Until Alex - J. Nathan Page 0,99

spent most of the time trying to grasp the fact that he’d actually done it. He’d actually taken someone’s life. It was incomprehensible. And not the news I expected to hear, nor wanted to hear. It had the power to change everything.

But it was an accident. Not pre-meditated.

There was a huge difference.

And what I’d come up with—what I kept reminding myself—was if you cared about someone, then you took the good with the bad. You overlooked their unalterable pasts. You loved them unconditionally. You helped them when they needed help. You were strong when they needed your strength.

Wasn’t that what Hayden had done for me?

Knock. Knock.

I skirted around my overnight bag beside the front door and pulled on the doorknob.

Hayden stood there, pivoting so I could see the backpack on his back. “Ready?”

I lifted my brows. “You don’t even know where we’re going.”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “It involves you, me, and a packed bag. I’m game.”

It was strange to see him so carefree after he’d bared his soul to me the previous night. I wondered if he donned the mask he’d become so accustomed to wearing. Or if the truth had lifted some of the guilt he’d been carrying.

He moved closer toward me and slanted his head, kissing me gently. If my aunt wasn’t in the other room, I would’ve let the kiss last much longer than it did.

I reached for my bag, but Hayden playfully bumped me with his hip and grabbed the bag first. “Lead the way.”

* * *

As the local landscapes became a blur in the bright afternoon sun, signs for the airport appeared. Hayden’s head whipped to me, his eyebrows lifted in question.

I only smirked, neither confirming nor denying his suspicions.

Ten minutes later I pulled up to a private airport hangar. Hayden’s eyes were about to burst from their sockets as he examined the private jet parked inside. “Are we going somewhere in that?”

Feeling more unsure than I had when I made the arrangements on a whim, I nodded. “It’s only a half an hour flight, but I need to do this. I haven’t been on one since—”

Hayden reached over and took my hand, rubbing small circles over my knuckles with his thumb. “I’m glad you want me with you.”

He didn’t add after everything I told you, but I got it.

And I did want him with me. He wouldn’t lie and tell me it would be easy because he thought it’s what I wanted him to say. He’d just be there. He’d be my safety net.

The pilot greeted us before we settled into the soft ivory seats. Hayden dove into the wood-faced compartment below the circular window concealing the stocked mini bar while I buckled my seatbelt, needing a moment to focus on what I was about to do.

When the engines whirred to life and the jet started to vibrate, I gripped the armrests for dear life. With a little work, Hayden loosed my rigid fingers and slipped his hand underneath mine, pulling it into his lap. “You can do this.”

I met his steely gaze and nodded as the plane taxied onto the runway.

“You know. We could just make out the entire way. Then you wouldn’t even have to think about it.”

With an appreciative smile, I leaned over and kissed the cocky grin right off his face. He wasn’t kidding. He unleashed his willing lips and tongue on mine, luring me into a long, delicious, rum-laced kiss. Maybe the mini bar wasn’t such a bad idea. But given the forceful pressure of Hayden’s lips and the plunging of his tongue, he had no intention of letting go of me.

And I could live with that.

We spent the thirty-minute flight talking and laughing, making out, and playing cards. Hayden proved to be a good teacher, insisting on teaching me Blackjack since I only knew drinking games.

“We’ll be beginning our descent,” the pilot announced from the cockpit. “Be sure your seatbelts are fastened.”

My stomach dipped and I immediately began gathering the cards and shoving them back into the box. Many of them slipped into my lap. Hayden noticed my struggle and reached over, withdrawing the box and cards from my shaky hands while his distracting lips traveled up my neck.

My eyes squeezed tightly while I attempted to push my fears aside and lose myself in the sensation of Hayden’s lips on my skin. “Oh, you’re good,” I murmured.

His smile pressed against my neck. “Just good?”

I chuckled as he continued attacking my neck, earlobe, and lips.

When the wheels touched