Page 11 (1/2)

I felt a relief so huge it alh he’d really wanted to pound so I’d almost needed to see Whatever else I didn’t know about him, at least I knew he could practice self-control

Uncontrolled violence and aggression were the monsters of my childhood, and I felt almost limp with relief to see that I wouldn’t find them in James Not in the way I had feared The way I always feared, despite a decent amount of time and therapy

"What happened? What were they saying that would involve law enforcement?" I asked Stephan finally

He just shook his head "I’ll tell you later Please, just give , so I dropped the issue If he said he’d tell me later, I kneould

I was up the second I heard the double ding that indicated ere at ten thousand feet I started alley for our breakfast service I liked the routine, liked routines in general I found the, in a way

The chaos of my adolescence made me crave stability in , followed a schedule and routine that I enjoyed Saturdaybreakfast service out of New York was a part of that

Our airline prided itself on it’s first class service, so our breakfast service was extensive We would be busy until we landed With first class full, Stephan stayed up front to help alley, and he served That suited me, especially today, with a volatile Jaenerate men in the cabin

Stephan and I didn’t even speak for the first hour as orked He was brooding, and we didn’t really need to talk to coether effortlessly, after all these years He took the passengers’ orders and I read them and made them As he served, I worked on the next step We were fast and effective even without speaking

I loved this part of the job I wasn’t even sure why Just the busy feel in the air, the fa sure everyone felt like they had received exceptional service, and like we had done a good job I supposed I had just spent a large part of ood day, ht of it that way, it sounded pathetic, but that didn’twe served to James, of course He drank water exclusively, that I had seen No ice, just the bottle and a glass I started putting a slice of lelass, and he didn’t complain, so I continued to do so

For breakfast, he ordered the only healthy thing we served on the first flight of the day It was greek yogurt with fresh blueberries and raw pecans I wasn’t surprised that he was the only one to order it We usually didn’t have any takers, so Stephan and I often had it for breakfast ourselves I could’ve guessed from what I had seen of his body that he ate healthy, but that confir naked with so, who had a flawless body, so far as I could tell? I didn’t kno I tried to stay in shape but I had junk food sometimes, and I probably didn’t work out as often as I could

I thought , and my ankles were too small, like toothpicks And my arms were thin, but my hips were a little wide and my shoulders were too broad, to my critical eye Like every woman, I had body issues Would James notice them when I was naked? I tried not to dwell on it, but I did anyways I was relieved e got too busy for me to think about it anymore

It was a solid two and a half hours into the flight before Stephan could make his way back to check on the main cabin

"I’ll be back in a few ht now I’ll bring some back to add to the cheese service," Stephan told ht phone

I nodded absently I was prepping our three-tiered cart for the cheese service There was nothing he could help ood ti on the other side of the curtain, and shifted the cart to et back to their seat before I moved it into position

I was startled when Jaalley He looked much calmer than he had before

I offered hi to read his avethat I was bearing it’s weight He used it to block the aisle co to stay behind the curtain completely as he did so

"Oh," I said softly as I watched hi of what he intended He was arranging a

I just watched him, mesmerized

He set the brake on the cart with the toe of his shoe easily, as though he did it every day He took a deep breath, his back torabbedry

In spite ofet it

He backedme onto the only small bit of empty counter space available I barely fit He didn’t stop kissing ers inching hs bared in a flash, and I pulled back, panting

"What are you doing?" I asked, a little panicked at his intent

"Shh," he toldmy skirt up impatiently "I need to do this"

That didn’t make me feel reassured, but he stopped abruptly when his hands had shoved arters and the tops of hly

He cursed when he saw"This is the type of panty you earing last night, too, wasn’t it? But that one was blue"

I just nodded, feeling a little disoriented "They’re the most co else, since I discovered the love them," he told me, and it ain by kneeling in front of me in one fluid movement He handed me a cloth An old fashioned handkerchief, I observed "Put that in your mouth and bite down Try not to ,to do

"Grip rily It was perfect, of course, soft as silk, and so sht brown and dark blond, highlighted by the sun shinning through the smallin the door of the plane just to our left People payed a fortune for highlights not half as beautiful as that shifting, golden color

Myback He had shoved ainstwash of sensation froleers thrust intojust the perfect spot I whih-pitched noise