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We level out, and I breathe a deep sigh of relief.
With quick, sure fingers, he flips more switches, shoves the stick forward, and sends us diving toward the earth. My heart circles down a drain into my guts.
“KONSTANTIN!”
The sea sweeps below us, waves rippling like monsters breaking the surface. I’m terrified. But when I lift my head, I spot Konstantin watching me from the front. He turns back around hastily, a ghost of a smirk playing at his lips.
And I realize …
He’s doing this on purpose!
Of course he knows how to fly—the pilot would never give him the controls otherwise. Konstantin is trying to scare me to death, but he wouldn’t jeopardize his own life. The slow realization that I’m not in any danger turns my heart rate from a-hundred-fifty back to a more manageable eighty.
Still speedy, but reasonable.
With a clearer head, I gaze out the window at the scenery zipping by. It’s like being on a roller coaster, the adrenaline making my skin tingle and my breath catch. I don’t want to admit it, but …
I’m enjoying this.
I’ve always had a taste for thrill rides. Roller coasters, especially the rickety wooden kind that get set up at local summer fairs back home. The ones that were made for kids too young to have a fear of death. Olivia and I would take turns daring each other to get on increasingly terrifying rides. The loser was whoever barfed up their cotton candy and popcorn.
She usually won … But each of those hot summer nights spent with her at my side left me feeling like the real winner.
The helicopter comes to a gentle stop on the roof of the castle. Konstantin shuts the engine down, the blades slowing to a gentle swirl. Popping off the headset, he hurries out the door. I follow, though less quickly, as my legs are wobbling.
“Need some help?” he asks me as I hesitate on the edge.
I turn up my nose. “Hardly.”
“You look green.”
“It matches your suit.” I grip the edges of the door, preparing to hop to the ground. “I said I’m fine. Your flying skills suck, but they didn’t bother me—ahh!”
The second my feet touch solid ground, my legs collapse. My mind might have come to terms with the thrilling flight, but my muscles are still recovering.
Konstantin loops his arms under my legs and sweep me into his arms before I can completely collapse.
“I told you to be careful.” The concern in his voice is almost genuine.
I try to read his expression. My attempt fails and instead I’m consumed by something less logical. His lips, tight in a frown, tease me with the memory of our kiss. His body is strong, holding me up without any effort at all. His biceps are bunched over my arms as they flex to support me.
I want to be pissed at him for a hundred reasons.Goodreasons. Yet here I am, gazing at his mouth.
And then, I do something reckless.
I grab hold of his face, and pull it down onto mine. This time, without an audience, the kiss feelsreal. The way my heart skips a beat in my chest as his tongue sweeps into my mouth feels real. The way Konstantin squeezes me closer to his chest feels real.
His lips and tongue are like fire, and sets my entire body ablaze.
It’s everything I wanted.
And I know he knows it.
Because he suddenly breaks apart from me, sets me on my feet, and backs up just far enough to remove the possibility of this going any further.
Even though I can see his eyes are burning with desire.
I wait for him to say something—anything.
