She pulled off his glasses and tossed them into a nearby empty seat. Then, she leaned in and took Griffin’s lower lip between her teeth, biting it lightly and enjoying the shiver she felt rock through his body. “Then I suppose we shouldn’t disappoint him?”

Griffin’s groan of response was deliciously gratifying to hear. “There is a room in the back of the plane.”

“Does it have condoms?”

He groaned again. “I hope to God that it does.”

“Let’s go check it out,” she murmured against his mouth, and then slid out of his lap. She sashayed the few feet to the back of the plane and opened the door, knowing Griffin’s eyes were on her every step of the way.

The bedroom at the back of the plane was just as she remembered it. There was a full-size bed on the one side and a mirror on the wall behind it. On the other side of the small room was a desk with a chair, and a door that led to the bathroom.

She headed for the bathroom and heard Griffin shut the door to the room and lock it behind them. Inside the bathroom, there were a number of toiletries, but the thing that interested her the most was the box of condoms under the sink. It looked like the box she’d purchased in Bellissime, and she turned and held it out to Griffin. “You kept these?”

“How could I not? The driver was giving me such dirty looks for breaking your heart that I took them as a badge of shame.” He grimaced at the thought.

She laughed again. “I’m glad you feel bad about that, because I felt worse.”

He pulled her against him again and nuzzled her neck. “You should know you’re the only one for me.”

Her breath caught in her throat. She wanted to believe his words—oh, she did—but she’d been stomped on and hurt too many times by his careless words to believe him wholeheartedly. So for now, she trusted and hoped.

Maylee’s fingers stole to Griffin’s hair—soft, shining, and messy. “This is a different look for you.”

“Kip did not approve,” he murmured against her neck. “But Kip is not the one who likes to run his fingers through my hair.”

“I’m glad for that,” she said with another laugh, and scratched at his scalp.

He groaned. “Dear God, that feels good.”

She shushed him with a giggle. “You’re going to have to be quieter if you don’t want Kip listening in.”

He stiffened, shooting an anxious look back toward the front cabin. “I’m not entirely sure I’m comfortable with him sitting right out there—”

She gave him a mock pout, and her hand slid down to the front of his slacks. “I grew up in a trailer. I think if anyone knows how to be quiet when making out, it’s me.”

He frowned back at her. “Who exactly were you making out with—”

“Boys,” she said. And then she kissed him to shut him up.

And he kissed her back. Oh, she loved kissing him so much. No one kissed quite like Griffin. There was an unadulterated hunger to his mouth, as if he feared everything would be ripped away in the next instant and so he had to devour her while he could. She loved that singular intensity of him and suspected he’d be like that in bed, too.

She couldn’t wait to find out. Her hand rubbed at his c**k again, feeling the thick length of it under her fingers. “Now,” she murmured, stroking him when she paused. “Did you want to make out back here with your new assistant? Because she’s a pretty demanding sort.”

His eyes were glazed with passion. “Oh?”

“Very. . . .” Stroke. “Demanding . . .” Stroke.

He groaned again, this time louder, and she kissed his mouth to quiet him, pleased by the fact that her tightly controlled man was not quite so controlled in the bedroom.

“Want to know what I demand?” Maylee asked.

He nodded, unable to form words.

“Your tongue . . .” Stroke. “All over my body.” Stroke. “And then I’ll do the same to you.” Stroke. “How does that sound?”

“Incredible,” he breathed, his dazed expression warming her heart.

“Then let’s go check out that bed, shall we?” And she reluctantly slid her hand away from his c**k and left the tiny bathroom.

He followed her out, his hand touching her back, her arm, as if reluctant to let her leave him for one moment. And that was rather gratifying and sweet, all at once. She felt a surge of affection for him—this lonely, isolated man who didn’t know how to ask for affection, but basked in her attentions.

She’d be careful with his heart. Maylee turned around to give Griffin a sweet smile and to tell him how much she cared for him.

But his mouth landed on hers, his hand at her neck, holding her close, and she forgot all about being careful with anyone or anything. His desire devoured her own, and when the kiss deepened, Maylee’s knees got weak. She’d never been quite so affected by a kiss as she had by his. Her hands clawed at his clothing, and she felt a sudden desperate need to feel his skin against hers. “Clothes off,” she panted.

“You first,” he told her. “You said you wanted my tongue all over your body and I aim to comply. Now, get na**d for me.”

A shiver moved over her and she nodded, pulling at her T-shirt. So much for staying in control. He’d quickly taken over again and she’d willingly given up control to him. With a quick movement, she tugged her shirt over her head, and then undid her jeans, slipping out of them and kicking them aside. Then she stood before him in nothing but an old bra and panties that had both seen better days.

She grimaced, imagining how it must look to his eyes. “I left all the clothes you bought for me back at the hotel. All I have is this old stuff—”

“You’re beautiful,” he told her softly, and kissed her mouth with infinite tenderness. “Even if you wore rags, you would be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. Before you, I never found camouflage erotic, and now I get a cockstand at the sight.”

Tears pricked her eyes and she gave him a soft smile. “You’re just saying that to get into my pants.”

“I’m in your pants,” he told her. “But I mean what I say. I love you, Maylee Meriweather, and to me, you are the most wondrous creature I have ever seen.”

She gave a small sigh of pleasure at hearing him say that. This was the man she’d fallen for. She was terrified to think about what might happen. What if they were just words? What if a man with an upbringing like Griffin’s didn’t know how to love? She worried it was all another misunderstanding, but kept those thoughts to herself. To distract him from her silence, she removed her bra and panties.

“Utterly beautiful,” Griffin said reverently, stroking his fingers up her tanned arm. “Like my own personal Venus.” Those fingertips moved across her shoulder and collarbone, lightly tracing her skin. “I am the luckiest man alive.”

Her hands fluttered as she put them on his formal coat, her desire making her pulse and ache between her legs. “Are you going to get na**d with me?”

“Eventually,” he said, and his hand trailed between her br**sts. “First, I want to get my fill of looking at you.”

So she stood in front of him, trembling, as he let his fingertips explore over her body. They glided and grazed over her br**sts, circling the tips. They moved down the gentle curve of her belly, traced along the lines of her hipbones. They moved between her legs and lightly grazed over the damp curls of her arousal, and she sucked in a breath, hoping for those fingers to push between her legs and open her for him.

But instead, he knelt before her and tenderly kissed the skin just above her mound. “So beautiful.”

She was practically vibrating with desire. “Griff,” she murmured, voice husky. “If you don’t throw me down on this bed and make love to me, so help me—”

He ignored her and pressed his face inward, lightly nuzzling at the curls of her sex with his mouth, and she felt the tip of his tongue graze her clit.

A high-pitched gasp escaped her throat, and her knees buckled slightly. Only his hands on her h*ps kept her upright. “Oh.”

“Lay down, darling,” he said. “I want to put my mouth on you.”

She did, finding the edge of the bed and sitting on it with trembling legs. Then, as she laid back, she watched as Griffin slowly, methodically undid the buttons on his thick ceremonial coat and then tossed it to the floor, revealing an undershirt tucked into his slacks and those muscular arms. Maylee gave a sigh of pleasure at the sight of that, marveling again at the ugly tattoo on his bicep that seemed so out of character for him.

“My beautiful, darling Maylee,” he murmured, leaning down over her on the bed. He crawled over her, and while she lay flat on the bed under him, he gently kissed her brow, then her cheekbones, and continued on across her face, paying homage to every feature. He nipped at her chin in a way that made her ni**les tighten even more, and she shifted, almost panting with desire. Strange how these sweet, thoughtful kisses were more erotic than anything she’d ever experienced in her life.

He kissed his way across her shoulders and on to her br**sts, gently taking the tip of each one into his mouth and lightly sucking and teasing at the tip until she was biting back her moans of pleasure. Her hands raked through his hair over and over again, and her back raised off the bed each time his mouth clasped over a nipple. It felt so good; she wanted more, and she ached deep inside for him.

Then his mouth lightly traced down her belly, and his tongue dipped into her navel, circling it and giving her hints of what was to come. “Oh, lordamercy,” she breathed.

“Do you know it makes my c**k hard every time I hear you say that?” he murmured, but continued down his path. “I nearly come undone each time. For some reason, that sweet drawl of yours makes me incredibly hard. It’s like I picture your tongue curling over your words, and then I imagine it curling over the head of my cock.”

Oh, God, he was a talker in bed. This was destroying her. Maylee’s hands fisted in the blankets and she panted, silently begging for him to give her more.

“Ah,” he said after a moment, as if he’d discovered something pleasurable, and her breath exploded as her imagination did. “You’re very wet for me, aren’t you, darling?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice, and a small whimper escaped her throat.

His fingers parted her flesh, and she felt his mouth on her folds a moment later, tongue sliding up and down the damp center of her. “You taste as beautiful as you look,” he whispered, and then his mouth went to her clit. His tongue brushed over it, and then he sucked on it, teasing it with his lips.

A tremor wracked through her, growing in intensity. He continued to tongue and suck at her clit, not budging now that he’d found just where she wanted him to be, and the intensity built, exploding behind her eyes. To her stunned surprise, she came in a quick, violent burst, her fingers clawing at his scalp even as her legs spasmed and her heels dug into the bed.

“Oh,” she breathed. “Oh. Oh, lordamercy. Oh, Griff.”

When he’d wrung the last shudders out of her, he lifted his head, lips gleaming from her wetness, and there was a smug, satisfied look of pleasure on his gorgeous face, as if he were proud that he’d been able to make her come so hard. Breathless, she watched as he climbed back up next to her and lay down on his side, watching her recover.

The man looked incredibly pleased with himself.

“Need a moment, darling?” He reached out and caressed her breast, thumbing her nipple casually. He looked as if he had all the time in the world now that he’d satisfied her, but she felt the press of his c**k against her leg.

All this casual control? It was an act. And her Griffin was far too good at acting controlled.

She wanted to make him wild. So she rolled onto her hands and knees and gave his shoulder a push, indicating he should lie back on the bed.