He’d reacted as he always had as a kid in the L.A. barrio — defensively. Hit before he got hit. Cut the enemy off at the knees before he cut off your balls.
But when did Helen become my enemy?
Maybe he should apologize.
Probably he wouldn’t.
With a grimace, Rafe watched the female soldier in front, an Ohio college professor and linguistics expert, listen to some final instructions from Helen, then step out into the blue sky. She drifted in a freefall for the recommended several seconds’ delay before her parachute swooped open above her with a snap, changing shape like an enormous jellyfish.
The next jumper — a hotdog race car driver from Atlanta whose mechanical skills were renowned in the munitions field — gave a loud whoop before diving headfirst out into the open sky — a lumpout. Within seconds, he’d “fallen stable” into a high-speed delta position — straight legs, arms held back at an angle from the sides of the body. No flopping around for this experienced skydiver. Rafe thought he heard him yell, “Ooo-ee, baby!” as he went down.
Helen frowned with disapproval at the antics and made a mark in her logbook. The hotdog was on Helen’s shit list.
It was Rafe’s turn.
A familiar spiral of excitement began to unfurl in his gut, sort of like the beginning stages of sexual arousal. He’d always enjoyed the danger and exhilaration of skydiving. Did Helen feel the same? Damn, he had to stop thinking of her in that way, or these two weeks would be even more hellish than he already expected.
He approached the doorway, adjusted his harness straps, and was about to put on his helmet. Suddenly the plane pitched, hitting a particularly violent patch of turbulence. The aircraft seemed to veer slightly off course to the right, heading toward a canyon. The jump signal was now a steady red.
But then he noticed that the jerking motion of the plane had caused Helen to fall back against a sharp projection, catching her harness. When she righted herself, the back portion of her harness ripped on the cutting metal, the shoulder straps flapping in the wind. And she had veered dangerously close to the open exit.
“Helen!” he shouted in warning, even though he was only a few feet away. “Your harness!”
Her head snapped to the right to look at him, her brown eyes wide with confusion. At the same time, he dropped his helmet and lurched forward to grab her by the waist and pull her back. Unfortunately, the plane made a sharp correction again, throwing them both off balance. And out the open doorway… free-falling through space. Luckily, Rafe had his arms wrapped tightly around Helen’s waist.
Holy hell!
“You stupid ass! Let go of me,” she shrieked, attempting to shove him away. They were falling fast. The pins flew out of the bun at her neck, and her long hair flew in his face, blinding him momentarily.
He spit out a clump of her hair that had landed in his open mouth. “Ouch!” Her knee had just hit him in the groin. “Wrap your legs around my waist,” he shouted above the whooshing air and his pounding heartbeat.
“Not on your life, buster!”
They had about three minutes until landing — If their chutes opened properly, if he could hold onto Helen’s squirming body, if he didn’t have a heart attack. And he damn well couldn’t waste time arguing with a stubborn, born-to-boss female.
“Helen, your harness is broken. We’re dropping like lead weights,” he roared. “You can’t take a chance. No time.”
Eyes widening with alarm, she looked at her torn shoulder straps and reacted instinctively. Wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders, she buried her face in his neck. Holding his breath, he arched his back and threw his arms out. Once their suspension lines were taut, the parachutes automatically unfurled above them in a cloud, slowing their descent.
Thank God!
He put his right palm under her buttocks and his left hand behind the nape of her neck, and smiled. The sexual high he always felt in skydiving blossomed into a fullblown erection. He wondered idly if a couple had ever done it while free-falling through space. Knowing some of the crazies who did skydiving stunts, he wouldn’t be surprised.