“Mr. Callahan.” The flight attendant drew my attention away from her, much to my annoyance. “Would you like anything once we’re in the air?”
I thought for a second, my eyes drifting to Coraline as she took off her coat.
“Yes, two large cups of coffee, but fill them up only midway.”
“Seriously?” Coraline laughed.
“We never finished our first round, might as well now.”
“You don’t do anything halfway, do you, Mr. Callahan?” She looked me over carefully.
“When I’m pursuing something I want, I go all out. Life’s too short not to.”
“And you want me?” It was like she was still trying to make sure, and every time she asked, my conviction became stronger.
“Yes.” I wanted her, and for now, that was all that mattered to me.
“You’re being reckless, Mr. Callahan,” she whispered as we started to taxi down the runaway. She gripped the ends of her seat, but she didn’t look away from me. “When you whisk a girl away for a week-long date, she might not let you go.”
“That’s the plan. I’m looking forward to exploring the world with you. It’s going to be just Declan plus Coraline.”
“Now I’m excited.” She smiled, and thanked the flight attendant as we were handed our cups of coffee.
I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face as I watched her. I had racked my brain trying to think of things we could do. Things she would like, but that didn’t involve being around too many people, while still getting my other jobs done. As much as Liam bitched, he had actually offered to handle everything back home for me, including keeping an eye on Otis, until I got back. God knew when I would seriously be interested in anyone again. She wasn’t around me for the money—she was significantly well-off on her own. She wasn’t looking for fame or dying for my attention. She was sweet—she said thank you to everyone around her at least twice, and on top of it all, she was beautiful and intelligent. If she were Irish, I would have already had brought her home to Sedric. We had a rule in our family. Everyone had to be married by their thirtieth birthdays. Because of our lives, it was just easier to marry one of our people…and yet I was here.
“Are you okay?” she asked, as she placed her hand on mine.
I stared at her for a moment, my mind completely blank.
Why the hell am I acting like this?
“I’m fine. You should rest now, so you aren’t tried.”
She made a face and I wanted to laugh at how cute she looked.
“What?”
“I snore and I’d rather you not witness that.”
“Do you snore like a cat or drunk trucker?”
“We can’t all be perfect,” she muttered, not really answering the question as she drank her coffee.
“I’m the furthest thing from perfect.” I was a drug dealer, a murderer, and anything else the family needed me to be. My mind screamed that she wouldn’t understand, but I kept on pushing forward anyway.
CORALINE
“Welcome to Mexico. Cancun specifically,” Declan said as he held my hand. We stepped out into the heat and I could smell the ocean on the breeze.
I couldn’t stop smiling. “Cancun?”
“Yep. Now, let’s get started,” he said, as he walked down the stairs with me.
A black Range Rover with tinted windows awaited us, and a Mexican man held the back door open, but Declan shook his head as he took the keys and spoke in Spanish to him. Declan’s Spanish was so fast and fluent that the little Spanish I remembered from high school was all but useless. The man nodded at whatever he said and pulled out his cellphone.
“Ready?” he asked.
I stared into his green eyes for a second. I wanted to know what he’d said in Spanish, but I decided not to ask. I nodded my head, and allowed him to open the door for me. When he sat down, the driver outside the window nodded to him and gave him a thumbs up. Declan started the engine and we drove away from the jet.
When we got to the main road, it was crowded but I could still make out two cars, one came in front and the other behind us.
“Security?” I asked looking to him.
He smirked. “You’re a smart one, Ms. Wilson.”
“I thought it was just Declan plus Coraline? They’re making it kind of obvious that we’re not just two ordinary people.”
“We’re two rich foreigners, it’s better when it’s obvious, Coraline. They will bother our security while we enjoy ourselves.”
I shifted in my seat as I looked out at the city. No matter where I looked, I could see the pure blue water and white sandy beaches that were dotted with street vendors who were selling everything from bathing suits to ice cream. We passed a fountain where people both young and old danced as water shot up around them. It was paradise.
“Now that we’re here, are you going to tell me what we are going to do?” I whispered, unable to shift my eyes away from the view.
“If I tell you, you might chicken out.”
“Hey!” I glanced back at him and he was staring me so intensely I fought the urge to look away.
“Hey, what?” he asked, placing his hand on mine. I liked how his fingers gripped onto me.
“I’m a lot braver than I look.”
“I’m glad.” He focused on the road in front of him.
We drove on in a comfortable silence, while his thumb rubbed circles on the back of my hand. It felt like he was either trying to calm me or comfort me, and I didn’t know why until we pulled into the Sky House. Speechless, I turned to him.
“You’re braver than you look, remember?” He smiled as he unbuckled my seatbelt.
Not that brave. I was frozen by the time he opened the door for me.
“Trust me.”
I didn’t really have a choice.
I followed him out.
“Welcome to the Sky House!” That was all I understood from the male and female instructors who met us outside.
“Look up,” Declan said, and I could feel every inch of his hard chest behind me. Listening, I looked up just as three tiny people came floating—or tumbling down.
“Second lesson: fun and danger are sometimes synonymous,” he whispered, his hands on my shoulders. “I’ll be behind you the entire time.”
“Let’s do it,” I replied, even though my heart felt as if it were trying to escape through my chest and my ears were ringing as the blood rushed to my head.
I didn’t fight when they ushered us in, strapped our gear onto us, and led us to the small plane, with a rectangular-shaped hole on the side. Climbing inside, Declan turned me around so that I could face him. He brushed my hair back and handed me a hair tie. It took me a second to pull it into a ponytail.
“Good?” I asked him.
“Not yet.” He lifted my chin up and kissed me softly. Leaning forward, I kissed him back, and all too soon he pulled away.
“Just in case we don’t make it,” he said with a large grin on his face.
I smacked his shoulder as I scowled. “We’re going to make it! I won’t allow otherwise.”
“I’m glad to know. You have no reason to be nervous. Now turn around.”
When I turned around, he strapped me onto him. Putting on my goggles, I gasped when I felt his hands brush up against my breasts as he pulled the latch down.