He sat beside her, his hard thigh and arm lined up against hers. “Here. This one’s for you.”
“A video game? Sugar, you done lost your mind.”
“Deal’s a deal. Sit back down, Dr. Boudreaux. We’re just getting started.” He grinned again, but it was the dare lurking in his dark eyes that gave her pause.
Chicken, that look said.
I knew you couldn’t do it, it said.
No skin off my back, Dr. Boudreaux. I’m not the one afraid to fly, it said.
She slowly lowered herself back to the couch.
With a full cushion-width between her andCaptainWheeler.
Because there was also someyou can trust melingering in his authoritative gaze.
She set her tea aside and gripped the controller with both hands. “How old are you?”
“How old should I be?”
Huh. Good question. “Old enough to know you can’t just pick how old you get to be.”
The TV screen flickered again. Her stomach hit the pavement.
“Ah, good. Here we go,” he said.
A simulated but highly realistic-looking cockpit appeared on the screen, with windshields looking out over a runway.
Her pulse roared through her veins, and her fingers went tingly again. She knew it was a game, but the graphics were incredible, and her brain kept tripping at the idea that she was actually sitting in a real airplane.
“What’s this supposed to do?” she scoffed.
Or tried to.
Lance leaned over, his head angled against her shoulder, while he pointed to the controller. “This is your throttle. It’s going to make the engine go faster or slower if you pull itthis way or that way. Control your rudders here and here, and the aileron here. Stabilizers here. Brakes here.”
She nodded as if she had half a clue what he was talking about.
He lifted his head and grinned at her. “Won’t work in flight though. You’re copiloting, so anything you mess up, I’ll fix.”
A sexy woman’s voice announced they were cleared for takeoff.
“Ready?” he said.
Ready?
Hell no, she wasn’tready.
“Great,” he said. “Let’s go fly.”
This wasn’t real.
It was just a game.
She was safe on the ground, letting her mind think it was rolling down a runway in an airplane.
Huh. Maybe thiswasa good idea.
