Page 76 of Falling for the Playboy Pilot

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JANNA

Iwas so pissed I could hardly see straight. But I was playing it off. He humiliated me.

I stomped across the hangar, pulling my arms from the sleeves of my flight suit and letting it hang around my waist. My heart thundered as my boots slapped against the concrete. I knew I probably looked like hell on wheels.

Good. I felt like it.

Dalton stood watching me, looking all sexy and godlike. I knew what that body looked like naked. I knew the tattoos that covered his skin. I had touched them with my fingers and tongue. Rode the man like he was a bucking bronco. He’d given me multiple orgasms.

And now I wanted to punch him in the face.

He seemed to pick up on my anger and started to edge away.

“Don’t you run away from me,” I snapped.

“I’m walking away from them.” His reply was calm and just a little too cocky for my liking.

“I want to talk to you!”

“Looks like you want to stab me, and I’m not about to let that happen in front of twenty people.”

“Dammit, Dalton! Stop!”

He kept walking back to the dorm, which was empty now with everyone on the field. I stomped behind him, pissed that I was breathing hard after having to practically run to keep up with his long strides. That was infuriating icing on my anger cake.

He opened the fridge and grabbed two cans of soda. He put one on the counter between us. I assumed it was for me, but if he thought a can of Coke was going to calm me down, he was dead wrong.

“Why did you do that?” I said. “Why did you fly over to babysit me?”

He opened his mouth—maybe to calm me, maybe to apologize—but I didn’t give him a chance.

“I had it under control,” I spat. “My hands were steady, my altitude was solid, I was tracking the thermals and keeping the plane right where it needed to be. I was flying. And if you hadn’t swooped in I would have been fine. I am fine.”

My insides vibrated but I refused to show it. Instead I glared. I tapped into the anger. The fear had been momentary. And if I was honest with myself, I could admit his calm voice in my ear had calmed me. It had grounded me and given me a few seconds to regain control.

He nodded slowly. “Okay. You were handling it. But I heard your voice. That’s not you. I know you, Janna.”

His words made my heart clench. He knew me. Why did that feel so intimate? Like he was caressing my very soul?

But I was pissed.

I clenched my jaw. “I was dealing with it. I’m not a rookie. You didn’t need to jump in and save me.”

He shrugged and took a drink like we were just having a casual conversation. “I didn’t save you. I kept you alive.”

I couldn’t choke back the retort quickly enough. “I kept me alive!”

He exhaled and put the can down. “You’re part of the team. Your life has value. If you get hurt, if you go down, that changes everything. It’s not just you. Laser was up there with you. We look out for each other. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

As infuriating as it was, I understood why he had done what he did.

“You interfered with the plan,” I said. “You should know better.”

He raised a brow. “I do know better. That’s why I waited half a second before I made the call.”

“That’s not your call to make,” I said, voice shaking. “We follow procedure unless we absolutely have to⁠—”