Flyover (1 Night Stand Series) Read online

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  Flyover

  Copyright © 2013 by Desiree Holt

  ISBN: 978-1-61333-458-4

  Cover art by Angela Anderson Designs

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

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  Also by Desiree Holt

  Joy Ride

  1Night Stand Stories

  Night Mission

  He Came Upon a Midnight Clear

  The Edge - Valentino’s Delight

  Lust Becomes You

  Naughty Sleepover

  Overnight Sensation

  Western Escape

  Soul Dreams

  Dark Secrets

  Flyover

  A 1Night Stand Story

  By

  Desiree Holt

  ~DEDICATION~

  To Kate and Val, without whose fun and inspiration this story would never have been written.

  Chapter One

  Chelsea Haller sipped her daiquiri and stared out the bank of windows at the steadily falling curtain of snow.

  Damn! Just plain damn! Would nothing go her way? She couldn’t imagine what she’d done to deserve her current run of bad luck. First losing a job she loved through that dreaded process known as downsizing, and new ones weren’t exactly plentiful. Then her two-year relationship with he-who-shall-remain-nameless had self-destructed in a burst of flame that left her tending her burns. She was still reeling.

  When she’d finally been talked into doing something really crazy to lift her spirits and heal the pain, the weather killed all hope of that.

  It was probably a stupid thing to do, anyway. I must have been out of my mind to even think about it.

  She took another sip. She would never come up with this idea on her own. Her friend, Laura, got the credit for that.

  “You should contact Madame Eve,” Laura had said as they made a serious dent in a pitcher of margaritas. “She has this great agency called 1Night Stand. And the application process is all done online.”

  “Are you crazy?” Chelsea stared at her.

  “It’s only for one night. You tell her what you want and she matches people. You get one night of totally hot sex exactly the way you want it.” She gave Chelsea a sideways look. “You can’t say you’ve had that in a long time.”

  “Sign up with an online dating agency? You know how I feel about those.”

  “This is totally different,” Laura insisted. “She’s very discreet and screens all her clients carefully.”

  “She’d have to,” Chelsea retorted. “Hooking up two complete strangers for one night of sex.”

  “It’s more than that, Chels. She doesn’t take everyone who applies. She checks them out very carefully. They tell her why they want the 1Night Stand, what kind of person they’re looking for, and she matches them up.”

  “Just like that?”

  Laura nodded. “Just like that. Come on. Here, I’ll even pull up the site for you.”

  It had to be the margaritas. Otherwise why would she have let Laura persuade her to log on to the site and fill out the extensive form?

  “It says here I can request a picture of the man she finds for me. That’s good. If I don’t like his looks, I don’t have to go.”

  “No. Tell her you want to be surprised,” Laura urged. “And that you don’t want to know what he looks like. Describe in detail what you want and trust her to provide it.”

  “Yeah? What if he turns out to look like a toad?”

  Laura laughed. “I’ve heard that all her men are gorgeous. Count on it. Go on, Chelsea. Do it. Live a little. Lift your spirits. Take a chance for once.”

  So she’d done it, requesting no photos but being very specific in her description. When it came to the section regarding choice of environment, she whimsically typed in cabin on the lake in Maine and smiled. Any guy who’d agree to an overnight on a lake in Maine in the winter had to be either crazy or someone who liked taking chances. Not to mention physically well-conditioned.

  Chelsea had never expected to hear back, although as she spent her days reading the want ads and filling out forms at employment agencies, she couldn’t help checking her email regularly. Okay, obsessively, if she was being honest. And tried not to be disappointed when nothing popped up from Madame Eve.

  “I’m ready to write this whole thing off,” she told Laura. “Bad idea to begin with.”

  Then, unbelievably, the message arrived.

  I believe I have found the right person for you, Chelsea. His description is attached below and fits your qualifications exactly. I’ve included a photo of the cabin. When you arrive in Portland, you’ll be met by a driver who will take you to the cabin, which will be well stocked for you. Please select two of the suggested dates below, and I will match them with your companion’s. I’ve also listed the flights you’ll need to schedule to arrive on time.

  Have a most enjoyable 1Night Stand.

  Madame Eve

  Enjoyable. Yeah, right. Something special? She snorted. How could a woman who’d never even met her know the man she’d chosen for her would be The One? That very special someone. Chelsea had stopped believing fairy tales a long time ago. What made her believe one might pop into her crappy life now?

  It was so stupid, she could hardly believe she’d let Laura talk her into it. Meeting a stranger for one night of sex because you were depressed and needed something to spark your life. Pathetic might be more like it.

  And now Mother Nature had apparently conspired to reinforce that opinion. Flying into Boston from Tampa to make her connection to Portland, Chelsea learned a capricious winter storm had dumped many inches of snow on the city and didn’t appear to be slowing down. All flights in and out were canceled. So, instead of cuddling by a fire with the man of her dreams that night, she’d be sleeping alone in a hote
l room embraced only by the weather. If the hotel still had one available. A huge “if.” Her big plans were turning to shit like everything else in her life. Probably no more than she deserved for agreeing to them in the first place.

  “Another one?”

  She turned at the sound of the bartender’s voice.

  “Might as well.”

  “Looks like you and that guy over there are gonna be my last customers this evening,” he commented. “Everyone else has bedded down for the night.”

  Looking around, she had to agree with him. The bar had been a lot busier earlier in the evening, people elbowing each other out of the way for rooms at the airport hotel, crowding the coffee shop for food, yelling in frustration. An atmosphere hung over those who had jammed into the bar, as if they wanted a drink—needed a drink—before tackling the monumental task of rearranging flight schedules and calling families and friends and business associates. At least she had flexibility and could wait out the initial surge.

  Maybe when it all got all sorted out, the room fairy would find a closet where she could crash for the night.

  She glanced toward the end of the bar, blinking her eyes at the man leaning on his elbows, fiddling with a glass. His uniform identified him as an airline pilot. She assumed he had no plans to fly anywhere that night though, or he wouldn’t be drinking. He’d draped his jacket over his bar stool and loosened his tie. Thick brown hair framed a face defined by a rugged jaw and high cheekbones. His shoulders were broad and even at that distance she could see powerful muscles flex beneath the fabric of his uniform shirt whenever he moved his arms.

  The expression on his face probably matched her own—irritated and disgusted. No doubt he’d planned to get home to his family. Or at least his girlfriend. A guy that good-looking and sexy would have someone waiting to warm up his night.

  She watched the bartender put a fresh drink in front of him, watched him take a swallow of it, close his eyes for a moment. Wishing he was somewhere else? Then his glance slid her way and he smiled and lifted his glass in a silent toast. Returning the gesture, she took another sip from her own glass. He slid off his stool, took his drink, and moved to where she sat.

  “Seems like we’re the only two people crazy enough to be here right now.” His voice sounded deep and smooth, like aged whiskey. Something hot on a cold night. “Okay if I join you?”

  “That would be nice.”

  As he hitched himself up on the stool, she caught the fragrance of his aftershave, something woodsy and earthy. Her pheromones stood at attention and saluted, and she had to resist the urge to lean over and press her nose to his neck.

  Crap. I must be in really bad shape.

  “Buy you a drink?” he asked.

  She looked at her glass, still half full. “No, I guess not. One more and I’d be on the floor. This will probably be exactly what I need to knock me out. I hope.”

  He chuckled. “I’m kind of aiming for the same thing. I’m guessing you aren’t from around here or you wouldn’t be spending the night at the airport.”

  She shook her head. “Tampa, Florida. Where it’s a hell of a lot warmer right now. What about you?”

  “San Antonio, Texas. Also warmer.”

  They both reached for the bowl of nuts between them at the same time. Their hands brushed and a jolt of electricity shot through her, so sharp and sizzling she wondered why it wasn’t visible. Her companion must have felt something too because he glanced at her with a strange look on his face.

  “I guess we should introduce ourselves,” she said, trying to get control of her suddenly heated body. “Chelsea Haller.”

  “Alec Ramsey.”

  He held out his hand. When she touched him again, the same high-octane voltage spiked through her body. Little pins pricked her nipples and the pulse low in her womb began to beat like a jungle drum. She squirmed, wishing she could rein in her galloping hormones.

  Not good. Not good. Have I sunk to the level of picking up strangers in a bar? Even a high-class bar?

  “Okay, I know this is a corny line, but what’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” He lifted an eyebrow. “And in this kind of weather?”

  “Bad luck is the only excuse I’ve got. What about you? What good deed brought you here on a night like this?” Chelsea laughed. “Did you offer to give some other pilot a break and end up trapped in this storm?”

  He lifted a shoulder in a nonchalant half shrug. “Actually I requested this flight into Boston.” His lips twisted in a wry smile. “How’s that for a kick? I’m supposed to go on to Portland. Fat chance of that now.”

  “Really? Me, too. Funny coincidence.”

  He nodded. “Sure is. Instead here I am. Stranded. Not exactly what I had on the schedule for tonight.”

  “Oh? You had some specific plans?”

  He lowered his gaze to the bar top in front of him. “I’m almost embarrassed to tell you.”

  “Oh, come on. It’s just the two of us here. We’ll probably never see each other again. What’s so bad you can’t tell me?”

  Finishing his drink, he set the empty glass carefully in front of him. “I’m supposed to meet a woman. For tonight only. Outside of Portland.”

  A funny little shiver skated over Chelsea’s spine. “Is this someone special?”

  He shrugged. “I’m hoping. I’ve never met her before.”

  She shifted in her seat to study him carefully, her radar antenna vibrating at full speed. “Really. So how did you make your arrangements?” She swallowed a grin when his face reddened slightly.

  “Now this is really embarrassing. You have to promise not to laugh.”

  She held up her hand. “Scout’s honor. Let’s have it.”

  He avoided looking at her, as if unwilling to meet her gaze. “Okay. Here it is. I made the arrangements through a place I’m sure you never heard of. It’s online. Madame Eve’s 1 Night Stand.” His made a self-deprecating sound. “Can you believe it? Using an Internet service? I let a buddy of mine talk me into it. Bet you’ll get a good chuckle out of that.”

  “Alec?” Chelsea thought she might faint and fall off the bar stool. “This is me not laughing. Because guess what? I think I’m the woman you’re supposed to meet.”

  He blinked. “You’re kidding, right? A sexy woman like you using a service like this?”

  “I could say the same for you.” She studied hm. “I’d think you’d have gorgeous women hanging all over you.”

  “Yeah, well.” He signaled the bartender for another drink. “Sometimes they can strangle you, too. That your story?”

  She shook her head. “No. My problem is I have a real penchant for picking assholes. The last one topped the list so I let a friend talk me into this like you did.” Then she grinned. “I’m hoping it’s not a terminal condition.”

  His smile washed over her like a hot caress on her skin. “I’d say it’s more their fault than yours. But if that’s what sent you to Madame Eve then it’s a good thing.”

  “I can’t believe you had the same problem finding someone I did.”

  He jiggled the ice in his glass. “I turned forty, two weeks ago, Chelsea. I’m tired of party girls, good-time girls, women with no real layers of emotion. Women who don’t understand that sex is a two-way street. It’s not all about them.”

  She almost snorted. “Maybe you should hook them up with the men I keep meeting. They feel the same way. About themselves.” She finished the last drops of her drink. “My friend Laura told me this adventure would brighten my life.”

  They stared at each other.

  “You could sure brighten my life, Chelsea Haller. We may not be in a cabin on the lake, but I’ll bet we could get a good view of the snow-covered landscape from a room in the airport hotel. What do you say?”

  “I say that sounds great except I don’t even have a room. I let everyone who was shouting and shoving get ahead of me and now I think the hotels are flat out of space.”

  “Then isn’t it a
good thing I already have a room? How lucky can you get, right?”

  Pretty damn lucky! I hope. “Well.” This is crazy! But no crazier than meeting him in a remote cabin.

  She blew out a breath. Could almost hear Laura’s voice in her head saying, Go for it.

  “Okay,” she told him. “Why not? We were going to spend the night together anyway, right?”

  “Absolutely.” He winked. “And at least here we have room service.” He signaled the bartender for his check and tossed some bills on the counter. “Where did you leave your luggage?”

  “With the bellman in the hotel. I guess I figured I’d end up sleeping in the lobby.”

  “I promise you I have something much more comfortable.”

  He held out his hand and she slid from her bar stool. His warm fingers closed over hers and as they walked into the lobby, the pulse low in her womb throbbed insistently, signaling her desire.

  Chapter Two

  Alec had always appreciated hotels located in airports. He found them a great convenience. He didn’t have to drive or cab to a place to sleep, he could eat dinner in the restaurant and roll upstairs to bed, and he didn’t have far to go in the morning. Tonight he appreciated the situation even more.

  What were the chances that he and his 1Night Stand turned out to be the only two people in the bar in a snowbound airport? Maybe his luck was about to change after all. It sure had been shitty lately. He’d begun to think someone had cast an evil spell on him and turned all the women he took up with into witches from hell. Or bitches. Either term applied.

  Then he hit the Big Four-O and chasing women had lost its thrill. Now he only wanted to find the right one. A close pal tried the 1Night Stand thing as a lark and was shocked that all of Madame Eve’s research paid off. She’d actually matched him with the woman of his dreams. He was head over heels in love before the night was over, and they ended up married two short months later. 1Night Stand might not be the answer for him, but Alec figured he couldn’t do any worse than he had in the past months. So he’d signed up, filled out all the forms.