Jill Shalvis - Strong And Sexy

He watched for a moment because there was something so watchable about her. Her necklace had turned itself around and was hanging down her back. A tiny, delicate gold chain dangled between her shoulder blades, the pendant a capital D. As more things rained down on her, she swore, having absolutely no luck catching anything. Stepping close to her, he reached above, helping to stanch the flow.

She shoved the strap of her dress back up but it immediately slipped again, still giving off that whole slightly messy but adorably silly thing she had going, which he’d never imagined would be attractive.

But it was. And not just because her sweet ass was snugged up to his crotch.

Okay, partly because of that.

He touched her necklace, let his finger slip beneath the pendant, and dropped it over her shoulder so that it slid back between her breasts where it belonged.

At the touch, she went very still, and then, in that tight, small space, turned to face him, slowly lifting her face.

The only sound in the room was their breathing.

“I really thought it was just the mistletoe,” she finally whispered. “You know, the whole holiday spirit, or something like that, and we just got caught up in it.”

“I think we already proved that theory wrong.”

“Maybe it’s the closet.”

Clearly, she needed it to be something. But it wasn’t the mistletoe, or the closet, and he slowly shook his head.

“What, then?”

“I’m thinking Chemistry 101.”

Her mouth was still wet from his. He had no clue what was so sexy about that, but he couldn’t tear his gaze off her.

“So.” She lifted a shoulder. “You’re Shayne.”

“Yes. And you’re…?”

“Dani. Dani…” She hesitated. “Peterson.”

“Peterson.”

“That’s right.”

Peterson. A bad feeling began to worm its way to his gut, and his hands, which had been moving lightly up and down her arms, went still on her. “As in Sandra’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

Oh, Christ. Sky High Air had been built on love and sweat, lots of sweat. In the first lean year-last year, in fact-he and Brody and Noah all had been mortgaged to their eyeballs, scrapping their way out of the red and into the black by sheer determination alone.

And Shayne’s trust fund.

But even that hadn’t been enough. They’d needed connections, and Shayne’s family had them. Sandra Peterson had been one of these connections, and she’d brought her rich friends to Sky High, garnering them many new clients. And one thing those clients did was gossip.

A lot.

Sandra included. How many times had Shayne heard her talk about her daughter? Brilliant, she’d always said. But crazy. “I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”

“Neither did I.” Dani dropped her hands from his chest. “And I can tell from the look on your face that you’re ever so thrilled to find out who I am.”

Well, let’s review. He had the daughter of their most valued client in a closet, shoved up against a shelving unit, his hands-Christ.

He yanked them off her and opened his mouth to apologize, but she laughed harshly and shook her head.

Now he understood why she looked familiar-she was familiar. She was a dead ringer for her mother, minus twenty-odd years and four husbands. He’d just kissed his most valuable client’s daughter. His most valuable client’s crazy daughter.

“I see you’ve heard of me.”

Yes. Yes, in fact he had. “I fly your mother.”

“So you’re a pilot.”

And that’s when he realized. While he knew exactly who she was, she had no idea who he was, that he was one of the three owners of Sky High. That was new. New, and…oddly refreshing.

“I’m not a good flier,” she said, completely unimpressed by him. Another first.

“I’ve gotten many people over that hump,” he said, and something in her changed. Her eyes shuttered from him, and she crossed her arms.

“No. Thanks.”

Interesting. Usually once a woman found out who he was, her eyes lit up.

This woman hadn’t even completely realized it, and her eyes were lit.

“I’ve got to go.” She moved past him for the door.

“But-”

The door shut behind her with a decisive finality.

Nice going, he told himself. Using mistletoe to kiss your client’s crazy daughter. Really. Good job. When his cell phone rang, he glanced down at the readout and sighed.

“You about done in there, stud?” Maddie asked in his ear.

“I’m not doing anything.”

“Hey, I’m not here to judge.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What do you need?”

“To talk to you. But I can wait until you finish.” She sounded amused.

“I’m not doing anything!”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” She was out and out laughing now. “Men have needs. I get that.”

“Okay, you did not talk to Noah like this when he was in the closet several months back with Bailey.”

“That’s because Bailey had a couple of goons with guns after her. You have goons with guns after you, Shayne?”

“Why do I pay you again?”

“Because, wait for it, I just signed the Clark family’s Lear-jets to a six month lease. And,” she continued, “I told your stalker that you’ve left the building.”

“Dani?”

“Who? No, Michelle.”

“She’s still here?”

“Was. She said she had plans for you tonight. I corrected her, and she’s not too happy with you. But she’s gone now.”

“Scratch what I said earlier,” he told her gratefully. “Whatever we’re paying you, it’s not enough.”

“I’ll memo that. Now you might want to make an appearance out here before our guest of honor wonders what the hell you were doing with her daughter in a closet.”

Not only in the closet, but up against the door, tongue buried deep in her mouth. “How the hell do you know everything?”

He could practically hear her grin through the phone. “It’s a gift.”

Dani headed toward the large double front doors of Sky High, adrenaline still rushing through her veins, along with a shocking amount of yearning.

Had that just really happened?

Had she really just made out in a closet with a stranger named Shayne? A pilot-a frigging pilot!-whose demeanor said laid-back trust funder? Seriously? Because he was so far out of her league that they weren’t even on the same planet.

He’d heard the stories about her. She’d seen it in his eyes when she’d told him her name. He knew everyone thought that her elevator didn’t go to the top floor.

But she’d made a career out of not letting what people thought get to her. Nope. Not getting to her. She was simply moving full speed ahead in one heel toward the front doors for her health. Because that’s what she did. She ran when the going got uncomfortable.

She’d made a career out of that too.

It was still pouring buckets outside, but she no longer cared. Escape was more important than comfort. Pulling open the doors, getting slapped in the face by the icy wind and rain, she stepped into the night, where there were no recriminating stares from stepsiblings, no couples kissing beneath the mistletoe.

No sexy pilots.

God. She’d wanted a diversion, she’d wanted to feel something, wanted to need, to yearn and burn, and man, oh man had she needed, wanted, yearned and burned for him…

The kiss had been amazing. So had their second one.

It’d been more than amazing, it’d created a soul-deep longing for things she knew she couldn’t really get in a closet with a stranger, but there for a second, for one single tiny mindless second, she’d been so willing to try-

Nearly plowing into a figure standing there in a dark cloak, the hood up, she staggered to a surprised halt. “Sorry,” she said, pushing her wet hair from her face. “I’m-”

There wasn’t one person standing there, but two. And one of them was slowly slipping to the sidewalk, just as something flashed from beneath the first person’s cloak.

A gun.

Shayne closed his cell phone on Maddie and eyed the mistletoe still lying on the floor. It made him smile, for no real good reason other than Dani had been right. Insane or not, those kisses had been every bit as wow as she’d said.

For the second time in as many minutes, his cell vibrated, making him sigh. This time it was Brody. “What?”

“Maddie says you’re abusing yourself in there. Dude, the porn is in the mechanic’s bathroom, not the closet.”

“Funny.” Brody was more than a partner, he was his best friend, and had been since that fateful day in middle school when the three of them had landed in detention. Noah had been fighting, Brody had been caught with a girl four years his senior, and Shayne? Cheating in chemistry. “What do you want?” he asked, crouching down to clean up the things that had fallen from the shelves.

“Maddie said you gave her a raise. Tell me that’s not true.”

News always traveled fast at Sky High Air, mostly due to the fact that they were all apparently still in high school. “She signed the Clarks’ three Lears for six months.”

“Thought that was your job. Maybe we should switch your job descriptions. You’d look good in that pink miniskirt Maddie wears.”

“Shut up.” They were all equals at Sky High, him, Brody, and Noah. And all pilots, though Brody handled the majority of their flights. Noah specialized in personalized adventures, finding and fine-tuning them for their clients. And though Shayne loved to fly and did plenty of it, as the people person of the group, he handled the business end of things; bringing in new clients, acquiring new planes, leasing said planes, etc. Together, they made the whole package, and whether that meant flying a turboprop or a jet on a moment’s notice, taking a charter flight to Santa Barbara, or a business group to Alaska, it got handled, efficiently, discreetly, and luxuriously.

Not a bad gig, especially for Shayne, the black sheep of an affluent family who’d always seen him as the youngest, the daydreamer.

The weak link.

His family would be surprised to know that every single one of Sky High’s clients had been brought in by him. Because of him.

But now Maddie had brought in a client, a big one, and Shayne was nothing but grateful. For the first time, he wasn’t the sole provider, and damn, that was a relief. “She deserves a raise, Brody.”

“We already pay her a fortune.”

“So now we’ll pay her a fortune and a half.”

“Can’t bleed a turnip.”

Brody had been born poor, had grown up poor, and starting Sky High Air had nearly gutted him. He couldn’t stand the thought of debt, couldn’t wrap his brain around the fact that they were on their way to making it, and making it big.

They were going to do it, shocking as that seemed for three fucked-up kids once headed directly for juvy without passing go.

But it was more than money on the line and they both knew it. Brody, the ultimate guy’s guy-and commitmentphobe to boot-had allowed Maddie to get beneath his skin.

Not that the big guy would ever admit it. Hell, no. Show a weakness? Brody? He’d rather gnaw off his own arm. “She’s saved our ass time and time again,” Shayne reminded him.

As he knew this to be true, Brody fell silent. Maddie had been a godsend. At twenty-six, she was a few years younger than them, and probably a helluva lot more mature, even with her current choice of magenta hair. She’d been going through a biker stage lately, and with that came a lot of black leather, which he had to admit had been fun to look at. She was more than their concierge and assistant, she was an all-around miracle worker. The woman could get her fingers on anything and have it delivered before the client even knew it was needed. “We can vote on this,” he said. “But I know Noah will agree with me.”

“Shit. Noah’s so pussy-whipped he can’t even see straight. They’re still in his office, you know. Him and Bailey. Someone’s going to have to send food in there to sustain them.”

“Jealous?”

That made Brody laugh. “Of having a wife? Are you kidding me?”

“How about for having sex whenever you want it?”

“You don’t need a wife for that, so why should I? And who are you in there with anyway? Not Maddie, not Michelle. Kathleen?”

“Left the country.”

“Dude.”

“What does that mean?”

“That’s what a girl says when she dumps you.”

“I did not get dumped.” He’d so been dumped.

“So you’re in there with someone new, then,” Brody decided. “Big surprise.”

“Hey.” Shayne might have the reputation for going through women like some went through fine wine, but he’d always used discretion and was careful to be only with women looking for the same thing he was-a good time.