An Austin news site was reporting that my father and Kyler had vanished somewhere between Texasand the Caribbean, and that I was presumed dead. Rafferty had wanted me to go through DFW, but they’d started rolling out new screening tech, and I couldn’t risk drawing attention by opting out.
Aside from a small hiccup at the San Antonio airport—they called Kyler’s name to board, and I forgot they meant me—I got out of the country without much trouble. Money took care of the rest.
Coming back to the present, I stared at Rafferty, suddenly awkward, not sure where we stood. Were we friends? Were we lovers? Was he here on an international mission to kidnap me and return me to the States?
We hadn’t had a chance to talk about it.
Before I could catastrophize his presence, he grinned down at me and for the first time in a long time—a little over six months, to be exact—I feltsafe.
I took a deep breath and released it slowly.
Rafferty shook his head and pulled me in for a kiss. A moan escaped my throat as he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into my mouth. Carefully, we sat on the lounger, and he pulled me onto his lap.
“Hey,” I said, straddling him.
“Hey,” he responded, running his nose across mine.
My cheeks heated as I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face into his neck.
“Why so shy?”
“I just…” I huffed out a laugh, feeling ridiculous. “I don’t actually know what this is.”
“What do you want it to be?” he asked, running his palm over the buzzed look I’d grown fond of.
I bit my lip and looked out at the ocean. “More.”
His smile could’ve lit a darkened cave. “I can work with more.”
15
RAFFERTY
Bar wasn’t a huge place,but tracking Jesse down without setting off any alarms had been damned difficult.
In the end, it’d been a stroke of luck that brought me to his door. I’d asked around at a local coffee shop if they had any recommendations for room rentals, and the barista had mentioned Sofija’s place since it was right on the water. One of the old guys in the shop said another American, a Texan, had beaten me out for the location and suggested his uncle’s place instead.
I declined his offer, then all but ran to Sofija’s place, my heart nearly leaping out of my chest as I neared the picturesque home. I had no idea what I’d do with Jesse if this turned out to be his place, but I had to see for myself.
That was a lie. I knew exactly what to do with him.
My hands slid over his tight little butt. “I missed this ass.”
“It missed you,” he said, sending me a crooked grin as he dove in for another kiss.
Our kisses deepened, and we rutted against each other, our cocks hardening quickly.
There would be no teasing this go-round.
With another kiss, he stood and held out his hand. I stood as well and then took it. He walked backward, pulling me in for another kiss, reaching for the sliding door behind him. We practically fell into his little room, the heat ratcheting up quickly.
As if no time had passed.
I’d questioned my sanity the entire flight over. I had certainly broken the law in regard to this man several times over. I killed two people in self-defense, and could probably avoid jail time for that, but this? Going to meet the fugitive in another country?
There was no coming back from this.
And yet.
