Hold On to Me Read online

  HOLD ON TO ME

  “You’re quick to defend people,” he stated as he spun her in a quick circle and pulled her back in.

  The flash-dance move left her smiling and reaching for his shoulder once again. “I don’t appreciate my friends being treated like they aren’t worthy,” she replied.

  Cash dipped his head and his mouth came within a whisper. “Are we friends, Red?”

  His lips slid across hers in the lightest caress, like a feather tickling, teasing. Her fingertips curled into his suit jacket and she realized they’d stopped moving. The music continued, but she paid no attention to the tune or anything else going on around her.

  “Cash,” she murmured.

  She didn’t know what she was going to say. Maybe nothing at all. Perhaps she was pleading for more because no one had ever touched her so simply, so softly, and yet had her every single nerve ending standing at attention, anticipating more.

  Then, in a move she saw coming but did nothing to stop, Cash completely covered her mouth, obliterating every last thought she had . . .

  Books by Jules Bennett

  WRAPPED IN YOU

  CAUGHT UP IN YOU

  LOST IN YOU

  STAY WITH ME

  BE WITH ME

  HOLD ON TO ME

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  hold on to Me

  JULES BENNETT

  ZEBRA BOOKS

  KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  HOLD ON TO ME

  Also by

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2019 by Jules Bennett

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

  If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  ISBN: 978-1-4201-4500-7

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-4501-4 (eBook)

  ISBN-10: 1-4201-4501-0 (eBook)

  Chapter One

  Jade McKenzie would rather point her sporty car in any direction other than Haven, Georgia’s small-town airport. Because heading to the airport meant she’d be flying on up to Nashville for her cousin’s wedding, where she’d be forced to wear a hideous orange chiffon gown guaranteed to clash with her rich, red hair.

  Orange? Who the hell chose that as a wedding color?

  Oh, but it wasn’t just the dress that had thrust Jade into a foul mood. Pretty much any family gathering drove her to the point of needing an entire bottle of cabernet to get through. Of course, if she had that, she ran the risk of getting a nice red wine all over her tacky dress. If she thought that would get her out of the whole ordeal, she’d gladly make the sacrifice.

  Jade never fit in with her family; she never wanted to fit in. The high-class, pinky-dangling, pretentious group just weren’t her people. Since birth, her parents had tried to mold her, to create her into someone she wasn’t. Well, more her mother than her father. He’d passed away when Jade had been a toddler, so she didn’t recall his role in her life. Her mom expected pleated pants, perfectly coiffed hair, and a smile at all times.

  There was only one person in the entire McKenzie clan Jade actually wanted to see, and that was her spunky, out-spoken, eighty-year-old nana.

  Jade didn’t know where she had ever truly fit in and felt like part of a unit, but she knew who her people were. The people who would have her back and share a glass of wine while discussing a bad blind date. They were her best friends and the sole reason she was still here in this tiny town with more specialty shops than streetlights.

  As Jade turned on to the one-lane road leading to the small airport owned by her best friend, Livie Daniels, and her husband, Jax Morgan, Jade smiled. This place had been nearly falling apart when she, Livie, and their other friend, Melanie, had rolled into town over a year ago. Now, through the help of their small circle—not to mention several grants for funding—Livie and Jax were expanding and making this airport something grand for the town of Haven.

  The movie industry had been all over Georgia for the past few years offering another option, one quainter and more personable, and to celebrities as their main goal once they were officially up and running.

  Jade pulled her car up next to the hangar where Jax kept his Cessna Skycatcher. She’d learned quite a bit since coming to town and joining forces to revamp this place. Now she knew the difference between a taildragger and a nose wheel. Things she never thought she’d need to know at the age of thirty-two, but here she was, discovering aviation was not only fascinating, she found the sport rather sexy.

  She parked her car out of the way of the construction crew’s mess and shut off the engine. The main building was nearly complete, with the addition to allow for a restaurant and gift shop, and she positively couldn’t wait to get that going. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that this place would become another tourist attraction for the growing town.

  As Jade sat there, she imagined various landscape ideas for the bleak grounds. They would need magnolias for sure, plus some lush greenery and accent rocks. It couldn’t get too feminine and had to look professional and classy.

  And she was stalling. Jade would much rather think of the manual labor of planting shrubs than get on that plane for a wedding she’d rather give up her favorite running shoes than to attend.

  On a deep sigh, Jade pushed her door open, grabbed her purse, and rounded the car to the trunk. Might as well get this over with. One rehearsal and dinner, one wedding and reception, then she’d be heading back home in two days. That was all she had to survive of her family and then she didn’t have to see them again until . . . well, most likely another cousin got married and she was expected to pretend to be the doting bridesmaid.

  The McKenzies had long ago given up asking her to join them for the holidays, for which she was eternally grateful. But there were still certain events she was obligated to attend because her mother never dropped the pretense that they were a loving, close-knit family. She’d only spoken to her mother on the phone a handful of times since “the incident”—her mother’s words.

  The incident would be the scandal Jade had the nerve to bring upon their family. Not that her mother cared, but Jade refused to put up with sexual harassment so, yeah, she’d come forward, and she wasn’t the least bit sorry.

  Jade jerked her suitcase from the trunk and extended the handle. As she wheeled it behind her, she clicked the key fob to lock her car and pushed “the incident” from her mind. She was over that whole nightmare and she’d come out on top . . . just like she always did.

  She may be floundering her way through life, but at least she never failed. And honestly, she was having a good time not knowing what each day would bring. Who knew she’d start sowing those proverbial wild oats at this age?

  The hot Georgia sun beat down on her back as Jade made her way across the grassy field toward the back door of the hangar. She gripped the suitcase with one hand and shielded her eyes with the other. The sun’s reflection bounced off the new metal roof and nearly caused her to stumble, but she charged on and reached the door without so much as a scuff to her new gold sandals.

  The wind whipped her hair across her eyes and a few strands clung to her lip gloss just as she pushed open the new metal door. The second she stepped inside and shook her hair away from her face, she stared across the hangar and nearly growled.

  Could this weekend get any worse?

  She shoved her sunglasses on top of her head. “What are you doing here?”

  Vincent “just call me Cash” Miller stood beside his Cessna Skycatcher. Jax’s plane sat in the opposite bay, but there was no sign of Jax.

  Cash propped his hands on his narrow hips and flashed her that smile that curled her toes and made her wonder why she ever let this man affect her so. Her body betrayed her at every opportunity because while he annoyed the hell out of her, he also turned her on.

  Damn him. Nobody infuriated her the way he did. He purposely pushed her buttons, and she could only blame herself. They’d started off on the wrong foot and stayed there for over a year. If she hadn’t been in such a vulnerable place in her life at that time, she could’ve easily handled his charms and tossed them back in his face. As it
was, she suffered each and every time she had to be near him.

  Because he was sexy as hell and he knew it. Granted, he would never know that she thought so. Oh, no. There was no way she’d ever let him have that leverage. Cash Miller had that whole dark, brooding, tattoo thing going on. He wasn’t the least bit polished, but damn it, he did have those good ol’ boy, Southern manners.

  In all honesty, it was simply absurd that she found him attractive at all. He had too much ink, too much beard, too many muscles . . .

  Nope. None of that appealed to her—she wouldn’t be so clichéd as to let that delicious packaging hinder her judgment.

  Cash didn’t answer; he merely smiled like he knew some secret she wasn’t in on, and Jade tipped her chin and squared her shoulders. She gripped her suitcase handle and started across the hangar, the small heel on her sandals clicking against the concrete.

  “Cash, what are you doing here?” she repeated as she came to stand within a few feet of him. “Where’s Jax? And what the hell happened to your face?”

  He had quite the shiner on his right eye, which for some asinine reason only added to his badass sex appeal. Probably got in some fight over a woman. That would be just like Cash. Throw punches and then throw a woman over his shoulder and cart her off to his lair.

  “It’s good to see you, too, Red.”

  He knew full well that predictable nickname grated on her very last nerve, which was why he always insisted on using it. It was like he got off on irritating her.

  Well, he’d have to get in line, because her family took that spot for the next few days.

  “What did you do to your eye?” she repeated.

  He shrugged as he hooked his thumbs through his belt loops. O-kay. Clearly he wasn’t going to enlighten her. Fine. She wasn’t really in the mood for chitchat.

  “Is Jax here?” she asked, glancing around, hoping to see her best friend’s husband ready to save her. “I need to get to Nashville on time so I can relax before the show.”

  “I thought you were going to a wedding?” Cash replied, his brows drawn in.

  “Show, wedding; same thing with my family. Everything is over-the-top.” She pulled in a deep breath and prayed for patience. “Is he here or not?”

  “Didn’t he text you?” Cash asked. “Piper is sick, so he’s home with her.”

  Jade looked toward the ceiling and attempted to count backward from one hundred. She made it to ninety-eight before turning her focus back to Cash and forcing herself not to scream. This did not bode well for her sanity today.

  “No, he didn’t text me.” She shoved the tall handle on her suitcase down and crossed her arms. “I have to get to Nashville before five o’clock at the latest.”

  Cash spread his taut arms wide and assaulted her with that high-voltage smile once again. “I’ll be your pilot for today. Welcome aboard.”

  * * *

  Oh, he knew that announcement would go over about as well as a steak dinner at a vegan convention. When Jax had called because Livie was busy in a town meeting regarding the updated airport renovations and Piper had a fever, Cash had jumped at the chance to take Jade to her destination.

  There was something about her that he simply couldn’t resist. Perhaps it was how easy she was to goad, maybe it was the challenge she continually presented, or it could be the fact that nobody had intrigued him quite like her in a very long time.

  She shook her head, waves of red hair shifted against her bare shoulders. “Hell no.”

  Cash couldn’t suppress his smile. “You hurt me.”

  “Oh, please,” she scoffed, rolling those striking green eyes. “Your ego needs to be knocked down a peg or three. Where’s Tanner? He can take me.”

  “Working and keeping Haven safe.” Okay, now he really was irritated. “Do you want to get to this wedding or not? Because I’m it and you’re wasting time.”

  Jade shoved her hands through the mass of red hair and closed her eyes. He wasn’t sure if she was praying or thinking of ways to drive him out of his mind even further. Regardless, he didn’t care. They may constantly rub each other the wrong way, but Jade McKenzie was drop-dead gorgeous and it was definitely no hardship spending time with her.

  Besides, considering his two cousins were in committed relationships with her two best friends, Jade and Cash couldn’t exactly dodge each other.

  Livie had married Jax and they were fixing up this airport once owned by Livie’s father, all while raising Jax’s daughter. Melanie and Tanner were planning a Christmas wedding and expecting a baby shortly thereafter.

  They were all just one big, happy family—present company excluded, because she looked ready to shoot steam out of her ears and throttle him. So five out of the six were happy family members, so to speak.

  “I’ll take your bag.”

  He stepped forward but stopped cold when those emerald eyes snapped to him. Wow. Did she rehearse that look in the mirror?

  “You fly me there and keep your snarky comments to yourself,” she demanded. “Got it?”

  Cash reached for the handle and stepped just close enough to see the faint sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Since when did he find freckles sexy?

  “No snarky comments? Then what should we talk about?” he asked, pleased when her eyes widened and her lips thinned.

  With the most unladylike growl, she marched around him and headed for the Skycatcher. He and Tanner shared this beauty, but they were both saving for something just a little larger. With the airport expansion coming right along, they were going to need something that carried more than three other passengers.

  Cash spun around and followed those swaying hips and that mass of red hair. She’d questioned his eye, but there was no way in hell he’d be getting into that conversation. Because as much as he loved to get under her skin, he knew she’d be humiliated if he told her what really happened. He had no intention of ever purposely hurting her, so he let her draw her own conclusions.

  Cash didn’t even attempt to help her climb inside because he fully enjoyed keeping all of his limbs intact. He quickly stowed her suitcase and went to retrieve the winch. He’d just completed the preflight check when she’d burst through the door with her hair all about her face.

  Which conjured up yet another mental image to add to his ever-growing fantasy list where Jade was concerned.

  Cash made quick work of hooking up the winch and easing the plane from the hangar. This wouldn’t be a long trip, but long enough that they’d have to talk, and likely the incident from two nights ago would settle between them until they brought it to light.

  Because two nights ago Cash had seen firsthand what happened when Jade became upset and disgraced. It was in that moment that Cash had wanted to slay every single one of her dragons.

  Instead, Cash had allowed some asshat to punch him just so Cash had a valid excuse to flatten the guy to the ground. Cash wasn’t typically a fighter, at least not now that he was a grown man. But when he witnessed this jerk making a spectacle of Jade, Cash had lost it—and he wasn’t the least bit sorry either.

  It had been an interesting night, and one he didn’t necessarily want Jade to discover. There was no reason to add more salt to her already exposed wound.

  Once the plane was in position, Cash took the winch back into the hangar and put it away. Now he was ready to settle in for a four-hour ride. He’d drop her off, refuel, and head back. They could get through this like adults. He vowed to be on his best behavior and not irritate her . . . at least not too much.

  Cash had rescheduled his clients for the day and his assistant manager was more than capable of running the gym without him.

  As much as Cash loved being a gym owner and personal trainer, he didn’t miss an opportunity to get back into the sky. Flying had been his outlet and stress reliever during his stressful times—like his wife leaving him and his father turning to the bottle to cope with reality.