Chapter 6

The black Jeep Grand Cherokee with dark tinted windows pulled up on the tarmac of the Teterboro Airport. The glossy whiteness of the private jet offset the gloominess of the cloudy day. Mark climbed out of the driver’s side and opened the passenger’s door.

“Ms. Lopes, your bags have already been carried on board the plane.”

Natalie smiled, tucking her straightened hair behind her ear. “Thank you, Mark.”

“Can I take those for you?” he said, nodding to the two hand-sized baggage’s on the leather seats.

“Yes. Thank you.” She treaded out of the SUV, her steps faltering when she saw Palmer standing at the foot of the jet’s stairs. Dressed in dark blue jeans that showed off his long thick thighs, a grey short-sleeved shirt that clung to his bulging biceps that were covered in tattoos, he looked positively dangerous. A ball cap covered his head, but curls of dark blond hair jutted at the back of the cap. Her stomach flip-flopped at seeing him. She had been surprised when Mark knocked on her door to take her to the airport instead of Palmer. Licking her dry lips, she ambled over to the jet. Her cheeks flamed as she remembered the wet dream. She woke up from screaming his name. She ducked her head to hide her hot face. His lips lifted slightly as she ignored him and climbed the short stairs of the aircraft.

A brunette woman in a red skirt uniform with a white and red scarf wrapped around her neck stood at the passenger door. “Good afternoon, Ms. Lopes. I’m Louise, your flight attendant. Please take a seat and I’d be with you in a minute.”

“Thanks Louise,” Natalie said, stepping onto a lavish eggshell colored carpet. The buttery soft cream seat moulded to her bottom as she adjusted the seat to a more comfortable position. She had taken a valium in the car to help calm her nervous about the flight, but it had not taken effect yet. Her fingertips drummed impatiently on her thighs. She already wanted the flight to be over. Blowing out a loud sigh, she glanced outside the window. Dark clouds loomed heavy over New Jersey. Great, we’ll be flying in the rain. Just my luck.

Palmer boarded the plane holding his dark brown duffel bag that held all the essentials he’d need during the week’s trip. He’d gotten used to packing at a moment’s notice for missions. This wasn’t a life-or-death mission, but his body was tense from holding back his impulse to hold Natalie and kiss her until she admitted she wanted him as much as he craved her. Placing his duffel bag in the overhead compartment, he firmly closed it and glanced at Natalie’s profile as she stared outside the oval window. His eyes slowly skimmed her diamond-shaped face with the pointed chin. Her nose that widened at the tip and plump mouth he knew was soft and inviting. Damn! She was beautiful. Natalie turned her head and caught him gawking at her. She lifted one shoulder in a ‘what are you looking at’ gesture. Coughing in embarrassment, he pulled down his cap as his dark blue eyes ping-ponged around the private jet as if he was checking out the plane. He had already searched the jet thoroughly after his meeting with Isaiah. Isaiah was the reason he did not pick up Natalie for her flight. They had gone through Natalie’s itinerary in Angola and the dangers that could arise from the trip to the Southern African nation. If she stuck to the schedule, there shouldn’t be any trouble. He hoped so, anyway.

Settling in the seat across from her, his head hit the backrest of the seat when Mark came rushing in with a duffel bag of his own.

“Tom is driving the SUV back to the office, and the pilot is ready to take off,” Mark said as he placed his bag in the compartment.

Palmer nodded to show he heard him. On hearing that the plane was about to take off, Natalie’s right foot started tapping uncontrollably. Her fingers drumming at the same pace. He leaned over the walking alley as Mark passed him to sit down behind him.

“Hey? Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice.

Natalie tucked at the neckline of her forest green jumpsuit. “Uh? What? Yeah, I’m good.” Her foot’s tapping belied her claim.

“Okay? But why does it seem like your foot wants to make a hole in the jet’s floor?”

She looked down and pressed her hand on her knee. Her foot stopped it’s tapping.

Palmer’s eyebrow lifted. “Are you afraid of flying?” He leaned closer, his hand touching her arm. Blinding hot jolts zapped through him when his fingers contacted her skin. He wiggled in his seat to ease off the weird sensation.

Looking at his arm, Natalie raised her nut-brown eyes, dark from dilated pupils. “No. I’m just… I’m okay.” She swallowed audibly when the jet’s engines powered and thunder rumbled in the distant. His grip tightened on her arm. Natalie looked into his eyes, her breathing slowing as if his presence made being on the plane a little easier. The captain’s announcement broke through their intense stare.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time. We are first in priority for take-off. We should depart in five minutes. Due to the storm, we should expect some turbulence until we reach cruising altitude.”

The flight attendant made her way to them, a serene smile on her face. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, we are good,” Palmer answered for them. His eyes were still on Natalie.

“Okay great. I’ll be on the first seat until the seatbelt light goes off and then I’d serve you drinks.”

“Great. Thanks,” Natalie said, a wobbly smile on her face. Breaking her deep gaze with Palmer, she looked at Louise.

A frown crossed Louise’s face. “Would you like some water before I sit?”

The plane started to move, jostling them.

“Um, yeah. Water would be great. Thanks,” Natalie breathed out.

Louise ambled to the mini kitchen at the back of the jet and returned with a small water bottle. Smiling, she handed the bottle to Natalie. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” Natalie mumbled. Beads of sweat on her forehead. Louise sat on the seat close to the cockpit and clipped her seatbelt before the jet lifted off.

As the wings lifted the weight of the plane off the tarmac, Natalie whimpered, her eyes glued on the window as the plane left the ground.

“Hey, hey,” Palmer said, trying to pull Natalie’s attention back to him. His hand moved from her arm to her hand. “I’m surprised a globetrotter as yourself is scared of flying.”

A half-smile curved her face. “I’m not. Not really.”

He leaned even closer, his finger stroking the meaty part of her hand between the thumb and index finger. “Not really? Please do tell.”

Natalie took in a shuddery breath as the plane shook from turbulence. Her eyes moved back to the window.

“Hey, eyes on me, okay. You were about to tell me a story of how you’re not really scared,” Palmer said, his finger now trailing the underside of her hand. He glanced back to where Mark was sitting and found him with his eyes closed, but from his breathing, Palmer knew he wasn’t sleeping.

She tucked at her hair with her free hand. “Once, when I was in college, I was flying back to New York from London and there was a terrible storm. Turbulence was so bad that I hit my head on the ceiling.” She took a sip from the water bottle. “Anyway, the turbulence damaged one of the plane’s wings and we got diverted to the nearest airport. My mother had to come and fly back with me because I couldn’t get on a plane by myself after that. After that, I had to take meds to get me through a flight.”

“Meds?”

“Yeah, anxiety medication. They help. Sometimes.” Shrugging, she glanced at the raindrops on the window. Dark, thundering clouds covered the ground.

Palmer leaned back in his chair. “It’s okay to admit to fear you know, ‘cause everyone is afraid of something.

Natalie snorted with laughter as she tilted her head to the side to glance at him. “You are afraid of something?”

“Yeah. Oh yeah. But I learned to push through the fear because at the end of it is a great reward.”

“I’m gonna need an example.”

His teeth were white against his tanned skin as he relaxed into a smile. “Okay. But this stays between you and me.” He gestured between them with his index finger.

Nodding, she made a ‘get with it’ gesture with her hand.

“Alright. Hold your horses.” He slouched further into his seat. “When I had to make my first halo jump at night, I was terrified. I watched my brothers jump with my heart lodged in my throat. I wasn’t going to jump. I was frozen in the spot. A friend saw how I was and hooked himself with me to get me off the plane. I don’t know how I reached the ground, but I vomited my guts out before I had to hail my ass to the camp before my time ran out. I got through the training and I ended up enjoying making jumps. It’s exhilarating and frightening but when you hit the ground. My goodness. The best feeling ever,” he said with a playful grin.

The seatbelt lift switched off, even though the plane still shook from the turbulence. The flight attendant rose from her seat and made her way to them.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Louise said.

Natalie lifted her eyes to Louise, her shoulders rolling back. “A glass of champagne, please.”

“Sure,” Louise said as she sent admiring glances at Palmer.

“Water, please,” Palmer said, his violet-blue eyes focused on Natalie.

Louise nodded before moving off to talk to Mark.

Glancing at his hand that still held hers, the corners of her lips lifted. “Anyone will be scared to jump off a plane. It’s not the same.”

“Comparing fears now.” Palmer’s finger tapped the side of his mouth. “Um, when I was eight, I was afraid to ride Brownie. The sweetest pony on this planet. My brothers teased the heck out of me for that. Still do. One day, my father sat me down and said son, you can feel the fear, but don’t let it get the better of you. He said are you going to let it stop you from doing the one thing you want the most?” He scratched the light stubble on his chin. “When I said no, he took me to Brownie and managed to get me to ride him. I still ride Brownie today. He’s waiting for me on the ranch.” His hand rubbed the thigh of his jeans. His eyes were downcast.

Palmer sucked in air that swelled his lungs and lifted his shoulders. “Well, that’s enough about me. So, tell me how you flew to all those holiday destinations with your ex if you have a fear of flying?”

She leaned back in her seat and twisted her body to face him. Her stomach lurched when she gazed at him. His firm jaw, thick eyebrows that were a darker shade than his hair. One eyebrow had a thin white scar cutting across it. Facial scars from what she assumed were battle injuries dotted his face. They made him look intimidating and manly. Dismissing the somersaulting of her stomach as turbulence, she cleared her throat. “How do you know where Aaden and I went?” she asked.

The tips of his ears turned crimson. A shy smile curved his face. “I may have read some celebrity news about you when I got the job. It was research.”

“Research, huh. Is that your final answer?”

“Yeah,” he said, chuckling.

Louise returned with a tray of one bottled water and a glass of champagne. She placed the beverages on the seat tray and sauntered away to the mini kitchen.

“It was mostly due to copious amounts of champagne,” she said, taking a sip from her glass. “Plus, Aaden always made sure to keep me occupied with other things.” One eyebrow cocked as a smirk crossed her face.

The edges of his eyes widened. “Occupied?”

Angling her head toward the rear of the cabin where the bedroom was, she stared into his eyes. “Yeah. And it worked all the time.” She gulped down the rest of the champagne.

His mouth thinned as his shoulders hunched slightly. “I see. Too bad you can’t be kept occupied in this flight.”

Staring at the empty glass. A heaviness in her chest as she thought about Aaden and the night he called off their relationship. He had shown up at her apartment unannounced, his normal clean-cut appearance disheveled, his breath stinking of alcohol. Saying it was something that he didn’t want to do, he had broken her heart with the words ‘I’m marrying someone else.”

Shaking her head from the memory, she exhaled. “Yeah, it’s too bad.”

The valium and champagne started to work coupled with the restless of night of Palmer wet dreams. Her eyelids drooped with sleep. “Turns out I’ll use that bedroom after all. Excuse me, I think I’ll try to take a nap.” She stood from her seat. Her feet were unsteady from the up and down movement of the plane.

“Here. Let me help you,” Palmer said, standing up and clasping her elbow. His strong hold stabilized her as they padded on the luxurious carpet to the bedroom cabin. Sliding the off-white door, Palmer peeked into the moderate-sized cabin before stepping back to allow her through. Natalie pointedly looked at his hand, still gripped to her elbow. Removing it, his fingers wiggled before he laid the hand on his side.

“Have a good sleep,” he said, standing by the foot of the door as she plopped down on the bed with white sheets and eggshell-colored pillows. Snuggling down on the bed, she mumbled unintelligible before closing her eyes.

He stood there for a minute, gazing at her sleeping form.

“Are you going to watch her sleep like a stalker or are you coming to sit down?” Mark said, thumbing through a magazine.

Feeling the tips of his ears burn, Palmer closed the door and took the seat closer to the bedroom and slumped down. His fingers tightly gripping the top of his ball cap. How was he going to make it through this bodyguarding job without losing his mind from wanting her? He wasn’t sure.