He was close.
Way, way too close.
Then my memory was flashing back to my bed, to his hands, his lips, his tongue, his…
Harrison’s chin ducked, his blue eyes on me. “It wasn’t all bad, was it?” he asked, reading my mind.
Then he turned forward before I could respond.
I focused on the dying light out the window as we taxied and took off.
Once we were free to, Harrison reached over to lay my seat down without asking and passed me a neck pillow that he must have requested.
“You’re cold,” he said when his fingers brushed mine.
“My body is all out of whack today.”
I curled up slightly on my side, choosing not to think about why I curled toward him rather than the side of the plane.
Within five minutes of mentioning I was cold, another blanket was draped over me.
This time, maybe thinking I was already asleep, his hand lingered after, resting on my arm on top of the blankets.
I chose not to think about why I didn’t push him away.
Or why I didn’t sleep.
Why I stayed awake, acutely aware of his nearness, of his casual touch, of the stupid rings on my finger.
“Sweetheart,” his voice called, soft, tentative, some time later. “Layna.”
My lids fluttered open to look up at him.
“I ordered you food,” he explained. “Do you want to eat? It might help…”
“What did you order?” I asked, seeing the flight attendant making her way toward us.
“Choices were limited. And since you already had a burger today, I got you a pork sandwich. And the cheese platter.”
His hand finally moved from my arm, moving up to brush some of my hair from my face again.
This time, the little shiver? It wasn’t just internal.
I saw the recognition and the pleasure that built because of it, so I quickly folded my seat up.
“For the record, I can always go for a burger. But a pork sandwich sounds good too.”
He’d also ordered me a water, a diet cola, and… “Tea?”
“Every time I’ve seen you today, you’ve had a different coffee cup in your hand,” he said, lips tipped up slightly. “I think your body would appreciate a break so you can sleep.”
“I can drink a whole pot of coffee and go right to sleep. But tea is okay too.”
Then, well, we ate.
And without anything else to do, I watched the movie he’d put on his TV.
As much as I hated to admit it, it was the best I felt all day.
