The Stars Trilogy (45 page)

“What...? Why would I do that?”

“You must have a parachute stashed somewhere in here. I know pilots eject from planes during emergencies. I do appreciate that you don’t wanna leave me here but…it’s God’s will. I think this is my time.”

“What the hell are you talking about?! I’m not leaving you here! What kind of a man you think I am?”

She bit her lower lip. “An a-hole most of the time?”

“I guess I deserve that. Now, shut up and let me land this plane.” He pretended to be cool but he wanted to pee in his pants now. He had never encountered such a dangerous situation in all his flying experiences.
Presence of mind.

They were gliding at three thousand feet now but he cannot maneuver the plane to a good landing above a ragged stretch of mountains. He couldn’t see any flat surface without trees. Seconds were getting eaten by their descent fast but it felt like forever.

He glanced at his altimeter compass pilot watch again. 2,000 feet.

God, please, if you’re up there...Don’t do this! Please! Make us land in the water!

The trees took form now, getting nearer and nearer. They will crash onto the trees...

He touched her silky hair. He leaned down and covered her with his body. Her heat was very comforting. She smelled like heaven.

“Dare…”

“Shhh.”

“Are we crashing?”

“No. We will land in a while.”

“Why aren’t you flying the plane? Are we on automatic pilot?”

“God, woman, will you just shut up? I will die with you if it comes to that. Aren’t you happy with that?”

“No. I want you to live. Your fans will curse me to the ninth afterlife once they’d learn that you could have saved yourself and you didn’t because of me.”

“I only want one fan with me right now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. Now, hush.”

God, please don’t make me hear the sweetest confession and then kill me shortly after. That’s really cruel. Okay, okay! If you have to kill me then don’t kill her. Keep her safe. That’s all I ask, no more. Make her survive this. Please!

Gravity was pulling the plane at a faster descent now.

There was nothing he could do now but wait for the impact. He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of her hair. Such heavenly fragrance. This was a great place to die, his face buried in her hair like this...

“Celine...tell me again, baby. I want to hear it again,” he murmured in her ear.

“I love you, Dare Montgomery. Forever and ever. Will I be your secretary again in the afterlife?”

He smiled. “Of course. I won’t want anybody else.”

His arms tightened around her as he felt the first contact of the plane’s belly with the trees.

A loud crash reverberated around them as the plane’s body took a major beating from the force of nature.

It became a blur afterward.

He didn’t know how long time had passed. When he came back to reality, everything was so still.

He was lying on his side.

The plane was tilted on its side, too.

Adrenaline rushed through him.

“Celine?!” He shook the body that he had been holding on to for dear life. Thank God, the plane did not break up upon impact!

“Celine!”

She moaned. “Dare...”

He shifted his position. The plane moved.

Before he knew it, the Cirrus toppled to the right and they were tossed here and there again, like clothes being spun in a washing machine.

He hugged her tight again. “Cover your face!”

The plane landed on its belly with a huge thud jolting their bodies violently. It stopped moving then. They were lying on something solid now. Were they on the ground now?

They didn’t move. They waited.

Nothing happened.

With his wits back in action, he grabbed the handle and opened the cockpit. It seemed that they hit the ground now. “Celine, hurry! Let’s get out of here! The plane might explode!”

“Oh my God...!” she moaned weakly but moved.

He jumped from the plane and practically lifted her bodily off of the cockpit. They tried to run away from the plane but the thick vegetation hampered their movements.

“Follow me closely!”

He used his arms to hack through the leaves and branches until they had put considerable distance from the plane.

Breathing hard, they collapsed on their knees to the ground.

“Are you alright?!” he asked her.

She nodded repeatedly, her face pale, her eyes wide with fear. She was still clearly in shock.

He grabbed her and hugged her tightly, closing his eyes. His tears burned to escape.

Relief had never felt this good.

God, thank you! I have nothing to say but thank you!

They waited for the explosion.

It didn’t happen.

Dare ran toward the plane when he felt the first drops of rain on his face. But he wasn’t fast enough. He got showered on a bit.

He entered the cabin’s small interior. The rain started pouring in torrents just as he shut the door.

It was already very dark outside and the only light they had was coming from a portable lamp he found on the plane.

Celine scooted to the side as he squeezed his big frame inside the cramped interior. The Cirrus was not designed for sleeping. They only had a foot between them. That was if they both folded their legs.

She picked up her scarf and gave it to him. “You should dry yourself.”

He took it and began tapping his face with it. It smelled of her. He had the urge to press the cloth on his face longer to inhale more of her sweet, feminine scent.

He used the CAPS’ tattered remains as a tent so the rain was not directly pouring on the plane’s roof. That allowed him to open two windows of the cabin to let some natural air in without the rain dripping in.

“Why is it raining like this? Is there a storm?”

“We’re in the mountains. It always rains where there is thick vegetation.”

She just nodded and went silent.

Minutes passed. The sound of the heavily pouring rain was all they could hear. It was not very comforting.

“Do you mind if I remove my shirt? It’s damp.”

Her eyes widened a bit but she shook her head. “We don’t want you to get sick.”

He removed his shirt.

She gasped. Her eyes were riveted to his chest and arms where he had sustained bruises and cuts from the tree branches that hit him as the plane descended into the depths of the forest. It was the least of his concerns really. With the help of those sturdy branches that broke the impact of the fall, they landed safely with only minor scratches on his part.

“Oh, Dare, you’re hurt!”

“Nah, just a scratch. I’ll live.” Better his skin to be marred than her porcelain skin.

“Do you have a first aid kit on this plane?”

“Over there.” He pointed to a compartment behind her. “Push the red button.”

She did as he said and a small compartment opened. She took out a white metal box. She opened it and rummaged through the contents.

He watched her silently as she opened a packet of cotton and poured some antiseptic on it. She crawled toward him. “Here, let me…”

He hated antiseptics. He moved back a little as she lifted her hand toward the most injured part of his body. There was a deep scratch on his left arm that started on his shoulder and ended on his elbow.

“This looks terrible!” She sounded like a concerned mother hen, something he did not like in women. But her worried face warmed him all over.

“Ouch!” He jerked at the first dab of the cotton.

She smirked. “Daredevil who did his own stunts and engaged in all kinds of life-threatening hobbies is afraid of antiseptic. Interesting tidbit.”

He frowned. “It stings.”

She snickered and dabbed on his scratches, ignoring his hissing cusses. “You’re such a baby,” she teased him. “This info will entertain your fans. They’d probably find it cute, too.”

“You planning to do a tell-all?” he asked her sourly. “Enough! Sheeesh!” He winced and winced.

“If I become so penniless, I might. Stay still. We can’t risk infection.”

He grunted.

The next thing she did made him sit still. She blew on his shoulder. Her gentle breath fanned his wound, alleviating the stinging pain.

“There. That will dry up tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

She put the meds back in the kit and rested her back on the cushioned side of the plane.

Again, silence pervaded.

He heaved another sigh of relief. God, that was close, but they were still both in one piece. Especially her. He would probably kill himself in the afterlife if she’d died.

They stared at each other.

She smiled at him then. Her eyes had turned wet. He knew she was still shook up from the crash. Shit, even he was pretty shook up inside. But she was such a trooper. After her initial fear, she had been so brave, even when they hit the forest and their world was literally turned upside down. And during that fragment of time frozen in helplessness, where death was imminent, he only thought of one thing, that she would survive. And she did. God, she did.

He reached for her then and she went into his arms. She started shaking.

He hugged her tight and she clung to him. Her hands were cold and she was shivering but he knew it was more from fright than the low temperature.

Her emotions gave way like a dam. She cried in his chest. Her arms wound around him, holding him so tightly. He hugged her tighter, wanting to feel the very life pulsing within her body. He let her release her fear with her tears, murmuring comforting words as he kissed her hair. Her embrace was comforting him, too, her tears bathing his own fears away.

“Oh Dare, thank you! Thank you so much!”

“For what, baby?”

“For not leaving me. You didn’t leave me.”

“Now, why would I do that?”

“I don’t know. But I owe you my life.”

“No, baby. I shouldn’t have taken you in that flight.”

“Hush. Let’s not have any of that. I’m just glad we’re both okay. I was so afraid you’d die.”

He smiled in her hair. She was so afraid he’d die. She was not afraid to die and asked him to eject from the plane.

It was the most selfless act.

Some woman, this.

She looked in his eyes and he had never seen such beauty. And love.

She loved him.

That deep yearning in his soul fully opened up now without reservation, a raw hunger, a need so deep and ferocious that he cannot control even if his life depended on it.

He kissed her, tasting her, devouring her. He was desperate to feel her warmth, her softness, her sweet breath. God, he wanted to make sure she was alive, breathing, moving, writhing in his arms. He wanted to feel alive, too, to lose himself in her, to connect with her in the most elemental, most primitive way. He wanted to be one with her, on her, in her, all over her.

He drove his tongue inside her mouth, grazing her teeth and coaxing her tongue to dance with his. And when her little tongue started sparring with his, he groaned, his entire body electrified by the sensation.

His cock was a painful mass of throbbing muscle and rushing blood now, razing his self-control fast. The intensity of his lust was overwhelming him. He was shaking, aching and desperate for consummation.

They kissed like there was no tomorrow and when it wasn’t enough, he licked her neck, sucking on her delicate skin.

He grabbed the front of her dress and tugged at it hard, sending buttons flying. He unsnapped the front clasp of her bra, shoved them aside to reveal her breasts.

“God, baby...” Her firm, fat globes were two ripe, succulent fruits begging to be devoured. He bent to suck one nipple, drawing it deep in his mouth. He suckled her like an infant deprived of sustenance. He wanted to taste all of her at once.

She was squirming beneath him, arching up to get closer to him, her hands gripping his hair as she pressed his head harder on her chest. “Dare...Oooh...Dare...”

He could suck her boobs forever but the pain in his groin was almost unbearable now.

Next time, he’d be slower but now...Gracious fuck, he can’t wait any longer

His balls hurt and he felt like one big cock swollen and aching he had difficulty breathing. Kneeling on the cabin’s floor, he unbuttoned his fly and shoved his pants and briefs halfway down his hips, exposing his cock. It sprang like a catapult, engorged to its maximum capacity and some. Fuck, if he was going to have these kinds of pubescent erection with her every time, she’d be the death of him. His heartbeat felt like a gong in his chest, banging in concerto with the throbbing of his shaft.

He groped for her panties and ripped the little strings holding it in place. He spread her legs.

He cupped her mound, squeezing the plump strip of Nirvana. His fingers were greeted by hot, smooth, soft flesh...and sweet, sweet wetness.

“Celine...baby...ahhh yes...so wet...”

Her hands were doing their own exploration on his body, too, caressing his chest, running along his muscled pecs and abdomen…down to his groin. With only a small hesitation, she encircled his erection with her fingers, all ten of them wrapping around his thick pole he wanted to explode in pleasure.

“God, that’s good baby. Yes…You want that, baby?”

“Dare...oh Dare, please!”

He teased her clit, rubbing gently as her hands moved restlessly on his hardness.

She was drenching his fingers, as turned on as he was, as ready as he was.

Shit, he couldn’t possibly last…

“Guide me...”

Biting her lower lip, she placed his cock head against her pussy.

He groaned at the first contact of their genitals, scalded by her wet heat.

She rubbed him on her slippery crevices and he panted like a hungry animal, beset by instinct to impale her hard and hump away like mad. But she was holding his cock and using it like a dildo, rubbing it all over her cream-frothing snatch.

“Babe, now! I want to be inside you now! Guide me in!”

“I don’t...” she moaned and continued rubbing them together, as if she didn’t know where to join them. “Dare, I can’t...”

He growled and took over, guiding his shaft to find her opening. Her wetness was flowing profusely he could slide in easily.