His hand slid into my hair, fingers curling at the nape of my neck, thumb stroking a slow line that sent a shiver down my spine.
“But it makes one thing very simple,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“I’m not letting you go again.”
My throat tightened.
“Good,” I said, leaning down to kiss him once, quickly, grounding us both.
18
LEVI
We lay tangled together, breathing hard, the yacht rocking gently beneath us.
Twice.
We'd had sex twice, and I was pretty sure if I moved too quickly, my legs would give out.
Amelia shifted beside me, her hand trailing lazily across my chest. "You need to go talk to your father."
I groaned. "No."
"Levi—"
"Let's take the yacht far out to sea," I said. "Or maybe take the black card and buy a flight to Australia. I hear Queensland's nice this time of year."
She propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at me with that expression—the one that said she was serious and I wasn't getting out of this.
"I'm serious," she said. "This is serious. It's your dad."
I stared at the ceiling. "I know."
"Then you need to talk to him."
I turned my head to look at her. "I'm not sure I'm ready to face him alone."
She studied me for a beat, then made the decision for me. "I'm going to have breakfast up on deck," she said. "And then I'm going to call my boss to discuss my … change of plans."
I frowned. "What does that look like?"
She shrugged. "I'll figure it out as I go."
That was Amelia. Jumping into the deep end and figuring out how to swim on the way down.
I sighed. "Fine."
The shower helped.
Hot water, steam, the rhythm of it pounding against my shoulders. I stood under the spray and thought about all the things I needed to say to my father.
Where the fuck have you been?
Why did you let us think you were dead?
How many more lies are there?
