The Fearless King (The Kings #2)(91)
She obeyed, but she wasn’t quite through. “I’ll keep you safe, too, you know. I’ll never abandon you, no matter how tough the stakes.” Not like your parents. She didn’t say the last. She didn’t have to.
Frank pulled her tighter to him. “I know you will.” He smoothed a hand down her spine and back up again. “I’ve never had a white knight before. You look good in armor, Duchess.”
“You’re a terrible damsel in distress, though.” She gave a tired laugh. “Let’s both be knights to someone else next time, okay?”
“Deal.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. The last thing she heard was her audiobook clicking on, the soothing tones of the narrator sucking her under and into an exhausted sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Three weeks went by before they managed to schedule that date. Journey spent most of the time closeted in with Anderson and the heads of the various departments of Kingdom Corp. It took all of her not-inconsiderable negotiating skills to get everyone to agree to their respective budgets, but things were looking positive going into next quarter.
And she hadn’t even needed to fire anyone to make it happen.
Every single night for those three weeks, when she staggered home to bed, she found Frank in her apartment. He was always camped out on her couch with a computer and files, and a phone that seemed permanently attached to his face, but he was there. Every single night, they fell asleep in each other’s arms. Despite the professional stress and her worry about Eliza’s road to recovery and concern over what Esther was planning next, Journey had never been more at peace.
She leaned forward to look out the windshield of Frank’s car as he took a familiar turn. “The airport? I thought this was a date.”
“It is a date.” His route took them to the private hangars, but not the area she recognized. The planes were smaller here, ranging from looking like they weren’t flight ready to something that could have been yanked out of a sci-fi movie. He pulled up near one that lay somewhere in the middle, the open propellers making her heart pound a little. Journey didn’t make a habit of flying in planes the size of a tuna can, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to start now.
This was Frank, though, so she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Following his lead, Journey climbed out of the car and smoothed down her deep red dress. She’d chosen one with a wicked short hemline and a plunging neckline that barely covered the essentials, thinking this date was going in an entirely different direction. Frank crossed around the front of the car and took her hand. He led her up the narrow stairs and into the plane. “Sit here.”
“You know, Frank, you don’t need to exact revenge for my saving your ass. I know you have your pilot’s license, but now you’re just showing off.”
The door closed and then Frank was in the seat next to her. He handed her a headset. “I promised you an extraordinary date, and I fully intend to deliver. Trust me, Duchess.”
“I do.” It was the truth. After what they’d gone through together, a little death-defying flight barely ranked notice. She carefully put on the headset and settled back into her seat. Not wanting to distract him while he got them moving, she saved her question until they’d accomplished a surprisingly smooth takeoff. “Tell me the truth—you’re just looking for some plane head, aren’t you?” She shot him a look. “Or is it air head? Flight head? Is there even a term for getting your dick sucked while you’re flying a plane?”
He laughed, the sound rolling through her like the best kind of buzz. “The weather’s a little tricky today, so that might not be wise.”
Tricky? She leaned to look out the window and instantly sat back, her heart in her throat. They were flying over the Gulf. “You ever have to do a water landing in this thing?”
“No. Because I’m an excellent pilot.” He reached over and squeezed her hand and then went back to flying. “How was your day?”
She took a careful breath and tried to pretend they were sitting at her kitchen island instead of God-alone-knew-how-many feet above the water. “Good. We’ve managed to get the budget squared away, which was a headache of the century. Esther called today, though. She wanted to inform us that the merger with Cardinal Energy will be postponed until Eliza is recovered—but not a second afterward. It gives us time to figure out a way out of the deal, at least in theory, but the language is tricky, and Cardinal Energy is being difficult. It’s going to take some serious muscle to get out of it.” It wasn’t the merger she disagreed with—it was the price they demanded. Eliza marrying Asher Bishop. After everything Journey’s sister had been through, that merger would continue over her dead fucking body. Thankfully, both her brothers were in agreement, and Anderson was the one actually handling negotiations. If anyone could see them through things, it was him.
“What does Eliza want?”
That was the question. Journey had seen her sister every other day since she was transferred to Lydia’s old place, but the spark that made Eliza Eliza was showing no signs of reappearing. It hadn’t worried Journey in the hospital, but it did now. “I don’t know how to get her back on her feet.” She shook her head. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you—since we’re banging like bunnies and I’m totally your girlfriend, are you going to sell me that damn building?”