“I’ll send Dad a message and get him to look into it. I’m sure she’s probably ducked out of her rostered flight to be here. That may be grounds enough.”
I feel the big plane start to taxi down the runway as Jilly walks toward us.
“Everyone strapped in?” she asks, smiling, and we all confirm we are. “Great! As usual, James will let you know when you can get up and move around. The flight to Prague is about twelve hours, but we will be going forward in time. We’ll arrive in Prague late Sunday afternoon. I suggest you nap at some stage during the flight, but don’t sleep the whole time, or you won’t want to sleep when we get there. Just double checking, you all have your passports with you?”
I look toward Jacinta and Jace in horror, but he winks and pulls his out of his back pocket. “Alex suggested that I bring it with me just in case. I thought he was being silly, but the guy must be psychic or something.”
“And I keep mine in a safe in the conference room. We all do. This is the only plane we use for overseas trips, so it’s just easier to store them here,” Jacinta explains, and then I have to swallow my annoyance and look at Thomas. Before I can even ask, he’s nodding.
“Yours is in there too now,” he tells me, his gaze searing into me for the barest of seconds before it becomes neutral again. Kai tries to catch my eye, but I turn away. Damn it, I was looking forward to joining the mile-high club, and Veronica fucking ruined it for me.
Or at least that’s what I’m thinking until I have a devious idea. Maybe I can get a bit of my own payback. Show that bitch that she really does mean nothing to them, or Kai at least.
As Jilly disappears to strap in, I plan my revenge, squirming in my seat at the thought of what’s to come. I’ll make him sweat for a little while since I need to go visit with James and Chris like I promised I would, but then Kai will be making up for his bad choices in the most delicious of ways.
* * *
Thomas
Iwas so busy watching our backs that I wasn’t paying attention to my front. So fucking stupid of me. I missed the ambush waiting just inside the plane. Veronica’s lips on me feel like a wet fish, and try as I may to untangle her, she’s like an octopus. Finally, Kai makes the mistake of coming to my rescue. Yep, that didn’t fucking work out like he probably hoped at all. I don't miss the hurt that Harlow tries to hide behind annoyance. Up until now, I don't think she had realized that Kai had dipped his dick in crazy too. We both had fun playing with Veronica a couple of times, but it soon became apparent that she wasn't playing with a full deck. Both of us had to block her number and had requested that she not be on any of our flights, but she’s wiggled her way onto this one. I wouldn't put it past her to deliberately poison her roommate so that she could be on this flight.
Thankfully, Chris has perfect timing and puts her in her place, but there’s a lingering feeling of guilt sitting in my stomach. I didn't like seeing Harlow hurt, and that’s unsettling for me. I mean, I’m not a horrible person, but other people’s feelings, people other than my family, don't usually bother me. Harlow is technically family, I guess, but my feelings for her are so confusing.
I’m attracted to her, and that fact is making it hard to stick to my guns about never becoming emotionally involved with a woman again. After Clarissa, I swore I wouldn't catch feelings, but I have. They’ve slowly crept up on me while I've been quietly observing her with my brothers.
I’ve been feeling jealous of all the easy affection they share, and isn’t that a kick in the balls? Seeing the way they smile at each other, the way it’s not a surprise when one of them puts their hand on the small of her back, it actually fills me with longing—something I never thought I’d actually feel again.
I scrub a hand through my hair as Harlow disappears down the aisle, Kai’s sorry puppy dog eyes following her every movement.
“Fuck!” he yells, whirling on Veronica. “Stay away from me and my brothers. We are off the market, and if you so much as come near us on this flight, I will make sure you get all the barf bag duties for the next six months.” He storms off after Harlow, and Jilly attempts to hide a small smile as Veronica tries her luck with me once more.
“Tommy, how about once we get in the air, you and I meet up in one of the bedrooms? You can do that thing to me that you like so much.” She’s not even trying to be quiet enough that Chris and Jilly don't hear, nor subtle, as she runs her hand across the front of my pants. My cock almost shrivels in response, which is not the reaction she was looking for if the frown she gets as she looks down is anything to go by.
I remove her hand and step back, bringing out my cold asshole self. “Probably just better if you do your job like you’re meant to.”
I walk away without a backward glance, not even getting any pleasure out of the scolding I can already hear her getting from Chris and Jilly.
Harlow won’t look at either Kai or me, and she’s found a seat between Declan and Jaxon. Lucky bastards.
“Fucking hell,” Kai quietly growls as I take a seat next to him. “Talk about a cock block. Harlow wanted me to introduce her to the mile-high club, but I guess that’s out now,” he grumbles as I strap myself in. My cock instantly hardens at Kai’s words, doing exactly what Veronica had hoped her words would. The thought of bending Harlow over one of the surfaces in the plane is tantalizing, and I realize I’m in much deeper than I thought I was.
“Don’t think I don't see that,” Kai whispers, smirking and nodding at the bulge in my pants. “You’re as attracted to her as all of us are. Stop allowing Clarissa to win. By shutting Harlow out, that’s effectively what you’re doing. You are missing out, brother. She is seriously the woman of our dreams, so get your head out of your ass and get on board before you permanently lose and become a cynical, jaded asshole for good.”
I think about what he says. Is he right? Is Clarissa winning by closing myself off to love? Fuck! Maybe he is right. By doing that, I’m giving her actions more importance than I should. Sure, we were engaged to be married, and I was devastated when she betrayed me, but it’s better that it happened before we moved in together. Or, god forbid, before we had children together or she got half my stake in the company, which is what I had been planning on doing. To be honest, she did me a favor because that would have been messy and disastrous for all involved.
My eyes drift to the beautiful woman sitting between my brothers, and my heart races. I can’t remember the last time I had that kind of reaction to a woman, and it’s happened from the moment she landed in our lives. So much of what Clarissa did and how she affected me is wrapped up in my life prior to joining the Summers family. Maybe I need to explain all of this to Harlow, maybe then she will understand that if I hand her my heart, she needs to treat it like the fragile piece of glass it actually is. Because if she does something to shatter that, I’m not sure I would be able to put it back together again. As it is, it’s already a cracked and battered thing, with some pieces missing thanks to Clarissa, and other pieces permanently darkened from the aftermath of that harpy’s betrayal. Maybe it’s time to turn my back on the dark part of me... Maybe Harlow is the sun that I need to chase away those shadows.
As the plane starts its trip down the runway and ascends into the sky, my stomach lurches—not just with the motion but with anticipation.
There's nothing I like better than the hunt, and Harlow has just become my prey.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Harlow
Once the seatbelt sign goes off and James announces we can move around, I unstrap and squeeze past Jaxon.
“Where are you going, snookums?” Oliver calls, though his pet name has me turning and raising an eyebrow. The smile on his face tells me he’s not entirely surprised by the reaction.
