“What is this?”
She just stared at him, and he gave out a frustrated grunt as he examined the image and the text around it.
“Where did you get this?”
The seagull with the hat landed on his standing toolchest. “Haven’t you been paying attention, my guy?”
Reluctantly, he tore his focus from the book and turned his attention back to the bird.
“Baba Yaga gave us this book and a general direction of where to go to find the talisman.” The bird hopped from one foot to the other. “She, also, said you would be the pilot who could take us there.”
Kai stared at the bird, shifted his gaze to the woman, and looked back to the book in his hands. He took a deep breath, handed the book back to the woman, their fingers brushing slightly, and he turned toward the plane. As he pulled back, he could still feel her soft touch, could still smell her slight floral scent.
He shook his head. “We fly in an hour.”
Chapter 4
ALITTLE OVER AN HOURlater, they were in the air in a small charter plane. Kai, the hired pilot, was in the cockpit, which was open and visible to Hollyn as she faced forward in the front row of seats.
She had to admit that Kai was physically attractive. His black hair was a little long, curling against the collar of his shirt. She couldn’t see them now, but his deep caramel-colored eyes spoke of mystery and late-night whispers. His light brown skin made her hands itch to slide them along his bare arms.
He’d been tall in the airplane hangar, easily over six-foot, maybe even six and half. His chest had been wide and had felt muscular and defined when she’d clumsily fell into him. She could still feel his strong arms around her as he caught her. Embarrassingly, she kept replaying the moment in her head, flutters filling her abdomen each time. He’d thought she was attacking him. She could almost laugh at that if the music of the sound wouldn’t put him in an automatic trance.
“I could use a co-pilot if you’re willing.”
Hollyn didn’t want to be any closer to him than she had to be, but she was curious about all the dials, gauges, and knobs laid out on the control panel. She stood and shuffled awkwardly into the tiny space. The plane dipped suddenly for just a moment, but it was enough to cause her to lose her balance and bump into his shoulder.
“Oh! Sorry.” The words had come out automatically. She immediately wished she could take them back. If he went into a trance, she certainly couldn’t fly this plane, and she wasn’t sure if she could free him from the state of mind once he was in it.
“Don’t worry about it. A little air pocket. You get them occasionally. Just try not to bump anything as you climb into the seat.”
She nodded and wondered if he hadn’t heard her. Yes, that had to be the reason he hadn’t reacted to her voice. But why did he tell her not to worry about it?
With a shake of her head, she stretched her leg out and stepped onto the seat before stepping forward with her other leg and crouching into the plush cushion of the co-pilot’s seat. With a glance back, she caught his gaze locked onto her lower half. The shorts she wore were a little on the...well...short side, and they stretched a little tight across her behind. She felt a little self-conscious as she rushed herself into the seat. Once settled, she buckled in and adjusted so that her backpack rested on her lap. She’d pulled it up with her, not taking any chances of letting it out of her sight.
When she looked at him once more, his focus was directed toward her with something she didn’t quite recognize shining in his eyes. He cleared his throat loudly and jerked his head forward once more, staring out the front window of the plane. “For future reference, the seat slides back and forth. You don’t have to crawl in.”
