She looked at me funny. “Were you looking for aid to cover your living expenses?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Just tuition.”
“According to your records, your tuition has been paid in full.” She looked at the screen again. “For seven semesters.”
“What?” I sat up with shock. “How could that be?”
Ms. Talbot looked me over. “Maybe a relative took care of it for you?”
Georgina. Of course. “That must be it.” My head spun. She paid for another three and a half years of college? The amount of money that would cost was a small fortune.
After regaining my composure, I stood. “Thank you for your time.”
I walked out of financial aid with mixed feelings. On one hand, I didn’t have to worry about paying for college anymore, but on the other, what could she possibly want in return? The apartment could be an investment property for her, and a wardrobe was one thing, but college tuition? Something like that couldn’t possibly come without strings.
***
I preferred Toby’s private jet to the Laurents’. I’d never admit that out loud, especially not to Georgina, but there was something more comfortable about his. Maybe it wasn’t the plane as much as the company. I settled back into my seat, trying to comprehend how in the world I was on my way to a royal wedding in Hawaii.
“You don’t have to stay buckled in the whole time.” Toby rested his arm on the back of a brown leather sofa.
“I guess I’m still used to flying commercial.” I tapped the buckle of my seatbelt. “You know, the whole stay buckled when you’re in your seat thing.”
“Is that so?” He strode over with a grin on his face, and I knew I was in trouble.
“Yes.” I looked him right in the eye.
“I guess it’s a good thing I make the rules on this plane, then.” He slid into the seat next to me and gently unbuckled my seatbelt. “I’m going to have to insist you come with me, miss.”
“Oh no. Don’t go there.”
“Go where?” He looked at me with mock innocence.
“With the role play. What, are you going to pretend to be an air marshal or something?”
“An air marshal?” Toby laughed. “Not exactly, but are you that against role play?”
“It’s not my thing.”
“Why do I get the feeling there’s a story behind that?” He brushed a few strands away from my face.
“Can’t we get back to where we were? Weren’t you going to whisk me away from my seat?”
“Ah, yes. The air marshal fantasy you so obviously have.”
“Stop!” I hit Toby’s arm in what I thought was a playful way.
He rubbed his arm. “Mental note, no teasing you about sexual fantasies.”
“Speaking of sexual fantasies…”
“Uh oh. Where is this going?” He grinned again.
“Can you um, can you have sex…”
“Are you trying to ask me if we can have sex with our wings out?”
“Maybe.” I looked down. Even with how confident Toby made me, I still felt strange talking about sex and the non-human thing. It reminded me of how much more of a sexual appetite I had now.
“I’ve heard it’s better than flying.”
“You’ve heard? Meaning you’ve never…”
“Nope. You can’t exactly show your wings if you’re pretending to be human.”
“Yeah, I guess not.”
“Want to try?” He ran a finger down my bare arm.
“When?”
“Now.”
“Now? Right here on the plane?” My body tensed. I wasn’t expecting him to say that.
“Aren’t your wings begging to come out anyway?” His voice was barely a whisper in my ear.
“Maybe.” I couldn’t deny it. Flying in planes was definitely not one of my favorite activities anymore—even if it was on a private jet with a guy I liked and who made my body temperature rise just by looking at me a certain way. He was looking at me that way at the moment.
“Excuse me? Would either of you care for a beverage?” A young flight attendant interrupted us.
I could feel the blood rushing to my face. How much had she heard?
“No, thanks.” Toby didn’t take his eyes off me. “I think we’ve got other plans.”
I pushed on his arm, lighter this time. I didn’t appreciate him making things even more awkward.
“Ah, oh okay.” The woman, clearly flustered, disappeared.
“What was that for?” I glared at him.
“What? Were you thirsty?”
“No.” I crossed my arms. “But you didn’t need to make it so obvious what we’re planning to do.”
“Why not? Do we have anything to hide?”
“No, but—”
“Then who cares? We aren’t doing anything wrong.” He tugged on my hand. “Come here.”
I let him pull me up, allowing both sides of my seatbelt to fall to the side.
He led me down the aisle to a room I noticed but never asked him about. “You don’t seriously have a bedroom on here, do you?”
“Of course I do.” He paused with his hand on the door handle. “And I’d like to use it unless you’d prefer the couch.” There wasn’t much that distinguished Toby’s plane from a luxurious living room. Complete with couches and a full bar, it was pretty over the top. It didn’t really seem like his type of thing, but I assumed it had come with the job—or his family.
“Open the door, Toby.” I mustered a confident voice.
“I thought you’d say that.” He held open the door so I could walk in first.
I glanced around the small space. A double bed, situated between a night stand and some cabinets, took up most of the room. Otherwise, it was empty.
“Should I bother with the lights?”
“No.” I had grown to really enjoy the dark more. Even with the night vision, it enhanced your other senses.
He closed the door behind him then turned to look at me. “Looks like you’ve become a do it in the dark girl.”
“Does that bother you?” I asked coyly.
“Nothing about you could bother me.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him.
“Are you sure it’s okay that we’re doing this? What if someone needs you?”
“Last time I checked, neither of us were flying the plane. Can you try to relax?” He left tiny kisses on my neck.