to please?” He lifted a brow and nodded toward the two pizzas. One was cheese only. The other was supreme.

  “Since you worded it that way, I’d say I pass pizza test number two. I’m not fond of anchovies or pineapple, but everything else is delicious.”

  “Excellent.” He closed the lid on the cheese pizza and spun around to stick it in the fridge.

  “You bought two pizzas just in case I didn’t like the toppings?” Impressive.

  “Yep. It won’t go to waste. I’ll add a bunch of stuff to it tomorrow and pop it in the oven.” He grabbed plates from the cabinet and then returned to the fridge for a handful of sodas. “I wasn’t sure what you liked.” He set a cola, an orange, a root beer, and a lemon-lime on the island.

  “Did you also buy all these with me in mind?”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s so…thoughtful. Thank you.” She reached for the root beer.

  “Normally, I would offer you wine or beer or a mixed drink, but the first night we were together we’d had a few drinks, and last night you’d been drinking too. Tonight, I thought we’d be ourselves. Is that okay?”

  “Of course.” This entire scene was so domestic. Like a regular date. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but since her only interactions with Jason had been sexual, part of her thought he might strip her naked the moment she arrived and have her on her knees sucking him off before saying a word.

  That scenario was oddly not unwelcome either. She’d visualized it many times since the night they met. She’d probably exaggerated what their dynamic might be if they ever fucked again. Her fantasies had gotten carried away. But the thought of giving this giant of a man a blow job under his command had been the fodder of many of her daydreams. Most of them, in fact.

  She shuddered.

  Jason was standing on the other side of the island still, but he reached across and clasped her hand in his. When she lifted her gaze, he was smiling at her warmly. “I’m not going to ask what you were just thinking, but it must have been amazing.”

  She flinched. “How the hell did you even know I was thinking at all?”

  “Your gaze roamed up and down my torso, lingering at my waist, and then you squirmed in your seat while you licked your lips. It wasn’t hard to discern.”

  She jerked her gaze down to her root beer and then tugged her hand out of his clasp. “Can we just eat?”

  He chuckled. “Yes.” He slid two slices of pizza onto a plate and handed it to her before rounding the island and taking a seat on the stool next to hers and serving himself. He sat sideways and spun her just enough to trap one of her knees between both of his. “So, tell me how on earth you were on a date with a man your mom set you up with.”

  She groaned. “That’s where you want to start this conversation?” She didn’t really want to talk about her mom. Or Eddie.

  “Yep. I already know what you do for a living. You’re a flight attendant. I’m sure you have hundreds of work stories, and I’d love to hear all of them, but I want to know about your family first.”

  She drew in a long breath and met his gaze. “Is this a date? Like a real date?”

  He flinched, his eyes narrowing. “Uhhh… I thought so. Does that bother you?”

  She licked her lips, trying to figure out how to respond. “No. It’s just unexpected. I didn’t know you were going to feed me and ask me personal questions.”

  He frowned, nodding slowly. “Okay. I get that. It makes sense. Both of our previous encounters have been hot and heavy. And, don’t get me wrong, I hope this one ends up that way too. But I thought I should take a step back and get to know you.” He reached out and took her chin. “I like you, Libby. It’s true you make my cock so hard I can barely concentrate every time I’m around you, but sex isn’t the only thing I want from you. I can tell you’re a strong woman with a firm head on your shoulders. I thought it might be nice to delve into that brain of yours before I lure you to my bedroom and make you scream my name.”

  She glanced away, causing him to lose his touch on her chin. She honestly hadn’t expected this. It was so…personal. And intimate. Like a date. And apparently it was a date. Not just a fuck.

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re disappointed?”

  She swallowed and lifted her gaze. She needed to be honest with him. “Not disappointed. Just a little stunned. I’m not exactly available for more than the fucking. It’s all I have to give you.” She cringed when he flinched again.

  He stared at her and then slowly chuckled, but he didn’t seem angry, just surprised. In fact, he leaned in closer and set a hand on her thigh. “How did we switch roles? Those are usually my lines. I’ve never had a woman tell me she wanted to skip the dinner part of the evening and move straight to the fucking.”

  Libby picked up her slice of pizza and took a dramatic bite, finding it to be unexpectedly delicious. “Who said anything about skipping dinner?” she asked. “Damn, this is good.” She took another bite.

  He laughed and took a large bite of his slice before speaking again. “Talk to me. And please tell me you don’t have a boyfriend or something. I assume you don’t or you wouldn’t have been on a blind date last night.”

  She shook her head. “No. No boyfriend. What I have is a crazy Guatemalan extended family.”

  He snickered at that. “We all have crazy families.”

  She swallowed another bite, took a sip of soda, and then faced him. “Does your mother tell you who you can and can’t date?”

  His eyes widened. “Shit. Seriously?”

  “Yes. It’s been drilled into me my entire life. Guatemalans are meant to marry other Guatemalans. No one else is acceptable.”

  He froze for a moment. “That’s… I can’t say I’ve ever met anyone whose parents were quite so rigid. She doesn’t like you dating white guys?”

  Libby shuddered. “That’s putting it mildly. I once dated a Mexican guy and I didn’t even tell her. If she thought I was keeping company with a white military man, I think she’d stroke out.”

  He paused again, his mouth full, before slowly chewing and swallowing. “Okay. Wow. So, I’m the first white guy you’ve gone out with?”

  “Have I gone out with you exactly?” she asked, pointing out her line of thinking. She’d hooked up with him. Once. Run into him at a bar. That didn’t count. And here she was, doing what exactly this time? Scratching an itch?

  Jason fell into thought while he finished eating, and then he pushed his plate away and faced her again. “This is a date, Libby. The very definition of one. I assume you’re attracted to me or you wouldn’t have so blatantly flirted with me the night of the rehearsal and then had sex with me the next night.”

  He was right, but he didn’t give her a chance to respond.

  He set one hand on the island and the other on the back of her stool, and leaned in closer. “Sex is actually a pretty mild word for what we did and how I felt with you. It was explosive, and you know it. I didn’t plan it. It just happened. I’ve dated vanilla women. Not every woman I meet is interested in my kind of kink. It’s not a requirement. But when it works out, it’s a bonus.”

  She didn’t move an inch.


  He continued. “When I was holding you on the dance floor at the reception, I had a suspicion you were submissive and took a chance. The moment my demand left my lips, I knew I’d been right. You can’t deny the chemistry.”

  She nodded. He was right.

  “No woman has ever left me in the middle of the night, however. I was shocked. I thought we’d had an amazing time together. And then you were gone.”

  She took a breath when he stopped talking, knowing she needed to buck up and be a grownup about this. “I assumed it was a one-night stand. I was trying to avoid the awkward morning dance. The embarrassing part where we can’t make eye contact and we both make lame excuses and then part ways.”

  Jason spun her chair so that she fully faced him. “Did I give you any indication at any point that I wanted you to leave or that I had no intention of seeing you again?”

  “No.”

  “So, really, the one-night stand was more on you than me. You planned it. I went along with it. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t broken up about the idea. Not at first. Who turns down a sexy woman at a wedding? No one. I didn’t realize we would have a connection that surpassed the sex any more than you did, but I didn’t sneak out in the dead of night.”

  “It was your room,” she half-joked. How did this evening get off on such a serious note?

  “Libby…”

  She sighed. “You’re right. I admit it. I went into that weekend fully hoping to have sex with a buff man in uniform. Sexy military guys have always been my fantasy.”

  “I’m not sure if I’m flattered or I should spank you.”

  She flinched and then noticed his slight grin. He was joking. Sort of. Maybe.

  “Don’t misunderstand,” he continued. “I’m so totally going to spank your bottom when we’re finished with this conversation. Prepare yourself mentally.”

  Her body jumped to attention. Those were the words she’d expected the moment she arrived. Not “tell me about your family.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I would say I’ve created a monster, but I didn’t create you at all. You came to me submissive.”