Stranded Temptation: A Flaming Romance Page 6

  “Where you at, bro?”

  Not a good way to start a conversation. When Brian didn’t call him the usual “Maxi pad,” it was a sure sign there was a disturbance in the force.

  “About to get on a plane to South America. Why?”

  “Oh, fuck. Can you send that sexy little secretary of yours to my house? Like pronto?” Brian’s voice sounded strained which gave Max pause.

  “Why would I send Susan anywhere near you? She hates your guts.”

  Susan was a sweet, innocent young thing. Brian would eat her alive in one bite before she knew what had happened.

  “Okay. I fucked up. I told you I’m having this special dinner for Mom’s new book release, but the caterer that was hired is giving me the runaround, and you know Crystal is on maternity leave. I already tried calling, but Steven almost bit my head off through the phone for daring to ask work-related questions when she had a baby two days ago.

  “As if having a baby has anything to do with the use of her brain, which is another reason not to have kids if they mess with a woman’s ability to think once they’re born. Anyway, this is the first thing I tried to do on my own, and I already don’t know what the fuck to do to fix this mess. I need help, and Susan is a genius. Please?”

  “I don’t know, Brian. Susan doesn’t really like you.”

  “I swear I’ll be on my best behavior. I’ll owe you so big. Do it for Mom?” What a dick. He knew Max loved Elise and would never want to see her upset. Not to mention Brian already owed him “so big” for the twenty years they’d been best friends and brothers. Max was always rescuing Brian from one thing or another.

  “Fine. I’ll ask her, but if she says no, you’re on your own.”

  Brian sighed. “You’re a lifesaver. Tell her I’ll need her to come over straight away and that I’m waiting.”

  “Brian—” He started to warn him about his habit of upsetting the young woman but was cut off.

  Brian’s serious voice came through. The one Max trusted. “I swear, I’ll behave.”

  “Fine.” He hung up and called Susan. Thankfully, she was in a good mood and agreed to help. The fact that she loved their mom seemed to work in Brian’s favor.

  His gaze strayed to look out the window to the Learjet waiting for them, and he wondered where Kara was. She’d never been late before. It was another reason why he should’ve let her go on her vacation without interfering. His gut clenched at the thought of some guy hitting on her. It just didn’t sit well with him. Kara was beautiful and smart. You’d have to be an idiot not to hit on her. Much like how he felt at the moment.

  When she’d started working with him, he’d given serious thought to pursuing her, but he never mixed business with pleasure. After he’d realized how sharp she was, there were no more thoughts of ever damaging their professional relationship with sex.

  While that was all well and good, his body didn’t care about his professional oath. He still wanted her. No matter how hard he tried, he had a hell of a time stopping the nightly fantasies in which they did some fucking amazing things together.

  He scanned the area. A woman in ankle-length white pants and a low-cut, pale-green top grabbed his attention. She owned the walkway. Ignoring the appreciative looks she got, she dragged her luggage, stopped about ten yards from him, and placed her oversized handbag over the handle. When she bent over to arrange the bag on top of the larger suitcase, he got a glimpse of full breasts straining the low neckline of the small top. Jesus.

  She had a rack that could make a newborn smile in delight. He gulped and looked up. Her blonde hair was up in a messy knot at the top of her head. Large sunglasses covered most of her face, but pouty, sexy lips smiled at him. Her luscious body looked like Kara’s.

  The woman’s generous breasts, small nipped waist, and full hips captured and held his attention. His gaze traveled down until it ended at her French-tipped toenails in high-heeled sandals. Talk about sex on legs. What the hell was he doing replacing every sexy woman he saw with a visual of Kara? He needed to work more. Yeah. Like working himself to death would curb the crazy fantasies.

  What the hell? The blonde he’d been checking out was heading his way. He turned to look at the other people passing through. His gaze jerked back to the voluptuous bombshell when she stopped in front of him.

  “Hey, Max. Have you been waiting long?”

  Kara? The hot piece of ass he’d been mentally stripping was Kara? Fuck. Frustration surged. She never wore casual clothes. In all the months she’d worked for him, all she’d ever worn were suits: pantsuits, skirt suits, and the odd tailored dress, but never anything remotely casual. She’d been too much of a professional to do that before. What the hell changed now?

  “No. Let’s go.” After he took the bags from her, he walked off like the devil was after him. He knew he sounded angry, but there was no helping it. His cock jerked in his pants when he thought of the fastest way to get her out of the flimsy white pants and tiny top. Goddamn it! That was not what he needed during their trip.

  Once inside the plane, he was glad he’d be the one piloting. It would drive him insane to stare at her the entire flight.

  “I know I shouldn’t need to ask, but you’re sure this thing is safe to be in the air?” She nibbled on her lower lip while she threw him a frightened glance.

  His gut clenched. He smiled, hoping he could comfort her.

  “Kara, you know this baby is good to go. I have it checked out monthly. The last person to use it was my father’s wife, two days ago. It was fine then and should still be. Relax, get something to eat, and read a book. The time will go by before you know it.”

  Her eyes softened, and a sexy grin curled her full lips. “Okay, I’ll be fine. You do what you have to. Just get us there in one piece.” Bent over her humongous bag, she rummaged and pulled out an electronic reading device.

  With her back to him, her heart-shaped ass became the focus of his attention. The sexy globes seemed to call to him for a touch. His cock urged him to take her to the back seat, the one that reclined into a bed, and peel her clothes off slowly. No! He was so fucked. His cock was rock hard. He decided he should sit his ass down before she noticed the bulge in his pants. It was not going to be a smooth ride.

  After a few hours in the air, Max’s hard-on softened. With Kara out of his mind and focused on the sky ahead and endless water below, he settled into a routine of checking gauges and watching for obstacles. Not that there were many, but you never knew. An unusually high-flying bird could come out of nowhere, or space debris.

  He glanced at his watch and noted they were ahead of schedule. Since Kara seemed so freaked out about the plane, he’d put them on a faster air speed to land sooner. Normally, they would be miles from nowhere at this point in time. But he saw islands below and wasn’t sure why. He had watched his gauges, keeping the right direction and constant air speed.

  A loud blast sounded near one of the Learjet’s wings. Max looked to the side of the plane and watched a ball of fire shoot out toward the front. What the fuck? On the control panel, a red light blinked and indicated the right engine was no longer functioning.

  “Is everything okay? Do you need help?” Kara stood right behind him.

  When he looked up into her fearful face, he wanted to reassure her that everything was fine, but knew she needed the truth. “Sit down next to me. I’m not sure what happened, but we lost the right engine.”

  She sat in the copilot seat, and he watched her look out the glass to the right side of the small plane, even though he knew she wouldn’t be able to see the engine.

  She turned to face him again. “Lost it? So, it’s not working anymore, right?” She glanced at the equipment, and he knew she had no idea what was going on. Hell, he had no idea what was going on.

  “Right.” Thoughts of keeping her from panicking helped him focus.

  Her brow furrowed. “But you’re not freaking out because…”

  “We still have the left one.” He checked t
heir altitude and location. They had to be over a bunch of small islands in the Caribbean. The islands looked a little strange, different than normal, but he didn’t have time to worry about that. He’d flown the area enough times to know where they should be. “Thankfully, it’s also a great day to fly. The sky is clear of clouds, the weather is beautiful, and if all stays as it is, we’ll be fine.”

  She took a deep breath and sighed. “Oh. Okay, then.”

  Just when he thanked their lucky stars for the twin engines, there was another loud pop. The red light that indicated the left engine was malfunctioning turned on. Luck was clearly not on their side.

  “Fuck!”

  She grabbed his T-shirt in a death grip. “Tell me what to do. I can help you,” she offered in a soft voice.

  Their gazes met and held. On impulse, because he knew there were no guarantees, he curled a hand around the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. It was a quick meeting of their lips, but enough to make his cock harden into unbending steel in his pants. Her taste served to entice and add kindling to the flame in his blood for her. Just as quickly, he let go of her head and turned back to the controls.

  “Strap in tight. We’re going down. I’m going to land this.” His gaze swept over her face and caught her nod.

  He sent a distress call over the radio. Unfortunately, when he was rattling off the last of their coordinates, the communication cut off. He only hoped it had gotten through.

  Soon after, the plane took a nosedive. It took all his strength to control the aircraft.

  He quickly glanced toward Kara. “Lower your head between your knees and hang tight.”

  Land was zooming in quickly. Too quickly. He maneuvered the plane into a gliding motion. It was sheer luck that he’d taken a recent course on gliding a plane to land in an emergency. Max mentally went through the lessons he’d been taught and with a smoothness he had no idea he possessed, he glided the plane into a small clearing between the densely vegetated areas on a small island.

  They went down hard. The plane smacked foliage, and loud swishing could be heard coming from outside. The wings bent from the strain of squeezing through the tall trees and groaned against the pressure. Shrill sounds of glass shattering came from the windows behind them and added to the noisy mambo playing inside the cabin.

  He was jerked multiple times in his seat, and he heard so many loud bumps he lost count. Finally, the plane stopped with a smack when it hit firm ground. He looked up and noticed they were horizontal. Long leafy branches poked into the cabin. Maybe he needed practice, but for his first try, he got them on the ground alive. In his opinion, that made his landing a success.

  12

  Kara was dying to look up, but Max had told her to keep her head down. So while she sat with her head between her legs, every possible horrible end to her life flashed before her eyes. She was jerked in her seat until her ass was sore. Curiosity got the best of her, and she lifted her head. Her stomach dropped to the floor when she saw trees rushing toward them.

  Oh, good lord. We’re really going to die. She promised that if she got out of this situation alive, she was going to live life to the fullest. Forget waiting for things to happen; she’d make them happen. The plane shook violently, and she swayed sideways, hitting the side of her head on a metal pane.

  “Ouch.” Damn. That shit hurt. Her vision became blurred and spotty. She continued to jerk until they came to an abrupt stop when the plane slammed on the ground. Were they alive? Oh God, yes! Max had brought the plane down safely. Adrenaline and euphoria made it hard to keep from screaming in joy.

  It took her a moment to gather her bearings. When she finally looked up, she saw Max untangling himself from his seatbelt. He turned toward her and helped her get loose from her seatbelt. Her hands were shaking so badly she had a hard time getting a good grip.

  “Are you good?” He frowned when he glanced at the side of her head. “You’re bleeding. Here, let me get the first aid kit. Don’t move.” He walked toward the back of the plane, and she followed after him. They dodged branches and climbed over debris and the pretty cushions meant to be for the comfort of the passengers.

  He noticed her behind him and had her sit next to him on the large reclining seat that turned into a bed. It was the only place in the plane where the windows hadn’t been shattered by the crash. No glass littered the surface, and they were able to sit in comfort. He reached into a cabinet and pulled out a large first aid kit.

  “I’m fine.” Her voice came out a whisper. She watched him grab gauze to clean her cut. Their faces were mere inches apart. Her mind strayed back to the kiss he’d given her what seemed like hours ago but had only been moments. If he hadn’t saved their lives with his quick maneuvering, they would have died for sure.

  He gently cleaned her scrape with an alcohol pad. Then he dabbed ointment and added a butterfly Band-Aid. He caressed her cheek after he’d cleaned the small cut.

  She took in his short dark hair, sexy gray eyes, and chiseled features. Arousal swelled inside her. God, she wanted him. It was time to start living life to the fullest. “Max.” Her gaze collided with his and she immediately noticed the flare of lust in his eyes. Even better, he wanted her, too. Each one of her Max-enthralled nerve-endings stood at attention at the sight of the sexy man before her.

  “Fuck, Kara. I don’t know what the hell hap—”

  She placed two fingers over his mouth to cut him off. She swallowed to try to relieve the dryness in her throat. “Thank you, Max. You saved our lives.”

  Gentleness she’d never noticed before in Max was evident in his eyes. She watched him curl his large hand over her much smaller one. Her heart beat so loudly in her ears, she feared he might hear it. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Fire roared in her blood, and her breath hitched. He turned her hand over and brushed a warm, firm kiss over her palm while they stared at each other.

  “I’d never put you in danger.” Deepened to rough gravel, the sound of his voice made her pussy throb and blood thicken in her veins.

  Somehow she knew what he said was the truth. “Kiss me, Max.”

  The words were barely out of her lips when he dragged her onto his lap, their lips meeting in desperation. Her arms twined around his neck. Pulling him closer, she brought her chest flush to his. Heat took over every cell of her body. His kiss devoured her. Lord, the man was a kissing god. With soft strokes of his tongue, he caressed the inside of her mouth. Whimpering in the back of her throat, she moved restlessly on his lap.

  The long, steel length of his cock was poking at her ass. He glided his hands under her top, making her belly flesh quiver. When his warm hands touched her skin, desire increased inside her tenfold. Breaths turned to pants. Her body thrummed with arousal. She tuned out everything but the sight of him in her mind.

  She pulled back and smiled. “I want you, Max.”

  He frowned and took a deep breath. “Kara, you’re in shock—”

  Determined, she shook her head and cut him off. “No, Max. I’m alive.”

  She smiled again and pulled off her top. Her bra was now the only barrier between her breasts and his hands. Swollen into tight points, the peaks of her nipples called for his touch under the satiny material. A combination of lust, hunger, and desperation flared in his eyes. His eyes darkened to that of a murky, stormy day.

  “Fuck, Kara. I want you, too, but I don’t have condoms.”

  Air fought its way into her lungs. “I’m clean and on birth control.”

  He continued to frown. “I’m clean, too, but are you sure?”

  In a smooth move worthy of any professional stripper, her hand reached behind her back, unsnapped her bra, and pulled it off. “Fuck me, Max. I want you inside me, right now.”

  His hands curled around her head and held her immobile. Raw hunger made her body shudder. Their kiss turned into a greedy need to consume each other. Moisture gathered in her pussy, and an incessant throbbing took hold between her thighs. In a frantic ma
ting, their tongues danced, rubbed, and curled over each other until passion overrode all else. Blind lust shot through her when she rocked her hips over his hard cock.

  He kissed wet trails from her jaw to her breasts until he was sucking on one of her erect nipples. Her pussy clenched when he enveloped her breast with his firm lips. Soaked in her cream, her thong became a new point of friction on her swollen pussy lips. She tore at his shirt. A wanton urgency took hold of her and guided her actions. To feel his skin on hers became her only mission.

  When he helped her take his shirt off, she splayed her hands over his bulging shoulders and sighed. He was a work of art. His chest was corded with muscles and bronzed to perfection. Just looking at him made her pant. Whimpers rushed past her lips when his teeth grazed her turgid nipple.

  “Oh, yes. Do that again.”

  Again, he sucked and then nipped at the tight bud. She moaned and pushed her chest further into his face. He released her nipple from his lips and rolled the wet tip between his finger and thumb, tweaking the sensitive flesh while his mouth latched onto the other for a taste. She dug her nails into his shoulders, holding him in her grip while rocking her hips over his cock. Movement made her open her eyes. Max had made the seat flatten back so it was the size of a double bed.

  A smile curled her lips when she gazed into his almost-black eyes. He motioned for her to stand. Once she did, he moved his hands to her white pants and slowly pulled the linen material, along with her thong, down her legs. With every inch of skin he exposed, he placed a kiss on a body part. First was her stomach. Then her hip when he lowered the material down her legs. Her knee came next and finally her calf. Afterward, he kissed his way back up to her stomach. She groaned and stood in place.

  He licked circles on her stomach and around her belly button. He caressed her breasts, down the sides of her breasts to her waist, and squeezed the flare of her hips. She took a choppy breath. He fluttered his fingertips down from her hips toward her core, and she bit her lip to keep from moaning.