"Good morning," Raven added, mouth pulling up in a sharp little specimen of amusement.

Aidan turned in her direction, eyebrow cocked as he took in the coral pink scarf that covered her hair, the knee-length white dress she wore, and the enormous brown cat's-eye sunglasses that adorned her face in blatant disregard of the cool, cloudy atmosphere.

"You look like you stepped out of The Great Gatsby," he noted with a jocular grin.

Her mouth, contracting into a smile that radiated biting artificiality, was the only acknowledgement she gave him before she returned her attention to Kieran and Mistral. The latter's lips were twitching, and Kieran's own had tightened at the corners in the way that Aidan knew they usually did when he was trying to conceal amusement; Aidan's ego twinged wryly.

Kieran inclined his head transitorily to Raven, and her lips quirked knowingly before she turned her gaze to her sister.

"Good luck." Mistral's grin was of a teasing quality, one that was meant to hide the flash of concern that flickered through her stare.

Raven reached out and embraced her sister, the beat of a single second passing before she withdrew. An easy smile bloomed, but the tinted lenses of her glasses prevented Aidan from seeing if it reached her eyes.

"You can toss that luck Aidan's way; I'm sure he needs it far more than I do," she answered, lips slanting even more.

Mistral's gaze landed on him, and she winked. "Good luck."

Aidan met her grin with a crooked one of his own. "You're the one who needs it," he responded, head tilting subtly in the direction of his brother.

She responded with a chuckle, and Kieran finally broke his silence.

"Time for you to board," he said, glancing at his watch.

Raven's heels clicked sharply on the metal of the stairs as she entered the jet.

"I can't decide who has the better lot--you or me," Aidan remarked wryly to Mistral before bounding up the stairs. He pressed a button before tossing his backpack onto the nearest of the large, white leather-upholstered chairs that he knew from experience were sybaritically comfortable, the stairs slowly retracting behind him.

He strolled to the bar and poured himself a glass of champagne, the bubbles tickling as half of the glass disappeared with a single gulp.

"The best way to start a flight," he said to Raven's raised brow.

She stood and walked over, bending down to snatch a shot glass and a bottle of vodka. "I disagree," she replied, knocking back a shot, face deadpan. "Warms you up faster," she said, with the closest expression to a smile that Aidan had seen directed to him. Well, a genuine smile, at least.

Raven gestured around, shot glass still held in slender fingers. "Why are there no attendants, either here or at the manor?"

Aidan tapped the glass of the champagne flute with a finger. "Kieran prefers to hire as few people as possible."

"Understandable." Raven shrugged. "If I were Kieran Stone, I sure as hell wouldn't want people up in my business, either." She smiled, and it was a sharp thing.

Aidan finished the glass of champagne, and was refilling it just as a voice broadcast through the speakers.

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A/N:

Well, I feel like this chapter turned out a little longer than usual. A little xD this one was the hardest for me to write so far, since I've cut out and rewritten more than I have in any previous chapter. Oh well, this is how it's going to be from now on, so I suppose I need to get used to it, right? Hope you liked this installment, vote and/or comment if you did (: