Just To Be With You

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Ian was still holding Tatiana when David and Linda came out of the cockpit. “Are you both okay?”

“We’re fine,” Ian told them as he continued to stroke Tatiana’s back. “And in one piece. Thanks to both of you.”

Despite how shaky Tatiana was, she immediately asked Linda, “Are you feeling all right?”

Linda looked confused for a moment before she realized what Tatiana was asking. Putting one hand over her stomach, Linda reassured her, “I’m perfect. Junior here is already quite the flier, just like his parents.”

“We can’t apologize enough for this,” David said. “We had an eye on the incoming storm, but never would have taken off if we’d thought it would blow in that fast. Or that hard.”

Ian had flown more than a million miles with his pilots, and he’d meant it when he told Tatiana he trusted them. “You don’t have anything to apologize for.” But he needed to know something. “How long does it look like it will be until the storm clears?”

“Honestly, we’re not completely sure at this point, but I’d plan on at least a day, maybe two. We’ll do our best to stay on top of it and get you out as soon as it’s safe. Fortunately, we were able to get a message out on the radio,” David told them, “though we seem to be in a cell reception dead zone.”

They were all surprised by the sound of someone yelling outside the plane. The door nearly blew off when David opened it to find a man in a dripping yellow slicker standing on the tarmac. David lowered the stairs, then wrestled the door closed once the man was inside.

“Thank God you all got down safely. Welcome to Port McHardy. I’m Tim. As soon as we got word on the radio that you were making the emergency landing, I headed here. You were on your way to Alaska?”

“We were,” Ian confirmed, before introducing everyone and letting Tim know how much they appreciated his coming out to the plane so quickly. “Since we’ll be here until the storm ends, if you could take us to a hotel, we’d greatly appreciate it.”

“Be happy to. We don’t have any hotels here, but my sister runs a B&B. It’ll be a little tight in my car, especially with your bags and my pup, but I think we should all be able to cram in all right for the few miles through town.”

David and Linda left to gather up their things, and Ian turned his attention back to Tatiana. “How about we get off this plane?”

The breath she inhaled shuddered in her chest, but she smiled at him. “Getting off this plane is one of the best ideas I’ve heard in a long time.” He kept her hand in his as she stood up, making sure her legs were steady before he let her go to grab her canvas bag and his own.

“Pretty wet out there, eh?” Tim said, a massive understatement if ever there was one. “I’d offer you an umbrella if it would help, but it would just blow away in this wind.”

By the time they’d all climbed into the car, they were soaked pretty much through. The front window fogged up on the inside and Tim wiped it away with his forearm as he headed away from the airport on a tiny country road.

A little black and white dog decided Tatiana’s lap was the best place in the car to plop his wet rump down. Tim said, “That’s Buster. He’s still a puppy and learning his manners. I can take him up here if he’s bothering you.”

“No, he’s perfect right where he is.” And when Buster stood up on her lap, then put his paws on Ian’s chest and began licking his face like he was a tasty dog treat, everyone laughed as Tatiana said, “Besides, it looks like he’s found a new best friend.”

The B&B was a small private home where Tim’s sister and her husband rented out a couple of spare rooms in the summer to the few travelers who made it all the way up to the northernmost point of the island. Tim had barely brought them inside and explained their predicament, when his sister did a double take. “Oh my gosh, you’re Tatiana Landon.”

Tatiana smiled. “I’m really sorry that we’re dripping all over your floors.”

“My floors have seen worse than this when the steelhead are running. Oh, I so wish my girls were home from university to meet you. They’d be absolutely thrilled.”

Her brother cut off her gushing to remind her why they were there. “This time of year, you’ve got both rooms open, don’t you?”

“Didn’t I tell you? Bryan and I decided to completely redo one of them.” She was clearly distraught to have to tell them, “I’m so sorry, but I’ve only got one room open.”

“David and Linda will stay here with you,” Ian said. When they immediately protested, he shook his head. “You’ve both already been too flexible where I’m concerned, and after what you pulled off getting us down safely through that storm, I insist. Tatiana and I will figure out something else.”

“I’ve got that space above my barn,” Tim offered, obviously thinking they were a couple. “My youngest uses it when he comes home from school.”

“Oh no,” his sister protested, “you couldn’t put guests up there.”

“A room above your barn sounds perfect,” Tatiana said. She turned to look at Ian, and even with her wet hair plastered to her head, she was so beautiful she took his breath away. “Doesn’t it?”

They all smelled like dog. His wool suit was destroyed. His entire schedule had just been thrown entirely out of whack. And they were going to be stranded on an island in a college kid’s room above a barn for who knew how long?

But as Ian looked down at Tatiana’s smiling face, he couldn’t bring himself to worry about any of it. Not when he’d just been given the most unexpected and precious gift of his life—a few more hours with her.

“Yes,” he agreed, unable to tear his eyes from hers. “It sounds absolutely perfect.”

“It really is perfect!” Tatiana declared when Tim let them into the private space he had created for his college-age son.

Straight out of Tatiana’s “one day I’ll live in the country” dreams, the floors were pickled pine, and the pine bed frame on the far wall looked to be homemade, as did the kitchen cabinets in the small eating area. There was an old TV set and baskets of games and movies, along with a comfy-looking couch that evidently pulled out into another bed.

They’d stopped by Tim’s home so that his super nice and pretty wife could load them up with some food to get them through to the next day. At Ian’s urging—in the event that someone in town heard Tatiana was here after being on a plane that had made an emergency landing and posted the news on Twitter or Facebook—she’d used Tim’s phone to leave a quick voice mail for her sister and agent, to let them both know she was fine. He’d also placed a couple of calls. One to Bethany so that she could make the necessary adjustments to his schedule and to let his executive staff know they should deal with anything urgent that came up—apart from Flynn, because he’d given the man his word that they would deal with each other directly. His second call was to the head of the company in Alaska he should have been meeting with right then to let him know what had happened.

Tatiana knew how important Ian’s Tuesday afternoon meeting with Flynn was, and she hated the thought of anything going wrong with the acquisition when he had put so much time and energy into it. But when she’d told Ian she hoped the weather would clear up in time for him to get back for it, instead of agreeing with her, he’d given her a look she hadn’t quite been able to read.

“If you need to use the phone in the house again,” Tim said, “just drop by and go ahead. We always meant to put one in here, but never got around to it. The doors are always unlocked, so no need to wait for one of us to let you in.”

“I can’t think of the last time I haven’t been near a phone or the Internet. What a gift that is,” Tatiana said, smiling at the man who had been their knight in shining armor all afternoon. “Thank you so much for everything, including this chance to unplug for a little while.”

“We really can’t thank you enough for putting us up like this,” Ian agreed. “If there’s anything I can do for you in the future, just let me know.”

“When I heard over the radio that your plane was having trouble, I was just praying you’d make it down in one piece. Had to have been pretty scary. We’re all just happy to help.”

But Ian was already handing him a damp business card. “This has all my contact information. I hope you’ll let me do something really nice for you and your family one day soon.”

“Well, thanks. And don’t hesitate to come on in if you need anything. Two more for dinner would be no problem if you change your mind.”

When he closed the door behind Tim, Tatiana told Ian, “It feels like we’ve landed in another world, another reality, doesn’t it?” She looked out one of the barn windows. “Even outside we can’t see more than a few feet in front of us. It’s as if the storm has blocked out every—” The chatter of her teeth suddenly made it hard to finish the word. “Everything.”

Ian lifted a hand to her cheek. “You’re frozen solid.”

Suddenly, she realized just how true that was, especially when he’d miraculously managed to stay so warm. “I’m sure I just need to get out of these clothes.” But it was darn near impossible to get them off when she couldn’t get her numb fingers to work right.

The next thing she knew, Ian had her in his strong arms and he was carrying her over to the bathroom. He turned the shower on, and when steam rose, he took them both under the spray, then put her back on her feet.

“I nearly got you killed in my plane. I won’t let you get sick, too.”

“You’re the one who got me through the flight in one piece,” she protested. “I would have lost it if you weren’t there, telling me about all the fun you used to have with your brothers and Mia.” The warmth of the shower was heaven sent, but Ian’s warmth affected her even more. And though he was focused on taking care of her, the sensuality and attraction that had always sizzled between them was quickly rising up as he began to strip her icy clothes off. “It feels so good, being here with you.”

His hands stilled as his inner conflict showed in both his expression.

Ian was constantly trying to take care of everyone. His family, with the trusts he’d set up for them. His pilots, both by asking after Linda’s health and then by making sure they would be comfortable during their unexpected stay in town. Everyone involved with the Seattle Family Foundation.

And now her.

He thought he needed to pull away to “protect” her, and the truth was that she still didn’t know how to convince him otherwise. All she knew was that being here with him now, in their own private world, wonderfully captive in a storm, felt like the best thing that had ever happened to her. Especially when she thought about the way he’d opened up to her on the plane when they were running through her script together.

He’d told her about the safety nets he’d put into place so that his family would never feel vulnerable or scared again, and she’d known with absolute certainty that Ian would do anything in his power to keep from feeling that way himself. That he’d push away anything—or anyone—that made him feel vulnerable.

Wishing that she could find a way to convince him that he was safe with her, she said, “For as long as we’re here, for as long as the real world is beyond the storm, let’s pretend this is all there is. Just you and me.”

She was watching his face so carefully that she could see just how much her suggestion tempted him. Still, he tried to caution them both, a protector to his core. “The storm won’t last forever.”

“I know. But it’s here now. And so are we.”

She wanted desperately to kiss him. But she’d been the one who had made the first move on the night of her Oscar nomination, and had been the one to kiss him again on Friday night at the fundraiser.

This time, he had to be the one to decide.

His gaze was so dark, his expression so conflicted…before he uttered one low, heartfelt curse, then lowered his mouth to hers.

Ian’s mouth was so warm, felt so good, tasted so delicious, that Tatiana could have kissed him like that forever if he hadn’t needed to lift her sweater over her shoulders. She was yanking his shirt from his pants when he abruptly pulled back.

“Damn it, we can’t do this.”

“The real world doesn’t count here, remember?” She couldn’t keep the need, or the frustration, from her voice.

“I don’t have any condoms. There’s been no one but you since the wedding months ago, but—”

“I’m on the Pill.” She had already finished stripping away his shirt as she told him, “I’ve been on it for years to deal with bad cramps.”

He quickly ripped off the rest of her clothes and lifted her up so that her back was pressed flat against the tiles. His hands were everywhere at once—her breasts, her hips, then back up to thread through her hair so that he could take her mouth at exactly the right angle to drive them both to the brink of insanity.

“Every single second since Friday,” he said as he found her wet and hot and ready for him, the words resounding raw and deep in the small tiled shower, “I’ve wanted you again. You’re all I’ve been able to think about, Tatiana.”

“It’s been the same for me.”

And, oh God, when he entered her skin-to-skin, even bigger, even harder than she remembered, it felt so good that she moaned and arched her back and neck, heedless of the hard tile behind her head until she knocked into it.

He cradled her head in his hands. “Sweetheart? Are you okay?”

“I’m perfect. Just please,” she begged, barely noticing the slight throb in the back of her skull, “please don’t stop. You feel so good inside me like this, with nothing between us.”

The next thing she knew he was turning off the water and carrying her from the shower to the bed. She clung tightly to him, loving the way he moved inside of her as he took them across the room.

They dropped onto the covers in a wet tangle of limbs and their lovemaking was a perfect blur of desire and desperation as he stroked, aroused, possessed every last inch of her. She loved it, loved when he lost control, loved knowing she could do this to him when he was so utterly controlled in every other moment, even when it had looked like their plane might go down.

She knew she’d been all he’d thought of then, just as she knew she was all he thought of now. He was utterly focused on her pleasure, and her happiness, as he sent her tumbling heart-first into a climax that already felt so good she wasn’t sure she’d survive it.

And when he stared into her eyes as he finally let himself go, too, she knew with perfect certainty that he’d truly never meant to hurt her. Because everything he’d ever done, even pushing her away, had been because he cared.