Page 36 of A Kiss at Midnight

“I don’t,” he says a bit harshly, but then I hear his sigh through the headset. “Sorry, Jewel. I... it’s just that Ihaveto be perfect. I have to do everything right. That’s what’s expected, that’s who I am.”

I turn and look out the window, fighting tears. “I don’t expect anything from you, Blake. I know when our time is up, you’ll be gone, and I’ll move on to whatever comes next. But thank you for helping me beat my fears, and thank you for sharing this with me.”

He turns toward me, his eyes gleaming as our gazes connect. “You’re a dangerous woman, Jewel. You make me think things, feel things, and do things I can’t and don’t want to do.”

His words seep in, and deep sadness washes over me. This man is holding in a past full of pain. But I’m nothing to him, and I don’t need to know his secrets. We only have a short time together. And in our time, I can’t fall for him.

When shutters fall over his eyes, I almost feel relief. I can’t afford to become acquainted with Blake’s vulnerable side, or to start to care about him. I have to remember this. If I forget, I risk being burned so badly, I’ll never be able to heal.

Blake does something with the controls, then, to my horror, takes his hands off the wheel and turns to me, reaching out a hand.

“You need to hold the wheel,” I tell him in absolute terror.

He chuckles. “It’s on autopilot. We’re fine. Come here.” There’s both coercion and demand in his tone.

My stomach tightens as I shake my head. He laughs again and crooks his finger. I again shake my head. He doesn’t give up as he reaches over and undoes my seatbelt, leaving my heart thundering.

“You’re fine, Jewel, come here,” he tells me.

He could grab me and pull me to him, but he wants me to come of my own free will. I’m filled with a mixture of fear and desire. The fear is enhancing my desire for some sick and twisted reason.

He waits... and I finally scoot over, not too far, but close enough for him to reach out and put his arm around me. He pulls me close, then kisses me, knocking the breath right out of me again. I shouldn’t desire him, but I do, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

He kisses me long and hard. Before I realize what’s happening, he pulls me onto his lap and he’s taking off my clothes. And then he’s sliding into me and I’m forgetting all about fear as I climb far higher than this plane can take us. I’m lost as we come together, our panting fogging the windows... and I don’t even notice.

We explode at the same time, gasping for breath as the plane continues to soar in the sky. I lean against him, then let out a cry as pain shoots through my knee.

“Ouch!”

Blake looks startled and dazed from his own pleasure. “What’s wrong?”

“My knee hit the dash.”

I’m limp against him, utterly exhausted, my voice weak. He’s sagging against the seat as he tries to recover.

“You’ll live,” he says with a chuckle, fully relaxed.

“I don’t think I’m afraid of flying anymore,” I finally say, and that’s when everything goes wrong.

A loud sound goes off, making me jump. “What is that?”

“The stall horn. We’re no longer on autopilot. You must’ve hit the switch when you bumped your knee.” The plane suddenly takes a dip to the side before it begins heading straight down, and then starts slowly spinning, sending terror through me as Blake holds on tight.

I let out a gasp as Blake quickly sets me in my seat once the plane is upright for a brief moment. “Seat belt,” he calls as he clicks his into place and reaches for controls that I believe he said are called rudders. We’re up high, but still falling fast.

I struggle with my belt, clicking it into place as we spiral toward earth, making Blake struggle to get the plane back under control. I’m panicking, which he seems to notice while he fights the plane. He starts speaking, letting me know what he’s doing.

“I’m reducing the power back to idle and pushing the rudder control in the opposite direction from the spin.” His voice is soothing. “Now I’m applying forward pressure on the controls to break the stall.” I’m focused on his voice, not the motion of the plane. “Stall is broken. We’re now holding the rudder nose down.”

Within seconds he has the plane back under control. I don’t think I’ve taken in a full breath since this began. It seems to have taken forever, but it probably all occurred in less than a minute. He lets out a sigh, and much to my shock, a chuckle.

“I’ve practiced this several times while in pilot school, but I’ve never gotten to experience it in real life.”

“I wish you hadn’t experienced it right now,” I tell him.

He looks over and I notice a sheen on his face. He’s sweating, and I don’t think it has to do with the sex we just had. It’s all about the fact we nearly died. He chuckles, boggling my brain.

“If you wouldn’t have been in here with me, I would’ve enjoyed that. It’s different when another life is in my hands though.”

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