All the distance in the world between us couldn't erase that kiss. Olivia's soft lips barely landed on mine before I pulled away. It was a five second kiss, but here I was three hours later, touching my fingertips to my lips. Like some seven year old who just kissed his crush for the first time. Her naked body. Her moans. Her coming undone for me. Her pleas to come with me. Our night together. All of it fell away with every unanswered call to Macy.
But Olivia's lips on mine? Those bambi eyes? The moment she asked me for more. My last moments with her before I left for the airport. This my mind wouldn't let me bury. That I couldn't chalk up to the involvement of my horny dick.
"Peanuts?" the air hostess asked, coming to a standstill with her cart at my seat on the plane.
"This is first class on a Hunter Airways plane. We don't do—" I began, then stopped short as her distinct Italian accent finally rang a bell, yanking me out of my brooding.
"Took you long enough. You're slipping. Long time no see Chance," she said, dropping in the seat across from mine.
"Robbie. My regards to Marino. Always a displeasure," I said calmly while considering how to deal with this new development.
My love life was a shitshow, but I was a functioning member of society. Nothing and no one was disrupting the life I clawed my way to. Not even fucking Marino.
"Is that any way to greet an old friend? For the record, first class does have peanuts. See?" she said, shaking the bag of peanuts in her hand at me. "Would you prefer a stiff drink instead? I got you. Bourbon still your poison?"
"What's the job?" I asked, closing the laptop in front of me so I could stare at my old friend and face her head on.
That was the only way to talk to Robbie. If you didn't give her all your attention, you'd miss something crucial. That was how she screwed you over.
"That's not how this works, Chance. Not unless you want in. What are the odds of us meeting like this? Serendipity," she said, folding her hands behind her neck to draw attention to her dress' low neckline.
"Serendipity my ass. You're stalling me. Why? What are you doing on my plane, JR?" I asked stoically, zeroing in on her face.
Roberta "Robbie/JR". My oldest friend in the world. Also the single biggest mistake I ever made. I learned a long time ago never to look where she wanted me to unless I had a fucking death wish.
"Last I checked, your last name isn't Hunter. So not your plane. Also this isn't a private plane. A girl has to get around somehow," said JR, grabbing her tits and readjusting them for effect.
My eyes remained fixed on her face. Despite the way I had been acting lately, I really didn't usually let my dick dictate events. Olivia was fucking with my head, but JR wasn't about to do it too. Especially when the stakes were this high.
"Seven years of no contact and the old man still can't let it go? Are you sure he doesn't have a boner for me, JR?" I asked, shaking the tree to see what fell out.
She laughed like she was charmed, but it was a calculated move. Lasted exactly ten seconds. Just long enough to seem natural before she opened her mouth to speak again. She was buying time. Stalling. Waiting for the plane to leave. But why?
"Marino likes pussy and you know it. You're the one that got away though. Platonically of course. That's why I'm here. To invite you to come home," she said, crossing her long legs as she bent over to offer me a view down her little red dress.
"Why now?" I asked, feeling the seconds ticking by.
Could I stop this plane? No. It would derail one hundred guests from reaching Cupid's Cove, fucking up my first assignment as COO from the getgo. JR probably already knew this and yet the bitch was still on edge. Still stalling me.
Figure it out before the plane leaves.
"You and I both know he would have asked sooner if he could only find you. Plus there's your very… Unique new gig. Marino is low on funds. That's the job. Will Hunter's the job, Chance," she said nonchalantly as we stared each other down.
She was playing some angle by revealing this information, but say what you will about JR, she was no liar.
"Go back to Marino and tell him the Hunters are off limits. Find another mark," I said bluntly, not thinking it through as I saw red at the mention of Will.
"You may be Marino's boy wonder, but he doesn't take orders from the likes of you," she spat back at me, her voice unforgiving as she stood her ground.
Ask her now. If she was going to crack, now would be the time.
"What is on this plane that you want on Cupid's Cove, JR? How did you even make it onto my guest list? I vetted that list of people myself," I said, trying to make connections with the little information at my disposal.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are preparing for take off," the pilot announced.
JR grinned at me as a string of other announcements followed.
"Out of time, Chance," she said, bringing her lips to my ear to whisper her triumph to me. "Strap in. We're leaving. I can't wait to see the island. Word is it's gorgeous. I could use a vacation."
She closed the distance between us and picked up the ends of my seat belt for me.
"Is it Will? Is he here? What the fuck did you do? If you hurt so much as a—"
That didn't make sense. Will was in Rio de Janeiro, probably fucking his wife six ways to Sunday by now. Fuck. JR was right. I wasted time freaking out instead of finding out what I needed to know. I was slipping. Civilian life had made me soft.
"Wait to turn me down. You might feel like changing your mind in a minute," she said, kissing me on the cheek, mischief in her eyes as she buckled the seat belt for me.
"Tell Marino to consider it a professional courtesy to me. I'm not the boy he knew seven years ago. I'm connected. I've… Evolved. You do not want to come after my people," I said threateningly.
"Tell it to someone who cares. Meet Marino personally if you want to. Join me on the job and no one gets hurt. Or just eat a bag of dicks. All of the above works for me," said JR distractedly.
Her eyes left mine as she raised her head, staring straight ahead and breaking out into a beautiful, angelic smile. Attractive. Resourceful. Lethal. I didn't need this shit on my very first assignment as COO. Who the fuck was that pseudo innocence for?
"Hey angel," JR said, dropping into the seat across from me and patting her lap. "Look who I ran into. THE Harmon Chancellor, COO of Hunter Industries. Isn't that neat?" she cood.
"Hey sexy lady. You can't go around stealing carts from air hostesses you know. You'll get yourself in trouble," a familiar voice rang out as she approached JR, ignoring me completely and dropping into JR's lap.
"That's why I have you. To protect me," said JR, the two women sharing a string of giggles as they got comfortable.
I looked on in stunned awe as the women before me stuck their tongues down each other's throats, resulting in a full blown make out session. My heart was in my throat. The worst part? I was fucking getting hard watching this shit unfold as JR groped at her companion. JR's hands were all over her body. JR opened one eye to see how I was reacting, smirking at me.
I was losing my shit. Fucking no. Dammit Harmon. Wrong Hunter.
Rage washed over me in waves. I wanted to rip JR's throat out while she still had one hand on Olivia's tit and the other on her ass.
"Miss Hunter, I thought I was clear about you staying in LA," I said, my blood boiling at the sight before me.
"The problem was me trying to fuck you while on Cupid's Cove, right? Well as you can see, problem solved. Let's keep it profesh, boss," said my baby girl, yanking her mouth away from JR's just long enough to throw me a challenging look before turning back to JR with a wide beam on her face.