Page 44 of Crossing the Line
“Sorry, I’m talking too much. I had a glass of wine tonight,” I say with a sigh, although I don’t think that’s the reason why I feel so uninhibited. It’s him. He makes me so comfortable that it’s hard to be my same guarded self when I’m around him.
“No, please talk. I love watching you talk.”
I swallow the extra moisture that’s poured into my mouth. Hercules is watching me. And I’m not dimwitted. I comprehend the meaning behind the eyes he’s giving me. But I can’t succumb to Hercules’s powers of seduction.
I quickly look out the window. The earth is dark with only spatters of light. We’re far away from the city. I have a comment to make about where we might be going, but I’m afraid that if I speak to him or look at him, he’ll soon end up inside me.
Get a grip, Paisley. We’re just friends—right?
“Your cousin and my brother have a real problem with each other,” Hercules says.
I’m guessing he’s trying to keep me talking. I brace myself before looking into his intense eyes and at his perfectly handsome face. I’m seeing him again. Gosh, he’s gorgeous. In my mind’s eye, I see him on top of me, sliding in and out of me. That look of overwhelming enjoyment on his face as he makes love to me. I want that again. I want that right now. My heart knocks in tune with the sound of the engine.
“She’s a real spitfire,” I finally say.
“That’s why Orion likes her. She’s hard to pin down. He likes his women that way. Because he’s hard to pin down.”
I snort a chuckle. “That makes sense.”
“You’re hard to pin down too,” Hercules says.
For a moment I consider what he claims. I come up with no reason why he would think that. “Me?”
“Yeah, you.” His flirtatious smirk is the star of his face.
Oh my God—yummy.
“Why do you say that?” I’m barely able to force the words through my tight throat.
“You’ve always made it hard for a guy to get to know you better.”
“What?” I shake my head vigorously. “That’s not true. And believe me when I say that not many guys wanted to get to know me. I’m not the type. And I’m okay with that.”
Hercules relaxes more in his seat. “You said it yourself. You resemble Treasure Grove and your mom. They’re both knockouts, just like you.”
My simpering gaze falls to my lap as I picture my face and then Treasures. We definitely resemble each other. But there’s something inherently different about us.
“You don’t believe me?” he asks just as the pilot announces that we’re descending.
Suddenly, I have a little more insight into the whole notion of my looks. “I don’t think I allowed myself to care too much about how attractive I am to the opposite sex. I’ve been too busy parent-pleasing and trying to live up to this huge legacy my grandfather left behind.”
He grunts as though I’ve piqued his interest. “What happened at the end of the hearing today?”
My eyes grow wide as my mind experiences a traffic jam of thoughts.
“I don’t know,” I whisper. Actually, I think I do know why I suffered a meltdown. But the explanation is very complicated and the source of a lot of pain I’ve been keeping to myself for a long time.
“Does it have something to do with your grandfather?” he asks.
Say it, Paisley.
But then the pilot announces that we’re landing and instructs us to keep our heads low as we exit the helicopter. Hercules is still watching me as if he’s reading every thought I might be having. I keep my eyes away from him. I wonder if I’m ready to tell him what I found six years ago after digging through my grandfather’s secrets. He would be the first person I’d ever tell.
When I gather the nerve to look at him again, Hercules is regarding me with worry and attraction. But gosh. I can still hardly believe I’m riding in a helicopter with the person I’ve had a crush on for almost half my life.
Now, he’s all smiles, and so am I. Our longing for each other can’t be denied. Wherever Hercules is taking me, keeping the theoretical chastity belt locked is going to be my biggest worry.
