Page 56 of A Rebel's Shot

The fuselage shifted, and her body jolted to the side, snapping her eyes open. Dirty snow piled in front of her beyond the space where the windshield should be. Suspended upside down not only disoriented her, but the harness dug into her shoulder.

She blinked and shook her head to clear her vision, causing a spike of pain to drill through her skull and down her spine. She couldn’t stop the cry that ripped from her throat.

“Merritt?” Tiikâan groaned beside her.

“I’m okay.” She turned her head, tears blurring her vision even more at the blood running down the side of Tiikâan’s face into his beard.

Wide, worried eyes scanned her. His hand reached up to her cheek and pushed into her hair to wrap strongfingers along her scalp. The touch steadied her, and she leaned into it.

“I’m okay,” she repeated, though she really couldn’t tell beyond the agonizing ache building in her head. “You’re bleeding.”

She reached out to touch his forehead. He captured her hand and kissed her fingers.

“It’s fine.” He pressed his lips to her palm, closing his eyes, pressing his nose against her wrist and inhaling. He kissed her wrist, then speared her with a determined look. “Let’s get out of here.”

“I’m good with that plan.” She forced a chuckle but cut it off with a groan.

Tiikâan braced one hand on the ceiling and released his harness. He collapsed to the ceiling with a groan, but quickly wiggled the rest of his body so he was on his knees. Merritt reached for her buckle, but he held his hand out for her to wait.

“Nolan?” Tiikâan asked, peering into the back seat as he maneuvered his body under Merritt’s.

The only response was a groan. Merritt prayed her uncle was okay. She didn’t think she could handle losing him as well.

“He’s breathing.” Tiikâan knelt on the plane’s ceiling below her. “Let’s get you out, then we’ll get your uncle.”

Tiikâan’s eyes locked with Merritt’s. Without warning, he surged upward, his lips capturing hers in an urgent, upside-down kiss. The world tilted on its axis as his mouth moved against hers, desperate and demanding.

Merritt’s heart thundered in her chest, matching the frantic pace of Tiikâan’s. She tasted the metallictang of blood on his lips, felt the tremor in his touch as his fingers tangled in her hair. The kiss was a lifeline, an anchor in the chaos surrounding them.

She clung to him, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she returned his fervor with equal intensity. Their breaths mingled, hot and ragged, momentarily disappearing in the biting cold seeping into the wreckage.

When they finally broke apart, gasping, Tiikâan sat back on his heels and rested his forehead against hers.

“I thought I’d lost you.” His voice, usually so steady, now trembled raw and broken with barely contained emotion.

Merritt swallowed hard, her own guilt and worry threatening to choke her.

“I’m right here,” she breathed, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw. “We’re both here.”

“I’m sorr?—”

“No. Nolan and I shouldn’t have pushed so hard to get back to Barrow.”

Tiikâan shook his head. “But I shouldn’t have even taken off.”

“So, since all of us were idiots, no one is taking the blame.”

He huffed, his skin bunching around his eyes. “Let’s get you out of here.”

She slid her fingers through his beard, threaded them in his hair, and pulled him in for another searing kiss. When he pulled away, both their chests heaved. She smiled at him.

“I always wanted my own Spiderman hanging kiss.” She winked at Tiikâan.

“Oh, really?” He stifled a smile as he positioned himself under her and reached for her buckle.

“Didn’t think I’d be the one hanging, but my hero is definitely sexier than Tobey Maguire.”

Tiikâan scoffed as he wrapped her arm over his shoulders. “Be prepared to hold on to me.”

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