Page 45 of Air Affair

In that instant, he was hers. His intentions didn’t matter. Please don’t let this be the last time. It won’t be. It couldn’t be. There was no walking away from this for either of them. Somehow, they would have to do the impossible and traverse the chasm that separated them because they had no other choice. This wasn’t going to end simply because they willed it.

The need to move crept up on him, growing and building until he couldn’t resist any longer. Her mouth widened as he thrust into her, her lip quivering and her brow furrowed as she took in a shaky breath. He moved slowly, carefully, stoking the fire within her stroke by stroke. She remained speechless, her whole body trembling as they rocked gently together.

As she moved beneath him, she met each thrust with a counterthrust, pulling him deeper and deeper. With delicate fingers, she reached up to his face, cupping his jaw, then running her thumb over his bottom lip. Her gentle touch wove a magic spell that threatened to make his heart explode.

He bent down to kiss her, needing to find a new way to release his overflowing emotions. Being inside her wasn’t enough. He needed to be connected in every possible way. Her lips met his with fierce desperation, her tongue driving into his mouth greedily as if he was the air she needed to breathe.

Like the first time he took off in an airplane on his own, he felt an otherworldly sense of rightness, of belonging. This was what he was meant for, why he was born into this world. His purpose in life was to fly airplanes and love Rory Belmont.

Love? Yes, love. What other word could describe the feelings flowing through him? What other force in the universe was this powerful and all-consuming? Certainly not lust. He’d felt lust. It was like a sickness, a fever that took him in its thrall and then broke. With Rory, it wasn’t a temporary fever. It was a transmutation. The heat was so much greater. He was being blown and spun like molten glass into someone else entirely, someone permanently linked to her.

A tremor rippled through her, and then another, stronger one. She clenched and pulsed around him, as he struggled to hold back his release. He thrust hard, and she cried out, tipping over the edge into oblivion. He thrust again and again, extending her flight through bliss until he could no longer hold on. At the last moment, he pulled out and spent in the sheets.

As he lay back and caught his breath, he wondered what on earth he was going to do. How could he broach the subject with her without sounding like a lovesick puppy?

“Hank?”

There was something tentative in the way she said his name. Did she somehow sense his thoughts?

“Yes?” He waited.

A long silence.

“What is it, Rory?”

“Have we gone too far?” She settled her head on his chest. It felt like she belonged there.

“What do you mean ‘too far’?” He stroked her wild curls, savoring their softness.

“I…” She went silent for a long moment. “I want to keep seeing you.”

“I want to keep seeing you too. We’ll figure it out somehow, don’t worry.”

She sighed. “I know we will. It’s just that…”

“What?”

Taking a deep breath, she said, “This was supposed to be a fling—one night to get you out of my system. It wasn’t supposed to turn into something more.”

His heart sank, hearing her speak aloud his own thoughts. But he had been lying to himself all along. Was she? “If you want me to leave you be, I’ll do it.” It would kill him, but he would.

“That’s just it. I don’t want you to. I want…something more.”

And with those words, everything changed. She didn’t want to send him away, never to return. The feeling was mutual, and he didn’t have to hide or hold back.

He kissed her fervently, and she responded with equal ardor. “What does ‘something more’ mean to you?”

“I… I don’t know. All I know is I need to see you again. This can’t be the end.”

He couldn’t agree more. “I’ll do anything you want. Just tell me what you need from me.”

“I don’t know yet.”

The dangers were great, but this was a risk worth taking.

“Is there anything I could do to make your father less likely to want to murder me?” It was unlikely, but maybe she would have an idea.

She shook her head. “Not unless you can get filthy rich.” Unlikely. “And change what family you were born into.” Impossible.