“You let me wax your nose,” she chuckled nervously.
“I want to take you away from everything for a little bit,” Jax whispered, his voice and words so seductively tempting, because hadn’t she thought the same thing in those moments when she was terrified… wanting to hide and be alone? “Just you and me, in paradise.”
“That sounds incredible,” she admitted nervously. “I thought you wanted it to be a surprise.”
“I do. I did, but I also know I don’t ever want you to feel like you are being pushed, coerced, or bullied into something you don’t want to do,” he said easily. “That’s why we are talking in the privacy of the car, because what we do is no one else’s business – and we’ll do whatever you decide.”
“What are my choices?”
“I could take you flying and just circle around here, before returning you home…” Jax said softly, watching her. “Or I could whisk you away, to a private beach, where it’s just you and me…”
“The beach,” she said softly, feeling her heart turn over in her chest.
“The beach it is…” he smiled tenderly. “I got a few things together for you, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.”
“I should get a swimsuit or…”
“Handled.”
“What?”
“All of it’s already handled,” he repeated, opening the car door before walking around to her side.
“Jax, what do you mean it’s ‘handled’,” Mary said nervously. “You have to try them on and…”
“It will be fine. Trust me, remember?” he murmured softly, holding out his hand to her. “Relax and enjoy this escape.”
Mary put her hand in his and stepped out of the car, unable to restrain the smile that touched her face at his words. What woman wouldn’t want to escape the doldrums of everyday life, to be whisked away by some incredibly handsome guy, to lie around on a beach in the middle of nowhere?
“Then let’s runaway together…” she replied in almost a secretive, hushed whisper, as if she couldn’t believe this was happening, and afraid to wake up from this dream.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he countered, chuckling as he laced their fingers together, treasuring the sensation of Mary belonging at his side. They both waved silent ‘hellos’ as they headed towards the plane parked on the runway.
Opening the door for her, she did as he instructed, stepping on the footpad and climbing in nervously. He handed her the buckle.
“Go ahead and buckle before I shut the door. It gets pretty tight in here. There is also a set of headphones on the floorboard for you.”
She nodded, and did as he asked without question, before watching him circle around the plane, checking a few things, before climbing in beside her.
As he slid in, he yanked his headphones on, pushing the plug into the jack easily and then buckled, before shutting his door. Turning to her, he smiled, met her eyes, and she saw this wild joy dancing in those brown depths. He was so happy to share wherever they were going with her… and she was touched just to be there with him.
“You ready for this?” he asked, moving the tiny speaker incredibly close to her face. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” he nodded. “The mic has to be close enough to pick up your voice or else I can’t hear you when we are in the air. Are you nervous? Do you have any questions or concerns before we take off?”
“You’ve got this under control?” she asked simply – and saw his smile widen even further.
“I do,” he agreed easily. “I will never let anything ever happen to you.”
“Then I’m ready.”
He leaned forward and pertly kissed the tip of her nose, surprising her and causing her to chuckle nervously as he turned back to the plane, turned the key, and started messing with knobs and switches… only to hear the sounds of an incredibly monotone voice in the distance droning on about the weather.
“Flyboys… this is Ghost, preparing for take-off.”
“Ghost, this is Flyboys – you are clear to touch the sky, sir. Take care of our girl…”the speaker crackled, making Mary feel like she belonged.