Present Day

"You're fidgeting again."

John turned to Anna, her eyes closed and, by all appearances, asleep in her chair. "How did you even-"

"Because I'm not so asleep I can't feel you rocking my chair." Anna opened her eyes and arranged the airplane blanket around herself. "Even if you did snag business class tickets."

"First class felt a little too gaudy."

"I wasn't complaining. I usually ride coach." Anna rested her head back on the seat, rolling slightly to look at John. "You should try to sleep."

"I can't."

"You'll be exhausted when we get there then." John tried to argue but Anna put a hand over his on the armrest between them. "There's nothing you can do for Brendan thirty-plus thousand feet in the air. You might as well use the time you have to try and sleep a little."

"I don't think I'll be able to."

Anna's hand stayed on his arm, her thumb stroking along the lines of his shirt. "I know. It's the adrenaline."

"You've got experience with this?"

"More than you'd think." Anna gave a snort, settling back in her chair as she rearranged her blanket. "There were times, after a really high-strung case, where I would have to go for a run because I needed to burn off the energy. Or just find some bloke at a bar to hope for a quick shag."

John raised an eyebrow, "You used to do that?"

"More times than I'd like to admit." Anna shrugged, "But it's all about how you handle your trauma. When I was younger I was all knee-jerk reactions and not as careful about the end result of what my decisions would yield."

"Any VDs?"

"No." Anna managed a smile, "I thought far enough ahead to avoid that kind of result but… I really didn't know what I wanted then."

"That's how I ended up married the first time." John let his head rest back, "But that did get me into my hobby so I guess it's something."

"Your art collection?"

"That came out of my hobby." John almost cringed. "I blow glass."

"What?"

John nodded, "Or I did, in London. It's a little more difficult to find a place where I can build a warehouse and a kiln in Dubai but if I decide to come back then-"

"If you decide to come back?" Anna twisted toward him. "You're not staying in Dubai?"

"I don't know." John bit the inside of his cheek. "If it's not what Brendan needs then… It'll be about him."

"John-" Anna put out a hand, completely abandoning her blanket. "I don't know if you're thinking clearly."

"He's going to need me there for him. He's going to need-"

"You don't know what Brendan might need." Anna put her hand over John's, squeezing it for a moment to bring his attention to her. "Brendan doesn't know what he needs either. Leave that kind of thinking to the future where it belongs and keep your mind in the present."

"But I need to consider-"

"No, you don't." Anna insisted, glaring over her shoulder when someone hissed at her form across the cabin. She lowered her voice before continuing. "You can't get yourself lost in future-casting. That way lies madness."

"Future casting?"

Anna nodded, "It's the idea that you're creating narratives and scenarios that exist entirely in the future. It relies on half-formed ideas and fantasies you can't control but your mind'll catch hold of and only leave you desperate and frustrated by the end of it."

John nodded, "I can't stop myself thinking about it."

"I know." Anna gave him a smile. "It's alright and it's normal. But here's the thing, you can't think like that."

"I can't-"

"You can." Anna gripped his hand harder. "Something I've told anyone in this position is that you need to think of anything else. Even if you have to carefully recite the order of glassblowing. Do whatever you can to think about anything but what's going on right now."

"I can't-"

"Remember the last time we were on a trans-oceanic flight together?" John's eyes widened slightly and Anna nodded, a smile growing on her face. "That's right. Think about that."

"We had first class tickets then."

"Which allowed us to use the first-class loo and we put it to very good use." Anna continued, winking at him. "Think about how we joined the Mile-High Club instead of whatever might go on in the future."

"You want me," John kept his voice low, peeking over Anna's shoulder to view everyone else in the darkened cabin. "To think about joining the Mile-High Club when we're in a very public venue?"

"I'm sure you can control yourself." Anna patted his hand and sat back. "Just think about that moment instead and you'll find your mind focused on something else until we get to LA."

John could only gape at her as she closed her eyes and started breathing deeply in her seat.

Two Years Ago

John bit the inside of his cheek again, turning to Anna but stopping himself. She sighed, putting down her magazine, and faced him. "If you do that one more time I'll suffocate you with the pillow they gave us."

"I'm sorry I just…" John shifted and leaned over, lowering his voice as Anna went back to her magazine. "I've remembered a bit more about last night."

Anna stared over the top of her magazine, not meeting his eyes. "And?"

"And…" John scraped the inside of his cheek over his teeth. "It was…"

Anna put down her magazine and tucked it into the seat pocket before turning to him again. "It was what?"

"It was…" John swallowed, "Not something I should describe on a plane with other people present."

Anna groaned, rolling her head back. "If I'd known you'd do something like this, I would've just suffocated you with the pillow."

"Already regretting marrying me?"

"At this point," Anna snatched her magazine from the pocket, "I'd say you're not exactly the best date I've ever had."

"We're on a plane."

"Yes, we are." Anna turned back to him, "And yet the only conversation we had, after you bumped us up to first-class, is you dithering back and forth about what you remember from our drunken orgy."

John coughed, "It wasn't-"

"There, I finally have some details." Anna turned a page in the magazine, "Not that I need them."

"What?" John gaped at her.

"You didn't ask." Anna turned another page, her eyes focused entirely on the pictures before her. "But I've remembered most of what happened."

"And you didn't say anything?"

Anna shrugged, adjusting her hold on the magazine, "You didn't ask."

"I've not really had the chance since, after breakfast yesterday, you had to get back to work and then we had to figure out all the nitty-gritty of this arrangement."

"Okay then." Anna closed the magazine around her finger and turned to John. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Do you not want to talk?"

"I'd rather you just say what you want instead of dancing around like you're afraid I'm about to try and punch you in the junk."

"I…" John swallowed, "I'm not used to not walking on eggshells."

"Your ex-wife must've absolutely sucked." Anna debated the magazine in her hand before folding down the corner and tucking it away again. "Which is something we've not really discussed… Even if you did buy me a nicer ring than you got her."

"I might've been drunk but I had money for your ring and I didn't have two pence to rub together for her." John shrugged, "But we didn't get married under the best of circumstances anyway."

"What kind of circumstances?"

"She was pregnant." John cringed, "And I do have a son."

"Is he older than me?"

"No." John shook his head. "He's doing his GCSEs and then getting into university somewhere."

"Somewhere?"

"He thinks he might want to go to America."

"There are a lot of good schools there." Anna adjusted in her seat. "I've seen a few for conferences and when I'm working security for people."

"Any you'd suggest to someone who wants to study the Middle East?"

Anna paused, her lips pursuing, and then she shrugged. "Everyone would recommend one of those ridiculously expensive schools on the East and West Coast, like Georgetown or Stanford, but you could find schools with more reasonable prices and decent enough programs for his undergrad. I'd recommend some more higher rated state schools."

"What school did you go to for…" John paused, "Did you go to University?"

"I joined the Army and went to Sandhurst so I'll be of no help to your son." Anna gave a little smile, "What'll he think about this?"

"I know his mother'll be spitting mad when she finds out. But him…" John mused a second before shrugging. "I think he'd want me happy. He might be very distant when he meets you but once he gets to know you he'll talk your ear off."

"I've never been a stepmother before." Anna managed another smile, "What an idea. I feel a little young for it but I think I can manage it."

"He lives with his grandmother most of the time." John nudged Anna with his shoulder. "But she'll like you."

"By default?"

"Partly but you also seem like a much nicer person from the twenty or so days I've actually known you." John and Anna laughed together. "And we've not fought about anything yet so-"

"So I feel like I'm tripping over what must've been a ridiculously low bar set by your ex-wife when you married her." Anna rolled her eyes, leaning back again. "And I'd like to make that a ground rule, if we can."

"What?"

"You'll not compare me to your hell-hound of an ex-wife." Anna put up a hand to stop John talking. "Whatever demonic hell-beast you married first time around, fine. But she's in the past and I'm the present. Let's focus on getting to know one another as people or you'll just make me either want to stab her in the throat or you if you keep talking about her."

"First suffocation and now stabbing." John pulled at his collar to another of Anna's eye rolls. "I'm starting to feel a little afraid for my life."

"Don't be." Anna stretched in her seat. "I wouldn't have married you if I planned on murdering you."

"No?"

"No because I'd be the first person they'd suspect." Anna gave a smile. "I started talking to you, before we ended up at the bar where we made the biggest decision of our lives only sober enough to sign our own names, because you were telling me all about Islamic art."

"That's what caught your interest?"

"I've had more than enough men who pull out their wallets and try to impress me with the bills inside or the platinum cards or their fancy cars but those are all for show." Anna arranged in her seat to see him. "The people who really caught my interest, once I as old enough to realize what my interests were beyond attractive and breathing, were those with passions."

"Do you like Islamic art?"

"Not before you started talking to me about it. But once you did…" Anna's eyes took on a bit of a sparkle and she shook her head slowly. "I've not heard someone talk about art with that much passion. Or anything, really, with that kind of passion. You love it. You adopted the parts of a culture you could and you appreciate them. Like Rafiki holding up Simba for the world to see so they can appreciate it too. And that… That was very attractive."

"And that pulled you away from the horrible cocktail party we had to attend?" John shuddered, "I hate those."

"Parties?"

"Any kind of public posturing." John gave Anna a smile. "I think that's when I found you attractive."

"Really?"

"You weren't trying to impress me. You knew your skills and the individual strengths of your company and you were determined to win by merit." John shrugged, "I've worked with enough bodyguards and related staff to know when someone talks a good game but they're just in it for the money and not for the job."

"It's the only job I know how to do at this point."

"But you've built your brand off it. And you're not hiring people who have huge arms but people who think quickly, who work outside the norm, and can effectively protect their targets." John almost smiled. "It's why I wanted to hire you."

"Then I should warn you," Anna winked at him, "Just because we're married doesn't mean you can get a discounted price."

"I'll assume you're still not taking ambassadorial positions."

"Absolutely not." Anna waved up her hand, "I've washed my hands of government work."

"I will to, within the year."

"Really?"

John nodded, "Once my tenure finishes in Riyadh at the end of this year, I'm retiring. I've got other interests and I don't want to spend the rest of my life in conference rooms or dealing with egos larger than the Burj Khalifa."

"I can believe that." Anna bit the insides of her cheeks before lowering her voice. "And, as something else you should know about me, I did rather enjoy our wedding night."

"Even…" John swallowed before lowering his voice as well, "Even if, the next morning, it was a little-"

"Muscle soreness is no deterrent when someone knows what they're doing." Anna eyed, dragging her tongue slowly over the edges of her teeth. "And you knew exactly what you were doing."

"Do you-"

Anna put her finger over his lips. "Don't speak, just follow me in a minute."

John could barely keep his jaw from dropping as he watched Anna check her seatbelt like it was nothing and stand up from her seat. Even the casual tug of her shirt and business trousers seemed nonchalant as she walked the aisle to the lav. The light went on and John tracked the progress of the attendants moving through the First-Class cabin before he followed Anna.

His knuckles had barely tapped the plastic of the door when it folded back for Anna to allow him inside. Unlike the toilets on the rest of the plane, tight and confining, the measure of additional space gave them room to stand so Anna was not on his toes. But that did not matter when, a moment later, Anna pushed him to sit on the toilet seat top.

"Would you care for a little refresher?" John could barely speak, his mouth too dry and his tongue practically swollen, but he nodded. "Good. Because we'll have to keep quiet or we'll get banned from the airline for the rest of our lives."

"Bad form."

"Exactly." Anna soothed and hitched up her trousers just enough to kneel on either side of John's legs and settle on them. "So, keep quiet and do exactly as I say."

"Is this what would happen if I did hire you?"

"That's be unprofessional." Anna ran her finger down the line of John's jaw. "But I could see some benefit in the role play. I look very good in leather and high heels, if you wanted to know."

John almost groaned but Anna slapped her hand over his mouth, shaking her head and clicking her tongue against her teeth. "Remember what I said about being quiet? That starts now, John."

His eyes would have rolled back into his head had he not wanted to watch Anna work. Wanted to watch her as she shifted over him because the barely-there kisses only made his skin tingle. Wanted to hold her but she shifted and slipped around him until all John could do was try to find stability when they were over a mile in the air. A thought that almost stopped them until Anna's lips ghosted over his and their eyes met for a second.

It was hypnotism. Each motion drawing him in like a snake charmer until all John could do was follow her lead. Move when she bid until the cool cover of the toilet gave him a shiver when his bare ass touched it. Move to keep himself stable as Anna's hand slipped and slid over him. Move to bite his lip to stop himself making noise when Anna kissed along his jaw in time with the grip of her hand. Move to finally take Anna's lips with his when she graced over him.

But only for a moment. She broke their kiss, pressing her finger to his lips to stop any attempts at complaint, and turned. The break in the seduction froze John until he realized Anna's intent. Until he dug his fingers into the plastic support of the toilet to keep himself steady as she sank back on him so slowly it almost suffocated him in the small space. But the moment her back pressed to his chest, John finally let out a breath.

Her hands slipped over his, pulling them around to rest on her hips, and she rolled her hips to leave John jerking inside her. The rumble of her laugh echoed back into his chest as Anna leaned back over her shoulder, kissing along John's jaw as she kept her voice low. "Don't be afraid to touch John. It's yours now."

His fingers shook as he caressed over her skin, trying to keep up with the pace she steadily increased until John could only just hang on. Or submit. So he submitted to her and gave in with abandon until Anna's fingers dug into his thighs to leave the half-crescent shapes of her nails in his skin. And when he gave over, burying the groaning result of his finish in her shoulder until he dampened her shirt, John could barely follow Anna's climax.

The release of her fingers from his skin allowed John to realize the twinges of pain she left there. Tiny pinpricks of sensation that distracted him from Anna's departure as she rose and reached for the tissues to clean herself. John almost sighed until Anna offered him the tissues as well.

"As good as you remembered?" John took the offered tissues, wiping over himself as Anna hauled up her trousers.

"Space certainly leads to different experiences." Anna shrugged, "But it was just as enjoyable."

"Really?" John used the rubbish bin, watching Anna as she adjusted her appearance. "That was as enjoyable as our wedding night?"

"Well you'll remember this one." Anna winked at him, stuffing her shirt into her trousers and putting her hand on the door.

In a second John was behind her, his body pressing her into the door, and his hand covering hers to move it from the handle and toward her shoulder as he kissed over her neck. "What if I wanted to remember more?"

"What if someone needs the loo?"

"Then they'll have to wait." John's hands slid over Anna's arms, down to her waist, and shucked her trousers down. "Because you said it's mine to touch now."

Anna shivered under him and John risked the tight space to kneel down behind her. Far enough he could push her trousers and knickers to her ankles to leave Anna open as he kissed up the backs of her legs. Kissed right between her legs as he slipped between to use his mouth where he had yet to use his fingers. But it took him almost no time to add his fingers as he debated back and forth between running his tongue between her folds and sucking at her clit.

Her hands almost pounded against the door, sending the vibrations through John's shoulder, but he continued until her legs shook around him and she soaked his tongue. John left a final lick along her, his fingers continuing to pulse slowly inside her, as he rose up stiffly behind her. Rose up high enough that he could consider checking if he was as ready as she was but it proved unnecessary. The moment Anna flung a hand back, dragging him forward by the fabric of his trousers already falling down his legs, John was ready.

It took a second to align them but once he did, John pressed his forehead to the door beside Anna's head as he shifted inside her. The position kept them tight together and had Anna squeezing around him with each fluctuation of her vaginal muscles. As John forced himself to breathe, grinding back against Anna's gyrations, they established a pace together. One that left them conscious of the door they would rattle in its tracks if they sped up too much.

But the pressure grew too much and it took John's grip on Anna's hip to shift them over the sink. His chin almost rested on her shoulder as he tried to bring himself even closer to her so he could sink deeper. From his vantage point over Anna's shoulder, his hands on either side of hers, he noted the whiteness to her knuckles and the way his echoed hers. It held his focus before one of his hands slipped when one of Anna's disappeared from the counter between her legs.

He stuttered and kissed hard at Anna's neck when her fingers, in her attempt to bring herself over the edge, flicked her fingers over him. John pressed hard, his hips snapping into hers to force them both into the counter. Their hands slipped and squeaked as they tried to maintain their grips leading up to their finish. A finish that left John and Anna shuddering against one another before their eyes met in the mirror so John could see Anna's grin.

"I like that even better, Mr. Bates." Anna sagged forward, wincing slightly. "Next time let's hope that there's a little more comfortable surface."

"Next time we won't be trying to join the Mile-High Club." John moved backward, trying to keep himself steady as he echoed Anna's earlier motions to hand the tissues to her. "And I promise the next time'll be more comfortable."

"Like a bed?" Anna soaked some paper towels and cleaned herself up before arranging her appearance.

"If you want." John sat back as Anna moved to the door. "It's your choice, now Mrs. Bates."

"Oh," Anna almost purred, "I do like that."

"That it's your choice?"

"When you called me your name." Anna put her hand out when John went to stand. "We were only using the loo, Mr. Bates, so you'll have to stay here."

"I can't imagine what they think kept you in here so long."

"That's not my problem." Anna slipped out the door and left John trying to take deep breaths in a cramped plane lavatory.