drop off Hanna in front of the guest house, she climbs off and stares back at us. It’s only a little after three in the afternoon, and with the sky clearing up, I see the question brewing on Hanna’s face as she turns toward me, clutching her towel to her chest.
"Is it still safe to fly?" she asks, looking at the helicopter parked behind me on the helipad.
I could say no. I could tell her some shit about the weather or about how I don't fly after storms because of what happened to my brother, but that would be bullshit, and Hanna deserves better than that.
"It's safe."
Next to me, I see Ellis clench his jaw, but I keep my eyes on her, hoping she remembers our conversation at the restaurant. How much I'll change to make this work. How hard I'll try, yeah even after what just happened. Even after I watched another man fuck her. I still want her to stay.
She's contemplative, chewing on her lip and thinking it over.
"Your apartment won’t be ready until the first of the month." His deep voice cuts right through the tension between Hanna and me, making us both look his way. "Stay with us for a few more days."
I wish I could understand what he wants. I can see his attraction to Hanna, but not that long ago he was talking about how he never let go of things between us.
But as I watched them together, I noticed how different he was with her than the other girls I’ve seen him with. There’s a connection between them, something I almost feel guilty about wanting to break.
Hanna looks at him, her expression relaxing as she nods. "Okay, maybe a couple more days."
"The launch party is next weekend," I add, remembering after the acquisition there's a big event in the city at the Wilde Aviation headquarters. "Stay until then. I'll take you back that night."
"Next weekend?" she asks, looking first at me then at Ellis. Technically it's almost two weeks away, but I don't add that part in.
"You can go back whenever you want, Hanna," he adds. "But it would be very empty out here without you."
At that she smiles, a warm, pleasant expression, and I hate how fucking smooth he is. No one talks about what just happened or about the fact that if she stays, we're all hoping and expecting it to happen again, and I'm still waiting for time to stop for a moment so I can really figure out if this is what I fucking want. Do I want him in on this? No, I want her to myself.
But then I remember how hot she was riding him, her tits bouncing as she chased her orgasm, him taking over at the exact moment she needed him to. And yeah, I did get off on that, like I did in Amsterdam, but fuck, this is Hanna.
This is Zara's Hanna. What am I doing?
"No pressure, Hanna. Whatever you want to do, baby."
"I know," she answers with that signature Hanna sass. "I'm going to shower up and I'll meet you guys at the house for dinner, okay?"
"Okay," we both reply in unison.
Ellis and I don't talk as we pull away, taking the UTV to the house where I park it and we start unloading the cooler and gear. It's when we finally end up inside and we nearly collide in the laundry room where he tosses the dirty towels and clothes that he finally says something.
"This isn't Amsterdam," he mutters.
I stop in my tracks, turning on him and giving him a scowl.
Fucking relax, Nash.
"You don't think I know that?"
"Well, maybe I'm telling you, so you know that I know that."
He folds his arms over his bare chest, the white towel still cinched around his waist, and it takes serious concentration on my part to keep my eyes from falling down there.
"After the launch party, she will go home, and you will fly back to your office, and all of this will be over. You'll stay away from her."
He grinds his teeth together, his brown eyes boring into me, and I feel my heart race. "That's the deal," he adds before turning away and heading down the hallway that leads to his room.
But my dumb ass wants to know something that's been on my mind since the storm. "Did you mean any of that shit out there? In the rain?"
He stops, slowly turning and holding his chin high, glaring down at me impatiently. "Remind