Elle Kennedy

“Is this seat taken?" The deep, gravelly voice jolted Noelle from her blood-thirsty thoughts. When she laid eyes on the man it belonged to her breath caught in her throat. She blinked, wondering if maybe she'd dreamed him, but then he flashed her a captivating grin and she realized that he must be real - her mind wasn't capable of conjuring up a smile this heart-stoppingly gorgeous. A pair of vivid blue eyes watched her expectantly as she searched for her voice. "There are lots of other seats available," she finally replied, gesturing to the deserted tables all around them. He shrugged. "I don't want to sit anywhere but here." She moistened her suddenly dry lips. "Why?" "Because none of those other seats are across from you," he said simply.”

“You're such a bastard," she sighed. He chuckled. "Are you really insulting the man who just gave you an orgasm?”

“I hate phones," he grumbled into her neck. "Seriously, I wanna go back in time and murder Alexander Graham Bell." He sat up with a groan. "Or was it Edison who invented the phone? I can never remember." She had to laugh. "I'm pretty sure it was Bell.”

“Anyway, this girl... she's the love of my life. She's smart and funny and unbelievably compassionate. She forgives people even when they don't deserve it. She-""Good lay?" Pace interrupts. "Oh yeah. The best.”

“Swallowing, he peered down at Noelle, floored by the sheer calm reflecting back at him. "You okay, babe?" She rolled her eyes. "Of course. What do you think I am, a pansy-ass damsel who weeps at the first sign of trouble?”

“Freedom was a drug, one that grabbed hold of you the second it entered your bloodstream. It made you giddy and reckless if you didn’t know how to channel it.”

“Then there’s the intelligence that practically radiates from you. Did I ever tell you smart women seriously turn me on?” His thumbs began caressing her cheeks and he bent to whisper close to her ear. “You’re a walking contradiction, Hayden. Prim and proper one moment, wild and uninhibited the next. And the more I get to know you, the more I like what I find.”

“I happen to be a fantastic kisser. Sadly, you will never get to find out.”“Never say never,” he answers in a singsong voice.“Thanks for that, Justin Bieber. But yeah, not going to happen, dude.”

“It suddenly occurred to him that for the first time in years, they were about to be alone together for more than five minutes. Just the two of them. On a small jet. Tens of thousands of feet in the air. Christ. Maybe he should've packed a parachute, just in case.”

“I didn’t like the way he looked at you.” “How did he look at me?” Allie asks warily. “Like you were his entire world.” She frowns. “And that’s a bad thing?” “Damn right it is. Nobody should ever be someone else’s entire world. That’s not healthy, AJ. If your whole life is centered on one thing—one person—whatcha going to be left with if that person goes away? Absolutely nothing.” He gruffly reiterates, “Not healthy.”