Christmas Diamond, a Novella: Inspired by The Jewel series and the Virtues and Valor series Read Online Free PDF Page B

her engineer or another pilot. Instead, to her surprise, TJ Viscolli raced toward her, his face pale and his eyes wide. She realized he was calling her name.
    "Faith! Faith!"
    She slowly rose to her feet. Her knees felt like they were made of water and her stomach felt light. Her peripheral vision began to dim with each heartbeat and she realized that she was experiencing mild shock.
    Perhaps one second before she would have simply fainted onto the concrete runway, TJ caught her in his surprisingly strong arms and held her upright on her feet. She studied his face, so concerned, so worried. His eyes were deep brown, the color of milk chocolate.
    "Are you okay?" he asked. "Are you all right?"
    "Well, yes, I suppose I am. Made a bit of a bodge of it, though. I confess I feel completely barmy." When she saw the look of confusion on his face, she burst out laughing.
    His face never changed. "You were amazing, Faith. You're just reacting to the adrenaline. Why don't we sit back down?"
    "I find that I rather like being in your arms," she said, looping hers over his neck. Her arms felt weak and rubbery, so she gripped her wrist with one hand to keep them up.
    She tripped against him and he quickly turned his body and stepped back, stopping when his back hit her plane. "I have you trapped now," Faith said on a giggle, then stood on her toes and put her lips against his.
    Her first thought was how warm his mouth felt. Her second thought was how he didn't move. His hands stayed perfectly still, gripping her hips as if to pull her away, and his lips remained immobile.
    Undaunted, she pulled back and looked him in the eye. "I know you want to kiss me. You've wanted to all week."
    He cleared his throat. "Not like this."
    "Like what? Like when I'm intoxicated on adrenaline? I'm still in my right mind, Viscolli. I'm so happy to be alive and I'm incredibly happy to see you. So kiss me."
    She watched his eyes flare with emotion before he put a hand along the side of her neck, his fingers on the back of her head, and crushed his mouth to hers. She didn't know if it was his kiss or the rush of adrenaline and endorphins in her brain, but her head started spinning and her heart felt like it might beat itself out of her chest. A roaring sounded in her ears and she tightened her arms and stood back up on her toes, desperate to get closer to him. His arm tightened around her waist and his other hand gripped the back of her hair while he kissed her and kissed her and kissed her.
    He finally slowed and gentled the kiss, gradually, until their lips were just a whisper apart. She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her with such an intense expression in his chocolate brown eyes that she couldn't breathe. She slid a hand down to cup his cheek and felt her eyes well with tears.
    "I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life," TJ confessed in a whisper. "I thought I was going to lose you."
    "I didn't think I was strong enough to land," she confessed. "I just kept praying for strength."
    He closed his eyes and placed his lips on her forehead before saying, "Thank You, God, for giving her strength."
    Faith felt the breath hitch in her throat. How could she ever say good-bye to this man?
    She pushed her head back enough to look him in the eye again. "TJ, I —"
    Whatever she had been about to say, whatever foolish declaration of love she might have been about to express, was interrupted with the arrival of the emergency vehicles followed closely by her cousin Alfred. She felt frustrated at the interruption but turned as he launched himself out of Elizabeth's Jeep and rushed toward her.
    "I thought I'd done us both in," he said, gripping her hands. "I caught a pocket of air that threw my control off slightly. Are you okay?"
    "Just full of beans," she explained, squeezing his hands with hers. "I saw that black smoke and thought you were gone."
    "Rather pear shaped. At impact, my canopy went up. It didn't take but a tick to know I'd never get back under