And, I hoped, a whole lot of fucking.
Quite a while had passed since I’d had a woman. I planned on taking a case of condoms with me to Jamaica. And even that might not be enough.
* * *
We were situated on the plane, all of us in first class except for Melanie’s friend, a mousy detective named Ruby Lee, who just happened to be the daughter of Theodore Mathias. I’d given her a once-over at the gate. Her nearly black hair was pulled back in a schoolteacher style, and she wore no makeup that I could see—although her face didn’t seem to need it. Her cheeks had a natural rosy glow. She wore a white button-down shirt and green Dockers. What might that body look like under those boyish clothes?
One thing I didn’t lack was imagination. My imagination was what made me a good winemaker. It was also what allowed me to envision the curves hidden underneath Ruby Lee’s garments.
Very nice.
Jonah and Melanie had tried to persuade Ruby to join us in first class, but she’d been determined to pay her own way and simply didn’t want to spend extra to upgrade.
The seat next to me was empty, as were several other first class seats. I flagged down a flight attendant as soon as the captain had turned off the seat belt signs.
“Yes?” she said.
“There’s a woman in coach I’d like to have join us.”
“You can certainly do so. She’ll need to pay the upgrade fee.”
I whipped my wallet out of my back pocket, took out a credit card, and handed it to her. “That’s on me.”
“How generous of you. Which passenger do you want to upgrade?”
“Ruby Lee. She’s near the middle of the plane.”
“Of course. Give me a moment.”
She returned with my card a few minutes later. “All taken care of. I’ll tell Ms. Lee that she’s been upgraded.”
I put my card away. “No, that’s okay. I’ll tell her.”
She nodded and walked toward the front of the plane.
One thing I wasn’t was shy. I got up, walked through first class and back into coach, found Ruby sitting in an aisle seat, and touched her shoulder.
She looked up at me, her cheeks reddening. “Yes?”
“Come with me,” I said.
Her cheeks reddened even further. “You mean me?”
“You’ve been upgraded. To first class. With the rest of us.”
“I already told Melanie. I’m paying my way.”
“Melanie has nothing to do with this.”
“Then what’s going on?”
I smiled. Women always said they couldn’t resist my smile. And while I had no physical interest in Ruby Lee—though she did look amazing naked in my imagination—I did want to do something nice for her. After all, she was in a similar boat as the rest of us. Her father was the last of Talon’s abductors and was still at large. Her life couldn’t have been easy.
“I upgraded you.”
She arched her eyebrows. “You? Why?”
“Because you’re one of our party. Because it was a nice thing to do. Because I have the money. Because there are vacancies in first class. You want me to continue listing more reasons?”