Книга - Incognito

Incognito
Kate Hoffmann


Do you have a forbidden fantasy?Shy author/research assistant Lily Hart does. Movie director Aidan Pierce has been the star attraction in Lily's steamy fantasies for more than a year. But when she unexpectedly runs into him for real, she doesn't know what to do…except slip into her alter ego–Lacey St. Clair, the pen name she's taken to write the deliciously racy The Ten-Minute Seduction!Aidan Pierce is used to Hollywood starlets on his arm and in his bed. Fabulous yet authentic Lacey isn't like them–and he likes that. But when he finds out she's really Lily Hart, he wonders if he can trust her. But he's not ready to relinquish the mind-shattering sex just yet….









“You have too many clothes on,” Aidan murmured.


Lily crawled out of her seat and retrieved a pair of blankets from the overhead bin. The cabin was silent and dark, the flight attendants busy in the galley. She sat down next to him and handed him one.

He chuckled softly, drawing her back onto his lap. “Good idea.” Aidan pulled the blanket around them and worked at the buttons on her blouse.

Lily stared up into his eyes. Suddenly she felt a bit light-headed. “I think we need more privacy,” she whispered. “I’ll meet you in the bathroom. Wait for a minute or two and then come back.”

She rebuttoned her blouse and crawled off him, then tiptoed down the aisle. She wasn’t afraid, and that’s what surprised her most. Lily had spent years being fearful of one thing or another. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the altitude—or simply the man himself. But Lily knew exactly what she wanted—no doubts, no insecurities.

A few seconds later Aidan knocked at the door. Lily opened it without hesitation. She was going to have this man, here and now. And she was determined she wouldn’t regret it tomorrow.







Dear Reader,

What’s my fantasy? I have more than a few. How about a live-in masseuse, or a cat that doesn’t shed. A computer that can type the words directly from my brain to my word processing program without me having to lift a finger. I wouldn’t mind having a coffee bar in my kitchen with a barista to run it. And I’d love a car that cleaned itself. So none of my fantasies involve sex, but sometimes a girl just needs help with the everyday stuff.

In Incognito, I got a chance to explore the naughty side of fantasies. Lily Hart makes one of her fantasies come true when she has the chance to step outside herself and become the kind of woman who’d seduce a man at first sight. And it all happens at 20,000 feet!

I hope you enjoy her story. And I hope you get the chance to make one of your forbidden fantasies come true.

Happy reading,

Kate Hoffmann




Incognito

Kate Hoffmann










ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Kate Hoffmann has been writing for Harlequin Books since 1993. Over that time, she’s published nearly sixty titles for Harlequin Blaze, Harlequin Temptation, Harlequin anthologies and continuities, and various other lines. When not writing, Kate is involved in musical and theater activities in her community. She lives in southeast Wisconsin with her two cats, Tally and Chloe, and enjoys golf, genealogy and talking on the phone with her sister.




Books by Kate Hoffmann


HARLEQUIN BLAZE

234—SINFULLY SWEET “Simply Scrumptious”

279—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: MARCUS

285—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: IAN

291—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: DECLAN

340—DOING IRELAND!

356—FOR LUST OR MONEY

379—YOUR BED OR MINE?

HARLEQUIN SINGLE TITLES (The Quinns)

REUNITED

THE PROMISE

THE LEGACY

HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION

847—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: CONOR

851—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: DYLAN

855—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRENDAN

933—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: LIAM

937—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRIAN

941—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: SEAN

963—LEGALLY MINE

988—HOT & BOTHERED

1017—WARM & WILLING


To my wonderful, patient, insightful editor,

Brenda Chin, who can always find a way to make

my words work—even when they don’t want to.




Contents


Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Epilogue




Prologue


Last Summer

“YOU HAVE our tickets, don’t you?”

Lily Hart sighed softly, her meditation interrupted. She was due to get on a plane in a half hour and if she didn’t calm herself, the panic attacks would set in the moment she stepped on board. “Yes, Miranda, I have the tickets. Have I ever forgotten the tickets?”

She reached down into her tote and pulled out the ridiculously expensive Italian leather travel wallet that Miranda had given her last Christmas. As she stared at their boarding passes, tucked neatly into the inside pocket, Lily shook her head. This was her life—designer accessories, first-class tickets to Paris, three weeks in a rented six-bedroom apartment on some fancy rue on the Left Bank. This was her life.

Except it wasn’t her life. She was living the life of Miranda Sinclair, bestselling novelist. As Miranda’s research assistant, social secretary and girl Friday, it was Lily’s responsibility to see that Miranda’s life was as close to worry-free as possible. And for that, she was paid quite handsomely.

A good-paying job shouldn’t come at such a high price, Lily mused. Miranda was Lily’s godmother and she’d been her legal guardian since Lily’s parents divorced fourteen years ago. Miranda had offered her a home, a place to live when her parents had decided to leave the States. Miranda needed her, more than anyone had ever needed her before, and Lily ought to be grateful.

“I’m sorry,” Lily murmured. “I didn’t mean to snap. You know how I feel about flying.”

Miranda reached out and patted Lily’s hand. In addition to providing a home, Miranda had paid Lily’s college tuition and she’d given her a job when she got out of school. Lily was grateful. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder what it might be like to have a life all her own.

“Look,” Miranda murmured, nodding in the direction of a man sitting on a sofa on the other side of the first-class lounge. “Gorgeous, no?”

Lily turned to Miranda and frowned. “Stop. I thought we decided you wouldn’t do that anymore.”

“Just look.” She pointed a perfectly manicured finger, then straightened, tucking her ash-blond hair behind her ear. Even though she’d just turned fifty-four, Miranda acted more like a big sister than a parent figure. She certainly didn’t look much older than Lily’s twenty-seven years. “That is a very fine specimen.”

Lily refused the order. For the past few years, Miranda had been intent on finding a man for Lily. Apparently, she hadn’t fully approved of the men Lily occasionally found for herself—nice, stable, slightly boring men who wouldn’t cheat and wouldn’t hurt her. Miranda preferred another type of man—passionate, temperamental, creative—the typical bad boy.

“God, he is gorgeous. You know who that is, don’t you? That’s Aidan Pierce. Hollywood’s new enfant terrible. Three hit films in as many tries. Every producer in town is sending him projects to direct. How old do you think he is?”

Reluctantly, Lily glanced up and fixed her gaze on the man in question. Her breath suddenly caught in her throat and she was forced to look away—or faint from lack of oxygen.

Living in L.A., she’d seen her share of beautiful men. But she’d always managed to discount them all because they didn’t meet the image of perfection she kept in her head. Aidan Pierce came as close to perfect as any man she’d ever set eyes upon.

Swallowing hard, she forced a smile. “Too young for you.”

“I’m thinking of changing my rules. I no longer think it would look pathetic for me to date men under the age of thirty.” Miranda sat back in her chair and sniffed. “He wouldn’t be too young for you. Why don’t we go over and introduce ourselves? Offer to buy him a drink.”

She moved to stand, but Lily grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. “No, stop it!” She felt a flush creep up her cheeks.

Miranda sighed dramatically. “You know I adore you, darling, but you can’t live with me for the rest of your life. You need to get out in the world and enjoy yourself.”

“And fixing me up with strange men is going to do that?”

Miranda grudgingly picked up her copy of Vogue and flipped through the pages. “I’d hardly call him strange. When was the last time you had sex?”

“None of your business,” Lily muttered.

With Miranda’s attention distracted, Lily had a chance to observe Aidan Pierce silently. He was dressed casually, in cargo shorts, a faded cotton shirt rolled up at the sleeves and flip-flops. His hair was mussed in a way that made him look as if he’d just rolled out of bed to catch his flight. She could see the shadow of a two-or three-day beard on his chiseled jaw.

A shiver skittered down her spine as she speculated about the body beneath the comfortable clothes. There were women in this world, in L.A., who knew what Aidan Pierce looked like naked—women who had probably touched him in all sorts of tantalizing ways.

A tiny moan slipped from her throat and she covered it with a cough, then glanced over at Miranda. To her dismay, Miranda was watching her, a smug smile on her face. “What?” Lily muttered.

“So you do find him attractive,” she said.

“Of course. Who wouldn’t?” She looked over at Aidan again, only to see a beautiful young woman plop down on his lap. He squirmed uneasily beneath her, but she refused to budge. “See, he has a girlfriend. He’s taken.”

Miranda went back to her magazine. “It’ll never last. I read in the tabloids that he dates all the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood and then dumps them a month or two later. His problem is he needs a real woman. Like you.”

“I don’t think he’d be interested in me,” Lily murmured. Though Miranda had done her best to turn Lily into a beauty, Lily still felt…ordinary.

Miranda twisted in her chair and leveled her gaze on Lily. “Have you learned nothing from writing that book? You can seduce any man you want, you just have to have confidence in your sex appeal.”

Lily shook her head. “I didn’t write The Ten-Minute Seduction, you did.”

For the past year, Lily had helped Miranda write a sex manual, a book that instructed women on the most effective way to seduce a man. Miranda was known for her bestselling legal thrillers, but for some unknown reason, she’d felt compelled to switch genres. Knowing her publishers wouldn’t approve, she’d sold the book using a pseudonym—Lacey St. Claire.

“You know you wrote most of it,” Miranda said. “The book is really yours. And the copyright will be yours, too. So all the royalties will come to you.” Miranda held up her hand. “I won’t hear another word about it.” She put on a pout that was all too familiar to Lily. “I would have thought you’d have learned something. Anything.”

Lily frowned as a slow realization dawned. “What do you mean?”

Miranda shrugged. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Was that all part of your scheming?” Lily demanded. “Did you make me write that book so that I’d know how to seduce a man?”

Miranda pursed her lips. “Well, I didn’t expect it to be so good. I just thought I’d put it in a drawer and forget about it. But it was good, Lily. Your research combined with my experience made the book publishable. So sue me. I thought I was doing you a favor.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Lily slumped back in her chair. “The meddling stops right now, Miranda. You know how much I love you, but this has got to stop. Do you know how hard I worked on that book? I thought I was helping you and you were just tricking me.”

“And when the book comes out next year, you’ll be a published author and you’ll have a man.” Miranda stood and tucked her purse beneath her arm. “I’m going to go get us a few drinks. You’re so much easier to manage on a flight after you’ve tossed back a few cocktails.”

Lily watched as her godmother crossed to the bar. She’d dreamed of becoming published, but not this way, not with some sex book. For six months now, she’d been working on her own novel, a simple story about a young girl searching for her place in the world. But between Miranda’s schedule and her own insecurities, she hadn’t found much time to work.

She watched as Miranda wandered over to Aidan and introduced herself. She nodded in Lily’s direction and Aidan gave her a brief look, then turned his attention back to Miranda.

“I have got to get a life of my own,” she muttered. She would. As soon as they got back from Paris, she’d look for an apartment. And then, maybe, if a guy like Aidan Pierce glanced in her direction, she’d have the courage to walk up to him and say hello.




1


This summer

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, welcome to our premiere service between Los Angeles and New York. While we’re preparing for take-off, your flight attendants will be serving beverages. Our scheduled departure of 9:30 p.m. has been pushed back twenty minutes, but the captain assures us that we will be arriving in New York right on time.”

The bell dinged and Lily pinched her eyes shut, her white-knuckled hands clutching at the arms of her seat. This was the part she always hated, the waiting, the time between the moment she strapped herself in and the moment the jet lifted off the ground.

Though she’d nearly conquered her aversion to flying about a year ago, her trip to Paris with Miranda had renewed every fear and then doubled it. They’d lost an engine somewhere over the Atlantic and had been forced to make an emergency landing in Ireland. Lily had refused to get back on the plane and had taken a combination of boats and trains to Paris. When it came time to go home, she’d returned home the same way—the QE II across the Atlantic followed by a cross-country train trip. Since then, she’d refused to get on a plane.

She glanced down at the self-help book that lay open on her tray table. She’d read six books in the past two months, seen a psychologist and a psychiatrist and attended two seminars that guaranteed success in conquering a fear of flying.

“Airline travel is the safest mode of travel,” she murmured to herself, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Yeah, right. That would make her feel so much better when plummeting from twenty thousand feet.

Had Lily been given a choice, she might have taken the train to New York. But Miranda had insisted that her fears were unfounded. She just needed to get back on the horse—which would have been a reasonable alternative in Lily’s mind. L.A. to New York via wagon train. When was the last time anyone died in a fiery wagon train crash?

In the end, Lily was forced to agree. Her fears were childish and she needed to conquer them before they completely paralyzed her. But that didn’t mean she’d be unprepared for disaster. She grabbed the emergency card from the pocket in front of her and tried to focus on the information. Why didn’t they just give everyone a parachute? Then if anything bad happened, they could all jump.

She waved one of the flight attendants over to her seat. “I think I’m going to need something to drink after all. If it’s not too late.”

“We’re still waiting for a few first-class passengers to board. What can I get you?”

“Vodka,” Lily said. “Two of those little bottles in a glass of ice with just a splash of cranberry juice.” Lily forced a smile and sat back in her seat. This was all her fault. She’d made a vow a year ago to move out of Miranda’s house and make a life of her own. But the time had never been right.

Miranda had always been in the middle of some crisis or another. Now her godmother was three months late on a deadline and had convinced herself the only place she could possibly finish the book was her summer house in the Hamptons. So Lily had been ordered to go on ahead and open the place.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a small photo album. She’d made the album in a pteromerhanophobia workshop she’d taken last month. The participants had been asked to select photos representing all the things they wanted to do in the future. During a plane trip, they were supposed to find a photo and focus on it.

Lily flipped through the album. There was a picture of the Great Wall of China, her ultimate travel destination. And another of a cute little dog—she’d always wanted a dog, but Miranda was allergic. And there was a photo of a model in a sexy bathing suit. Someday, she’d lose twenty pounds and look just like that.

Lily paused, her gaze falling on the photo of Aidan Pierce she’d cut out of Premiere. Someday she’d find a man who made her heart flutter as much as he had. Since seeing him from across the airport lounge a year ago, Lily had followed his career in the magazines. She’d bought all his movies on DVD and read everything she could find about his social and professional life. And occasionally, she’d allow herself a fantasy or two about what it might be like to have a man like Aidan in her bed.

The flight attendant returned with Lily’s drink and set it in front of her, placing the tumbler on top of a napkin. “I’ll have to collect that before we take off.”

A man passed behind the attendant and she smiled as he bumped against her with his bag. Lily took a sip of her vodka and watched as the passenger searched for an empty overhead bin. He turned and she caught sight of his profile.

She sucked in a sharp breath and the vodka went down wrong, causing a fit of coughing. Gasping for breath, Lily slumped down in her seat and covered her mouth with the napkin.

The flight attendant bent closer. “Are you all right?” she asked.

Lily waved her hand, tears now streaming down her face. Of all the possible people to walk onto her flight, why did it have to be him? She risked a glance up and found Aidan Pierce watching her, an odd look on his face. He glanced at his boarding pass, then looked directly at the numbers above her head.

“No,” she said in a silent plea. Not the seat next to her. There were plenty of other places for him to sit. He couldn’t possibly be sitting next to her, could he? He showed his boarding pass to the flight attendant and she stepped aside, pointing to the seat next to Lily’s.

Lily turned to stare out the window, desperately willing herself to calm down and act like a normal human being. But when she turned back around, she came face-to-face with Aidan’s crotch as he reached up to put his bag in the overhead compartment.

His cotton shirt was unbuttoned at the bottom, offering her a view of his belly. Her eyes drifted from the line of hair above his waistband to the bulge in his cargo pants and then back up again. Lily quickly turned away, fixing her attention out the window again.

Suddenly, dying in a mass of twisted steel and burning jet fuel seemed to be an acceptable alternative to flying all the way to New York next to Aidan Pierce. He plopped down beside her. They were so close she could feel the heat of his body, smell the scent of his cologne. She wanted to reach out for her drink, but she was afraid her hand might be trembling too much to pick up the glass.

“It’s nice to have you with us again, Mr. Pierce. Can I get you a drink?”

“I’ll have a beer,” he said.

Oh God. He didn’t sound the way he was supposed to sound. She hadn’t met him that day at the airport, but she’d watched him interviewed on E! and he always seemed so aloof, his voice so careful and measured, kind of self-absorbed. Now, he sounded like a nice guy.

Lily clutched her fingers together in her lap and realized her photo book was still open. She snapped it shut, then dropped it into her tote bag. How long could she possibly sit here without speaking? Sooner or later, someone would have to say something. They couldn’t ignore each other for the entire six-hour flight.

“Relax. Nothing is going to happen.”

Lily shoved her glasses up the bridge of her nose and gave him a feeble smile. “I-I’m not scared.”

He chuckled and then pointed to the book still resting on her tray table. “The Pteromerhanophobic Traveler,” he murmured. “Quite a title. Catchy. I’d assume by the little cartoon of the smiling airplane that the book is about people who can’t get enough of flying?”

For a moment she relaxed enough to really look at him—his shaggy dark hair and his sculpted mouth, pale blue eyes that seemed to see right through her. In comparison to the buttoned-down business attire most men in first class wore, his lived-in clothes made him look dangerous.

A shiver skittered down her spine. Lily had read thousands of romantic descriptions of male beauty, from Jane Austen to Joan Collins, but for the life of her, she couldn’t recall one that did this man justice. He was, for all intents and purposes, perfect.

“I-I’m sorry,” she murmured. “You’re right. I’m not a very good flyer.” But her tension had nothing at all to do with her fear of flying. She’d never been good with extremely handsome men. They always made her feel…clumsy and inept. And handsome men, especially men with beautiful smiles and even more beautiful eyes, made her lose her capacity to think in a rational manner. She always seemed to lose herself in thoughts of what they might look like naked.

“If anything is going to happen,” he said, “it’ll happen in the first few minutes after takeoff.”

“Yes, I know. In the first ninety seconds,” Lily said. “So if we’re going to die, it’s going to happen really soon. That makes me feel better.” She glanced over at him to see a smile break across his face.

“Now you’re beginning to make me scared.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

He chuckled. “Why do you keep apologizing?”

“I’m sorry.” She took a sharp breath, then forced another smile.

A flight attendant stopped beside Aidan’s seat and gave him a warm smile as she set his drink down. Lily glanced across the aisle at another female passenger whose gaze was fixed intently on Aidan. It seemed every woman in his general vicinity found his drink order endlessly fascinating.

She sneaked a better look at his profile. So he shared some qualities with your basic Greek god, but handsome men were a dime a dozen in Los Angeles. She’d just never been so close to one. His elbow grazed hers and Lily gathered her resolve, refusing to move her arm off the armrest of her seat.

He turned back to her and she quickly averted her eyes as he caught her staring. “Would you like another?” he asked.

“Yes,” Lily said without thinking.

“Double vodka with a splash of cranberry juice?” the flight attendant asked.

“Just cranberry juice,” Lily replied, a blush rising in her cheeks. Already, the vodka had calmed her nerves and warmed her blood. But it wouldn’t do to have him thinking she was a lush.

“With just a little vodka,” Aidan said.

“I—I really don’t drink,” Lily said. “Only when I fly.”

“Me, too,” he replied. “Since we’re going to get drunk together, maybe I should introduce myself. My name is Aidan. Aidan Pierce.”

“I’m Lily Hart,” she said. She carefully placed her fingers into his palm. The moment she touched him, Lily felt a current race through her body. Frowning, she pulled her hand away, clenching her fingers into a fist. “Nice to meet you,” she murmured.

If only she knew how to flirt. There were probably ten or fifteen women on this flight who’d give up a year’s salary to be sitting exactly where she was. This man was going to be completely wasted on her.

Lily had never needed to flirt. It had never been required for the men who usually found her attractive. But a guy like Aidan probably expected it, maybe even enjoyed it—the witty banter, the offhand caresses, the veiled come-ons. Lily realized if she didn’t at least make an attempt, he’d walk away thinking she was…odd.

The flight attendant reappeared with her drink. Aidan handed her the cranberry juice, then he held up his beer in a toast. “To our safe arrival in New York.”

Lily gave him a hesitant smile. This wasn’t going that badly. In fact, if she wasn’t mistaken, he was flirting with her.

“So why are you headed to the other coast?” Aidan asked.

“I’m taking a little vacation,” Lily said. “In the Hamptons.”

“I have friends in the Hamptons,” he said. “It’s pretty wild in the summer. Lots of Hollywood people. So, are you staying with friends or did you rent a place?”

“I—I have a house. I mean, it’s my family’s house. Well, not really my family, but—I’ve been going there since I was fourteen. It’s near Eastport.” She took a sip of her drink. This was a conversation. Now it was time to ask him a question. “And where are you going?”

“The city,” he said. “I have a place in SoHo. Actually, I was supposed to have a meeting on this flight, but it was canceled at the last minute. And you must have gotten her seat.” He grinned. “Kind of a happy coincidence, don’t you think?”

And that was a compliment. Oh God, it was, wasn’t it? Or could she simply be reading a deeper meaning into his words? This was exactly how her fantasies always started, except she wasn’t usually drunk and she always looked like she’d just stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. But this was close enough.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“A little,” Lily said. She reached out to set her drink down, but in her excited state, she missed the edge of the tray table and the glass slipped out of her hand. It tumbled off to the side and landed on Aidan’s leg, splashing her drink all over the front of his cargo pants.

Mortified, Lily grabbed a napkin and dabbed at the damp spot then realized where she was dabbing. She looked up into his gaze and caught his bemused smile.

“Sorry,” she murmured.

“I can see we’re going to have to monitor your consumption.” Aidan took the glass from between his legs and set it down. Lily didn’t want another drink. Nor did she want to continue to make a fool of herself in front of this man. Suddenly, she felt the need to throw some cold water on her face and regroup.

She bent down and grabbed her tote, then stood. But as she did, her bag caught on the edge of Aidan’s tray table and his bottle of beer tumbled over, sending another round of drinks into his lap. “Sorry,” she murmured as she crawled over him into the aisle.

When she reached the bathroom, she stumbled inside and locked the door behind her. Lily sat down on the toilet seat and reached into her bag for one of her phobia books. But instead, she pulled out a hot-off-the-press copy of The Ten-Minute Seduction.

The book had hit the stores last week to little or no fanfare. She had hoped it might be a success after all the hard work she’d put into it. But really, what woman would need a book like this? Most men didn’t need to be seduced. They were usually quite willing to engage in sex whenever and wherever and with whomever.

“I need this book,” Lily murmured. She opened it up and scanned the first chapter.

Step one, carefully choose a target. Not every man can be seduced. A man who is completely secure and happy in his relationship with the woman in his life may willingly engage in flirtation, but will not be tempted to go further, even if you strip off every last bit of clothing and offer yourself to him on a platter.

She blinked, then looked up at her reflection in the mirror. For all she knew, he could be dating or committed or secretly engaged. Though he seemed to be interested. But then, men in Hollywood cheated all the time. Paging through the book, she found the pertinent section on flirting and read it silently.

Flirtation is a careful balancing act. Show too much interest and you’ll scare him off. Show too little and you’ll never get past the preliminaries. Make eye contact and then hold it just a few seconds longer than proper before glancing away. Lean in as you speak and if you can, accidentally touch him. A clever combination of confidence and mystery will tempt any man.

Lily moaned. Yes, she’d written these words, but they’d come from careful research, not from real-life experience. She set the book on the edge of the sink and stood up, regarding her reflection in the mirror. The glasses would have to go. She dropped them in her bag, then pulled the elastic from her haphazard ponytail. With trembling fingers, she unbuttoned the next two buttons on her blouse, exposing a bit more skin and just a hint of cleavage.

“Better,” she murmured. But it wasn’t Lily Hart staring back from the mirror. If only she could become another person entirely, for just the next six hours. Could it be that difficult to play a part? L.A. was all about perception, people pretending to be something they weren’t in order to get what they wanted.

Could she push aside her own inhibitions and see if there was a seductress buried somewhere deep inside her? As a single woman living in L.A., she’d have to get herself some kind of “game” if she ever planned on attracting a man like Aidan. Why not take advantage of the situation and see where it led?

Every woman had this fantasy at one point in her life. How many times had she wondered what it might be like to switch places with a beautiful supermodel or a sexy actress, to be the object of every man’s secret desires? And she had nothing to lose. She’d never see Aidan Pierce again after this flight.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the seat-belt sign in preparation for our departure. Please return to your seats and make sure your belongings are stowed securely in the overhead bins or beneath your seat. The flight attendants will be coming around to pick up your drinks.”

It was now or never, Lily thought to herself. Just once, she wanted to go out there and grab what she wanted, even if it meant doing something wild and crazy and completely out of character.

Lily quickly flipped through the book, reading the list of hints she’d so carefully researched. “Scent is important.” Reaching into her bag, she searched for her perfume. “Highlight your most striking feature.” Lily looked in the mirror. She’d always believed that her mouth was sexy. She had full lips, shaped in a perfect Cupid’s bow. The kind of lips Hollywood starlets paid good money for. Lily plucked her lipstick out after her perfume. “Be confident, but not arrogant.” That would be more difficult. The outside was easy to change, but she’d been living with her doubts and insecurities for a long time.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain speaking. We’re sixth in line for takeoff. We’ll be in the air in about five minutes. The weather is clear and our flying time to JFK will be approximately five and a half hours. Just sit back and relax and we’ll have you to your destination before you know it.”

Five and a half hours to live a fantasy, to live an adventure that might redefine the rest of her life. This time, she wouldn’t be left with regrets. This time she’d seek out her fantasies and make them real. And maybe, by doing that, she’d transform herself into a whole new woman.



AIDAN GLANCED at his watch, then turned around to look down the aisle toward the bathroom. Lily had disappeared nearly ten minutes before and he was ready to ask the flight attendant to check on her. She seemed so frightened by the prospect of flying that he was worried she might have gotten sick or even fainted in the bathroom.

When he’d boarded the plane, Aidan had been looking forward to a quiet, uneventful flight. Now that his in-flight meeting had been canceled, he thought he might be able to relax and catch a little sleep. He’d been going nonstop for nearly a year, working on his latest film.

He glanced down at the front of his pants, soaked through with the mixture of their two drinks. The flight attendant had handed him a wad of napkins when she’d collected what was left of the drinks, but Aidan had resigned himself to being uncomfortable for the rest of the flight.

He’d never met a woman quite as skittish as Lily Hart. Though he was used to being hounded for autographs by giggling female fans and had experienced a fair number of racy proposals, he found all that silliness irritating. So why did he suddenly find it so charming in Lily?

Perhaps because there was no artifice there. She wasn’t just playing the part to be coy. She really was a bundle of fears and insecurities. No woman intent on charming him would have spilled two drinks on purpose. Or locked herself in a bathroom for ten minutes.

He drew a deep breath and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. She was beautiful, though, beneath those schoolteacher glasses and that careless hairstyle. And he couldn’t deny he found her attractive. He’d been in L.A. for far too long and the women there had all started to look alike—long blond hair, trainer-toned bodies with spray-on tans. And personalities so bland that he could barely carry on a conversation.

At first, dating beautiful actresses had been a kick. In high school, he’d never been able to get a pretty girl to give him a second look. He’d been skinny and fashion-challenged and he’d worn glasses. College had been a little better. But these days, a membership at a gym, a competent Hollywood stylist and laser eye surgery had corrected all his problems. Now, he could pretty much attract any woman he wanted. The problem was, he didn’t want them once he got them.

So what the hell was he searching for? “Someone real,” Aidan murmured. “Something real.”

He’d become disenchanted with his life in general, his work, women, even the car he drove. He’d been making hit films, but they weren’t important films—they didn’t mean anything, they wouldn’t last. His relationships had fallen into the same pattern, flashy on the surface and devoid of any true emotion. And hell, he drove a gas-guzzling SUV just because it looked cool. What was that all about?

Maybe that was why he found Lily Hart so intriguing. She was real, with all her quirks and mannerisms. She’d made a complete fool out of herself and yet he found that utterly charming.

And she was pretty, too. She wore barely any makeup; her pale ivory skin was almost flawless. Her dark hair, pulled away from her face, made her features even more striking. But it was mouth that he found most alluring. It was perfectly shaped, untouched by all those silly injections.

Aidan scolded himself inwardly. Why did he automatically focus on her looks? Was this what L.A. had done to him, turned him into a shallow, superficial jerk? The woman sitting next to him wasn’t just a bunch of features thrown together for his viewing enjoyment. Hollywood was insidious, like a drug that lured you in only to make your life worthless.

That’s why he had felt compelled to return to New York. A dose of life in the real world always seemed to clear his mind and focus his thoughts. Aidan needed to remember the days when he had to pull pennies out of the sofa just to buy a cup of coffee.

The plane began to move slowly down the taxiway and Aidan pushed out of his seat and walked back to the bathroom. He rapped softly on the door. “Lily? Are you all right in there?”

An instant later, the door swung open and he found himself staring into the most striking green eyes he’d ever seen. He took a step back, certain that he’d knocked at the wrong door. But then he realized he was looking at Lily. She’d removed her glasses and let her hair down, the wavy dark strands curling around her neck. Her face, once pale and tense, was now flushed with color and her lips were painted a seductive shade of red.

He nervously cleared his throat. “You’re supposed to be in your seat. We’re going to be taking off soon.”

She smiled at him, regarding him from beneath long dark lashes. “Thanks,” she murmured.

He stepped aside and let her pass, then followed her down the aisle. His gaze dropped to her backside, the fabric of her skirt clinging to her curves like a second skin. Lily flipped up her tray table and buckled her seat belt.

“Feel better?” Aidan asked.

“Yes,” she said calmly. “Much.”

“What were you doing in there?”

“Ah—meditating,” Lily replied. “It’s great for relieving stress.”

Aidan couldn’t believe the change in her. She seemed to have conquered her nerves and he suspected she might have gulped down a Xanax or two while she was in the bathroom. But as the plane turned onto the end of the runway and the wing flaps whirred, he saw her stiffen, proof that her calm demeanor was only skin-deep.

Aidan reached out and took her hand, lacing her fingers through his. “Look at me,” he said. She turned and met his gaze. “Just keep your eyes on mine and listen to my voice. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ve taken this flight a hundred times and I’m still here.”

“You—you have beautiful eyes,” she murmured. “And long lashes.”

“I was just thinking that about you,” Aidan replied. “And your mouth. It’s…”

“What?” Lily asked.

“Very…kissable.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Aidan said, his gaze dropping to her lips. “Really.” He felt the plane begin to accelerate down the runway and he reached out and took her face between his hands. Leaning forward, Aidan kissed her gently, his tongue tracing along the crease of her lips until she sighed and opened beneath his assault.

As the plane gained speed, the kiss became more intense, Aidan exploring the sweet recesses of her mouth, drinking in the taste of her. He drew her closer, but her seat belt got in the way. He was almost frantic for more, the sensation of the plane lifting from the ground adding to the rush of adrenaline that surged through his veins.

The engines roared, obliterating the sound of his pulse pounding in his head. A tiny moan slipped from her throat, but the kiss continued. Aidan knew they were probably making a scene, but he was past caring. Instinct had taken over and he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

A ping sounded over the PA system and the bell startled them both out of their sudden lapse into passion. She slowly pulled back, her mouth damp, her lips twitching. “What was that?” she asked.

“If you have to ask, then I guess I didn’t do it right,” he said.

“No, I—I meant that bell.”

Aidan pointed to the light panel above their heads. “The seat-belt sign,” he said. “You are now free to get up and move about the cabin.”

“I’ll be right back,” Lily said, grabbing her bag again and unbuckling her seat belt.

He stood up and stepped into the aisle, then decided to take the window seat after she’d left. A few moments later, the flight attendant stopped by, returning the drinks that she’d collected before takeoff. She also set a plate of cheese and fruit on Lily’s tray table. “I’ll be back to get your dinner order in a few minutes,” she said.

He grabbed a grape and popped it in his mouth, chewing slowly as he considered all that had happened since he’d stepped on the plane. Aidan had never been one to indulge in anonymous sexual encounters, but then, he’d never met a woman like Lily Hart. His first intent in kissing her was merely to distract her. But the moment her lips parted beneath his, Aidan’s intentions had changed.

He couldn’t deny the attraction and he couldn’t help but be a bit curious as to what would happen if he acted on it. This was dangerous territory, the kind of scenario that most men found arousing, yet never experienced in real life.

Lately, Aidan had tried to be more cautious with his sex life, more discerning. He’d grown tired of having his social life splashed across the pages of every Hollywood magazine. Though his publicist loved it, Aidan was frustrated that his personal life had become better entertainment than his films.

If he were smart, he’d get up and move to another seat. If he indulged in this little scenario, it was sure to be all over the press in a few days and though most of his other girlfriends enjoyed the coverage, he wasn’t sure Lily Hart would feel the same.

When he’d first kissed her, he hadn’t expected her to return the kiss with such enthusiasm. Nor had he predicted his own reaction. Aidan cursed softly. This was crazy! He’d made a decision to find something real in his life and here he was considering a superficial sexual encounter on an airplane. The Mile-High Club was such a cliché!

He opened his eyes, then pushed out of his seat. When he got back to the bathroom, he knocked softly on the door. This time, when Lily opened it, he recognized her. Aidan glanced both ways, then pushed inside, closing the door behind him.

The bathroom was tiny with barely enough room for the two of them to stand. His body pressed against hers and he was forced to grasp her waist to maintain his balance. “About what happened,” he murmured. “I—I was just trying to distract you. I didn’t mean to—” He swallowed hard. “I didn’t mean to enjoy it…so much.” He paused. “Did you enjoy it?”

“Yes,” she said, watching him through wide eyes. Her gaze dropped to his mouth, then flitted back up to his eyes again.

Aidan knew what he had to do, what she wanted him to do, and what he found impossible to resist. Without a second thought, he brought his mouth down on hers. This time, it wasn’t to distract her. This time, his thoughts were completely focused on the sensations of her sweet mouth beneath his.

He’d kissed a lot of women, but it had never been quite like this. There was something forbidden about what they were doing, something dangerous, that made the simple act of kissing seem so much more intense. He felt her fingers tangle in his hair and a groan slipped from his throat as he pulled her against him.

Maybe that was it. Had they been standing at her front door, this would be just an ordinary kiss. But the anticipation of what might happen between them next was making this all more thrilling than it really was. It made sense, but at the same time, Aidan didn’t want to believe it. Maybe he’d simply found a woman he could trust—at least for the next six hours.

He drew back and smoothed her hair away from her face. “We should go back to our seats,” he said. “Someone is going to want this bathroom.”

She didn’t speak, just nodded. Lily grabbed her purse from the sink, then slipped out the door. When he returned to his seat, her eyes were fixed on a book in her lap. He watched as she turned a page, noting the tremor in her hand. Reaching out, Aidan drew a finger across the soft skin below her wrist and she turned to look at him.

“Later,” he promised.




2


THE LIGHTS in the first-class cabin were dimmed a few minutes after the dinner service ended. Most of the passengers took the opportunity to catch some sleep. With the time change, they’d arrive in New York just after six in the morning, the beginning of a brand-new day.

But right now, Lily wanted the night to last forever. She and Aidan had shared a bottle of champagne during dinner and to her surprise, she was feeling remarkably relaxed. She suspected the company had something to do with that, as well.

Their dinner conversation had been light and teasing, Lily carefully weaving her web of mystery around her handsome companion. He’d kissed her. Obviously, he found her attractive and that thought gave her the confidence she needed to continue with her “experiment.”

If she expected to have a social life, she was going to have to learn to operate like the other women in L.A. She needed to be able to use her seductive powers to get what she wanted. After all, competition for men like Aidan Pierce would be relentless. Lily knew she’d probably never be able to compete for a guy like him in the real world, but right now, he was sitting next to her—and touching her—and kissing her.

Though he was curious about her life, he wasn’t bothered by her evasive answers. Telling him the truth about who she was and what she did would prove just one thing—her life was incredibly dull.

But Aidan wasn’t reluctant to speak about his life. He amused her with little stories of his travel adventures. He’d been all over the world, staying in exotic locales she’d only read about. When he talked about Tahiti, she commented on the beaches and didn’t correct him when he assumed she’d been there. When he asked, Lily simply said she’d visited many interesting and exotic places in the world.

“You haven’t told me what you do for a living,” Aidan said.

Lily took a sip of champagne, attempting a coy smile. “I write,” she said. It was the truth. A simplified version of it, at least. “What about you?”

He seemed surprised by the question. Of course, she knew exactly what he did for a living. But she could pretend she didn’t. Wouldn’t that add a little more mystery to the attraction between them?

“Forget that question,” she said. “Let’s not talk about work.” Lily studied him for a long moment. There was another question that needed to be answered. “Are you married?” Lily knew he wasn’t, but he could be involved in a relationship that hadn’t been reported in the magazines.

“No,” Aidan said. “And you?”

“No,” she admitted. “But let’s not talk about relationships, either.”

“So we can’t talk about work or relationships. What’s left?”

Lily smiled. “I don’t know. Tell me about your childhood.”

He picked up her right hand and carefully studied her fingers. Then he drew her hand to his mouth and kissed each fingertip. No man had ever done that to her before and Lily found it strangely provocative. “I had a normal childhood,” he said. “Nothing dysfunctional, nothing traumatic. What about you?”

Lily hesitated. She never talked about her childhood, not even to Miranda. She’d managed to bury all the emotions so deeply that they barely even touched her heart anymore. “Mine was perfectly idyllic,” she lied. “Next topic. How about favorite color?”

“Blue. Favorite dessert?”

“Lemon meringue pie,” Lily replied. “Favorite vacation spot?”

“Your mouth,” he murmured.

Lily’s breath froze and her mind raced for a witty comeback. Men just didn’t talk to her like this! She glanced away, hoping for inspiration, but Aidan hooked his finger beneath her chin and forced her gaze to meet his.

“And yours?” he asked.

“The first-class bathroom on the flight between LAX and JFK,” she said, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

This was it. There was no going back. Lily was now an exciting and interesting and adventurous woman, the kind of woman who could seduce a man like Aidan, the kind of woman he’d want.

“So do you plan to return to that spot anytime soon?” he asked. He reached between them and pushed the armrests out of the way, then grabbed her waist and pulled her across his lap.

Lily looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but Aidan cupped her face in his hands and turned her gaze to his. “Don’t worry. They’re all asleep.”

“You’ve done this before?”

“Never,” he said. “But I can’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind a few times during a particularly boring flight. I usually get seated next to businessmen or grandmothers.” He wrapped his arm around her hip and his other hand tangled in her hair.

This time when he kissed her, it was easy and perfect, as if he’d memorized the contours of her mouth and knew just how they fitted together. Lily relaxed in his embrace, enjoying the way he made love to her lips and her tongue. She’d always thought kissing was overrated, two mouths pressed together. But Lily now realized she’d never really been kissed, at least not by a man who took his desires seriously.

With every taste, she could feel his need growing more desperate. She shifted, her backside pressed into his lap and he moaned softly. Emboldened by his reaction, Lily sat up, bracing her hand on his thigh. Parting the front of his shirt, she leaned closer and kissed his chest.

She’d never been so blatantly forward with a man and it felt good. But she wasn’t in the real world anymore, she’d been caught inside this fantasy. She didn’t have to think before she acted. There were no rules and nothing was out of bounds.

Lily reached for the buttons of her blouse, but he brushed her fingers away, tugging at the fabric until he’d exposed the curve of her shoulder. Aidan bit at the spot beneath her ear, his breath warm against her skin, then trailed his lips to a spot between her breasts. “You have too many clothes on,” he murmured.

Lily crawled out of her seat and retrieved a pair of blankets from the overhead bin. The cabin was silent and dark, the flight attendants busy in the galley. She sat down next to him and handed him the blanket.

He chuckled softly, drawing her back onto his lap.

“Now I’m beginning to wonder if you’ve done this before.” Aidan pulled the blanket around them both and worked at the buttons of her blouse.

Lily stared up into his eyes. Suddenly, she felt light-headed, but she drew a deep breath and stopped him from going further. “I think we might need a bit more privacy,” she murmured. “I’ll meet you in the bathroom. Wait for a minute or two and then come back.”

She rebuttoned her blouse and crawled off him, then tiptoed down the aisle. A flight attendant saw her from the galley and stepped out. “Is there anything I can get for you?” she asked.

Lily shook her head. “I’m fine,” she replied.

The flight attendant nodded, returning to her co-workers. Lily locked herself in the bathroom, then braced her arms on the edge of the sink. This was it. If she had any inhibitions left, she needed to rid herself of them pretty quickly. A shiver shook her body and she drew a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror.

She wasn’t afraid, and that’s what surprised her the most. Lily had spent most of her life being fearful of one thing or another. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the altitude, or the unfamiliar surroundings, but she knew exactly what she wanted—no doubts, no insecurities.

Or maybe it was the man. Aidan had been charming and attentive, treating her like the most captivating woman he’d ever met. It was easy to seduce a man who wanted to be seduced. Lily drew a ragged breath. She’d followed the advice in the book and she now had a willing partner. But was she prepared to go the rest of the way?

A few seconds later, Aidan knocked on the door. Without a second thought, Lily opened it. She wanted this man, here and now. There was no reason to deny her needs—or her fantasies.



THE DOOR clicked shut behind him. The sound was like a starter’s pistol, both of them coming together in a flurry of hands and mouths. Lily’s fingers clutched at the hem of his shirt and he tugged it over his head. A moment later, the buttons on her blouse were dispatched and Aidan pulled it down over her arms.

He yanked Lily against him, finding her mouth again and furrowing his fingers through her hair. Skin met skin beneath the harsh light from above the sink. He drew back to look into her eyes and at that moment, Aidan was certain Lily was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met.

How could this be happening? When he’d stepped onto the plane a few hours before, he’d expected the usual trip spent sleeping or reading or distractedly watching a movie. But now he was locked in a tiny bathroom, undressing a stranger.

Her lips were damp from his kiss and her hair tumbled around her face. Her breath came in quick gasps. Pressing his forehead to hers, he gently smoothed his hand over her shoulder, then down her chest. When he reached her breast, he cupped it in his palm.

Everything about her was natural, including her perfect breasts. It had been so long since he’d touched a completely real woman and the prospect of making love to her was overwhelmingly exciting.

But it wasn’t just her appearance, Aidan mused. Every reaction was honest and unstudied. With other women, he felt as if their responses were designed solely to increase his pleasure, the moans, the sighs, the frantic whispers, scripted like lines in some porno flick. When he touched Lily, she trembled. When he softly bit her neck, her breath caught in her throat. And when she felt pleasure, she sighed.

Aidan slipped his fingers beneath her bra and drew his thumb over her nipple. It was already puckered into a hard peak. Grabbing her waist, he turned her around, then sat down and pulled her between his legs. Her belly was soft, her skin like silk, and he reached up and drew her bra straps over her shoulders.

Lily held her arms over her breasts but he gently captured her hands in his. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured. “Let me touch you.”

Another tiny moan slipped from her throat as he brushed his lips across her nipple through the fabric of her bra. Everything around them seemed to dissolve into a soft haze. He was aware of the sounds of the plane, the whir of a fan above his head, the buzz of the fluorescent lights, the muffled roar of the engines. But his attention was completely focused on her body—and her pleasure.

He smoothed his hands along her thighs, shoving her skirt up to her hips. Pressing his face into the warmth of her body, Aidan kissed her belly and inhaled the sweet scent.

Lily’s hands skimmed over his chest, her fingers trembling. She seemed to be transfixed by the feel of his body beneath her touch. Her cheeks were flushed and her breath came in tiny gasps. Though he was certain she’d been with a man before, it seemed as if this was all new to her.

“Have you ever done this before?” he asked, suddenly needing to know.

She shook her head, her thick hair a curtain around her face. “No.”

Though he’d learned to doubt what usually came out of a woman’s mouth, Aidan sensed he could trust Lily. He covered her fingers with his and pressed her hand to his heart. “Me, neither.”

A tiny smile curled the corners of her mouth, as if she were pleased by the admission. He stood and pulled her into his embrace, his lips finding hers again. They stumbled as they searched for a comfortable space, their feet tangling together. Frustrated, Aidan circled her waist with his hands and lifted her up to balance her on the edge of the tiny sink.

Grabbing her legs, he wrapped them around his waist and lost himself in the taste of her mouth. Lily braced her hands above her head, her blouse still caught around her wrists, exposing her body to his touch.

Aidan knew they wouldn’t be able to stay in the bathroom forever. Yet he didn’t want to rush. He’d come prepared, retrieving a condom from his overnight bag before following her into the bathroom.

He slowed his pace, kissing her deeply. His hand slipped beneath the waistband of her skirt and she arched against him. They were still dressed, but it was clear where they were headed.

Instinctively, he began to move against her, his erection rubbing at the spot between her legs. He was glad for the barrier between them. Without it, he would have been far too close to his release. Lily braced her arms behind her and tipped her head back.

“Tell me what you want,” he said. He drew her leg up along his hip, the contact between them suddenly more intimate. “This?”

“Oh, yes.” Lily sighed, shuddering as she spoke.

At first, she seemed to be so focused on what he was doing to her that she barely moved. But then, she reached around and grabbed his ass, pulling him even closer. The fabric from his pants created a delicious friction against his shaft. Aidan considered himself quite skilled in the bedroom, able to pleasure a woman in a hundred different ways before giving in to his own needs. But when Lily touched him, he felt as though he was experiencing a woman for the first time.

Was it the excitement of doing something so forbidden? Had he become so jaded about sex that it took something a little kinky to turn him on? Or was there something about Lily that made her different from the others? He barely knew her, yet he felt as if they’d been thrown together for a reason.

Her hand slipped beneath his waistband and Aidan groaned. He was so close already, yet he kept tight control over his desire. He wanted to lose himself inside her, but at that moment, Aidan realized it didn’t make a difference how or where he found release.

This wouldn’t be the last time they shared an experience like this. He didn’t have any intention of letting her just walk out of the airport and out of his life forever. He would seduce her again, and not in a cramped airplane bathroom, but in a big soft bed.

She buried her face in the curve of his neck, biting softly as they continued to move against each other. And then, to his surprise, she cried out, her body quivering in his arms, the sound of her orgasm muffled against his skin.

Aidan was stunned. And so, it seemed, was Lily. He stared down into her face and her eyes were wide with wonder. He kissed her gently and she melted against him, her breath still coming in soft gasps.

“How long do you think we can stay in here before someone knocks on the door?” he whispered.

“I don’t think we should go just yet,” she said. “We’re not…done, are we?”

He glanced at his watch. “We still have two more hours until we land. There’s a lot we can do with two hours.”

“Like what?” Lily teased.

“Anything you want. I’m at your command.”

A tiny smile twitched at her lips. “Oh, a slave boy. That’s one of my fantasies right there. Kiss me, slave boy.”

Aidan growled, then softly bit her lower lip. “I prefer slave assistant.”

She laughed, then pressed her mouth to his in a delicious kiss. But her delight was short-lived. A sudden jolt put him off balance and Aidan reached out to steady himself, bracing his arm against the door.

When he looked back at Lily, her eyes were wide with terror. “What was that?”

“I think the earth just moved,” he joked. But his joke didn’t make her smile. “It’s all right. Just a little turbulence.”

The plane dropped again, only this time, the jolt was enough to throw him forward. He banged his head on a sharp corner above the sink and a curse slipped from his lips. “Shit. That hurt.”

“Are you all right?” Lily asked.

Aidan looked over her shoulder into the mirror. “I think I’m bleeding.”

Lily grabbed his chin and examined the scrape on his forehead. Then she leaned over and pulled a paper towel from the dispenser. But when she tried to twist around to turn on the sink, she couldn’t move. “Here,” she said. “You sit and I’ll stand.”

He did as he was told, but a third bump sent her sprawling into his arms. “This may be every man’s fantasy, but the logistics of it are really tricky,” he said, his erection pressed against the soft flesh of her belly.

“Ladies and gentleman, this is the captain speaking. We’ve run into a patch of rough weather here and we’re going to ask that you stay in your seats with your seat belts fastened. We’re going to try a different altitude and see if we can get you a smoother ride.”

“Rough weather? What does that mean?” Lily asked.

“It means we’d better get dressed and get back to our seats before they come looking for us,” he muttered. He should have been disappointed it was going to end so quickly. But Aidan was willing to wait.

As soon as this damn plane touched down, he’d find a quiet, private place where he could enjoy Lily’s body for as long as he wanted. Until then, he’d have to convince her that this flight was only the beginning and not the end.



LILY FUMBLED with her seat belt, the clip refusing to fasten properly. Her heart pounded in her chest and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. The bumps were so bad that she was bouncing in her seat. For a moment, she thought she might pass out, but then Aidan sat down beside her.

They’d managed to get their clothes back on, though it was a struggle with the turbulence and the close quarters. Lily had sneaked out of the bathroom first and he’d followed her a minute later.

Seeing her dilemma, he quickly fastened her seat belt then took care of his own. “Don’t worry,” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “We’ll be fine.”

“The plane feels like it’s falling,” Lily said. She peered out the window. “It’s raining. And there’s lightning. What if we get hit by lightning? I heard about a plane that got hit by lightning.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t remember. Maybe I’ve blocked it out. It must have been bad.” Her stomach churned and she felt as if she might throw up. Lily searched through the pocket of the seat in front of her for the airsick bag. When she found it, she clutched it to her chest. “I should have taken the train.”

“But then you wouldn’t have met me.”

“I hate this, I hate this, I hate this,” she said. “Last year, I was flying to Paris and we lost an engine.”

“A plane can fly with just one engine.”

“You don’t understand. It fell off the plane, into the ocean.” Lily stopped short. She’d been so careful not to reveal too much. But the fear of dying made her babble.

She tried to calm herself, to think of other things—like what had just happened in the bathroom. Her skin prickled with goose bumps as she recalled the feel of him, hot and hard against her body, the thoughts making her even more light-headed.

And then her reaction. She’d experienced release with men before, but never with so little prompting. If it hadn’t been for the turbulence, they might have continued with the seduction and she would have enjoyed those pleasures again.

“You were on that flight? I heard about that. Man, that must have been scary.” Aidan pressed a kiss to her temple. “What are the odds of that happening again? Microscopically small, I’d say. In fact, you should be happy that happened. Now it’s over with. There’s no way it can happen to you again.”

She glanced over at him. He really was a nice guy. It would have been much simpler to seduce a man who wasn’t so sweet, some guy with a macho attitude and an overinflated opinion of himself. At least he’d be easier to leave behind. But Aidan—he’d be hard to forget.

“Maybe that book of yours would help,” he suggested. “Would you like me to read to you?”

“Sure,” she murmured. She pointed to her bag tucked beneath his seat. The sound of his voice had already calmed her down. And if she could focus on that, then she wouldn’t be nearly as scared.

“You must think I’m such a baby,” Lily said.

“We all have our fears.”

“What are you afraid of?”

He grinned. “I’m not going to tell you. I’ve worked too hard to make you think I was a stud.”

“Tell me,” Lily insisted.

“Snakes,” he admitted. “And bats. And I’m not real fond of spiders or centipedes, either. In fact, anything that can kill you with its bite is something I try to avoid.”

“A brown bat can catch and eat over six hundred mosquitoes in an hour,” she said. The moment the words left her mouth, she knew she’d made a mistake. “I—I did a report on bats when I was a kid. Funny how you remember things like that when you’re about to die.” Lily groaned inwardly. Maybe she ought to just give up. Playing the part of a seductress wasn’t that easy. Still, some men found intelligence a turn-on, didn’t they?

Aidan reached down and opened her bag, then pulled out her stack of flying books. “Conquer Your Fear of Flying,” he read.

“That one didn’t work,” Lily said.

“Here’s the one with the big title.”

“Pteromerhanophobia,” Lily said. “That’s the fear of flying.”

“And what’s the fear of really big words?” he muttered.

“Logophobia,” Lily said. “Actually, that’s just the fear of words in general. Not necessarily big words. Arithmophobia is the fear of numbers. Graphophobia is the fear of writing.” He stared at her for a long moment. Too much knowledge was never a good thing. “Sometimes these facts just fly out of my mouth,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t know why I remember them, but I do.”

“How about this one? Have Fun Flying? Flying with No Fear?” He picked up another book. “How about—” Aidan went silent and Lily turned to look at him. He was holding the copy of—

“The Ten-Minute Seduction,” he read. “This looks interesting.” He flipped through the pages.

“It—it’s not what you think,” Lily said. Frowning, she reached out and took the book from him. “What do you think?”

“That this wasn’t all just a spontaneous experience? That you got on this plane determined to seduce someone and I just happened to be close at hand?”

Lily searched for a way to make him understand. He wasn’t some lab rat in her bizarre sexual experiment. “It—it’s my book,” she said.

“I know that. It was in your bag.”

“I mean, I wrote it. It’s mine. I’m…”

“You’re Lacey St. Claire?”

“Yes?” She opened the book and pointed to the notes she’d made in the margins. “See. I was just making some notes, in case it goes to a second printing.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “I was seduced by the woman who wrote the book on seduction?”

“Yes?” she replied. “Actually, I think you seduced me.”

“No, I’m sure it was the other way around.” He paused. “And you do this often?”

“No!” Lily said, unable to let that pass. She might be pretending to be a seductress, but she wasn’t a slut. “No! Never. I mean, I’ve been with men, but I don’t make it a habit to seduce strangers.”

“So, I was the exception, rather than the rule?”

“Yes,” Lily said, thankful that he was finally beginning to see the truth. “Most of what I’ve written comes from scientific studies, not from experience. It’s all basic physiology, the attraction between men and women.”

“Scientists do studies on seduction? Hell, I definitely would have chosen that for a major in college had I known.”

“The study of human sexuality is a very important field. Behavior can be instinctual and reactions predicted.”

He took the book from her hands and examined it closely. “So what’s your real name? Lacey or Lily?”

“Lily. Lacey is my pen name. To protect my privacy.”

“Yeah, I can see why. Ten minutes. Most guys only need two or three before they’re ready to go.”

“You’re angry?”

He shook his head, frowning as he read the back cover copy. “Confused would be a better word,” he said. “Maybe a little…disconcerted.”

Lily took his hand. “Don’t be. I don’t have any regrets. Do you?”

“You’re the expert on seduction. You’ll have to tell me how I measured up.”

“No!” Lily said. “It’s just a book. Authors write about vampires and witches and monsters, but they’ve never seen them. You’re the first man I’ve actually…seduced.”

He took a moment to consider her confession, then nodded. “I guess most men would appreciate a woman who has some book smarts when it comes to sex.”

Lily nodded. “Men have techniques for seducing women, right? And they’re written down in all those men’s magazines and how-to books. Why shouldn’t women have the same advantage? It’s only fair.” She gently pulled the book from his hand and tossed it back into her bag.

“You’re right.”

By the time they finished their discussion, Lily realized that the turbulence had stopped and the plane was now flying smoothly again. She took his hand and wove her fingers through his. It seemed quite natural to maintain the contact, but she had to wonder why she felt it necessary. In a few more hours, they’d be saying goodbye to each other. And then she’d never see him again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I’m afraid I have another bit of bad news. We’ve got fog rolling in over JFK. The airport has just been closed to incoming flights. Because of our fuel situation, we’re going to be diverted inland to Hartford, Connecticut. Once the fog clears, we’ll get you back on your way.”

Lily heard a communal groan go up from the passengers in tourist class. She looked over at Aidan and he shrugged. “The only time fog is dangerous is when you try to land in it, so we’re safe.” He glanced around the cabin. “I think I need a drink. Do you want one?”

She watched him as he spoke to the flight attendant. For some reason, he found it necessary to be overly charming, as if he were trying to punish Lily for the secrets she’d kept.

Maybe this was for the best, she mused. She’d had her fun and that was the end of it. There would be no thought of making another trip to the bathroom or of carrying on after the plane landed.

Lily fought the urge to grab the book again. Though she knew it by heart, she couldn’t recall a chapter on how to deal with the aftereffects of an anonymous seduction. Could she separate her memories of the act itself from thoughts of Aidan? She brushed aside a tiny twinge of regret.

It wouldn’t do to second-guess her decision. What was done was done. And she’d gotten exactly what she wanted from him—a fantasy fulfilled.

But suddenly, that wasn’t enough to satisfy her. Now, she wanted more.



THE SUN was already up by the time they landed in Hartford. The airline had decided to let the passengers disembark while they waited for a new flight crew to arrive in Hartford. Once the weather cleared, they’d take off again for New York. Aidan grabbed his bag from the overhead bin, then stepped aside to let Lily pass.

It was early morning and he was drunk. He’d spent the last hour of the flight drinking Jack Daniel’s and water while he tried to figure out just what the hell Lily Hart was up to. She didn’t seem like one of those mercenary women he was always trying to avoid, women who set their sights on a man then did anything and everything required to possess him. What had happened between them seemed perfectly natural, just two people discovering an overwhelming attraction and acting upon it.

But maybe that’s what it was—acting. Someone so schooled in the art of seduction could make a man believe anything she wanted, right? Was any of it real? Her fear of flying, the way her hands trembled as she touched him, the claim that she’d never made love on an airplane. Maybe he’d been played.





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