Flying Read online

  Ever hear of wanderlust?

  Every other weekend, Stella buys a ticket on the next flight out of town and leaves her life behind. Home is a place with too many memories, and departure is the sweetest possible distraction.

  As soon as she arrives at her destination, Stella visits the airport bar. She orders a drink and waits for the right guy to come along. A bored businessman, a backpacker, a baggage handler just off shift. If he’s into a hot, no-strings hookup, he’s perfect. Each time is a thrilling escape from reality that gives the term layover a whole new meaning.

  When Stella meets the enigmatic Matthew in Chicago one weekend, she hits some serious turbulence. Something about him tells her she’s not the only one running from the past. The connection between them is explosive, and for the first time, one taste is not enough for Stella. But returning to find a gorgeous man waiting for her is the easy part—facing the reason she’s there is a whole other matter….

  Praise for the novels of

  New York Times bestselling author Megan Hart

  “Hart’s beautiful use of language and discerning eye

  toward human experience elevate the book to a poignant reflection

  on the deepest yearnings of the human heart and the

  seductive temptation of passion in its many forms.”

  —Kirkus Reviews on Tear You Apart

  “[Hart] writes erotica for grown-ups….

  [The Space Between Us] is a quiet book, but it packed a major punch

  for me…. She’s a stunning writer, and this is a stunning book.”

  —Super Librarian

  “Naked is a great story, steeped in emotion.

  Hart has a wonderful way with her characters….

  She conveys their thoughts and actions in a manner

  that brings them to life. And the erotic scenes provide a sizzling read.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “Deeper is absolutely, positively, the best book that I have read in ages…the writing is fabulous, the characters’ chemistry is combustible, and the story line brought tears to my eyes more than once…. Beautiful, poignant and bittersweet…Megan Hart never disappoints.”

  —Romance Reader at Heart, Top Pick

  “Stranger, like Megan Hart’s previous novels,

  is an action-packed, sexy, emotional romance that tears up the pages with heat while also telling a touching love story…. Stranger has a unique, hot premise that Hart delivers on fully.”

  —Bestselling author Rachel Kramer Bussel

  “[Broken] is not a traditional romance but the story of a real and complex woman caught in a difficult situation with no easy answers. Well-developed secondary characters and a compelling plot add depth to this absorbing and enticing novel.”

  —Library Journal

  “An exceptional story and honest characters make Dirty a must-read.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  Also by New York Times bestselling author Megan Hart

  TEAR YOU APART

  THE FAVOR

  THE SPACE BETWEEN US

  ALL FALL DOWN

  PRECIOUS AND FRAGILE THINGS

  COLLIDE

  NAKED

  SWITCH

  DEEPER

  STRANGER

  TEMPTED

  BROKEN

  DIRTY

  And watch for

  LOVELY WILD

  Coming soon from Harlequin MIRA

  MEGAN HART

  Flying

  To Johnny, my favorite PITA

  And to the Nicest Thing

  And special thanks to Laura Hawkins and Lisa and Colm McIvor

  for sharing with me their stories about the things that could happen

  to make someone unable to fly.

  I could write without music, but I’m so glad I don’t have to.

  Below is a partial playlist of what I listened to while writing Flying. Please support the musicians by buying their music.

  “Mistake,” Christopher Dallman

  “Gonna Hurt More,” Aiden James

  “Ghost,” Ingrid Michaelson

  “Cross That Line,” Joshua Radin

  “Snuff,” Slipknot

  “Lil Darlin (feat. The O’My’s),” ZZ Ward

  “Sadist,” Stone Sour

  “Where We Land,” Ed Sheeran

  “Give It To Me Right,” Melanie Fiona

  “Left For You,” Nonpoint

  “If You Want Me,” One Less Reason

  “The Fall,” Bo Bruce

  “Rev 22-20,” Puscifer

  “Bet U Wish U Had Me Back,” Halestorm

  “I Don’t Apologize (1000 Pictures),” Otherwise

  “New York,” Snow Patrol

  Contents

  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

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  EXCERPT

  CHAPTER ONE

  Red lips.

  Smooth skin.

  Perfume.

  These are tricks a lot of women know. Men like silky hair and clinging dresses, high heels and gartered stockings like the ones she wears now. In her twenties Stella had taught herself how to be sexy for a man; it wasn’t until she was older that she discovered it was so much better to be sexy for herself.

  Her feet whisper on the cool industrial tiles as she tips her scarlet-soled pumps into the bin and pushes it along the rollers toward the X-ray machine. Next, her bag, which she affectionately calls the TARDIS. Like the traveling police-box time machine from her son’s favorite TV show, Stella’s bag is bigger on the inside. It can hold a weekend’s worth of everything a woman needs to make herself beautiful, plus a book in case she doesn’t find anyone worth being beautiful for.

  Her coat goes next. She’d prefer to keep it on, but even if they let her through the scanner with it, the buckle will set off the alarm. Then again, so will the clips on her garters, probably. At this point, Stella knows most of the TSA agents who work at the Harrisburg International Airport by name. They still have to pat her down, of course, but by now it’s become sort of a game for them and for her.

  “Hi, Pete.” She doesn’t miss the way his gaze dips to her seam-stockinged toes and lingers on her calves when she turns to add her cell phone to a second bin before pushing that one through behind the first. She can’t see him do it, but she