Page 37 of The Slug Crystal
Ben adds, “He’s got taste.”
I feel the heat creep up my neck, but the buzz from the Bloody Mary takes the edge off. Ben eyes me over his cards, a wolfish tilt to his smile. “You ever been to Venice?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I just got a passport last year after Jake convinced me. We’re lucky he thought we might want to drive into Canada for some reason during this snail mission. Otherwise, this entire trip would be impossible. Also, we’re smuggling in a human turned snail. This whole thing is probably illegal.”
Ben shrugs. He leans closer, lowering his voice. “If we’re going to risk an international incident, I want to make sure you see the best of Venice. If we don’t get turned around at customs, that is.”
Jake finally breaks his silence. “She’s not here for the sights, Ben.”
Ben raises his eyebrows. “What, you think she’s here for you?”
The air crackles. Jake meets Ben’s gaze, the tension sharp enough to cut. “No. I think she’s here for Alex. She’s looking for Sarah DeMarco and a crystal reversal spell, not romance.”
Ben glances at me, then back at Jake. “Either way, it’s good for her to know that she’s got options.” He smirks, then turns his attention back to his cards, but his hand lands on my thigh and stays there, heavy and warm.
Jake doesn’t respond, but I see his knuckles go white on the armrest.
I should move Ben’s hand, but the truth is, I kind of like it.I kind of like all of it, the high, the banter, the way they circle each other with me as the center of gravity.
After two hours of flight, Luca walks back to our seats. He leans in close to my ear and murmurs, “You deserve better than these two idiots. Come up to the cockpit, I’ll show you how the world looks from the sky.”
Ben objects, “Hey, don’t try to steal my girl.”
Luca responds, “You snooze, you lose, cugino.”
I look at Jake, who just shrugs. So, I go. Why not? The cockpit is tiny, full of blinking lights and a bunch of knobs and buttons. Luca sits me in the co-pilot’s seat, shows me how to work the controls, then, out of nowhere, states, “Tell me about yourself.”
I laugh. “What do you want to know about?”
He watches the horizon, all business, then glances over, a different kind of intensity in his face. “Why is a beautiful girl like you so attached to your snail ex-boyfriend when you could have any man at your fingertips in an instant?”
I swallow, not sure what to say. It’s clear now that Ben told his cousin the reason for our trip, which I guess shouldn’t be surprising, but I’m still caught off guard. Luca is… a lot.
He takes my hand, guides it to the yoke, and says, “You want to feel something real, you have to let go.” His voice is low, almost a growl.
I’m not immune to hot men giving cryptic advice. I’m also not immune to the way he’s looking at me. So, I do what I always do best. I deflect. “So,” I say, “how many girls have you seduced at thirty thousand feet?”
He laughs, loud, and lets go of my hand. “Only the ones who are worth it.”
I roll my eyes, but there’s a flutter in my chest I can’t quite kill. After a few more minutes of banter, he walks me back to the lounge, where Jake and Ben are arguing over which of them would survive longer on a desert island. The energy isdifferent now. Sharper, and more competitive, but also warmer.
Ben pulls me onto his lap, which is so brazen I almost squirm off, but his hands are gentle, and he nuzzles my neck like he’s claiming me in front of the others.
Luca jokes, “Ah, this must be what people mean when they say American hospitality.”
Ben laughs and waves him off, but Jake watches the two of us, silent and inscrutable.
Eventually, I find my eyes starting to get heavy and drift shut as I sit, cocooned in the warmth of Ben’s body.
10CUSTOMS, CANNELLONI, AND DR. ROSSI
Wednesday,7:43AM. I wake with a jolt as the plane dips slightly, my cheek pressed against Ben's thigh, and a crick in my neck that feels like I've been sleeping on a rock. For a second, I forget where I am. The events of the past few days flood back into my memory. The luxury of the private jet, the mission to save my snail ex-boyfriend, and the growing collection of men who keep looking at me as if I'm either the answer to their prayers or the source of all their problems. Maybe both.
Luca's voice filters through my foggy consciousness, something about landing soon and—wait, did he just say he's coming with us?
"—leave the jet at Tessera and join you all," Luca is saying, his Italian accent thickening with excitement as he gestures with a half-empty glass of something amber. "It's been too long since I had a proper adventure."
I sit up straight, rubbing sleep from my eyes as Ben's hand slides from my shoulder to my lower back. The casual possessiveness of the touch isn't lost on me.
