Free Compass by Jeanne McDonald Page B

to catch her breath, her eyes opening to meet his. He smiled at her, giving her a coy wink before he sat back and looked over his shoulder at their intruder.
    “What do you want, Hart?” he demanded, throwing an arm in the air.
    A tall man with brown hair and deep green eyes moved toward them. His stride was smooth, straight, and he carried himself with authority. He flashed a confident and debonair smile that highlighted his full lips. Dressed in a pilot’s uniform, she noticed the bars on his shoulders. He was a first officer like Ryan. The white uniform shirt formed to his shapely chest, and accented his golden skin.
    He placed a glass on the table, and turned the empty chair beside her around, straddling it as if he had been invited to sit down. “I want to know who we have here.” He lifted up from the seat to lean over the back of the chair and across the table. “First Officer Declan Hart,” he introduced himself, offering her his hand.
    She cut a glance at Ryan who was glaring at their newcomer. He wasn’t anymore happy about this guy interrupting them as she was. She figured she had every right to toy with this man. “First Officer. Oh, my. That must mean you’re a pilot.” She fanned her face with her hands.
    Ryan covered his mouth with his fist, hiding his smirk.
    Declan grinned. “Right you are, sugar. And from where you sit, I take it you like pilots.”
    “What do you mean?” she wondered, acting innocent.
    “Well, you’re sitting here with my boy Fisher in a pilot’s lounge. It seems befitting you like pilots.”
    Alexis chewed her bottom lip then turned to Ryan. “You didn’t tell me you were a pilot, too. And here I thought when you fucked me in the bathroom during our flight you were just another passenger. I’ve hit the jackpot.”
    Ryan choked on his laugh as Declan exclaimed, “You inducted her in the Mile High Club?”
    Alexis and Ryan couldn’t hold back any longer. They fell against each other laughing, exactly as they had done when they were young. This wasn’t the first time they’d put the play on a dumb jock. Declan’s brow furrowed and his lips flattened. “Damn, I fell right into that one.”
    Alexis shrugged. “I’m not an idiot, pal. First of all, he’s in uniform, too.” She nudged Ryan with his elbow, giving him a quick wink. “And second of all, as you pointed out, I am in the pilot’s lounge.”
    Declan brushed his thumb across his nose. “Point taken. Do you have a name?” It was impossible to deny that she liked this guy. He had an air about him that oozed charisma, but even with his amazing green eyes and tight, hard body, in her mind, he couldn’t begin to compare to Ryan.
    “Doctor Alexis York,” she noted, offering the hand she’d purposely not given earlier. Declan stood up and leaned over the table giving her a good shake.
    “Where ya coming from, Doc?” he questioned.
    “You know I was scheduled to fly in from New York today,” Ryan inserted.
    Declan grinned, shrugging one shoulder. “I didn’t ask where you came from, did I?”
    “Guys! Do I need to step outside and give you two lover boys some space?” Alexis joked.
    Declan laughed and Ryan slumped back into his seat, letting his smile slowly curl the corners of his lips. Alexis kicked out her leg, hitting Ryan in the shin. That did it. His smile returned in full force.
    “Sorry, Lex,” he mewled. “Declan, here, is my roommate and a major pain in my ass.”
    “Likewise,” Declan announced.
    Ryan punched him in the arm and Declan returned the favor. They both laughed. Soon Alexis joined in, not sure what she was laughing at. Before she realized it, Declan had made himself a part of the party.
    Declan Hart was funny. He was also smart, but his demeanor eluded to the notion that he didn’t like people knowing that. He used his charm as a means to get what he wanted. Much like she and Ryan, he came from a small town in Utah. Alexis was intrigued to learn he’d been a physics major