Page 18 of Keep Me Safe
It was a small death, for I knew how he would interpret my answer. I’d just confirmed what he’d been telling me all along, that I did want him. Even at twenty thousand feet in the air, I could feel the ground shift beneath me as any remaining power I had went to him.
“Look at me,” he requested, and I obeyed. “If you want me to stop, I’ll stop. But slowing down isn’t something I’m capable of. I only have one?—”
“Is there a blanket?” I asked.
He looked derailed. “I’m sorry?”
“I’d like to pretend to sleep so I don’t have to talk to you, and I’m cold.”
His stunned silence lasted a single heartbeat. “We don’t have to talk anymore.”
He moved too fast. A hand slipped into my hair and pulled my face to his, and he was kissing me before it could register what had happened.
His lips moved with mine, and heat spread down from his mouth, filling my body with smoke. I let him part my lips with his tongue and explore with no resistance. I had no control; it was all his. And it should have bothered me, but it didn’t. His kiss made me go boneless, and I worried I was going to melt into the seat.
But he ended the kiss just as I reached for him, craving more.
“Victoria?” he said. The attendant reappeared from behind a divider. “Kara would like a blanket, please.”
Not that I needed it now. His kiss had left me feverish, and he seemed well aware, passing the soft blanket to me with a smug expression.
It was made worse when I couldn’t figure out how to recline the seat and he leaned over, activating the lever, his gaze locked on mine as he lowered my seat almost flat. Once it was converted into a bed, I threw the blanket over myself and turned away from him in a huff. If he weren’t watching me, I would have marveled at the seat. How could I go back to flying economy now?
Shawn had ruined it for me.
And I had the terrible feeling that wasn’t all he was going to ruin.
7
SHAWN
I decidedto let Kara be for a while. I moved to the desk and spent the next ninety minutes working until Victoria had breakfast prepared and Kara had to stop pretending to be asleep. Her icy blue eyes trapped mine as I returned to sit beside her so we could eat together.
“I don’t want to seem ungrateful,” her voice was restrained and polite, “but when we land in Maastricht, I’d prefer it if you didn’t get off your plane.”
“I believe I mentioned I wanted to see you home, to make sure you get there safely.” I tried not to put too much emphasis on it.
Her gaze narrowed. “That’s not necessary.”
The annoyance at my brother and sister-in-law grew. Kara had a right to know she was potentially in danger. “Jason asked me to do this. Perhaps he’s paranoid, but I didn’t have a problem agreeing to it, and I’m going to follow through.”
I witnessed my annoyance mirrored in her eyes. “Scott Rhodes is in police custody in New York. I think I’m safe with the ocean between us.” She returned to her cantaloupe, cutting off a hunk with aggression.
“It’s not Rhodes that Jason’s worried about,” I said. “It’s Juric.”
She froze mid-bite.
Did her mind go blank the way mine did whenever she heard that name?
I’d known him as Frey, but he’d begun using the name Ryan Juric once he’d become obsessed with Laurel. The psychotic assassin had abducted her and held her captive for four terrifying weeks.
“What’s happened?” Anxiety made Kara go pale. “Jason said the CIA had him. He said they were safe.”
An unfamiliar need gripped me. Not a sexual one, but a desire to protect. I took her hand to offer comfort and found it cool to the touch. “The man Jasonbelievesis CIA reached out. There was a fire where Juric was being held,” I hesitated, “and the bodies haven’t been identified yet.”
Her hand tightened instinctively on mine. “Juric’s escaped?”
“Ethan said it’s unclear. He could be one of the bodies. Apparently, the fire was very bad.”
