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“It’s not that easy…”
“Yes, it is.You need to get your ex out of your system, and a flying sex palace is just the way you’re going to do it.You really should give up trying to fight me because I’m not letting you chicken out of this, B.It’s time to step back into the real world.”She picked up her dish and sat back, chopsticks poised.“Now eat up, you’ll need your strength to keep up with the to-do list I’ve drawn up for you.”
* * *
Sunday dawned bright and sunny over New York.
Bethany lay in bed, her whole body alert and tingling with an excitement she hadn’t felt in a long time.It would’ve been the perfect time for a session with her Rabbit but Keely had confiscated each and every pleasure-giving gadget before her diva exit last night.
When Bethany had begged, she’d produced a brand new, hermetically sealed one, which was now stashed in one of the two large weekenders at the foot of her bed.
“You’re not allowed to open it until after a full day on board the jet and only in case of emergency.And if you bring it back unopened, I’ll love you forever.”
Heaving a sigh of regret at the loss of Dildo Pete, Bethany got out of bed and jumped into the shower.
Twenty minutes later, Keely’s super-aggressive revving of Bethany’s beloved Mini Cooper, Hermione, made her wince.
“Please promise me you’ll go easy on Herm while I’m away?”
“It’s just a car, B.”
They argued all the way to Newark Airport about Keely’s shoddy treatment of Hermione, but both fell silent when they drove into the private jet area of the airport.
The Indigo Lounge jet was immediately recognizable.The immense, gleaming black super jumbo jet with two thin lines of indigo running from nose to tail screamed its dominance over the smaller, lighter-colored planes.
Keely slowed as they gaped at the jet.“Color me sludge-green with envy.Remember you owe me one.I could’ve had Clark reciting the Fibonacci sequence to me while I fucked the living shit out of him Friday night and last night.Now all I have is nerd porn for company while I imagine you living it up on that jet.At least promise me you’ll have wild fun?”
The look in Keely’s eyes was a cross between that of a worried sister and a stern schoolteacher.She brought the car to a stop in front of a glass and steel building that had “The Indigo Lounge—Executive Guest Suite” over the doorway.
Bethany nodded.“I can’t promise it’ll be wild, but I’ll have fun.”She tagged on a smile and saw Keely relax a little—if it were possible for someone as high-strung as Keely to relax.
“Great, now… shoo!”Keely made accompanying gestures.
Bethany opened the door, stepped onto the hot asphalt, and smiled.
As she reached into the back where her bags were stashed, a gust of wind blew out of nowhere, lifting the skirt of her dress.
A low whistle sounded.“Christ, check out those legs.”
Grabbing her bags, she turned to see three good-looking guys, dressed like they knew their way around the style section of a grooming magazine.
She heard Keely’s satisfied laugh.“You’re off to a great start, I see.”Taking her sunglasses off her head, Keely jammed them on her face.“Adios, amiga.”
Bethany had just enough time to slam the door before Keely accelerated away in a squeal of tires.Poor Hermione was in for a hammering.Trying not to wince at the fate of her car, she turned toward the Indigo Lounge office.
The men were disappearing into the glass building.She followed slowly, her pulse thundering at the knowledge that she was stepping over an unknown threshold.She glanced back at the huge black and indigo jet, a feeling of mingled apprehension and excitement shivering through her.
The opportunity of a lifetime.
She could shy away from it; from the possibilities of letting go and having…fun.Or she could embrace it in the hope that the experience would help her banish the pain of the past few months once and for all.
2
Zachary Savage looked up from the papers he was perusing and watched three men enter the Executive Guest Suite.
From his position behind the glass wall of the mezzanine floor office he’d commandeered from his assistant, he tracked them with narrowed eyes.
The lead member of the rock band Friday’s Child was immediately recognizable.Back in what felt like another life, Zachary had attended a couple of their gigs.But that was before everything had gone to hell.