"Hunny, I understand you need to sort out what is best for you and the kids. The thing is, I am what's best for you, and I will do whatever I can to make you realise that. This is not just some one week whirlwind romance to me, Alexis." Oh, Bryce, deep down I know this to be true. It's just not that easy.

I snuggled back into him. "I know Bryce, really I do. It's just I don't know a h.e.l.l of a lot about you really. I know a little about your family, and I know the material things, like your talents." Boy do I know your talents. "And your interests, but that's about it."

"Well, what would you like to know?" The questions started to swirl around in my head. Have you been engaged before, better still have you been married? Do you have any children floating around? Have you told Chelsea she has no chance with you? What are you hiding from me?

"Have you ever been married or engaged before?" I asked with bated breath. Please say no, please say no.

"No, before you I had never met anyone I wanted to share the rest of my life with." Oh s.h.i.t.

"Why?"

"Don't get me wrong, I have been in relationships before, if you can call them that..."

"Hang on, hang on, aif you can call them that,' really Bryce? Do you not know the definition of a relationship?"

He moved me away from his chest. "Ms. Summers, what one person perceives as a arelationship' may not be what another does. This was the case with me and Chelsea. A relationship to me is one where two people connect on a level that could lead to forever. Yes, Chelsea and I connected, but it was never going to be aforever', I couldn't see a future with her, I tried, but it just wasn't there."

Thank f.u.c.k for that. "Was there anyone else that could've been a aforever'?" Answering my questions hadn't seemed to faze to him so far, and the fact he could be so open with me about his past was quite endearing.

"When I was 23, I met Sarah. We both went to a agroup'; I suppose you could call it that, it was a group Jessica had arranged. Sarah, too, had lost her parents suddenly, and we could relate to each other. At first I thought maybe she could be a aforever' because we shared something so personal, but after a couple of months together I realised that was all it was; a mutual connection of loss. We are still friends and catch up every so often for a coffee." Hmmm, not sure I like Sarah. His answers so far were open and honest, but they left me feeling as confused as ever. "What is it Alexis? You look worried."

I was biting my thumbnail. "I'm not worried, I'm just a little confused."

"What about?" He smirked at me. Oh, stop that.

"You shared connections with Chelsea and Sarah, you had something in common with them both. With Chelsea, you are both pilots and with Sarah, you shared a deep understanding of loss and grief."

"Yes, and how is that confusing?"

"Well, we don't share anything like that. We have nothing in common. What's so special about me, then? I'm just Alexis, a 30-something year old mother of two. I don't get it." I honestly didn't. I couldn't fly a paper plane, let alone a helicopter, and the greatest loss I had suffered was my pet dog of 13 years, which was horrible mind you, but it was nothing compared to the loss of both your parents and brother.

"Just Alexis, ay?" He shook his head at me. "What is so special about you? Oh, Hunny, you have no f.u.c.king idea what you do to me. I can't get you out of my head. I think about you 24/7. The way you look, the way you smell, your confidence in everything that you do. I love how you read between the lines and the way you challenge me. I love your innocence, your kindness, your nurturing ways and your jealousy. When I'm with you I feel alive, like you are the missing part of me. And when I'm not with you I can't stand it, I literally feel lost. It is f.u.c.king unbearable." Oh s.h.i.t, is that all? I sat there, speechless, taking in what he had just declared. It brought tears to my eyes. The honesty behind his admission of his true feelings for me penetrated my chest and completely ensnared my heart. I had never been spoken to like that before, and it blew me away. I repositioned myself astride him and pressed my forehead to his. I couldn't possibly top his extremely heartfelt confession, but I opened my mouth to offer my feelings for him anyway. I owed him that at least.

"I have never felt like this either Bryce. Don't get me wrong, I loved Rick-and I still do to an extent-but what I feel deep in here..." I pressed his hand to my chest. "What I feel deep in here when I am with you is like nothing I have ever experienced before. You control the tempo of my heart. You make it beat like crazy when you read me with your eyes. You make it beat like crazy with your selfless gestures. You make it beat like crazy when you make love to me..." His hand twitched ever so lightly on my chest. "You make it beat like crazy every time you smirk at me, Mr. Clark. You make it beat like crazy every time your lips touch mine. You just make it beat like f.u.c.king crazy, full stop." I pressed my lips to his and some of my salty menaces escaped my eyes, running down my cheeks and into our mouths. He held me tightly and deepened our kiss, our tongues tangoing like never before. I knew now this was another form of communication we shared with each other, a communication without saying words, just like our silent exchanges of eye contact. This kiss said everything: it said, I love you aabsolutely and undoubtedly', it said ait's not going to be easy, but we will sort it out,' and it said we were aone'.

We continued our oral message, and it started to convey we were heading towards the mile-high club. I pulled his t-shirt up and ran my hands down his back making him groan. He placed his hands on my a.r.s.e, pulling me into him, making me moan. I thought we were about to change gears from kissing to let's get naked, when we simultaneously slowed ourselves down, taking a deep breath, jumping back into neutral and resuming our silent discussion. It was the most overwhelming and romantic kiss I had ever had.

"Are you hungry, my love?"

"Yes, for you." I want a bowl of Bryce soup, with a side of Mr. Clark, please. He stood up with me still attached to his waist, and walked us over to the recliners and table.

"We can eat each other later, Ms. Summers." You devilish man!

"Good." I unwrapped my legs, slid off him, and we both sat down. Bryce looked over his shoulder towards the galley.

"Amy, we are ready for lunch now." Amy moved the curtain aside. Oh s.h.i.t, I forgot she was there. She would've heard everything we just said, including the notion of ourselves being on the menu later. My cheeks flushed red as she came in, (no, delete that) they flushed fire engine red.

"Certainly Mr. Clark, Ms. Summers. What can I get you both to drink?" f.u.c.k. Do you serve anything that makes you disappear into thin air? If so, I'll have that, thanks. I was so embarra.s.sed I couldn't even bring myself to look at her. Bryce raised his eyebrows at me. I don't know. You choose, you seem to do a good job of that. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Alexis will have a Gin and Squash, and I'll have a Scotch." Amy nodded then turned back around. Oh my G.o.d, thank goodness. My phone started to ring, surprising me a little. I fumbled as tried to get it out of my bag. Alexis, calm down, you moron. The plane is not about to take a nose dive.

"Oh, c.r.a.p. I forgot to turn it off." I picked it up, it was Tash.

"You can answer it. Paul is confident it won't affect the avionics."

"Who is Paul?"

"The pilot." He laughed. Okay, good, a reputable source for information! I hit accept. Before I could even say aHi', Tash began singing aLady In Red' by Paul Simon. I quickly hit the speaker b.u.t.ton and let her continue. Bryce tilted his head to the side, so I mouthed the word aTash', he smiled and nodded, then cringed when she hit the high note after aside'.

"You finished?" I asked.

"Yep." She sounded pleased with herself.

"Say Hi to Bryce, Tash."

"What?" Her confidence disappeared.

Bryce put on a stern voice "Hi, Natasha." She went quiet for a second, and I struggled to hold my pending laugh.

"Oh. Hi, Mr. Clark, Bryce."

I lost it. "Hi, Mr. Clark, Bryce? Tash, you idiot." Bryce was laughing too.

"Alexis Summers, take me off speaker right now." She was clearly unimpressed, so I hit the aspeaker off' b.u.t.ton and put the phone to my ear, giving Bryce a cheeky self-satisfied smirk.

"How can I help you my lovely?" I was the one sounding c.o.c.ky now.

"You b.i.t.c.h! I'm going to kill you."

"Serves you right!"

"Well you were wearing red last night, I thought it was appropriate. So, how was the Tel V Awards? Can you talk right now?"

"No, Hun, I can't. I'll try calling you later though."

"f.u.c.k trying. You will call me later."

"Okay, will do. Mwah, talk to you soon." I made a kissing noise at the phone, she reciprocated and hung up. Almost instantly, I received a text message-it was one word.

b.i.t.c.h - Tash I knew operation alets-ha.s.sle-Alexis' would start soon. I put the phone back into my bag as Amy walked in with a trolley containing our lunch and drinks.

"Ms Summers, seafood dumplings in a lemongra.s.s and coconut soup." Aw Yum!

"Mr Clark, red wine braised beef short ribs with polenta." She placed both dishes in front of us, together with our drinks. They looked fabulous, better than any inflight meal I'd ever seen.

"Enjoy, please let me know if you would like anything further."

"Did you pick this?" I asked Bryce as I picked up my spoon.

"Of course!" He watched me dip it into my bowl.

"Eat your lunch and stop watching me." I glared at him "Yes, Ma'am." He saluted. This time I tilted my head to the side, he was so cute and cheeky. I sipped the soup. Oh Holy f.u.c.k, my tongue just fainted out of sheer indulgence, if it could have screamed and climaxed it would have. I glanced at Bryce, my eyes nearly bulging out of my head.

"Oh, Mr. Clark, whoever made this has just given me my fourth o.r.g.a.s.m for the day! Wow." A large smile spread across his face. "You didn't," I gasped, "You did!" He put a fork full of beef into his mouth.

"I'll take responsibility for all four, then, shall I?" I'm sure you'll rack up about ten by the end of the day.

"You are a genius. This is the best thing I have ever eaten."

He raised one eyebrow, stirring my insides. Oh, it's goner be like that, is it? I picked up my spoon, keeping my eyes on his, and sipped the soup again. This time though, putting the whole spoon into my mouth, then slowly pulling it out again. I licked the tip of it and dragged it along my tongue, which made him shift in his seat.

"Mr. Clark, can I taste your meat?" I smiled seductively at him.

"Ms. Summers, you can taste my meat anytime." He forked a bit of beef and leaned over.

"Is it thick, rich, and full of flavour?" I asked innocently.

"You won't find one, thicker, richer, or tastier!" He smirked, nearly making me giggle. I opened my mouth, and he gently placed the fork inside. Immediately, I pressed my lips together, surrounding the fork entirely as he slowly pulled it out. "Well? Was that the best meat you have ever had in your mouth, Ms. Summers?"

I swallowed and licked my lips. "I've had better." He glared at me making my heart pound in my chest. I licked my lips again as he picked up his Scotch. "So, Mr. Clark, would you like to taste my fish?" He scoffed and nearly spat the Scotch out, then struggling to swallow his mouthful, grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth.

"Is it good fish?" He choked out, still trying to clear his throat. I bit down on my lip. He was very good at this game, and I didn't know how much longer I could keep this performance up. Alexis, stay strong you have this one in the bag.

"You won't taste better. My fish is like no other, Mr. Clark." I spooned a dumpling, stood up, and then leaned over. I put my hand under his chin, fed him the contents, and waited for his response. "That's good fish, isn't it?" I remained standing and pulled the spoon out of his mouth, then sucked it and trailed it down into my b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"Yes, you have delicious fish, Ms Summers."

"f.u.c.k yeah, I do." He cracked up laughing, me along with him. "I do believe that win belongs to me, Mr. Clark." He continued chuckling as he ate the rest of his lunch.

"Yes, Hunny, you can definitely have that one."

I savoured my dumpling soup right down to the very last drop, and we continued talking during the remainder of the flight. He shared some more about himself, and I asked him if he was going to set Chelsea straight once and for all. He a.s.sured me he would do it the next time he saw her, and that I had absolutely nothing to worry about where she was concerned. I also discovered he had no love-children floating around, no hidden gay or threesome tendencies (which he found highly amusing), and he had a phobia of clowns.

"So, no romantic dates at Cirque du Soleil, then?" I enquired teasingly.

His eyes widened. "No, definitely not."

"No movie nights watching IT?" Now I was taunting him.

"Are you quite alright, Alexis?" I don't think he enjoyed my joking at his expense, but I continued anyway because it was fun. I cued my baby voice and went and sat on his lap.

"Aaww, baby, I'll protect you. I'll yank on their big red nose, pull their curly orange hair, and stand on their big floppy feet." He squinted at me and poked his fingers into my ribs, tickling me. "Stop it Bryce."

"Oh, you don't like being tickled?"

"No, I hate it. Please stop, I'm sorry." He kept tickling, making me wriggle and squirm. I struggled to get free of his grip, and we fell on the floor. "I'm sorry, no more clowns I promise." He stopped momentarily, lying on top of me.

"Alexis, tell me you love me."

"I love you, Bryce."

"Tell me you'll never leave me." His eyes were pleading for the answer he so desperately wanted. Could I promise him this? I wanted to, really I did, but I was not a single ent.i.ty. I came as a package of three.

"I will try with everything I have in me to never leave you." I knew this was not what he wanted me to say.

"Tell me you will marry me one day." Oh s.h.i.t! Again I wanted to, really wanted to, but talk of remarriage was not even in the picture right now.

"Bryce, if we make it through the toughest times and you ask me, then yes, I will one day marry you." His face lit up, and he leaned in for a kiss. I wasn't lying, at this very point in time I meant the answer I just gave him. If down the track we were in a position to, then yes, I would marry this man. Of course I would.

"That's all I need to hear, my love."

CHAPTER FIVE.

Captain Paul's voice came over the speaker, breaking the intense conversation we were having about future nuptials, which if it weren't so hot and romantic, would be utterly crazy at this point in time.

"Excuse me, Mr. Clark and Ms. Summers. Would you please both fasten your seat belts, we are about to begin our descent into Connellan Airport. The estimated time of arrival is 6 p.m., and the current ground temperature is 32 Degrees Celsius, thank you." We got to our feet and buckled ourselves in. Bryce was smiling from ear to ear, probably a result of the promises I just made him, and the fact we were about to land in a place neither of us had been before. I smiled back at him and looked out the window, spotting a hefty lump of red-brown on the ground.

"I see it, I think I see it!" I got all excited over the fact I just identified a ginormous mound of sandstone rock.

"Excuse me, Mr. Clark, Ms Summers, you may have noticed out the right-hand side of the aircraft what you think to be Uluru, this is in fact, Mt. Connor, and is mistaken for Uluru quite frequently." I deflated and pulled a sad face. Bryce tilted his head to the side in sympathy. "If you continue to look out the right-hand side of the aircraft, you will be able to see Uluru in approximately five minutes time." I did just that, and kept looking out the window.

It was very exciting. I had wanted to visit Ayers Rock ever since learning about it at school. And despite the fact I was now an adult, the curious element of a monstrous rock in the middle of nowhere was still not lost on me. My antic.i.p.ation grew as I scanned the reddish brown dirt searching for it. Bryce leaned forward and pointed to just behind where I was looking. I turned back completely, covering the window with my head, and there it was. Wow, it's freaking HUGE! That was an understatement, it was gigantic. It literally looked like it fell from the sky and hit the ground with a thud!

"That's incredible," I exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"That's nothing, my love." He had an excited glint in his eyes. What now? Does this man plan everything?

We landed at Connellan Airport and thanked Amy and Paul for their brilliant skills and hospitality. A young man greeted us as we exited the aircraft and helped with our luggage. Bryce comfortably held my hand as we followed him across the tarmac. I tried to recall the last time Rick had held my hand, and for the life of me could not think of a time post having children. Surely not! I stopped straining my brain for a memory that appeared to not be there, when I noticed that we were heading in the opposite direction of the terminal.

"Where are we going?" I asked. Bryce looked at me quizzically, and with his free hand motioned up ahead. I followed his finger, which was pointing at a helicopter. My eyes widened and I swear my stomach did a backflip. "Are we flying around the rock?" Of course we are, you idiot. This is Mr Pilot Clark we are talking about. Bryce lifted my hand to his mouth, and gently grazed the top of it with his lips.

"Of course we are, Hunny." Oh, just like that, as if there was no other thing in the world we would be doing. The young man opened the door to the c.o.c.kpit and loaded our luggage into the back. Bryce then led me to the pa.s.senger side and lifted me in, and by the look on his face, I would say he was more excited than I was. He fastened my belt, handed me some headphones and closed the door. I watched him as he spoke to the gentleman who handed him a clipboard. He seemed so relaxed, and possessed an uncanny ability to be able to communicate with absolutely anyone. They shook hands and Bryce headed toward the c.o.c.kpit, beaming like a beacon and radiating joy; it was infectious and spread over me like wild fire.

"Okay, Ms Summers, we are about to see this beautiful rock at sunset from the best seat in the house." I looked out the window and he was right; the sun was near the horizon. Oh my goodness. I've heard so many wonderful things about Ayers Rock at sunset, but to see it from within a helicopter with the man of my dreams was truly amazing. If it wasn't highly childish, or wouldn't have looked utterly ridiculous, I would have bounced up and down in my seat and shook my head like a maniac. Argh.

He started flicking switches, and compared to the last flight he pilot, I paid a little bit more attention. It probably had something to do with the fact that this time, I didn't have a woman in labour making whale noises next to me, nor was I suffering a concussion after a car accident. He looked so delicious as he took hold of the steering wheel and the hand brake thingy. I know that's not what they are called, but that's what they look like to me. He pulled the handbrake thingy up, causing us to rise, and it wasn't long before we were high in the air. We headed in the direction of what can only be described as a giant wall of red/orange, and as we flew closer the wall got bigger. The sheer size of Ayers Rock was beyond belief, it looked like you were only a few hundred metres away, when in fact, you were kilometres. It was simply phenomenal. The top of the rock was actually quite wide in area, when you looked at it from the front, you got the impression it was long and skinny, but it wasn't. It's width was nearly as long as its length. We were quite high up, especially when you took into consideration the height Ayers Rock was from the ground. I was curious as to exactly how high we were, so I asked the extremely talented and s.e.xy pilot sitting next to me.

"How high are we?"