Page 65 of Sin City Lights

“Seligman traffic, Cessna 458 Lima Alpha, left base for runway four, Seligman.”

He eased the yoke to the left. Betty dipped smoothly, then began to turn, one wing pointing to the ground, the other toward the sky, and started a gradual descent.

“Seligman traffic, Cessna 458 Lima Alpha, two-mile final, Seligman.”

Soon, they were close to the ground. With a gentle hand, he began pulling back on the yoke. Betty slowed even more and leveled off elegantly, and Eve felt a thrill that nothing else had given her before.

She now understood why Adam loved this. Such power and freedom, to escape into the heavens on a whim, returning to earth whenever you wanted, while being in complete control of what was truly a miracle of human innovation.

Betty settled above the runway. Adam’s hands were steady on the yoke. It felt as if the plane glided forever before the wheels touched down so softly, they seemed to kiss the ground.

Adam applied the brakes, but Betty charged ahead as if she was loath to land and wanted to take off again.

Happy laughter escaped Eve’s lips as everything skimmed past the window at high speed.

Finally, they came to a halt.

Adam let go of the yoke. He glanced around, a satisfied smile curving his lips, then stared out the windshield for a moment.

Suddenly, he leaned over, pulling her to him and taking her mouth in a thorough, spine-tingling kiss, fingers stroking the back of her neck, his lips soft, tongue more and more demanding. A roar in her ears competed with Betty’s buzzing engine as Eve kissed him back, heart pounding.

Just as swiftly, he pulled away, headset slightly askew, his heated blue gaze pinning her to her seat.“Been wanting to do that since takeoff,” he admitted.“Now, let’s get off the runway.”

They taxied to the ramp, where Adam parked and shut off the engine. He draped his headset on the yoke. She did the same, rubbing her ears, which had gotten a little hot.

Not much around, she noted, except for a few white buildings that looked like storage sheds.

“Hang on a sec. I need to tie her down.” He opened his door and stepped out, then stretched, causing his polo to ride up and give her a peek of his lower abs.

Adam reached in the back and found two lengths of rope, using them to quickly secure Betty to rings fixed in the asphalt.

“There are two aircraft based at this airport. I know both owners. We have a ride to take us to the restaurant. Should be behind that building.”

The ride, she soon discovered, was a yellow Volkswagen Beetle convertible with a black cloth top and “Honey Bug” graphics on the rear fenders.

Her lips twitched. How was he going to fit inside that little “Honey Bug”?

This, she had to see.

Somehow, he managed to avoid looking awkward even as he folded his tall self to enter the cramped space.

“Oh, yeah.” He grinned, running his hands along the steering wheel and fingering the black-and-white crest of a wolf standing atop a castle.“I feel eighteen again.”

She settled in the caramel-colored vinyl seat.“OK, what is thehorsepower on this thing?”

“Forty-eight.”

Eve laughed.“From that stealth beast of yours to this, in the same day?”

“The beauty of flying. One minute you’re somewhere, the next, your entire latitude changes.” He found the key in the cupholder.“Hey, don’t knock this Bug. She can go eighty miles per hour. Just takes her longer to get there.” He started the ignition.“One of these got me through four years of college.”

“You had a Bug?”

He nodded.“But not the convertible. Imagine that in the winter wind in North Dakota. And mine sure didn’t have air conditioning. Or cupholders. This guy added some nice upgrades.”

He threw the shifter in reverse and backed out of the space.“I don’t know about you, but I could do two burgers right about now.”

“Not sure I could do two, but one sounds great.”

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