Chapter Seven
An hour later, they were at cruising altitude and there was nothing but clear blue skies ahead. Melanie still couldn't believe her luck. This day was turning out to be something special, all right. If Sebastian were a little arrogant, it probably wouldn't be such a big deal, as he seemed to be content to do most of the piloting while Alex relaxed in the living area.
"Is there anything I can get you? Anything I can do for you?" She asked him.
"Not at the moment." He smiled. "I'm just finishing up a few things here before I get into vacation mode. Just make yourself comfortable."
Sure, like that's easy. What am I supposed to do with myself? She thought. The aircraft was spotlessly clean and everything ship-shape. The last crew had left it pristine. There was nothing for her to do until one of the brothers got hungry or needed a drink.
She went into the kitchen to see what kind of food there was, but everything there had already been prepared already. Fancy dishes were clearly labeled for each brother. Alex was obviously the gourmet with delicacies such as braised partridge and champagne pears waiting for him. Sebastian was the more visceral of the two with basic but still expensive tastes; mostly it seemed, for lobster tails and ice cream. Bottles of champagne were plentiful and it seemed that both brothers were fans of that.
Alex told her to relax for a while and went to freshen up himself. In the meantime, she kept occupied familiarizing herself with anything that might come within her purview during the course of the flight.
"Can I help you with anything?" The voice behind her had the same commanding tone as always. She turned and smiled bashfully, her heart racing a little.
"Oh no, I'm just getting to know…” She stopped. It wasn't Alex -- at least she didn't think so. The two were so damned alike. "I'm sorry," she said, "its Alex, right?"
"Wrong." He said petulantly. "Not that it matters anyway. Look, I'm getting a bit hungry. Fix a couple of those lobster tails for me and bring them to the cockpit."
He turned and left.
Jackass. Now how do I 'fix' those lobster tails?
The tails were already cooked and just needed reheating under the grill. She knew not to put them in the microwave or they would taste and feel like rubber. The last thing she wanted to do was to upset Sebastian. The only slight problem was figuring out how to work the space age-looking oven. There were no buttons or knobs; just smooth, surfaces glistening as though nothing had ever actually been used before. After a couple of minutes looking around, the pilot appeared again.
"How about those tails?" He said grumpily. "Are they ready yet?"
"Coming right up." She lied.
"Don't take all day." He said and then disappeared back to the cockpit.
She was still fumbling around without success when she heard his voice again. "Can I help you there?"
"I'm so sorry Mr. Drummond; they'll be ready in just a minute."
"What'll be ready?"
Thank God, it's Alex again.
She turned around and almost blushed. He was wearing just a white towel wrapped around his waist and she couldn't help but see that he was totally ripped. For a billionaire businessman, he sure had one rocking body. More like a calendar boy fire fighter than some Financial Times-reading office guy.
He came over to her and took her right hand into his own. He turned her gently around towards the oven and then softly moved her finger across the smooth surface. The thing came to life suddenly. He was so close to her. She could smell that he had just come from the shower, a clean masculine smell that overpowered her.
"I think that's what you were looking for." He said and released her hand. "Is the beast in there hungry already?"
"He just asked me for a couple of his lobster tails."
Alex rolled his eyes.
"Sebastian and his damned lobster tails. Hey, little brother, can't you fix these things yourself?" He shouted into the cockpit. "Melanie has more important things to do out here."
"Do I?" She asked.
"Sure you do. Come with me." He said, and took her by the hand again.
"But what about the tails?"
"Don't worry about him, he likes them cold. All he has to do is take off the plastic wrap. Didn't the big lug tell you that?"
She shook her head and then followed along, drawn in tow by his powerful masculinity. She was exhilarated and nervous at the same time. She felt like she wouldn't ever be able to say no to anything this man asked of her. However, he was still her boss, they had a professional relationship, and she had learned her lesson the hard way with Mitch. When that train wreck had fallen apart, she swore it would never happen again and she was going to stick to her guns this time.
Who am I kidding anyway? The guy is a billionaire. All he'll want from me is one night and then I'll never see him again.
When they got to the bedroom, she could see that he had made himself at home. His things were everywhere. It looked very personal; far more private than she should have been allowed to see. After all, she had only met him a couple of hours ago.
"I need your help making sense of my schedule for the next day or two -- if that's okay with you of course. Margaret always does that, too."
"I'm not a personal assistant," she said, "but I'll do my very best."
"I'm sure you'll do just fine." He said without any trace of doubt. "My little brother has dropped you into the hot seat, so don't worry. I'll expect a learning curve. Anyway, there's only a day or two of business and then it's all fun after that. You know how to have fun, don't you?"
"Actually, I haven't really had time for much fun lately, so I may be out of practice."
He looked concerned.
"Is that so?" He said, and took a step closer to her. "Well, we'll have to see about that. A beautiful young woman like you? That is just a tragedy. We'll have to make sure this is a trip to remember, okay?"
"It's okay. I'm happy just to see the island. I know I'm here just as your employee, so really there's no need to worry on my account."
"Oh yes, that's right. And colleagues shouldn't ever have fun together, right? I think I saw that in a HR manual somewhere." He gave her a mischievous grin. He was irresistible. If he said the word, she wasn't sure if she would be able to stay strong. But she would be the one to get burned, not him.
"Anyway, you won't be working around the clock, Melanie. Everyone is entitled to some downtime. Sebastian and I aren't slave drivers, you know and the island is like a second home to us, so we'd love to show you around Tahiti.
Oh great 'we'. Psycho brother Sebastian as well.
"So if you could just get a handle on my itinerary, that would be a huge help. Everything you need to know is in there. Any questions, just let me know, okay?"
She nodded. What else could she do?
Alex left the bedroom for the spacious en-suite bathroom and she set to familiarizing herself with his agenda. She had worked only a few minutes when she heard Sebastian's voice again.
"Hey," he was shouting from the dining area. "I need those tails for God's sake!"
What a king-sized asshole.
She jumped up and headed back out to the kitchen area.
"I'm sorry Mr. Drummond. Your brother called me away. How would you like your meal served?"
"Cold. On a plate. In the cockpit." He turned and left her.
Double asshole.
She dished the tails out onto a plate and set it on a tray to bring to the cockpit. When she got there, he was hunched over the controls.
"Here's your meal, Mr. Drummond."
"You don't have to call me that." He said abruptly, to the point of being rude.
"It's okay, Mr. Drummond."
"Don't call me that." He said louder. "If you can call my brother by his first name, then you can call me by mine, okay?"
"Whatever you prefer, uh..."
"Sebastian. It's Sebastian."
“Okay, Sebastian."
"Just leave it there."
Melanie couldn't believe the contrast between the two brothers. In every other way, they were identical -- remarkable even. To meet one man with such good looks was amazing in itself; to be alone with two of them was almost surreal.
Stop it, Melanie. Don't be crazy.
This wasn't her thing. Not at all. Spoiled rich guys? No way. They were identical in every hot, beautiful, sexy way, down to the rippling muscles in their thighs and butt cheeks swelling under their tailor-made suits. Then there was the difference in personality, which seemed to be the only way to tell them apart. That, and whatever they happened to be wearing at any given moment.
She left Sebastian behind to brood and sulk and returned to the master bedroom to see if there was anything else that Alex wanted. She found it empty, so she knocked on the bathroom door. There was no answer, so she went inside.
All of his things were there: his expensive aftershave, leather-bound shaving equipment, and monographed handkerchiefs. He hadn't lied when he had offered her one. He obviously had a fresh supply every day. He was every inch the successful businessman born from wealth and privilege.
She began to tidy things up and put everything in order. Sure, he hadn't asked her to, but it was a job she was happy to perform. The feel of his possessions was luxurious even to the touch. Where quality wasn't evident to the eye, it was clear to her sensitive fingertips and palms.
"Hi there."
The voice was deep, commanding, and soft. It must be Alex.
She turned and saw that he had gotten dressed, abandoning his business suit for jeans and a sweatshirt. Even casual looked rich on him. She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush again as her eyes lingered for a microsecond on his strong torso before coming to his face.
"Hi." She managed to say.
"You didn't have to do any of this," He said. "But I sure do appreciate it."
"It's okay." She said. "I really didn't mind."
"By the way, I should warn you that the ride is set to get a little rocky."
Just as he said that, the plane lurched and she slammed against his hard body. They fell to the floor and she landed solidly on top of him.
She could feel his lips against her ear and her thighs instinctively squeezing around his thick, muscular leg, her own thigh pressing in between his. It was entirely accidental. Her breasts squeezed against his strong chest and molded themselves to his chiseled form.
She couldn't tell if the plane was still rocking or if it was just her.
"My God! Alex... I'm so sorry--"
He didn't say a word but just rolled the two of them over, his hot breath coming down on her as his body strained to lift her against the rocking and bucking of the plane.
She was an experienced flight attendant so it would take a lot of turbulence to make her nervous. This was significant but nothing she hadn't experienced in the past. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel safe in the powerfully strong arms of Alex. His biceps bulged under his sweatshirt and pressed against her back and knees. He staggered to the bed, flopped her down like a rag doll, and then lay next to her, placing one large, tanned hand onto her abdomen to steady her.
"Better if we stay here to ride this one out." He said.
The plane continued to jump and shake in the invisible blue-sky turbulence. His hand was low on her abdomen to keep her in place and all she could think of was the rush of blood coming to her hips and thighs. His hand was so low down, almost to her pubic mound, firmly pressing into the soft flesh below, his other arm was around her shoulders, cradling her, his powerful legs spread out to keep him steady on the bed. Her own right hand, she realized, was resting on his inner thigh because there was nowhere else for it to go without inadvertently caressing him intimately. She left it there, resting lightly and trying to stay as still as possible.
She was so close to him.
Only hours ago, she had been doing everything she could to avoid him, and now they were lying on a bed together.
The turbulence flattened out but they stayed where they were.
"How good a pilot is your brother?" She asked.
He smiled. "Not as good as me, but still really good. I trust him completely."
Their faces were just inches apart. His strong clean, masculine scent filled her senses and the warm sensations passing through her abdomen and into her breasts just wouldn't quit.
Was something going to happen here? This was ridiculous. She didn't want to be a rich man's plaything. Fucked in the master bedroom for a little tension relief on his annual vacation and then reassigned back on the LA to Columbus route, never to be heard of again once the fling was over.
She pushed herself away from him.
"Alex..." She said.
He held onto her tightly.
"Where are you going?" He said softly.
"Alex--"
"This turbulence isn't done yet. We need to stay here and ride this one out together." He was staring deeply into her eyes, just inches away from her, his hand still pressed firmly to her lower abdomen, and hers still resting on his inner thigh.
"Alex, is there something going on here?"
"I don't know." He said. "You tell me."
She couldn't answer. She was confused. Maybe she did want to be a rich man's plaything after all. Just for one night. Maybe it would be an experience, like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or trekking through the Himalayas. Take a few pictures, write a letter home, and then tell the grandchildren about it one day.
She pushed herself away more firmly, extricating herself from his arms.
"Alex, I really can't do this. I'm sorry. I've been hurt before."
He sat up quickly, a furious look in his eye.
"Who? Who was it?"
"It's okay Alex, I don't mean like that. I just mean that I've gotten involved with someone I worked with before and it didn't turn out well."
"Someone at Drummond?" He sounded intense now, as though he would throttle whoever it was who dared to come near her. She couldn’t possibly say it was about Mitch. As much as she despised her manager, she didn't want Alex to fire him. She knew it was absolutely against company policy for romantic liaisons to take place between employees at unequal levels of seniority. Mitch would be fired immediately and that was still a step beyond what she was willing to do.
"Don't you work for Drummond Corporation, too?" She said.
"Damn it." He said. "Yes I do. But that can be fixed. I can resign."
Was she hearing right? Why would he have to resign? He owned the company. He could do whatever he wanted.
"Alex, we don't even know each other. I don't know you at all. "
"What is there to know?" He sounded urgent. The two of them were still sitting on the bed together; he put his big hands to her shoulders and turned her to face towards him. Melanie felt like warm putty in his hands and she wanted him now and desperately wanted him to just take her, so that she wouldn't have to take responsibility for the consequences.
"Why does life have to be so damn complicated? Aren't we just a man and a woman? Just two people like any other who--"
"Know absolutely nothing about each other." She interrupted.
"That's not true." He insisted. "You're Melanie Hutchinson. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. You care deeply about people. You're a loyal person, a good person and all you want to do is be happy and to do the right thing."
"That's everybody Alex, not just me."
She protested with words but her body was crying out to accept his extreme emotions. She felt it now in her underwear, the heat rising inside her loins, her thighs becoming warmer as his desperate gaze hungrily enveloped her, his dark brown hair still tousled from the fall to the floor.
She felt herself grow moist as he urged her to accept the depth of his feeling for her.
"I'm sorry." She said. "So sorry. I've just got to get to know you first. This whole thing is crazy. It’s wonderful, but still crazy."
He got off the bed and stood up in front of her, the well-defined muscles of his butt and thighs rippling as he did so. He took off his sweatshirt and she could see his powerful chest and arms under his t-shirt.
"What's to know?" He repeated. "Look at me! I'm just a guy. Sure, I'm a billionaire, a golden boy rich kid, but God damn it, I'm just a guy underneath it all. I'm so sick of people not being able to see past all this bullshit and just take me for who I am."
Melanie didn't know what to say. She had been guilty of exactly the same thing. As soon as she had found out who he was, all she could think of was his wealth, status, and privilege. He held the power over her and everyone that she considered a friend at Drummond Airlines.
"I'm not better than anyone else." She said. "The truth is that I wouldn't even be here if it weren’t for the money."
"You mean if it wasn't for your mother. Because that's what you want it for, right?"
She nodded her head. It was true. She would never have been railroaded into personally serving some rich guy who was trying to date her just for money. However, the chance to help her mother had overridden everything.
"Is that how you magically came up with that number?"
"What number?"
"Twelve thousand dollars for ten days of work?"
"You're worth every penny of it Melanie. It's money you're earning -- not charity or a bribe."
"You could have chosen any one of a hundred or more flight attendants but you chose me for the job. What is that if it isn't charity?"
"Melanie, you just don't get it, do you?"
He got down on one knee, his muscles bulging and rippling. He was very close to her again.
"I knew you were the one as soon as I saw you." He said, almost in a whisper.
Melanie's breath quickened, her generous cleavage heaving under the gleaming white and blue of her uniform.
"This is crazy. Just too crazy." She said.
Take me. For God's sake, just take me now! She thought.
The plane bucked again and threw him across the bed and on top of her. Their eyes locked for one endless moment as the plane banked and tossed in the air, the heat of their gaze melting the distance between them. She felt the scorch of his passion throbbing against her thigh.
Take me now. I'm yours.
She couldn't bear to say the words but in her mind, she was screaming.
He looked at her as though she were his already, as though she were a priceless possession. The feeling was exhilarating. It went against her nature to be desired in that way, but it excited her all the more because of it.
His lips pressed against hers, devouring, exploring. Her mound throbbed with desire and moisture flowed as she arched her back and pressed herself to him, abdomen to abdomen, pubis to pubis, fighting, struggling to reach a crescendo of pleasure, screaming to come closer together.
He was tall, strong, and the largest man she had ever lain with, in every way overwhelming to all of her senses. Again, the plane was banking and rolling but she didn't care. They tossed in the bed and before she knew it, she was on top of him, but not for long. His huge hands took her, one around her ass and the other at her neck, flipping her over to her back again and pinning her to the bed.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
She still couldn't say the words. He still didn't have her verbal permission, but he was taking her anyway. If her lips were silent, her body was begging him to go further. He was astride her now and carefully, methodically began unbuttoning her blouse. It was strange and exciting to see this bear of a man so meticulously undress her, one tiny delicate button at a time. She could feel his hunger mounting and see it in the swelling bulge between his legs. But he knew how to wait and take his pleasure slowly.
God, was she already coming? She could feel waves of pleasure in her own body begin to rise at first like tiny ripples, but then like ocean swells coming ashore, a tsunami of desire lifting up and increasingly asking for more.
Nobody had ever taken her like this before, and certainly not with her clothes still on.
Her blouse was open and her bare abdomen and bosom lay before him, scantily concealed by her bra, her heaving cleavage squeezed together like pure, soft apples of desire.
"Yes." He growled.
The plane bucked but he held her in place with his huge thighs, consuming her with his dark, intense gaze.
"Now you are mine." His voice was low and intent.
This was what she had truly wanted since that first kind smile of his as he had scooped her fallen hat from the floor in the airport.
"It's too wrong." She said.
He ignored her. His thick fingers expertly undid the clasp at the front of her bra and carefully opened it to reveal her taut nipples and heaving breasts.
"I don't know why Alex. Please, this is wrong." She still didn't know why, but her gut was telling her to hold back.
What was he going to do next?
"I knew it." He said.
Knew what?
"I knew you were perfect the moment I laid eyes on you." His voice was so low, like the growl of an animal consumed with lust. His eyes ran up and down her exposed body and then his hands moved lower to her belt, carefully undoing the buckle, then snapping the belt out in one deft powerful movement, the tip just lightly stinging her wrist as it came out, adding to her growing excitement.
The waves were coming regularly now and her body was beginning to undulate, pulsating into the soft but firm bed below her. He was going to make her come, as no man had ever done before.
The truth was that although Melanie had several long-term boyfriends, none of them had ever really known how to touch her. She had experienced orgasms all right, regularly for years, but only ever in the company of her battery-operated best friend from the Adam and Eve catalog. Unlike her human companions, her mechanical one had rarely let her down. Not until recently, though. No amount of hammering away on her bulb had seemed to give her pleasure anymore. To look at someone as slender, charming, and beautiful as Melanie, no one in their wildest dreams would ever have guessed that her love life could be at such an all-time low.
Until now.
She opened her eyes to get relief from the relentless barrage of pleasure that wracked every fiber of her being. Alex drew her skirt down to her ankles and then slipped it off. The plane wobbled again and he stumbled as he folded it and placed it across the back of a chair. He took such good care of her clothes, unlike Mitch, who would just tear at her like an idiot, never able to figure out how to get things open or closed and then leave everything in a crumpled heap.
When Alex turned to her again, he looked like a god ready to take a mortal woman into the lair of his desire.
"You're naked." He reminded her. "Now stay still. You are mine until I release you. This has to be perfect, for you and for me. Do you understand?"
She nodded her head but she didn't understand at all. There was no way this could become any more perfect than it already was. If she experienced any more pleasure, she might inflict some kind of medical injury upon herself.
She was willing to take the risk.
Only with him -- with Alex -- the first man who had ever...
When the plane bucked again, it was like nothing she had ever felt before, not in all her years as a flight attendant. She felt a jolt of terror for the first time as she floated from the bed into thin air.
They were in freefall, maybe even nose-diving. Alex floated in the air beside her with a look of grim determination and frustrated desire on his face as he reached for her. It was as though the fall of the plane meant nothing to him. He was bare-chested with a thin, glistening slick of wet desire covering his taut muscles.
He obviously still intended to screw her if he could before they hit the ground, one last monumental fuck before slamming into the earth below.
Melanie reached out her arms to him just as the plane righted itself. Suddenly she was on him again, her vulva pounding down onto his sculpted washboard six-pack, her breasts in his face.
Immediately he put his hands to her waist and drew her down, his hungry mouth, tongue, and lips feeding on her breasts and sending bolts of ecstasy through her entire body.
"Fuck me!" She screamed at the top of her voice. "Fuck me now, as hard as you can!"
His body thrust up against hers, his cock straining through the fabric of his jeans as it struggled to reach her hot, wet valley.
The pilot’s voice came over the PA.
"Shit." He said. "We're going down. You guys better strap yourselves in, this is going to get mighty hairy."
The plane began to descend fast now and the look in Alex's eyes changed from raw desire to pure concern. He leaped from the floor, grabbed Melanie's clothes, and helped her to get dressed as the plane picked up speed in its descent.
They didn't say a word to each other but both felt it, the longing, and the fear that this would already be the end when they had only just met. Lovers, torn apart in the instant of their first meeting, their first sweet tryst of hot desire thwarted.
He strapped her into one of the seats and then took his place beside her, holding her small hand in his own. Somehow, against all reason she still felt safe in his hands, even in a jet plummeting into the Pacific Ocean.
If these were the last moments of her life well at least she had found true love in them. Alex smiled at her and through the groaning of the fuselage and strain of the engines tried to reassure her.
"Don't worry sweetheart. Alex is a great pilot. The best there is. Way better even than me."
Alex is a great pilot?
She looked at the man next to her again. There was no way to tell the difference between the two to them. If Alex was in the cockpit then that meant she had just given herself to...
Oh my God, what have I done?
Her hand began to tremble as Sebastian closed his large protective fist around her fingers. He smiled and gave her a long, loving, reassuring look as the plane descended. He said one more thing but she couldn't hear the words and then everything went black.