A mistake!
Water filled her nostrils … throat. She gagged. Felt it—
Air smacked her.
Kasra coughed hard, sputtering as she tried to haul in greedy breaths.
“Easy. Steady,” Range huffed, one arm hooked across her chest and the other slicing into the water, swimming them toward the boat.
Fighting tears of relief, she clung to his arm, remembering his warning not to fight him. She did not know how to best help him except to kick her legs, too.
“Here,” he huffed again. “Catch the boat. Climb up.”
She glanced over and saw they were there. Holding him tightly with one hand, she caught a handle with the other. Found another and tried to pull herself over … and started sliding back—
Range unceremoniously shoved her backside up.
She flopped into the rubber boat like a fish. Scrabbling around, she reached to help Range. But he was already halfway over the side. Skilled and strong. It was impossible not to notice the way his dark shirt was plastered to his sculpted torso. Recalled when she had thought to let him have her. Give herself to him. And he’d stopped. Called it and her a mistake. It hurt. So very deeply. Did he not understand that she hadnevergiven herself to anyone like that? She had neverwantedto make love to someone before?
Aware of her own clothes stuck to her, she suctioned them free, but it was of little use with them so wet.
Range moved to the back and powered up the motor. After a signal to the ship that they were good, he steered them away from the ship. He was a marvel. No hesitation. Nothing he could not do. Why would he think beautiful women did not choose him? She had. Would.
Maybe she should stop thinking that way. He clearly did not deem her worthy enough.
They zipped along the waters, the boat slapping the waves with determination.
Kasra settled in the bottom, holding the handles and shivering so fiercely her teeth clacked. The deafening whir of the motor, the howl of the wind as they tore into the Persian Gulf, made it impossible to chat. Not that her clacking teeth would let her. She burrowed down, doing her best to hide from the wind. She knew not how long it took them, but Range was skilled and masterful at navigating over the black void that was the ocean.
Lights blinked in the distance.
She looked back to Range, who gave a grim nod where he knelt, steering them. They navigated around the Hawar Islands. A while longer and a little farther delivered them into the dusky maw of a small inlet without a real dock. Fishing boats lined the shore.
He drove them right up to the edge and hopped out, pulling the boat ashore. “Grab your gear.” On the gravelly stretch, they unloaded their belongings, then he made quick work of stowing the boat in a covered grill area with a half wall. Perfect for hiding the boat. “C’mon.”
They hurried through the rapidly lightening morning. Thanks to the speed of the boat and hours on the water, their clothes were mostly dry and would not draw undue attention. With dawn not yet fully proclaiming herself, most people would likely still be sleeping. Would they take another car? There were plenty here to choose from.
She had no sooner wondered that than she noticed him checking vehicle windows. No, not windows—locks. Finally at an older pick-up that looked like many of the others around, he nodded to her.
Understanding his meaning, she hurried to the passenger side. Stowed her bags in the back. Climbed in. Even as she buckled in, the engine turned over. Range pulled into traffic and in under an hour, they were outside the nearby limits.
She couldn’t help but admire him. With his brooding blue eyes, his muscular body, and his intense focus … it was no wonder she … Loved him?
“… that’s not all that love is …”
Range had been talking about sex. But why had he mentioned love? Was he thinking about it? No, impossible. He would not love her. It was impossible this fast, was it not? He implied there was more to love than sex, but … what was it? Whatdidit look like?
That question kept her company as they drove to Al Hofuf, east of Riyadh. She wondered what Atia would do when she saw her. They had not spoken or seen each other in over two years. How would she convince Zahir to release Atia to her after all this time?
“You okay?” Range asked, as the sun climbed into the sky and threw a warm glow across his blue eyes.
“Zahir has raised Atia these last two years. I worry he will not easily let me take her.” It had taken much pleading for him to accept her in the first place. But after two years, she was sure there was a bond …
“If that happens, we warn him that bad people are coming for the girl. And if he keeps her, he will need to prepare for violence.”
The words stole her words. She eyed him. “That is true, is it not?”
He smirked. “We aren’t going out of our way to secure the kid just for fun, right?”
