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Chapter Three

Savannah

He flashes me another one of those knee-weakening smiles.

“What about you? What exactly are you into? Besides watching people eat? And cooking?”

“Well,” I say, sitting up a little straighter, “I’ve got this thing for collecting tiny, useless trinkets from every city I’ve visited. Like miniature Eiffel Towers or keychains that no one ever actually uses. It’s an addiction, honestly. My apartment used to be full of them. I’ve got a drawer for each continent.”

He tilts his head, looking genuinely interested. “That’s…oddly charming.”

“I really like Christmas too,” I say, showing him my Pinterest board stuffed full of Christmas ideas and suggestions.

I refuse to feel sad about Christmas due to the catering nightmare. Christmas is too special to let it be ruined by all of that. “I usually put up the Christmas tree in October,” I admit.

He rolls his eyes. “Oh, you’re one of those people.”

I flap a hand at him. “Spoken like a grinch. Christmas is magical.”

He shakes his head. “Maybe. I think it’s kind of a commercial holiday more than anything else.”

I gasp and pretend to clutch my pearls. “Blasphemy!” I crow. “You just need someone to show you what the holidays are all about. That would change your tune.”

Right then, the plane lurches. My stomach drops to my feet as turbulence hits out of nowhere, and I instinctively grip the armrest. I glance over at him, and of course, he’s calm as can be, like the entire plane isn’t shaking like a cheap carnival ride.

“You all right?” His voice cuts through the rising panic in my chest.

“Yeah, I just…hate flying,” I say through clenched teeth. The plane jerks again, and I curse under my breath.

His hand lands on mine, warm and steady. “Breathe. You’re good. It’s just some bumps in the air.”

I try to focus on his voice, but my brain is spiraling. What if this plane goes down? What if I die, and the last thing people remember about me is Salmonella Savannah ?

Before I know it, the words start spilling out. “Okay, listen, my name isn’t just Savannah. You probably don’t know me, but maybe you do because I’m that Savannah. You know, Salmonella Savannah ? The one who poisoned a whole wedding party? I basically ruined my career, and now I’m running away to Chicago to try and fix my reputation and…oh my God, why am I telling you this?”

I clamp my hand over my mouth, horrified by the confession I just blurted out to this sexy stranger. But Jared doesn’t laugh or recoil. He just…listens. And his hand? Still resting on mine.

“Everyone makes mistakes, Savannah,” he says softly, but there’s no judgment in his voice.

I blink at him. “You’re…you’re not freaked out, or, like, thinking about asking for a seat change?”

He shakes his head, squeezing my hand gently. “No. It’s honestly kind of refreshing to hear someone be that honest.”

I let out a shaky breath. “God, I’m such a mess. I’ve never even had sex before. I can’t die in a plane crash.”

Why. The hell…did I just say that?

I immediately wish I could melt into the seat and disappear, but Jared’s eyes don’t widen in shock. Instead, his smile softens, and something in his gaze changes. It’s like the air between us gets thicker, heavier.

“Never, huh?” he asks, voice low.

I swallow, nodding, mortified. “Yup. I mean, not that I’ve been waiting for, like, the one or anything, but…I don’t know. It just hasn’t happened. I have had orgasms, but never from like, someone else.”

I should really tape my mouth shut!

Jared is still watching me, and despite the chaos of the turbulence and my own racing thoughts, there’s something grounding about his presence.

“I get it,” he says. “I’ve got my own shit too. Pressure to live up to family expectations. My dad, especially. I’m not just a lawyer, you know? I work with athletes, but my dad wanted me in corporate law, the big leagues.”

“That sounds…exhausting,” I say, trying to focus on him and not the fact that we might die mid-flight.

He gives a short laugh. “Yeah, it can be.”

The plane jerks again, and my panic spikes once more. I suck in a sharp breath, feeling my chest tighten as I start to hyperventilate. Jared’s hand is back on mine in an instant.

“Savannah, look at me,” he says firmly. “Breathe.”

I try, but the panic’s still clawing its way up my throat. “I…I can’t…”

“You can.” His voice is low and steady. “Focus on me, okay? Right here.”

His eyes lock on mine, and there’s something so intense, so sure in his gaze that it cuts through the panic fogging my brain. And then, without warning, his lips are on mine.

The kiss is soft at first, gentle even, but it immediately sends a shockwave through me. My breath catches, and my fingers dig into the armrest as his mouth moves over mine.

It’s like everything else falls away—the turbulence, the plane, the fear. There’s just him, his lips, the heat of his body next to mine.

I kiss him back, harder, and it’s like something snaps. His hand slides to the back of my neck, pulling me closer, and I let out a small sound, lost in the feel of his lips on mine, the way he’s kissing me like he’s been waiting forever to do it.

The turbulence fades into the background, but we’re still kissing, completely oblivious to the fact that the plane’s steady again. It’s intense, and when we finally pull back for air, I’m breathless.

“Whoa,” I say softly, staring at him.

His lips curve into that sexy smirk again. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Savannah.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I just blink at him, my heart racing from the kiss.

Then his hand moves lower, and I gasp as I feel his fingers graze my thigh. He’s quick to pull off his jacket and lay it over me, covering the fact that his hand is inching its way up my leg, teasing the edge of my skirt.

“What are you…?” I breathe out, but my voice trails off as he rips a small hole in my tights with one swift motion, his fingers slipping inside.

“I’m giving you something you’ve never had before,” he murmurs against my ear, his voice low and dark. “Relax. Let me take care of you.”

My body reacts instantly, heat pooling low in my belly as his fingers start to move, teasing me through the thin fabric of my panties.

I gasp, my hand flying to his arm, gripping him as I try not to make a sound. We’re still on a plane, for God’s sake.

“Tell me to stop,” he growls in my ear.

But then his fingers dip beneath the fabric, finding my most sensitive spot, and I can’t stop the small moan that escapes me. It’s so much—too intense. My body’s reacting to him in ways I’ve never experienced before.

Every touch, every stroke of his fingers sends jolts of pleasure through me, making it harder to remember that we’re still in public.

“Don’t stop,” I gasp.

His lips brush against my ear again. “Quiet, Savannah.”

I bite my lip, trying to keep the sounds at bay as his fingers keep moving, circling in just the right spot. It’s like he knows my body better than I do, and all I can do is hold onto his arm as my world narrows down to the feel of his touch.

I glance around, my heart hammering—not from the turbulence, but from the insane reality of what’s happening. A few passengers are glancing out the windows or talking to each other, but no one’s paying attention to us. Thank God.

Jared’s fingers pick up speed, and I’m barely hanging on. “Jared…” I whisper, breathless. My thighs tremble under his touch, the pressure building inside me like an impending explosion.

“Shh.” His voice is like velvet, coaxing me closer to the edge. “Let go.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, my body shaking as I give in, my mind going blank as the orgasm crashes over me. I clamp my hand over my mouth to muffle the moan, my body writhing under his jacket.

His fingers slow, teasing me through the aftershocks, and I slump back into the seat, completely spent. I can’t believe that just happened.

Jared leans back, his fingers retreating, but his eyes stay on me, dark and full of heat. “Now you’ve had at least one orgasm that happened due to someone else, Savannah,” he murmurs, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

I blink at him, still panting, my brain struggling to catch up with my body. “Holy shit…”

His smirk grows, his hand slipping out from under his jacket and resting back on my knee like nothing happened. Meanwhile, my entire body feels like it’s been lit on fire, and I’m pretty sure I’ll never be the same again.

“That…was…” I can’t even finish the sentence.

“Good?” he offers, that damn smirk still playing on his lips.

I nod, completely dazed. “Good doesn’t even cover it.”

He chuckles softly, then leans in and presses a quick kiss to my cheek. “Glad to be of service.”

The plane’s turbulence has long since stopped, and everything around us has returned to normal, but I feel anything but normal. My skin’s still buzzing from his touch, and my mind’s a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings I’m not quite ready to deal with.

I look over at Jared, who’s casually leaning back in his seat like he didn’t just finger me in the middle of a commercial flight. “So, uh…is this what you do on all your flights?” I ask, trying to inject some humor into my voice even though I’m still reeling.

He laughs, shaking his head. “Nope. Only when there’s turbulence.”

I roll my eyes, but there’s a smile tugging at my lips. “Of course.”

We fall into a comfortable silence, but my mind’s still racing. Part of me can’t believe I just confessed so much to him. But Jared…he didn’t judge me. He didn’t make me feel stupid or ridiculous. He just listened.

And then, well, he definitely made me feel something.

I glance over at him again. “So…now what?”

He raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…are we just going to pretend this didn’t happen?” I gesture vaguely between us, my heart pounding as I wait for his response.

Jared looks thoughtful for a moment before leaning in, his voice low and full of promise. “I don’t think either of us is forgetting this any time soon, Savannah.”

My pulse quickens at the way he says my name, like it’s a secret only the two of us share. And as much as I want to deny it, I know he’s right. There’s no forgetting what just happened, no going back to the way things were before.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Okay…but we’re still strangers, right?”

He smirks, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “Not anymore.”

I laugh, the tension breaking, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I let myself relax. Maybe this whole trip won’t be a disaster after all.

But as I glance down at my torn tights and then back at him, the reality of the situation starts to sink in. “You do realize we still have, like, two hours left on this flight, right?”

Jared’s grin widens. “Yeah. Plenty of time.”

“Plenty of time for what, exactly?”

He leans in close, his lips brushing against my ear. “To see what else we can do with some turbulence.”

Heat floods my body again, and I know for a fact that this flight is going to be a hell of a lot more interesting than I had expected.