Page 14 of The First Deal

“She shares your excitement about life, she’s a joy to be around,” Boris commented, then quickly apologised. “Sorry, Sir, that was…”

“The truth,” I finished for him, giving him a smile that said he hadn’t done any harm with his open speaking. “What am I doing?” I said under my breath, but just loud enough for Boris to hear me.

He didn’t speak though. He offered me a knowing smile, but what he thought he knew was beyond me. There was mischief and a slight smugness in his eyes that I tried to ignore, waving him off with a thank you before I followed the girl up onto my company’s private jet and got settled in my usual seat.

Hannah accepted a glass of champagne from Alice—the hostess I had requested for our flight. Alice knew what I liked and would ensure that the short journey was as comfortable as it could possibly be for us.

She placed a bottle of water and a glass filled with ice down in front of me. “We’re right on schedule, sir. Would you like the usual?”

I glanced at Hannah, then shook my head a fraction.

“Then I’ll be out there”—she pointed to a curtain—“if you need me, either of you, just give me a shout or press the button.”

I pointed to a call button beside Hannah’s armrest, indicating what Alice meant, then thanked the hostess and uncapped my bottle of water, pouring out a drink. Then I grabbed a boiled sweet from my pocket.

Hannah watched me as I unwrapped it, and I hesitantly offered the sweet to her. I had a couple in my pocket, but not enough to get me through the flight if we shared.

“I’m good,” Hannah said, sipping her champagne. “I’m surprised it’s not a Werther’s Original though.” She winked.

I snorted, feeling at ease with her, and pulled a gold-wrapped sweet from my pocket. “I always save the best ones for last.”

“Don’t you just,” Hannah said with a flirtatious smirk, and I knew exactly where her mind had gone.

Dessert.

Popping the gold sweet back into my pocket, I slipped an ice cube from my glass and rolled it over my wrist. Attempting to ignore the way that Hannah was looking at me. Two small lines were forming between her brows, and her mouth was twitching from side to side. She was trying to figure me out, and she fucking succeeded.

“You don’t like flying, do you?” she asked, relaxing back in her seat with her gaze locked on my wrist.

I shook my head in response. “Not even a little bit.”

“And you have a ritual, or something, that helps you get through each flight?” She fished a strawberry out of her glass and took a bite out of it, red juice spilling over her plump lower lip for just a second before she sucked it away, making for the perfect distraction to the fact that we were taking off.

I sucked on the hard-boiled sweet and nodded. “How did you work that out?”

“The air hostess, she made that comment about your ‘usual.’ ” She air quoted. “What is your usual then?”

“Doesn’t matter.” I felt stupid, but she wasn’t looking at me like I was, or like she pitied me or anything bad at all. Hannah was looking at me as though she was genuinely curious; like everything about me was interesting. And sure, I was an interesting man, I had led an exciting life, but this was one of those dull things that I didn’t see much point in sharing.

“I’ll just ask her then,” Hannah said, reaching for the button by her armrest.

Sighing, then chuckling, I sucked the sweet, hard, then reached out for her hand. Her fingers twisted with mine without thought or hesitation, and she smiled as she waited for me to go on.

“I listen to Enya, on repeat, no matter how long the journey is. And I only drink water, with ice. I have the ice topped up every half an hour, and I usually have a gel eye mask and lavender-scented pillow. I try to block out all awareness that I’m on a plane,” I confessed.

“And the sweets?”

I sucked again. “My ears. And I find the flavour soothing. I can’t usually eat on planes, so I have sweets. There is food though, if you want anything.”

“Maybe later. Right now, I think I’d like to distract you. What can I do to help? Shall I get her to bring you your eye mask and pillow?”

She wasn’t mocking me, she could have, just like she did with my age. Hannah was sweet, she had this extra layer to her that I didn’t expect to find. I thought she was sassy and sexy. She exuded sin, yet… there was this angelic thing hidden beneath the black hair and sultry eyes. She was sugar, spice, and all things fucking nice.

Shit.

“No, I think you can find another way to distract me,” I said, hating how suggestive my tone of voice had made the words seem. I was turned on as hell, but I was also a little desperate, and not in the unholy sense. Without my routine, I was struggling, and we had only just taken off. I didn’t want her to see me struggle though.

“I didn’t have joining the mile-high club on my to-do list today, but I suppose I can move some things around.” Hannah put her glass down and uncrossed her legs.

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