It was going too fast. They would crash.
Screams filled the cramped cabin. Naya squeezed Kelsey’s hand, crushing her fingers. “OhGodohGodohGodohGod, ” Naya cried over and over and over again.
“Head between your knees,” Father yelled. Mother sobbed beside him.
Kelsey pushed Naya down. Naya was still praying. Kelsey’s head filled with the chant, her heart pounding in desperate rhythm. “OhGodohGodohGodohGod, please. Let us live.”
The plane slammed forward, nose down. Impact. The seat belt dug deep. Kelsey’s head smashed into a seat back.
Spinning. They were spinning. Luggage burst from overhead compartments. Around and around they whipped. Back and forth. Suitcases battered her arms. Screams. Shrieks. The sound of metal grinding, tearing, as the plane ripped in half.
The caustic smell of electrical smoke filled the cabin. Sparks, then fire.
Whirling. They were spinning, screaming.
Slower, it moved slower, but Kelsey’s head still reeled. The screech of metal against asphalt raked across her spine, like a giant hand scraping down an immense chalkboard. Finally, finally, the plane shuddered to a stop.
Were they really alive? Did they make it?
Fire. Smoke. Screams. Sirens. The stench of burning flesh. Pain seared Kelsey’s thigh and she saw torn cloth, her flesh flayed open, blood covering her lap.
Naya’s hand still clutched Kelsey’s in a death grip. Kelsey lifted her head and looked at her sister. Blood shrouded Naya, and her mouth and eyes were wide open, frozen with fear.
“No!” Kelsey bolted upright in bed. Tears streamed down her face, her clothes soaked with sweat, every inch of her body trembling.
The door burst open. Light from the hall silhouetted Kade’s big form, his hair rumpled. Through her tears she saw concern stamped across his features.
“What happened?” He shut the door and in a couple of long strides, he reached her. One look at her face and he slid onto the edge of the bed and pulled her into his lap. “Honey. Are you all right?”
She sobbed against his strong shoulder. She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t force the images from her mind of smoke, flames, twisted metal, and her dead sister’s face. Kelsey’s leg throbbed, as if her skin were still shredded, blood still pouring from the wound.
“A nightmare?” Kade’s voice was soft and soothing.
She shuddered and nodded against his chest. “I—I dreamed about the plane crash. Naya. Her face. It was so—so real.”
For a long while he held her, gently rocking her, trying to soothe the horror of her nightmare. Terror and grief raged within Kelsey. She could barely think. Barely hold the screams trapped in her throat.
“Easy,” came Kade’s low murmur through the chaos. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Safe? How could anywhere be safe? Her swallowed screams turned to sobs. Nowhere on earth would ever be safe again. Father. Mother. Naya.
Dear God. Naya.
Hot tears streamed down Kelsey’s cheeks, but Kade’s embrace didn’t falter. “Let it go. Let it out. I’ll be here. Right here.”
She let herself believe him, let herself relax in his powerful arms. The easy sigh of his breathing lulled her, and she smelled his earthy, grounding scent. So strong. He felt so strong. Her hand slid across his naked chest, through the patch of curling hair and the dampness of her tears against his flesh. Slowly, ever so slowly, the room returned to proper focus.
Kade. He was holding her still, his protective arms cradling her with more gentleness, more caring than she’d known from any man. Her heartbeat quickened, and once more, intense emotions stirred— but not fear. Not grief.
The antidote. Passion. Tenderness.
She turned her face to look into his eyes. Fathomless pools, midnight blue in the faint light. “You’re always comforting me.”
He brushed his lips across her forehead. “Do you need me to stay awhile longer?”
Closer. She wanted closer. She wanted his lips, wanted him to kiss her until there was no turning back. His body pressed to hers, nothing between them but a fine layer of perspiration. The intensity of her desire shocked her, but all she could think about was how much she wanted him. Now.
She turned her mouth to his chest, kissing the salty flesh, moving her lips to his collarbone and trailing her tongue along his skin. His breath hissed out, stirring the hair at her temple. She wanted him to kiss her the way he had at the park. So thorough, so exquisite that time meant nothing. Only the sound of his heartbeat against hers, the feel of his hands and lips on her body.
As Kelsey lifted her head, Kade pressed his fingertips to her mouth, stopping her from reaching his lips. She kissed his hand instead, moving her lips over each finger.
He groaned and shuddered. “Not now, not when your heart aches like this.”
“But...” Disappointment swelled within Kelsey. He didn’t want her.
“Yes, I do want you,” he replied as if she’d spoken the words aloud. “More than you can imagine.” His cock pressed against her hip like a rod made of steel, and she knew it was true.
“Tonight I’m your friend.” He stroked her hair behind her ear. “Let your head clear, and if tomorrow, you still want that kiss...”
With a reluctant sigh, she snuggled closer, enjoying the feel of his hard body, his muscular arms wrapped around her. How different he was from Davis. Davis, who took advantage of her vulnerability.
As she shifted in his lap, Kade tensed. He gave a muffled oath, moved Kelsey to the bed, and stood. “You ought to sleep.”
She could barely see him in what little light poured in from the hall, but it was enough to see the powerful muscles in his chest, the hard line of his body, the thrust of his cock outlined against the white of his boxers.
A moan caught in her throat. He was so beautiful.
He took a ragged breath. “Don’t look at me like that, honey. Like you want to eat me whole. I can hardly think straight as it is.”
She slid down her pillow and pulled the covers to her waist. “Okay.”
“ Night.” He smiled, rakish yet wistful, and turned toward the door.
Kelsey sat up again. “Wait.”
Kade stopped and looked back with hooded eyes.
Longing swelled within her, and something else. Something that made her want to tell him what his thoughtfulness did to her, how it made her desire him more than ever. But she only said, “Thanks.”
“Get some sleep, honey.” And then he was gone, closing the door behind him.
For a long time, Kelsey remained awake, but the nightmare didn’t haunt her as she feared it would. All she could think about was Kade.