Jill Shalvis - Superb And Sexy

The third book in the Sky High Air series, 2008

The man pulled up in a rumbling, bad boy Camaro like he owned his world, and Maddie had good reason to know he did.

Brody West owned his world all right, and completely rocked hers.

What the hell was he doing here?

Itd been a long time since shed seen him. Six weeks, two and a half days, and waaaaay too many minutes. Not that she was counting.

But to be honest, that she hadnt seen him was all her own doing. Shed left town to recover.

To think.

To make a Plan with a capital P.

Hence staying in the mountains where no one could bother her-including Brody.

Especially Brody.

With him, no contact was good contact since they clashed at every turn, bickered when they werent clashing, and in general, brought out the worst in each other. She hadnt even thought about him while shed been gone, sitting here on the porch of the log-style cabin that shed rented for its rustic, isolated beauty, emphasis on isolated.

Okay, so shed thought about him. She just hadnt wanted to think about him. Probably, she was just overreacting. Honestly, maybe it wasnt even him in the car.

And yet, she knew better. Her body knew better. The simple act of hearing the engine rev had made the hair on the nape of her neck rise in sudden, unexpected awareness.

Yeah, it was him because she felt

God, she felt so much, but thunderstruck led the pack, though an undeniable excitement came in close second.

He was here, forty-five miles off the beaten path from his home in the Burbank Hills to the Angeles Crest Forest.

But why? Why wasnt he holed up in his office, or on one of his planes he loved more than anything, working himself into an early grave as he liked to do?

She knew that he, along with his partners Shayne and Noah, wanted her back at work, seemed desperate for her to be back. Shayne had told her yesterday on the phone that Sky High had gone through four temp concierges in the time shed been gone on leave, all of whom Brody had chased off with his sunny nature.

Translation: hed been brooding and edgy and terrifying.

Yeah. Sounded like him.

But the brooding and edgy thing had never bothered her much. Maybe because shed always been drawn to the bad boys. The reason for that was simple. Bad boys wanted the same things she did-no strings attached.

She didnt do strings.

Outside, Brody turned off the Camaro, and silence filled the air.

A heavy, weighted, questioning silence.

And suddenly, Maddies chest felt too tight. Damn it. She let out a long, calming breath, which of course, didnt work. It never worked. Neither did just sitting at the window staring down at him, but God, she was tired, and still recovering. Yeah, thats what this asinine weakness in her knees was-recovery. Because it sure as hell wasnt for him.

No way.

They didnt even like each other

And yet she leaned over so she could see out the window again, past the tall twin pines trying to block her view of the nearly six feet, four inches of rough and tumble, sexy as hell male as he unfolded his long legs from the muscle car.

Her pulse took another unfortunate leap. The last time shed seen him, hed been in his pilots uniform, and even though it was ridiculous and juvenile and wrong, it had turned her on. The thought of seeing him out of it? Even more so.

Yeah, she had a problem. Shed been shamelessly, secretly crushing on him all damn year. But that was her own humiliating secret, and one shed take to the grave. And here was another-that fateful last day at work six weeks ago now, when shed been just a little ticked off that she couldnt get him to notice her as a woman, shed dressed solely to gain his attention-miniskirt, snug cami, teetering heels, the whole she-bang. Shed been gratified when itd worked, when hed executed a comical double take at her and then spilled coffee down the front of his shirt.

Mission accomplished. Hed most definitely noticed her as a woman.

The excitement level had been so high she couldnt stand it. And then shed smart-mouthed a psychopath and gotten herself shot, and her life had been put on pause.

Fast-forward to now.

Shutting the drivers door of the Camaro, he stared at the cabin. He wore a T-shirt, cargoes, and scuffed boots, all in black, emphasizing that world-class bod shed spent many, many days drooling over while pretending to work.

Unlike her, the man was genetically incapable of pretending anything. Nope, he rarely bothered to hide his thoughts, especially as they pertained to her, thoughts that had at one time or another run the gamut from baffled to that one time shed done the unthinkable and pressed him back against a wall and kissed him.

And for that one blissful moment, he hadnt been vexed or grumpy. Hed been stunned and aroused and all sleepy-eyed and sexy with it.

Not now, though.

Now he stood there, tall and sure, a frown on his face, his dark hair falling carelessly across his brow, and at just past his collar, longer than one would expect a pilots hair to be. She knew that it wasnt that way because he cared about being in style, but because he simply forgot to get it cut. Sometimes she thought hed forget his own head if it wasnt attached.

The only things he never forgot were his damn planes or his business. Sky High Air was an exclusive, luxurious, sophisticated airline service. Pretty damned hilarious considering that the three guys who ran it had been troubled youths, to say it kindly. Theyd started Sky High last year by the seat of their pants and their collective wits. Theyd put their heads and bank accounts together, managing, barely, to eke enough money to get it going, then keep it going.

But a miracle had occurred. The LA rich and spoiled had discovered them, loved them and the services they provided, and all the buckets and buckets of antacids theyd consumed over the cost of the start-up were finally paying off.

Below, Brody stopped on the walk and looked up.

She held her breath. Hard to believe they made geeks in such outrageously magnificent male packages, but there it stood, looking for her.

His eyes were hidden behind mirrored aviator sunglasses, but she knew them to be a mesmerizing pewter gray that could turn to ice or flame given his mood, and they were filled with secrets shed never managed to plumb.

They drove her crazy, those secrets. Shed always wanted to know their depths, wanted to know what made him tick, his likes, his dislikesand the yearning had driven her even more crazy.

Had.

Because she no longer had the luxury of dreaming about him. She had other things to dream about-things like life and death.

But he didnt know that as he headed for the door. Around his neck were the earphones for his iPod, which probably had Linkin Park blasting out at decibel levels uncharted. How the man hadnt gone deaf was beyond her, but that wasnt what she wondered as her gaze ran all over him like he was cotton candy. No, she wondered how she was going to keep her hands to herself if she had to talk to him one-on-one

Get a grip.

After all, his partners had stolen her heart from day one, too, and she didnt want to jump them. Shayne and Noah were bad boys as well, and when shed gotten the job working for them, the rebel inside her had rejoiced to find a place where she belonged. She loved them both, loved them like the older brothers she never had.

But nothing about her feelings for the edgy, brooding Brody was brotherly.

Nowhere even close.

Very annoying, and hard to hide as well, though shed managed. She always managed, no matter the task. Cool as a cucumber, that was Maddie, always.