Page 18 of Harboring Shantae

"Oh, good," Trista finally spoke in an overly happy tone. "Glad to see everyone has their hands to themselves. Hate to disrupt anything hinky."

Shantae choked out a laugh, and by the time he stopped giving Trista a death stare, she was fanning her face while both laughing and choking.

"Sorry ..." There was no way she was actually sorry based on the glint in her eye. "Spit went down the wrong pipe."

"Sureeeeeee. Nothing suspicious about how you're acting at all."

Shantae continued to laugh. Trista just stood there with her arms crossed and her brows creased like she was trying to figure out a puzzle. When Falcon finally joined them and gave his ownwhat the fuck is going onlook, all Panther could do was lift his shoulder in a shrug. He didn't have the first clue what was happening.

"Phew." Shantae let out a loud exhale, wiped a tear from her face, and fanned herself once again. "Sorry, but the fact that you assumed something was going on makes me really wonder how interesting your sex life is. Is your first assumption that people are always doing the naughty?"

"First off, who says 'doing the naughty'? I think we need to expand your sexual vocabulary. Second, of course, that's the first thing that pops into my mind. Hello, mile-high club. Everyone wants to join it and what better time? Third, my sex life is off the charts and so should everyone else's. Life is too short to waste it on mediocre sex. Lastly, have you checked out Panther? He's sexy as hell."

Falcon's growl should've stopped his wife, but Trista waved him off.

"You know you're the sexiest of all, so knock it off, big boy." Trista rolled her eyes but didn't stop talking. "Your entire team is made up of sexy men and women. You know it, I know it. Hell, everyone knows it. I'm just the only one willing to openly say it some days. But that's not the point. Panther here is sexy, and yes, I would like to think any alone time with him would include somethingsmutty."

Heat crept up his neck. Panther didn't get embarrassed. He didn't blush. Things others said about his looks usually rolled off his back. Until today, apparently; there was no mistaking that the heat he felt was coming directly from Trista's rambling. Or maybe it was who she said it to that caused such a visceral reaction.

"Do you plan on spending the rest of the fucking day inside the plane?" Wes's voice suddenly bellowed.

Panther had never been so happy for his boss's ill timing. There was no telling how the rest of the conversation would've gone.

"Umm, I was busy making a point, and you interrupted me," Trista snapped.

"I can only imagine what kind of point you were trying to make. Too bad we don't have time for it. Ray has some information for Panther and his girl here."

Shantae wasnothis girl. He couldn't even allow that thought to take root. It had heartbreak written all over it.

Then what his boss said sank in. Whatever information their technical analyst had must be pretty important if it caused Wes to storm onto the plane.

Panther shuffled Shantae off while Falcon did the same to his wife. He could tell he was in for more ribbing just by the look on Ray's face.

"You know any other time I would assume the reason for the delay was because Trista and Falcon needed to finish up some smexy time, but since Falcon was flying, I'm going to guess the delay was your fault, Panther."

He was tempted to punch Ray in the face for the comment and sexual innuendo. Especially because he could see the faintest flush on the apple of Shantae's cheeks.

Trista's dramatic sigh had them all looking her way. "No smexy time. I already asked, and believe me, Falcon flying would not stop me from getting a little something-something in the air.”

Wes threw his palm out. "Nope, we aren't talking about that." His boss actually looked repulsed or maybe he was just frustrated. It had to be the latter option causing Wes's eye to twitch.

"Oh, come on," Trista kept nagging. "I know you love hearing all the sordid details."

"Ray, for the love of God, please tell them what information you have before I'm forced to piss off Falcon by forcibly shutting up his wife."

Trista didn't look the least bit concerned or put off by Wes's declaration. Probably because he threatened her at least once a day. She had to be used to it by now.

Ray didn't seem too concerned either. With a laugh, he opened a folder and passed it to Wes. "Congratulations, Ms. Shantae Adams. You're officially a missing woman."

"A what?" Shantae, who was quiet up until that point, stuttered. "It's only been a few hours. How could I possibly be considered missing?"

"The power of money," Ray happily replied. "And no, I don't mean Wes's here. Seems your father pulled a few strings and had you reported as missing. Got a copy of the report and it would seem our friend Panther is the one they suspect for kidnapping you."

Well, shit, her father worked fast. Maybe giving the senator his name wasn't the smartest idea.

"Time to implement my plan!"

The sheer joy in Trista's voice made him want to snap at her. She was getting far too much enjoyment out of the situation, and he didn't like it. For someone who was pretty good at reading the room, she sucked at seeing how uncomfortable Shantae looked at the suggestion. Not to mention, he was against the idea.

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