Maeve Kelly exited the Uber with trepidation. She took three steps toward the open field and stopped. Suddenly feeling like this was a bad idea, she turned around and considered backing out. But that notion was quickly dispelled as the driver was already pulling away.

Fuck!

She bit her bottom lip and told herself to be brave. For as long as she could remember, Maeve wanted to fly. Not on an airplane, but out in the open air, feeling the wind as it carried her away.

Now that she was in the process of getting her affairs in order, it seemed as good a time as any to check things off her bucket list.

Though skydiving would likely have been a more authentic experience, the cost was out of Maeve’s price range. Then again, a hot-air balloon ride wasn’t exactly cheap.

Unless, of course, the man you’d slept with as a freshman in college owned a hot-air balloon and was willing to barter for a private ride.

Jake Reilly had been a gorgeous cliché—tall, dark, and handsome—and a spectacular bedmate. He was an eager and attentive lover, and she’d fallen head over heels for him the second she’d laid eyes on him. He was equally enamored with her, and they enjoyed a steamy romance for the better part of a year. He’d have made the perfect husband if it weren’t for the fact that he wouldn’t know how to be monogamous if his life depended on it.

When she found out she was just one of many, it had broken her heart. He seemed genuinely remorseful for cheating on her, but not enough to keep his dick in his pants. It had taken a while to get over him, but eventually, she found someone else, and Jake became a distant memory.

Fast forward to now, and it had been a good fifteen years since she’d last seen him. She closed her eyes for a moment and let her mind take her back to the last time… one more time for old time’s sake. The fact that her traitorous body still yearned for him was annoying. As she walked across the field to where he stood looking dangerously handsome with his wind-blown hair and sensuous lips, it was embarrassingly clear he still made her go damp almost instantly.

Even in the low light of dawn, it was easy to see the years had been kind to him. She wasn’t so sure she could say the same about herself, though if the way he looked at her was any indication, he’d have argued that point. It was unnerving, really, but she couldn’t deny that it stroked her fragile ego.

When she reached the place where he stood, he grinned. And all of her resolve to strike a different bargain than the one she’d agreed upon when asking for this favor flew right out the window.

He wanted her, she wanted him, and soon it wouldn’t matter, so why fight it?

“Well, here you are, my sweet Maeve, in the flesh. Honestly? I didn’t think you’d actually show. I made a bet with my brother that you would leave me standing here in the field, but I’m delighted to be wrong. God, you don’t look any different than the last day I saw you. You still take my breath away.”

“I see that you haven’t changed either. You always had a smooth tongue, Jake Reilly.”

“As I recall, you enjoyed what my smooth tongue could do to you…”

“If only mine were the only pussy you were licking,” she countered.

“Good judgment was never my strong suit. Still isn’t. But damned if I could resist seeing you again. That beautiful mass of red curls, those serious blue eyes, and that rockin’ body still make me hard as fuck.”

“I didn’t come here to make you hard, Jake,” she said, annoyed.

“Oh? Dressed like that, you could have fooled me. It gets chilly up there in the sky, despite the heat from the propane blasts. Good thing I remembered a blanket.”

He looked her up and down and drank in the sexuality she exuded. Truth be told, he didn’t care what her reason for being here was; he was just damn happy to see her. Still, for fun, he asked, “Why are you here, Maeve?”

“Just checking off a bucket list item.”

“Sex in the sky?”

“Flying.”

His memory flashed back to a time in college when he held her in his arms after a fantastic night of fuckery where she had admitted, “The only thing that could top sex with you would be being able to fly.”

The memory made him grin. “Well, Red,” he said, calling her by the nickname he’d given her when she was his, “I’ve got everything all set, so let’s get you up in the air.”

After climbing in and getting settled, Maeve watched Jake expertly maneuver the ropes as they ascended from the ground. The sun was peeking over the horizon as the day awakened below. It was mesmerizing.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jake noticed the look of childlike wonder on Maeve’s face. It was fun to watch her sophisticated veneer slip away as she closed her eyes and inhaled, a giddy laugh escaping her throat.

“This is incredible.”

“We’re just getting started, Red.”

As the balloon rose higher, the landscape unfolded beneath them. The cool breeze brushed against her skin, leaving her exhilarated. The further from the ground they climbed, the more certain she was that this was her best worst idea ever.

“It’s so quiet,” she commented, allowing her guarded façade to dissipate.

He smiled inwardly. “That’s one of the things I love most about being up here. It feels like floating, and the only noise is the occasional burst from the burner. It’s like no other experience in my mind.”

He wiggled his eyebrows, “Except maybe sex with you.”

She waited for Jake to make the first move. She’d vowed not to act desperate, but neither would she resist his advances should he make them. After all, this might be her last opportunity to be properly touched.

Then he did the unthinkable.

“So, I’m guessing your marriage didn’t work out. I know you wouldn’t be here with me, like this, if you were still attached, Red. Monogamy is your brand; we both know that.”

“My marriage is none of your business,” she replied curtly.

As he watched silent tears stream down her face, he was instantly sorry that he’d said anything. It was hard to watch her cry, and to know he’d caused her to do so… again. He recalled how crushed she’d been when she found out he’d been fucking around, and felt that old familiar guilt creeping in. The stupid thing was that none of the other women could hold a candle to Maeve. He had loved her, but loving her wasn’t enough. Not for him to choose to be faithful, and not for her to forgive his transgressions.

He let them drift a little, saying nothing, just allowing the tears to subside.

As the moments passed, he noticed her starting to shiver a bit as she wiped the remnants of her weeping from her cheeks. Grabbing the blanket, he draped it around her shoulders.

Her face was stoic, and he wondered if he’d blown his opportunity for some early morning hanky panky. His dick said, “Go ahead and kiss her, dumbass.” But his sense of decency had him hesitating.

“You wanna talk about it, Red?”

“Talk about what?”

“You don’t hop on a plane and meet your ex in a field, offering the promise of something sexual in exchange for a hot-air balloon ride on a whim, Maeve. I just thought maybe you needed a shoulder.”

“What I need is for you to stop treating me like I’m fragile and broken, and make a fucking move on me,” she snipped.

“I’m not taking advantage of you in this state, Red. You either tell me what’s on your mind, or we spend the next hour regretting not touching each other.”

Maeve took a deep breath of the brisk air, letting it fill her lungs. “Is it my imagination, or is there more air up here?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Not more air, just more pure,” he said.

“It’s glorious, the way the wind is carrying us above the world. I can see why you do this; it’s incredible.”

“It doesn’t suck, that’s for sure,” he commented, wondering if she’d take the bait.

“But I do, don’t I?” she asked coyly. “And I believe I promised you one of my amazing blowjobs in return for this flight, so perhaps I should just get to it.”

“Nuh uh, Red. I meant what I said. While it would be easy for me to unzip and let you take what you want, I’ve developed a stronger moral compass over the years. Tell me why this up-in-the-air adventure needed to be checked off your list so urgently.”

Maeve ran a hand through her thick, red mane and sighed. “I’m not going to be around much longer, okay? And I don’t want to talk about it. I need to fly in your balloon and let you take my breath away, Jake. Can you do that for me? For old time’s sake?”

Jake had so many questions, but he tucked them away rather than cause her another moment of unhappiness. He owed her that much, didn’t he?

Instead, he secured the ropes, then pulled her in for a gentle kiss. When she didn’t pull away, he kissed her again, more deeply and passionately.

“God, yes. Make me feel, Jake,” she whispered. “Make me lose my breath.”

He needed no further invitation. Their tongues danced while he stripped off his jacket and slipped a hand under her skimpy top, rolling a nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She whimpered softly, becoming malleable in his arms.

Kissing his way down her neck, he stopped to pay some additional attention to her lovely breasts. He’d always appreciated that hers were real. Sucking and nibbling, he enjoyed the impatient moans his handiwork elicited. She rubbed her body against his thigh, making him instantly hard.

His hand moved down her taut belly to unbutton her jeans. After easing the zipper down, he discovered she was quite bare under there.

“Damn, Maeve! Thirty-five and you’re still not wearing any panties? And smoothly shaven to boot.”

He dipped his fingers into her wetness— a sure sign that he wasn’t the only one aroused—and massaged her hard little nub.

“Oh, fuckkk,” she hissed as her head leaned back and her eyes fluttered.

Satisfied that he hadn’t lost his touch, he moved his lips to her ear and whispered, “More?”

“God yes!” she answered without a moment’s hesitation. His hot breath on her neck sent shivers of lusty need down her spine. As his fingers impaled her, she moved in sync with his thrusts, grinding against his hand.

She was panting heavily as his pace quickened, and soon she was bucking wildly.

“Oh, fuckkk! God, yes, Jake! You make me so fuckin’ hot!”

She leaned her forehead against his shoulder and flooded his hand with her nectar.

With a sly grin, he removed his hand from her pants and licked a finger. Then he offered another finger, covered with her sweet honey, to Maeve.

“Taste yourself, baby. You’re fuckin’ delicious.”

Just then, the wind caught the balloon, interrupting their fun.

“Hang on, I’m gonna need to take us down a little lower so we don’t get caught in this updraft.”

Maeve watched as Jake manipulated the ropes, guiding the balloon down a bit. His biceps were ripped and incredibly sexy. She thought about those strong arms and how good they used to feel wrapped around her. Suddenly, emotions stuck in her throat, and she felt unable to breathe. She turned away from him so he wouldn’t see the look on her face.

Too late. He’d already noticed something was off out of the corner of his eye.

“You okay, Maeve?” he asked so tenderly it almost broke her.

She nodded and turned back to face him boldly. “My turn,” she announced.

Saying nothing more, she slid down to her knees and unbuckled his belt.

“Maeve… you don’t have to…”

But she was already freeing his erect cock from its confines. She gripped him with nimble fingers and looked up at him with longing.

“Tell me you don’t want me to suck your dick, Jake. Go ahead. I dare you.”

“There isn’t a universe that exists where I don’t want you to suck my cock, baby. No one gives head as good as you do.”

Maeve didn’t comment. Instead, she worked Jake into a frenzy, licking his shaft from the base to the tip, and sucking on the head each time she reached that summit. Then she took him into her mouth while her fingertips played deftly with his sac.

“Fuckkk, Maeve!” he groaned. “This is so fuckin’ hot.”

She flashed a sensual look, then made him disappear into her throat. She purred, hummed, and moaned, creating erotic sensations and vibrations that had his balls tingling.

God, she looked so beautiful with her lips wrapped around his shaft. In a move that felt so natural, as if he’d done so every day since back in college, he put his hands on her head and pushed himself more deeply in her wicked throat, cutting off her air. She’d wanted him to take her breath away, and she hadn’t meant it figuratively. He recalled how turned on she used to get back when they were lovers and engaged in this sort of breath play. It was erotic as fuck.

As the wind carried them, he eased up, letting her refill her lungs. He repeated the act, pushing down again and again until he felt his balls constrict.

Fuck!

He’d hoped to enjoy this longer, but she was just too good at this for him to last.

“I’m gonna cum, babe. You’re too fuckin’ talented. Now, be a good girl and swallow every drop!”

He grabbed two handfuls of red hair and fucked her face relentlessly until he shot his thick seed down her throat.

He searched her face and saw… gratitude. He wondered what kind of man would let go of a woman who enjoyed this kind of kinky cock worship.

A fuckin’ idiot… the kind of idiot he’d been in his early twenties.

He helped her up off her knees and took her face gently in his hands. Kissing her softly, he murmured, “Not a day goes by that I don’t regret hurting you. I was a foolish, randy boy, thinking with my dick back then. I was greedy and careless and…”

She interrupted his self-deprecation with a kiss that made his toes curl.

“Come home with me after the balloon ride, Red. Let me make love to you properly; let me show you that I’ve learned how to be a real man.”

“I can’t, though God knows I want to. I need to go back to Alabama and turn myself in.”

Jake frowned. “Turn yourself in to who?”

“The police. I’m a wanted criminal, Jake. I’m probably gonna end up on death row,” she said as tears started to flow.

“I don’t understand. What did you do, Red?”

“I killed my husband.”

“You what, now?”

“Michael had pancreatic cancer. With no quality of life, he wanted to die, but his family kept insisting on chemo, and he was tired of fighting with them. He begged me to help end his life. So, I did what he asked instead of allowing him to die slowly at the hands of his well-meaning parents, who were unfortunately in charge of his medical directive.”

She pursed her lips. “Hold me like you used to when you made me feel safe and loved.”

He spun her around, so her back was nestled against him, and wrapped his arms around her.

“His parents called the police. Long story short, I was given three days to get my affairs in order before turning myself in. I wasn’t supposed to leave the state, but I remembered seeing on Facebook that you had a hot-air balloon company and figured that it was a sign that I was meant to see you.”

“I can’t let you go back there. I can’t lose you again. I can’t let you literally lose your breath to a death sentence.”

Jake grabbed a pen and scribbled an address on her hand.

“Put this parachute on. Then, when you land, find a way to get to this address. I’ll meet you there.”

“What? I don’t understand…”

“When I land, I will report that you jumped to your death, though I tried to stop you. You were remorseful over Michael’s death and couldn’t live with yourself.”

Maeve didn’t move. “I can’t, Jake. I…”

“Please. Trust me. It’s an old cabin that no one knows about. I’ve got plenty of cash, and we can live off the grid. Just the two of us. Like it always should have been.”

“What happens when they don’t find a body?”

“I will say you jumped when we were over the water. The water is cold; bodies disappear in that lake all the time.”

“But…”

“Please, Red. I love you. I’ve always loved you. You’re the only woman who could ever take my breath away. Fate brought you back to me. Please…”

Maeve inhaled sharply, put on the parachute, kissed Jake goodbye, and jumped.

As she fell through the air, she knew she had three choices: go to the cabin, turn herself in, or not open the chute and end it all.

It was ironic that all three choices meant losing her breath in one way or another. But did she deserve to have it be while Jake fucked her senseless?

She held the pull cord as she tried to decide…