Just For A Moment by Kate Carley

Chapter 9

The sun rodelow on the horizon, and its brilliant golden orange melted to purple in a spectacular event. The woman beside him on the back deck seemed mesmerized by the sight as she clutched her second bottle of Corona. Aaron leaned forward, resting his elbows on the wooden railing, and considered his next move. He could get the unpleasant task of delivering bad news over with, or he could do what he really wanted and kiss the breath out of her.

“You’ve gotten really quiet, Beck.” Her voice, like a caress against his bare flesh, whispered though the muted tones of evening. She mirrored his position, standing just inches away from him.

“No. That’s just because we left Piper inside to go to bed. She’s a noisy one.”

Grace laughed, bumping her shoulder against his. “She was entertaining.”

“Always is.” He turned his head. “I almost kissed you earlier.”

“I wanted you to.” Her eyes fell to his lip, and she rubbed her own together as if imagining what it would feel like.

With hesitant fingers, he tipped her chin and caressed the pad of his thumb over her full lower lip. He wanted this first kiss to be memorable—at a perfect time, in a perfect place—for Grace. For himself, all he wanted was to possess her mind, body, and spirit. He wanted everything with Grace. And he would give her the world.

Holding himself in check took every fiber of his being. A scant inch between them, he paused for a second, allowing her time to savor what was to come or to say no and step away. But she didn’t make a move. She just stood there, breathing like she’d raced up a flight of stairs to gaze at him with a sensuously expectant expression that short-circuited his brain.

Then, his mouth was on hers, devouring her. Nothing slow. Nothing like the pause and savoring of seconds ago. No, he stole the kisses from her sweet lips. His tongue plunged into her wet mouth as if he owned her.

What was it about this woman?

Aaron dragged his fingers through the silky strands of her hair, and then his palms landed on her jean-clad butt, and he yanked her against his body. He needed her to feel what she did to him, that he was so damn hard for her that he could take her right here.

While his hands wandered her body, she sighed into his mouth, giving herself to him completely. The response was so honest and sweet, a perfect match to her body. Every inch of her was soft and delicate.

And he was taking her mouth like a Neanderthal when she deserved so much better than this.

Easing the pace, he slowed the kiss and rested his forehead on hers. “Ever since the first day when you came into my shop, I’ve wanted to kiss you. I tried to resist, but I couldn’t help myself.”

“I had three reasons not to kiss you, Aaron.”

“So, I’m Aaron now?”

“Beck is what everyone else calls you. I just put my tongue in your mouth. I think we’re on a first name basis now.”

Aaron laughed. “You are quirky and cute. And I like that about you.” He dropped a slow kiss to her lips. “I want to hear what those three reasons were, but we have to talk.”

“We have to talk?” She let out a quick laugh. “That sounds ominous.”

“We’ve got to talk about Win’s goals for the planes.”

“It’s important to me to ensure his wishes are fulfilled.”

“I figured it would be.” Aaron picked up his beer and took a long draw. He wanted to lie. He wanted to ignore the plans that Win talked about constantly. Dreams that would likely never come to fruition. Not for Win and not for someone like Grace, who wasn’t interested in planes and aviation and spending countless hours and days and years tinkering on an old engine.

“Quit rolling the thoughts around and just tell me.” Grace leaned her hip against the railing and crossed her arms.

“Win’s goal was to take an old plane and restore it. And then fly in it. He started with the biplane, the one you said looked like the Red Barron.”

Grace nodded.

“Things fell together beautifully. We knew what we needed. We put out queries looking for parts, and within a couple months, Win had found exactly what we needed. The entire process went smoothly. A year later, we took it for a flight.”

“Wow. That is fast.”

“Everything went without a hitch. Then, he picked up the Cessna. It had lots of hard use, but it flew. Win spent his time puttering around. Mostly cosmetics and a few upgrades.”

Grace sighed. “You know what bothers me most about all this, Aaron?”

“What?”

“He never told me any of this. I saw him every other weekend and talked to him two or three times a week. Just to check in. To see what he’d been up to. And he never mentioned this. Why?”

Now it wasn’t impatience that had her crossing her arms over her chest, she was distancing herself from him. He stepped closer and touched the hair he’d just had his fingers tangled in. “Have I told you how much I like your hair? Super sexy.”

“Thanks, but don’t change the subject, Aaron.”

“I don’t know why he kept it from you.” He shook his head. “I think Win got bored with the Cessna and wanted the rush of doing what we’d done on the biplane, so he started searching for another plane to buy. That’s when he found the Tigercat. But rebuilding the engine of this beast is no small task. There are more than two dozen specialized pieces we need.”

“You said that earlier today. I don’t understand the issue. He owned a business that specializes in aircraft parts, in milling parts. Why couldn’t he just mill what he needed?”

“He was a purist. He wanted to find original pieces. That’s what he did with the biplane. But finding original parts for a F7F is a lot more difficult.”

“But if that’s what he wanted, how can I not at least try?”

“Grace, it’s not going to be easy.”

“For my granddad…” Sadness filled Grace’s voice as her words trailed off.