Page 136 of Falling for the Playboy Pilot

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Told you to trust me.”

“Best decision I ever made.”

“I’ll leave you two alone. For what it’s worth, you’re both off for the next few days.”

I chuckled. “Thanks, Chief.”

Janna moved to sit up.

“Woah, what are you doing?”

“I want to sit up.”

“Just lie down.”

She ignored me and pushed herself to a sitting position. She looked around the tent and then at me. Her eyes dropped to the beer in my hand. She reached for it and took a long drink.

And then handed it back to me. “That felt good.”

I shook my head. “You’re nuts.”

“I know.”

And then because I couldn’t keep myself from doing it, I cupped her face in one hand and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down. Our tongues slid across one another as we drank in each other’s very essence.

I held her tighter than I’d ever held anything in my life.

“I’m sorry,” she choked out, her voice muffled against my lips. “I didn’t mean any of it. I was just⁠—”

“Stop.” I pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. I saw fresh tears. “You were right. I was a stubborn bastard. I pushed you away. That was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. I thought I was protecting us both, but I was wrong.”

She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have said what I did. When I thought we were gonna die—” Her voice cracked. “The only thing I could think was that my last words to you were awful.”

A rough laugh tore out of me. “Yeah, well, I deserved them.”

She made a noise halfway between a sob and a laugh, and then she was kissing me again. It was hard and desperate, like she was trying to swallow me whole.

“Hold on,” I said. I stepped back even as she reached for me.

I put the bottle down and then grabbed her. I lifted her from the gurney with her legs wrapping around my waist.

I kissed her back just as fiercely, one hand tangled in her hair, the other on her hip, holding her so close I could feel her heartbeat against mine.

We only broke apart when someone cleared their throat behind us.

“Oops,” Janna murmured.

Yeah, we had an audience. I had forgotten everything except her.

Chief stood a few feet away, arms crossed and his face bright red. “Do you all need a moment?”

“Sorry,” I said and gently put Janna back on the gurney. She kept her arms around my waist and leaned her head against my chest.

“Fire’s contained,” Chief said, like he hadn’t just witnessed the most embarrassing reunion in history. “It’s knocked down enough that the ground crews are going in for mop-up.”

Janna sagged against me, relief shuddering through her. “Martha’s?”

“Took some damage, but it’s fixable.”