Page 18

It had been an hour since Miri had been forced to leave Rafa with his sorry excuse for a father.

And her tears had yet to stop.

The scene with Vautour played on repeat in her head. That look on Rafa’s face when he’d realized his father was none other than the most notorious man in the archaeological world. The man who’d been working against them since they’d arrived.

Rafa had no one. Only a mother he never knew and a father who betrayed him.

He didn’t deserve that. No, even after ripping apart her heart he didn’t deserve to have his broken by his own dad. She couldn’t abandon him, too.

Not that she’d ever intended to.

Despite Vautour’s commands, Miri had lingered, hiding inside the belly of a strangler fig, waiting for Vautour and his men to leave. She spied on them from a distance, unable to hear what they were saying, but their body language spoke loud and clear—Rafa wasn’t on his dad’s side. Eventually, Vautour and his crew went one direction and Hunter and Rafa went another. She kept her distance as she followed behind Hunter, aware that getting any closer would give her position away. It was hard to keep up without revealing her presence, and she lost them. Or at least, she thought she did until she saw Hunter take off running—without Rafa.

Fuck! Where is he? She ran in the direction Hunter had fled, her head snapping every which way looking for Rafa, when she tripped and tumbled toward the forest floor. But as she braced herself for a face full of dirt, something soft and warm cushioned her fall. No, not something. Rafa, knocked out cold on the ground with blood trailing down his dirty cheek from his eye.

“Rafa! Rafa!” she said, shaking him by the shoulders. But he didn’t budge. “No, no, no,” she said, placing her ear on his heart. Bum bum. Bum bum.

Thank God. He was still breathing. But barely. Being unable to rouse him and before her panic set in, she ran back to Florestacasa to get Felix and Logan. Once they returned, Rafa was still passed out on the jungle floor but, thankfully, still alive. For the briefest of moments as Felix and Logan lifted Rafa’s arms over their shoulders, his eyes fluttered open. He stared at Miri, groggy-eyed and solemn, and mumbled, “You came back.”

Miri managed to pull out a smile before his eyes closed again. He was in rough shape. Almost as bad as Quinn had been.

The guys helped carry him back, asking all sorts of questions Miri didn’t have the answers to. She filled in the blanks as best she could, but it only led to more questions.

They made it back to Florestacasa right before nightfall. Felix agreed to do a first watch of Rafa so Miri could shower and change. She took her time, packing her things after she’d showered. By morning, they’d be gone. Never to see this place again, which was fine with her. This forest full of secrets and danger didn’t want them there. She saw that now. They were lucky they were making it out at all.

A light sprinkle began to fall from the sky. Within moments, the rain increased to a steady flow. Thunder roared through the trees. The scent of rain filled the air and calmed her nerves. Now she understood why people bought those rainforest sound CDs. It was quite soothing. If there was one thing Miri needed, it was something to soothe her soul. She listened to the rain as it hit the roof of the overhang under which she sat.

She looked out her window toward Rafa’s cabin, seeing the light flick on and Felix exit the cabin, bringing with him a chair he set by the door. She’d waited long enough. She needed to find out if he was okay. And she needed answers.

Miri marched over to Rafa’s cabin. The rain soaked through her shirt and plastered her hair on her forehead. She wiped her hand over her glasses so she could see, but it did nothing. It actually made things worse. As she approached the door, Felix stood up to greet her.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“He’s awake. He said he wanted to shower,” Felix explained.

“Are you sure he’s okay? He might have a concussion,” she said, unable to hide her concern.

“Well, I…uh…I mean, he seemed okay,” Felix said. “I can check on him—”

But Miri cut him off. “No, you go. I’ll take the next watch. Why don’t you get some sleep?”

Felix nodded, and once he was gone, she stood outside Rafa’s door, took a deep breath, then knocked.

The sound of his footsteps shuffled on the other side of the door. A moment later he opened it, staring at her in just a towel. The shower was still running and, judging by the dirt and blood on his face, he had yet to get in. After everything he’d done—and how filthy he looked—he shouldn’t have looked so handsome. But everything about him was perfect. He still had hurt in his eyes, however, and Miri wanted nothing more than to hold him, to hug him and tell him that everything would be okay. Which was ridiculous when she thought about it, because first, everything was not okay. And second, she was the one who should get the hug. He should comfort her for what he’d done. Not the other way around.

“I need answers,” she blurted out, trying to not let her emotions get in the way of business.

He sighed, exhausted, but not as if he was going to make her leave.

“Give me a minute,” he said.

He left the door open, allowing her to follow him inside. She closed the door behind her as he went into the bathroom and turned off the shower. A moment later, he came out still in only his towel, then walked over to his bag, pulling out dry clothes.

“I can wait,” she said.

He glanced at her, clearly confused.

“If you want to shower first,” she clarified.

“Are you sure?”

What was the difference? A few minutes?

“Yes, I’ll wait out here,” she said, sitting in a chair off to the side of the bed.

“All right, I’ll be quick.”

He went back into the bathroom, and seconds later the shower started again. What am I doing? She hadn’t even waited thirty seconds before changing her mind. No, no, she couldn’t wait.

She marched over to the bathroom door and banged.

“I’m sorry, I…We need to talk,” she said through the door.

He opened the door— God, still with that towel —standing next to the sink with a washcloth in his hands. “I thought you were going to wait?”

“I was. I am. But…I…” She looked at him and all the blood and dirt on his face, then snatched the washcloth from his hands. “Here,” she said, entering the bathroom and wetting the washcloth under the shower spray before bringing it up to clean his face.

He turned, resting his backside against the sink. They spoke not a word as she swabbed the cloth across his skin. He winced when she dabbed near his eye, clearly having been punched again. It would be silly to ask who’d blessed him with this most recent marking. She thought about making a joke about whether he’d graced Hunter with a poem, but the remorse in Rafa’s eyes signaled he probably wasn’t up for her nervous witticisms.

Slowly, she cleaned his face, rinsing the filth from the cloth as needed. Returning him to all his handsome glory.

“Why are you being kind to me?” he finally asked.

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, debating how to answer. “You were too hideous to try to have a conversation with, that’s all,” she said, hoping to get a smile out of him. Something to temper the sadness in his eyes.

The slightest upturn in the corner of his mouth ticked. She’d consider that a win.

“You’re too good for me,” he said.

“I know.” This time she smiled, giving him permission to do the same, but his face remained steady. So she resumed wiping his face in silence, and he finally spoke.

“I didn’t know my father was Pierre Vautour,” he said.

Miri nodded. Given the way Rafa had reacted when they’d faced Vautour and his gang, that was the one thing she was confident in.

“But you were trying to keep me from succeeding. You lied to me. From the moment we got here,” Miri said, not as a question.

“Yes,” Rafa said, closing his eyes and dipping his head.

“I trusted you.” Her words came out shaky and not at all with the confident voice she tried to muster. “I told you things I’ve never told anyone, and you used that to play me for a fool.”

“No,” Rafa said, taking both her hands in his, squeezing the washcloth with them and dripping water onto the floor. “I never took you for a fool. Honest to God, Pringles.”

“How do you expect me to believe that? How do you expect me to believe anything you say? I mean, what the fuck, Rafa? Are you even a journalist for Global Geography , or was that a bunch of bullshit, too?”

She snatched her hands away, clenching her fists.

“Yes. Everything I told you about that is true. My job. My resignation. My dad’s involvement in GloGeo . I learned of this assignment at the same time I tried handing in my resignation. My boss then called my dad, and he convinced me I needed to complete this mission for my mother.”

Miri furrowed her brow and ticked her head to the side. “Your mother?”

“He said…he said she was a member of os protetores. That they met when he was here over thirty years ago searching for the Moon City, and that she was sent to stop him, but that they fell in love. He said he made a promise to her that he’d spend his life protecting the city and that I needed to carry on her legacy by doing the same.”

“Do you think that’s true? That she was one of them?”

Rafa shrugged. “I mean, that’s what he told me, but now? Well, I have no idea. And I have no way of finding out. Knowing him, or rather, knowing Vautour, it probably was a bunch of bullshit. But I wanted to believe him.” He paused and looked away. “You don’t understand. Something’s been missing my whole life. Knowing who I am. Where I came from. I craved that connection. He knew what I needed to hear. How to manipulate me.”

A sickening feeling sank into Miri’s gut.

“And is that what you were doing to me? Duping me? Telling me what I needed to hear?”

“Pringles, no,” he said, clasping his hands tightly in front of his chest. “I told him I couldn’t do it. I told him I…” He paused and held back whatever it was that was on the tip of his tongue.

“What? What did you tell him?”

“I…I told him I was falling for you.”

Miri folded her arms and took a step back. His words roiled through her head, mixing with flashes from the night before. His lips. His hands. His eyes.

“Why would you say that?” she demanded, her voice quavering. Her heart couldn’t take it.

“Because it’s the truth. I tried to stay away from you, I swear I did. But you…you consume me. All those things you talked about last night—the incessant chatter, the desire to earn what you’ve got, the corny jokes, and, my God, your obsession with snacks—I love them three times over. You enrapture me. I know I don’t deserve you. And I’m not asking for your forgiveness. You can do better than me. But you deserve to know how fucking rad you truly are.”

Tears started to stream down Miri’s face. “And what if I want you ?”

He shook his head. “I put you in danger.”

“Hey, I thought I was the one putting us in danger,” she said with a smile. “Don’t try stealing credit.”

But he didn’t smile back. “I’m serious, Pringles. I hurt you.”

“And he hurt you!”

“This isn’t a one-to-one exchange. My dad’s actions don’t excuse mine.”

“You are not responsible for your father,” she proclaimed. “And I’m not excusing anything. But I’m trusting my heart because…”

She paused, and the room filled with steam as he stared at her. His chest rising and falling. Heavy with his breath, as if he anticipated her words.

“Because what, Pringles?”

“Because I…I’m falling for you, too.”

The words came out of nowhere. Words that Miri had never spoken before. But somehow, after everything, it felt right to say them to him. Yes, she wanted answers. But even more, she wanted him. She wanted his love. His warmth. His comfort. And perhaps it made her a fool for wanting all those things. But when she looked into his eyes? When she saw his face…she knew she wasn’t the only one who had been deceived.

All he’d ever wanted was happiness. And all she wanted was him.

Without hesitation, Rafa pulled her into his arms. He pressed her back against the door as he pressed his lips to hers, taking her in. He pulled her wet shirt over her head and it dropped to the floor with a slap. Their hands fumbled, removing the rest of her clothes. His towel fell to the floor. When they’d completely disrobed her, they stumbled backward into the shower. The warm spray hit their skin but couldn’t break their lips from each other. She moaned as his lips pulled from her mouth and dragged down her neck. His hand moved between her legs. Cupping her mound, already wet from more than the water. He moved farther down her body until he was kneeling on the floor of the shower, his face level with the apex of her thighs. The water from the shower head pounded against his back. He looked up at her. Those eyes told her exactly what she needed to know.

He drove his mouth between her legs. Slowly licking her soft, slippery folds. Tasting her. Sending enraptured missiles firing throughout her body. With one hand steadying her, he used the other to spread her legs, bringing one leg over his shoulder. He opened his mouth, placing it over her opening. He moaned into her as he lapped at her clit. She grabbed his hair, and he looked up at her once more. Feasting upon her with both his eyes and his mouth.

For a moment, he took his mouth away. And she missed it. She missed the feel of his warmth. Of his rough, ragged, yet talented tongue. But he mercifully returned shortly after, this time bringing his fingers to her entrance and pushing inside her as his mouth returned to her clit, licking it with soft flicks. Faster, faster as his fingers pumped in and out of her. Steadying herself with one hand against the shower wall and the other on his head, she cried out as she came, squeezing tightly around his fingers. Letting the orgasm wash throughout every inch of her body.

Slowly, he removed his fingers and stood before her. And then he kissed her with that mouth. She tasted herself upon him, still wanting more.

They traded positions, now with his back against the wall, and the shower spray hitting her back. His hands cupped her ass, kneading her flesh, as she lowered her hand between them and wrapped it tightly around his cock. He moaned in her mouth as she stroked him. But she wanted him to feel everything that she’d felt when he’d made her come. She lowered herself to his erection. With his back flat against the shower wall, he stared down at her. His chest heaved as he watched her drag her tongue in long, slow licks across the entire length of his shaft. She cupped his balls as she circled her tongue along his cock’s head before putting him in her mouth.

“Oh fuck,” he said, bracing himself against the shower wall.

His head tipped back. But she didn’t take her eyes off him, watching him writhe as she pleasured him. She took his length in her mouth. Slowly increasing the speed. With one hand on the shaft, stroking along with her mouth, the other hand massaging his balls, she watched him come undone. He stared down at her again. Staring into her eyes.

“Fuck. This feels too good. I’m gonna come if you don’t stop.”

That’s what she wanted, though. She wanted him to feel good. She wanted him to know that he deserved to feel good. She increased her speed. And he moaned once more before stopping her.

“No,” he said. “I want you. I want all of you.”

She took her mouth from him and then turned off the water before standing to his level. He kissed her once more, then lifted her body, wrapping her legs around his waist as he carried her out into the main room. Their bodies were dripping wet. Sliding against each other as he carried her before setting her on the clean, crisp white bed sheets. He kissed her once more, and then he looked into her eyes.

“I want to make love to you, Miri,” he said. “Is that okay?”

She nodded.

“I want to hear you say it,” he said.

“I want you to make love to me. I want to feel every inch of you. I want to know you, Rafa. All of you.”

He smiled. Then got up off the bed and walked over to his baggage. He reached inside a zipper on the side pocket and pulled out a condom before returning. Rafa opened the condom wrapper and sheathed his cock with smooth precision. He then kneeled in front of her, open and waiting for him.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to regret this,” he said.

“I won’t. Do you think you’ll regret it?”

“The only thing I regret is not telling you everything else sooner. Telling you how I felt about you.”

“Then show me how you feel.”

Rafa crawled toward her. With one hand bracing himself on the mattress, the other held his cock at her opening, circling between her slippery folds. Wet. Dripping with desire. He took a deep breath and thrust inside her, and she cried out in pleasure. My God. So this is what it’s supposed to feel like.

He rocked into her. Slowly at first, then increasing his speed.

He lifted her back from the mattress, pulling her chest against his. Rafa shifted his weight so that his ass was on the mattress and she was straddling him. With his help, she rolled her hips on him. It felt so natural being on top of him, and he stared into her eyes before crying out in euphoric pleasure, his body holding her tightly against him as he shuddered through his orgasm.

And they both came undone.