Excerpt of Kiss Of The Virgin Queen by Sharon Buchbinder

Arta Shahani stood at the curb of the one-runway
Summertown Airport, took a deep breath of clean air, and
admired the pristine mountains. An eagle floated
overhead, enjoying the updraft. He wished he could ride
the wind with the bird, and watch the green vistas and
mountains roll under him again. One of the hazards of
living in the Washington D.C.
area was he sometimes forgot the more remote, less
populated portions of the country. No matter, once he
was with Eliana, it didn’t matter where he was. “With
thee, my love, hell itself were heaven…”

He tapped his foot and jingled the change in his pocket
and then stopped, suddenly self-aware of his mannerisms.
Arta felt a flush of embarrassment dashed with a tinge of
boyish anticipation. Eliana. All he had to do was think
her name and crazy things came over him. His pulse raced,
muscles tensed, blood rushed to all the wrong parts of
his body. He knew the term for it, flight, fight, or f—

The sharp blast of a car horn interrupted his musings.

The object of his fascination sat in a black government
sedan in front of him.

Eliana.

For a frozen moment, he stopped breathing. His stomach
plummeted, and his pulse kicked into erratic beats. He
couldn’t stop staring at her. Her green eyes sparkled
with humor, and a mischievous grin spread from one
flushed cheek to the other. Just as lovely as the first
time he met her and took her hand. A jolt of joy headed
for his pants. That would never do. He placed his
briefcase over his groin and waved.