Lost in Her by Sandra Owens Read Free Book Online Page B

said, and banked the plane so he could see them better.
    “Cool.” He pressed his face to the window, watching them until they disappeared, then his attention returned to her. “It’s entirely possible you could teach me to like flying. Will you take me up again sometime?”
    And there went that killer smile again. Sheesh, how was a girl supposed to resist that? They probably didn’t, meaning he probably had a stable full of women’s phone numbers stored in his contact list. So why was he seeking her out? That was the big question. All her old insecurities reared their ugly heads, laughing at her for even thinking he could want Charlene Morgan.
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She forced herself to look away and turned the plane toward home, doing her best to convince herself that wasn’t disappointment she saw in his eyes. There was no way a man like him would give much thought to a refusal from someone like her. He probably had seen her as an easy conquest, one quickly forgotten as soon as he got in his car and drove away.
    So why not, Charlie? Bet the man would be crazypants fan . . . tas . . . tic in bed.
    Charlie ignored—or did her best to—the voice in her head. She would have argued with it if she’d had a leg to stand on, but as she could only agree with it, she got mad.
    When she taxied up to the FBO, David came out and hand signaled the Cessna into its parking space. He gave a careless wave and disappeared back inside when she cut the ignition. Charlie turned to tell Ryan good-bye, fully intending to send him on his way.
    Their eyes locked, and before she could say a word, he leaned over and kissed her.

CHAPTER FIVE

    A s her mouth softened against his, Ryan closed his eyes, savoring the taste of her. He hadn’t meant to kiss her. Not after she’d given every sign that she wanted nothing to do with him. But she’d turned to him, and he’d been sure she intended to send him away without ever seeing him again.
    There had been such joy in her eyes when they’d been in the air. He hadn’t seen that before they’d flown, so he could only chalk it up to how piloting a plane affected her. She’d looked at him with those damn blue-gray eyes and he hadn’t been able to resist.
    A part of him that he’d thought dead the past year had stirred, seen her passion, and wanted to take it into himself. The kiss surprised him as much as it seemed to surprise her. But he couldn’t find it in him to care, especially when she kissed him back. She hadn’t at first. Her lips had been firm and unyielding, but then . . . Christ, then, her mouth had softened and she’d leaned into him. Her fingers tentatively touched his cheek, feeling like a caress as gentle as a summer breeze.
    The way she responded was almost as if she had tender feelings for him. That wasn’t what he wanted, or hadn’t thought he wanted. All he’d sought from her was a few good times. Something that would relieve the need to be with a woman. Any woman.
    He supposed the joke was on him because with this kiss, only Charlie would do. Not forever, but for as long as it suited them both. Breaking away, he leaned his forehead against hers and listened for a moment to her breathing, heavier than usual. But then, so was his.
    “Have dinner with me tonight.”
    She pulled away and turned to stare out the pilot’s side window. “I don’t know if that’s wise.”
    “Since when are we going for wise, Charlie?” He grabbed her clipboard and pen. After writing his cell number at the top of the sheet, he handed it back to her. “If you change your mind, call me.”
    Walking away without knowing if he’d ever hear from her was the hardest thing he had done in a while. But he managed it. As he drove home to change for work, he tried to figure out what it was about Charlene Morgan that called to something deep inside him. Yes, she was pretty, but not the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Yes, he loved the way her pale blonde hair