Afterburn

It started the day they were assigned to the same Phantom in the middle of the Vietnam War — a look held a fraction too long, a current neither man acknowledged. Captain Hawk Sullivan lives for speed. For altitude. For the burn of jet fuel and the clean clarity of combat at thirty thousand feet. In the cockpit, he is precise, disciplined, untouchable. Lieutenant Hank Collins, his RIO, sits at his back — calm voice in his headset, steady hands on the radar, the only man Hawk trusts when missiles lock and seconds matter. They don't cross lines. They just fly them. Every mission tightens the tension between them. Briefing rooms thick with heat. Shared quarters heavy with silence. Shoulders brushing in narrow corridors. A glance that lingers half a heartbeat too long before discipline snaps back into place. Then a missile screams through the sky. Shot down over enemy territory, stranded in hostile jungle, rank and regulation mean nothing. Survival strips them raw. Proximity becomes unavoidable. Breath too close in the dark. Hands steadying more than just wounds. The attraction they buried ignites under pressure — sharp, controlled, and impossible to deny. But rescue doesn't mean safety. Back on base, eyes linger. Rumors spark. The same military that trusted them with aircraft and ammunition will not tolerate what burns between them. When exposure threatens court-martial, prison, and permanent grounding, Hawk and Hank face a choice neither training nor discipline prepared them for: Protect their wings… or protect each other. Because some fires don't fade when the mission ends. They leave an afterburn. Afterburn is a high-stakes MM historical romance about fighter pilots, forbidden desire, and choosing love even when it costs everything.