Page 141 of Aviatrix

Eli lets out a ragged breath. “I almost did die.”

“How did you—”

“Flip and burn,” he says, revealing the 180-degree maneuver that saved his life. He pulls me closer. “Took out one jet. The second peeled off and vanished.”

“Rourke,” I breathe. “They were his ships.”

Eli presses his forehead to mine. My heart aches.

“Let’s talk about that later,” he mumbles. “Right now, I just want to be here with you.”

I close my eyes and let it all wash over me. The terror, the grief, the relief, and the love.

I should tell him I love him. But before I can, his lips are on mine again, and I melt into him. His warmth. His larger-than-life presence. The way he always comes back, even when I think he can’t.

Eli pushes me back against the door, his fingers digging into the fabric of my dress at the waist.

There’s nothing gentle in the way he kisses me. Just need, and memory, and the kind of longing that makes my heart throb.

Our bodies are flush, but it’s not enough. I need more. So much more.

As if he can read my mind, he deepens the kiss, his mouth memorizing mine like the world flipped and burned, and all that’s left is us.

I don’t know if I whimper or moan, but Eli’s hands are moving now, sliding from my waist up, running over my chest.

“Too much,” he murmurs against my lips, “material.”

I laugh into the kiss.

He pulls back just enough to meet my eyes, one arm braced above my head, the other gripping my hip.

“I missed you.”

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Missed you too, Quay.”

“I flew to the wreckage site,” I admit.

Eli frowns. “Why?”

“I needed to know if it was you. But we couldn’t land. And by the time Lark’s team got there, the aircraft was gone.”

“You shouldn’t have risked your life for me.”

I swallow hard. “I don’t want to live in a world where you don't exist. I’ve done it for years, and I—I don’t want to do it anymore.”

He lifts his hand to cradle my jaw. “It’s going to take more than two rogue ships to take me out.”

Tears burn the corners of my eyes. “Thank you for saving me today. I wasn’t ready to die, but I’m afraid that by the time this is all over… I will be.”

He presses a soft kiss to my lips, then says something I know I’ll never forget.

“Whether or not we die, I’ll find you in the next life, Quay. And the one after that. In every version of this world, I’ll always find my way back to you.”

I smile even though it hurts. Even though tears are trembling in my lashes. “That’s a hefty promise.”

“I—”

A knock interrupts him, and I nearly scream in frustration.