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Thirty-seven

“ I’M JUST CURIOUS ...” Riley said as they closed in on the Four Corners area.

“Uh-oh.” Greyson smirked.

“Very funny,” she said as two more cars passed them on the road. She kept expecting to see Kevin and Steve in one, but thankfully, not yet. They’d really given them the slip for now, but her gut said it wouldn’t last long.

“Ri?” Grey said, shifting to face her, the shafts of sunlight silhouetting him on the frosted window.

“Sorry. Mind drifted. I was just thinking about Julie’s comment about needing the high rollers’ stolen money back.”

“And?”

“And I wonder who actually broke into the safe—Jared or Kelly. I mean, I just can’t believe Kelly would do something like that, though I didn’t know her that well, obviously.” Still, she would never have pegged her for a thief. Part of her hoped Jared was the one running it all, and Kelly had fallen for the guy and just gotten in over her head, but the clues weren’t pointing that way. If anything, it looked like they were very much in it together.

“Does it matter who broke into the safe? They both took the money and ran.”

“No.” She sighed. “I suppose it doesn’t, and depending on who the high rollers are and how much money they lost, they could come after Kelly too. I saw it happen in Vegas more than once.”

He reached over and clutched her hand. “I can’t imagine what all you saw growing up there.”

She sighed. “I try not to think about it, but it lives in the back of my mind.”

“I’m sorry, luv.”

“You just called me luv again.”

He swallowed. “Would you prefer I not?”

“No. I just didn’t expect it afterwe left the retreat and stopped playing a couple.”

“Right.” His voice dipped. “Just playing.” He nodded and leaned back, slipping his hand from hers. “I better get back to searching,” he said, opening his laptop.

“Right. Work.” She took a steadying breath, but it didn’t help. She was far from steady.

He tapped on the laptop keys as she drove, the silence loud between them.

****

Hours of searching motel parking lots in the nearby towns and showing Kelly’s and Jared’s pictures to the people working the front desks resulted in no leads.

“It’s time we find a hotel and get some rest,” Grey said.

“All right.”

He hadn’t expected her to agree so readily, but the string of yawns from her said she needed her rest.

Before long, they were settled in two connecting rooms on the back side of the Lucky Eight Motel. The snow that’d subsided for the past few hours fell again in a fury, and he was thankful to have Riley inside a warm hotel room.

“I guess I should get ready for bed.” She grabbed her backpack and headed for the bathroom.

The water ran, and a few minutes later, she returned, face shiny.

He stood and stretched, and she strode to him. Standing right in front of him. So beautiful and right there. The ache to pull her into his arms was unrelenting.

He leaned against the dresser.

She stepped forward, halting mere inches in front of him.

He cocked his head. “What are you doing?”

“I want to try something.” She rested her palm on his chest.

“What?” He swallowed.

“This.” She leaned in and brushed her lips across his.

“Ri...” He breathed, his entire being lit with feelings he’d locked down so long ago. “We can’t.” He gripped the edge of the dresser.

“You said the kiss wasn’t without feeling.”

He nodded. What was he doing? Get it together , man.

“Then what is it?” she asked, not moving back. She tipped her head up to look him in the eye. So much emotion welled inside. “Please tell me you don’t still view me as a kid sister?”

Warmth powered through him, and dizziness swarmed his head. “Believe me, brotherly is the last thing I feel for you.”

With that, she raised up on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

His heart thudded in his ears. “Ri...” he whispered against her neck, her sweet ocean scent enveloping him, her skin so soft against his. “We shouldn’t.”

“Is that what you really want?” she murmured as she ran her fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck—her forehead pressed to his.

His breath came in short spurts.

“Hmm?” she whispered, her lips right there. “Don’t you want to kiss me?”

“More than you know.” His willpower crumbled, and he engulfed her in his arms, kissing her with all he had—all the feelings he’d carried for her for so long.

She kissed him back, and he deepened the kiss, his hands splayed across her back. Time stood still.

When he finally managed to pull back, he rested his forehead against hers again, his touch tender, his breath still ragged. He trailed his finger along her throat, feeling her pulse quicken beneath his finger. “You’re breathtaking, you know that?”

She leaned deeper into him. “You think I’m breathtaking?”

“You steal mine.” He kissed her again, and a happiness he hadn’t felt in years overcame him.

This was bad. Very, very bad. He had to tell her. She had to understand why they could never be, and why he never should have let this happen—as amazing as it was.