The aircraft turned onto the runway, and she grabbed the armrest tighter. “Oh. God.”
The flight attendant stopped talking and went to sit down. She looked so calm. How could she be so freaking calm at a time like this?
“I’m here.” He grabbed her hand and pulled it into his lap, right above his knee. Instead of pulling away, she held on tight. As if he could keep her safe or something. “I’ll keep you safe.”
And he’d read her mind again. “Oh really?” She opened her eyes so she could glower at him. “Are you really Superman in disguise? You’re going to catch the plane as it plummets to the earth?”
He snapped the fingers of his free hand. “Yep. You figured out my secret. Underneath my sweater, I’m hiding spandex and a cape.”
“That’s kind of hot.” She pictured him in the Superman outfit, tight fabric hugging every muscle. “Okay, really hot.”
He snorted and squeezed her hand. “Talk to me. I’ll distract you as we climb.”
She let out a half-groan, half-laugh and looked out the window. Though they were only taxiing down the runway, they might as well have been going three hundred miles an hour from what she could see. “I heard once that almost all plane crashes occur on takeoff or landing, but they rarely occur in mid-flight.”
“Actually, only fourteen percent of accidents occur during takeoff. Fifty-seven percent happen while up in the air,” he said. “It’s a myth that takeoff is the most dangerous part. I know that for a fact.”
“What?” She shot him a surprised look. “Don’t tell me. Are you an actuary, too?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I’m an ex-Marine, currently on my way to my new job.”
“Oh.” She relaxed a little bit. “Okay. That makes me feel a little safer. I’ve always had a thing for a man in uniform.”
“Good.” He stroked his thumb over her knuckles. “I’ve always had a thing for pretty little actuaries.”
Her heart skipped a beat even though it was so clearly a pickup line. But he’d called her pretty. Her inner schoolgirl was totally squee-ing all over the place right now. “Have you ever met an actuary before me?”
“Nope.” He grinned. “But I don’t need to.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmhm. I now know I always had a thing for them. Especially ones who wear skirts and taste like heaven.” He leaned closer and brushed a soft kiss against her lips again. She barely had time to react before he pulled back, making a sound deep in his throat that was more erotic than she could ever explain. “Yep. Definitely heaven.”
The urge to fan her cheeks was strong. She needed to cool it right now. This man was way too good.
As they started to gain altitude, she clung to his hand and scrambled for something to talk about besides kissing. “Oh, God. Distraction. Distraction is good. You said ex, right? So, you’re out of the Marines? Were you in for four years? Did you know thirty-nine percent of new recruits quit after the initial four years?”
“No, I didn’t.” He laughed. “Buy, yep, I got out after four years. Now I’ll be working for a private sector security company that’s going back to Afghanistan into enemy territory next week. I start Monday.”
“It’s sending you overseas?”
“Yep.”
Oh, great. So her mysterious benefactor would be gone from the country after this weekend. For some reason that didn’t sit well. “Well, I wish you good luck. Where do you live when you’re not rescuing women in airports?”
“I’m from Maine.” He kissed the back of her hand. “But the company I work for is in North Carolina, so I guess I’ll be spending most of my free time there. How about you?”
“I’m the opposite. I grew up near Charlotte but I live in Maine.” Shivering, she shifted closer to him. She knew he was only touching and kissing her to make her forget about the flight, but if he kept that up, she’d be climbing in his lap before it was over. “I live in Cape Elizabeth, to be exact.”
He turned her hand over and nibbled on her wrist. “My parents live there, too.”
“Mm,” she murmured, not really listening.
He flicked his tongue over her palm this time, his gaze on her the whole time. She watched, mesmerized, as he nibbled at the spot he just licked. Even though she should pull away—she didn’t.
“You taste delicious.”
“You look delicious,” she blurted, and then wished she hadn’t. “I mean, uh…never mind.”