He hit two buttons. The screen flashed back to the opening sequence again. Two big windows overlooking a runway, with a control panel holding more buttons and levers and displays than any single human being could possibly monitor at one time.
That sexy woman’s voice cleared them for takeoff again.
Lance’s arms flexed around her. He tilted the controller, and the dashed white lines on the screen flew past quicker until the plane left the ground.
Her breath came in shallow bursts. She’d never been a snuggler—when she was married to Ron, she’d never wanted him to hug her after a bad day. She’d slept on her side of the bed, and he stayed on his side.
She’d also never told Ron she was afraid to fly.
“You know how lift works,” Lance said. “Flying’s just a matter of keeping the wings and tail in order.”
The ominous thunderclouds rose up again, but he tilted the controller, his fingers doing something to the right buttons. The view of the world angled and the thunderstorm disappeared in the bottom right corner while his body leaned left, pulling her left along with him.
His fingers shifted again, and the view lazily returned to a normal bearing lined up with a big body of water on the horizon.
Kaci slowly eased back until she was resting against his solid chest while they straightened as well. The water wasn’t real. She couldn’t get hurt. “You play this game a lot?”
“I fly a lot.”
She tried to suppress a shiver, but she didn’t quite manage it.
“Got a real good crew,” he said while heturned the plane on the screen to bring a distant island into view. “They keep the aircraft in top-notch shape. I test everything before I take any bird up in the air. Rather be grounded for nothing than up in the air with something, and I’ve never known a pilot who felt different.”
“Have you…” She shook her head.
She didn’t want to know. Not if he’d ever had engine trouble. Not if he’d ever done an emergency landing. Not if he’d ever lost a friend.
“You sure you want to go to Germany?” he said. “This island looks pretty damn nice to me.”
Didn’t look to be many places a girl could get in trouble on an island.
Her momma would like that, but Kaci might get bored.
“We could see who could build a better slingshot for all those coconuts,” he continued.
Her lips parted, and she felt a pang, but this one wasn’t in her heart.
It was much lower.
“Make a bet. Could probably come up with some pretty good stakes.” His breath tickled the hair behind her ear while he steered the plane around the island, giving her a better view of the impressive graphics of the tropical paradise. “Whoever flings the coconut farthest gets a…favorfrom the loser.”
“Ain’t so sure I trust you not to cheat.”
“Might lose on purpose just so I owe you a favor.”
If he was half as capable with a woman’s body as he was with a video game controller…
“You wouldn’t do that.”
His chuckle rumbled across her back. “Probably not.”
He leveled the plane and pointed it outtoward the open sea. His arms tightened against her, and his breath tickled her hair.
He had nice arms. Lean and long and defined as though he spent as many hours swimming and slicing through water as he did flying planes.
He took one hand off the controller. She flinched.
“Here.” He palmed her hand and guided it to the controller. “You can fly.”
