Then I lean into him and stretch up onto my toes, sliding one hand up his arm to curl around the back of his neck and pull him down into a kiss.

For an instant, there is no portal. There’s no Liz, no armed crew ready to kill us, no loved ones waiting for us on Earth. He’s motionless for a heartbeat. Then he slides his arm around the small of my back and pulls me in against him, our bodies colliding and robbing me of breath.

His other hand cups my cheek, as gentle as his embrace is fierce, and my skin burns where his fingers rest. I meant to shock him, distract him, interrupt his frozen indecision—and instead I’m the one who’s melting, my body fitted against him, my lips parting with his, a heat washing over me so intense I have to break away or else catch fire...