I paused long enough in my frantic opening of the bag to grin up at him as he shrugged gracefully out of his coat. "Something I like? You got everything I like!"
He relaxed into the seat, rolling his shirt cuffs up, his blue eyes watching me with a twinkle. "Good. I'd hate for you to starve."
I popped a dumpling into my mouth and made a funny face at him, enjoying the way his face crinkled when he laughed. He leaned over and dug into one of the bags until he pulled out a box of fried rice and a pair of chopsticks. He easily started eating the rice with the cheap wooden sticks.
"How'd you learn to do that?" I asked, my mouth full of chicken and dumpling.
"I travel a lot. Japan is a big market and there are a lot of business meetings over dinner." He easily maneuvered the tiny grains of rice into his mouth like it was easy to get them to stick together and not fall all over the leather seats.
"Japan? That must be exciting," I said, taking another bite of sesame chicken. Owen nodded and continued eating his rice.
"I don't get to go there often. I mostly travel to the Middle East and recently to growing parts of Asia and Africa."
"Aren't those parts of the world dangerous?"
"A little. But, it's my job, so I do it. If I go to Japan sometime soon, would you like to go with me?" He lifted his chopsticks neatly to his mouth without a single grain of rice falling off.
"I don't know. Emma's wedding was the first time I've ever left the country. I'm not really big on traveling." I avoided his eyes and dug around in the bag for the egg-rolls.
"What? I thought everyone liked to travel." I could feel the question dancing in his blue eyes as he looked at me. His smile made my heart race. I swallowed my food down hard.
I didn't want to tell him how traveling made me nervous. How I didn't do well away from home or that I loathed the idea of getting on an airplane. The trip for Emma's wedding had taken four shots of whiskey just to get me okay with the idea of the plane taking off. Coming home hadn't been much better.
"I guess I just like home. I like having my life in one place and knowing where everything is. I like road trips to see old friends, but all my favorite things are right here. Why would I want to leave?" I said, a wry smile on my face to disguise the nervousness I felt at even talking about it.
Owen nodded thoughtfully before shrugging and giving me one of his trademarked smiles. "The invitation still stands. I would love to take you to Japan."
"How about you just come with me back to my place?" I held my breath for a moment. I wasn't the one who was usually so bold, but the man did fly out and bring me flowers in a limo.
Owen's face darkened and he set the now empty box of rice down carefully on the seat.
"I can't, Kaylee. I want to, I really, really want to, but I can't. I have a meeting in the morning."
"Oh," I said. I shrugged. "You sure?" I felt a small twinge of rejection, but I knew he didn't mean it that way. I still felt it, though.
"Kaylee, I wish more than anything I could stay with you tonight, but my flight leaves in an hour and I have to be on it. I'll probably be late for my meeting as is." Owen's blue eyes held mine and I could see the wish reflected in their depths.
"What do you mean, you'll be late as is? It can't be any later than nine and New York is, what, a three hour flight?" I asked slowly.
"The meeting isn't in New York. It's in Abu Dhabi. And I guess technically the meeting isn't tomorrow, but the time changes just get confusing." He looked up apologetically. "I really just wanted
to see you again."
"You flew three hours in the wrong direction, just to bring me Chinese food and flowers?"
"Basically."
I was floored. No one had ever done anything like that for me. I felt a warm glow start in my chest, a happiness that made me smile involuntarily. He really did like me.
I leaned over and kissed him. The world was tipsy and wonderful, but somehow incredibly right as our lips met. His hand grabbed the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in the mess of my ponytail, pulling me closer to him. I slid across the leather seat, heat and desire searing through me. All I wanted was to kiss him, to touch him, to be with him.
His shoulders were strong under my hands, his arms wrapping around me and pulling me into him. I loved the way he smelled, the way he tasted, the way he groaned into my kiss like it was the only thing in the world he had ever wanted. He nibbled on my bottom lip, his tongue dancing with mine as his hands roamed my back and sides.
I began unbuttoning his dress shirt, trying very hard not to simply just rip the buttons off instead. "Kaylee, my flight..." he groaned, but he didn't bother to finish the sentence, letting me continue working on his buttons. The last two, I ripped off.
As soon as his shirt was undone, he reached for my scrub top, lifting it easily over my head and tossing it next to the car door. I giggled as he ran a finger across the strap of the tank top I wore underneath, loving the way his fingers tickled across my skin. He slipped a strap off one shoulder, pushing the bra strap with it, and leaned forward to gently kiss the bare skin. I shivered with anticipation and he pushed the second set of straps off as well.
He licked his lips, his pupils going wide as he traced my collar bone from the shoulder to the center of my breast bone and down into my cleavage. With gentle fingers, he caressed the swells of my breasts peeking out from the tank top. I leaned my head back and let out a sigh of pleasure. This was exactly what I needed after a shift from hell.