Lost in Flames (Lost Series Book 2) (11 page)

"Yes. I know some people I can trust. Don't you worry, Tessa, we'll find him and this will finally be over." He stepped out of the room to an office and got on the phone.

"Now it's time for us to get away from here, where no one can find us."

He seemed hopeful and she yearned to feel the same way. Yet, she'd been burned too many times and it was hard to trust that her nightmare could finally end.

Chapter Sixteen

Ryan sat at the hotel bar waiting nervously for his date to arrive. Who knew if he was anxious because he'd pined over one guy for so many years or because of what had happened the night before? Such anger he had at himself for listening to Sophia. After everything, he felt like he should be close to her, just in case something bad occurred.

Or close to Jacob.

He rested his head against his hand and wondered if Sophia knew more than she let on. It was good for him to get away and she'd practically forced him to keep his plans. He told her he was meeting a guy and she supported him a hundred percent. Hers was true friendship and he'd never let that go. He needed to let his feelings go for her brother though. Everything was becoming too complicated and things had to change.

Someone cleared his throat and he twisted to see Harrison standing there giving him an uncertain look. Ryan immediately stood and gave him a quick hug. "Hey!"

Harrison smiled then. "Hey. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes! Just a lot happening in the past couple days. I'm good now." Not that he'd never noticed Harrison's good looks before, but now that he was forcing himself to do so and erase feelings for Jacob, he realized just how much of a looker the man was. The blonde hair seemed longer than he remembered. "You're growing your hair out."

He sat down at the same time as Ryan and raised a brow in question. "I am. Does that hurt my chances?"

"Hell no! I think it looks great." There was no denying he was attracted to the man and for once in his life, he didn't feel like he had to hide it. About the same height as him, Harrison looked like he worked out to stay in shape. Broad shoulders, slim waist. If Ryan saw him shirtless, no doubt he wouldn't complain a bit.

"Good," he said with a sideways smile. "I was surprised to get your text. After being turned down a couple times, I'd given up. I just figured I wasn't your type."

"Not at all. I wasn't in the right place, but I am now and hopefully I'm not too late." His heart picked up the pace when Harrison put a hand over his. The gesture didn't come from the man he'd originally wanted, but he was feeling differently. If he'd have taken the chance a while before, maybe he would've been able to move on a long time ago.

"You're not too late," he assured.

Ryan grinned and ordered some drinks. The night started with him worrying over a hundred things, then proceeded with him just wanting to get to know the man beside him. And he did.

Chapter Seventeen

Tessa stared out at the ocean, unable to believe where she was and who she was with. Really, all she felt like was that they were waiting around for a ticking time bomb to go off. She tried to think positively and believe Marcus would make sure Richard was taken in. For good. She hated to have bad thoughts about Marcus and his men, but it was a small town force. How would they stop the man with so much power? Even if his power was his money and skills at lying.

The small two bedroom beach house was plenty for her and Mike. They'd been able to make the rental payment with cash without having to put a credit card down. She didn't know how Mike managed that and just felt glad they'd worked it out. That way, Richard couldn't track them. He probably knew everything about Mike and his family. Which meant he probably could or did put a tracker on them.

"Let's go to the beach." He wrapped his arms around her from behind and dropped a kiss on her neck. "Or we can stay in."

She laughed. "I would love to go walk and maybe get something to eat." He poked his lip out a little and then she added. "Then we can stay in."

"Yes!" He released her and grabbed her hand. "Let's get to going then. I'm ready for some dessert."

The boyish grin he gave her melted her heart. She had to tease him. "I see. You shouldn't eat too much sugar; it could be hell on your figure."

What a disappointing thought…

"I'll make sure to burn it all off. I'm willing to put in the extra work to do so." He locked the front door and led her out to the passenger side of the black Mustang Cooper had provided for them. He'd been the one to help arrange for the house, no doubt, too.

"It's already almost eight. Let's get something to eat and then come back for a late night walk on the beach," he suggested.

She nodded. "That would be nice."

Mike seemed comfortable in his truck, but she didn't miss his excitement when he got behind the wheel of the Mustang. So nice to see something as simple as driving a sporty car put that light in his eyes. She'd seen that same light when he looked at her and she enjoyed that as well. "Thank Cooper for making this possible. He helped with the house, too?"

"He did. They got it done without any credit card trail, and no one would even realize Cooper was the one to rent this place. His manager worked around it, just in case your ex decided to trace everyone's financials. I'm not sure how much info he could get, but I'm not going to take a chance on your life." He opened the car door for her and shut it behind her when she was in.

She watched him practically skip his way over to the driver's side and slide in with a little bounce. "You're enjoying this car."

There was no question about it.

"I am. Not that I care to own one. Trucks are more my thing and way more practical when navigating our roads sometimes. Too much gravel and low riding cars just don't seem like the right fit." He put the keys in the ignition and the car came to life with a rumble. "I do like the feel of the motor coming on like that. It makes me believe I could outrun the law in it."

She frowned. "That's not much fun."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. Just that it could pick up speed with ease." He lifted her left hand and kissed the middle of her palm.

"I know you didn't." She checked out the area while they drove down the strip. There were a good many people on the streets once they made it closer to all the shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues. She was on the verge of mentioning a seafood place she'd just spotted, but then he did the sweetest thing: He asked her opinion.

"Where do you want to eat?" He squeezed her hand. "I'm not picky and I want you to choose."

Tears began to blur her vision and she swiped at them with her free hand, getting Mike's attention. He pulled over in the parking lot to the seafood place.

Putting the car in park, he pulled her as far into his arms as he could in the snug car. "What's wrong? Did I say something?"

She sniffled and shook her head furiously against his neck. "No. I don't know why I'm so emotional."

"Sweetheart, you've been put through hell and it's not uncommon to be emotional." He nudged her back enough so he could see her face. "You can cry all you want if it helps you."

"You gave me the choice of where we eat. My marriage was all about what he wanted or needed. It didn't matter what I wanted as long as it suited him. It was hell even before he turned into a pyromaniac. I just never realized relationships weren't meant to be that way." She felt embarrassed to admit that, but she really did never know what she was missing by being with Richard.

"That crazy piece of shit will get what he deserves and so will you. I swear I'm going to make you see how it's supposed to be. You deserve to be worshipped and I'm going to do just that and in every way possible."

He wiggled his brows up and down suggestively, bringing a giggle out of her.

"I bet you will."

"Now that we've cleared everything up, what do you want to eat?" He brushed a loose piece of hair back behind her ear and kissed her lightly.

She looked around at the restaurant they were parked in front of. "This place caught my eye right before you asked. I love seafood."

"A woman after my own heart!" He threw his hands over his heart in a dramatic gesture.

It was cute how cheerful he could be. She'd noticed it before, and without as much to worry about, he was even more so. They got out and she stood outside the door while Mike went inside to get a wait time. There were a few small families waiting outside and from the peek she got when the door opened, a few more stood inside. Mike came out with a pager in his hand.

"They said twenty minutes." He shoved the square pager in his pocket and they walked around the restaurant admiring the sculptures of sea creatures.

Her favorite was the killer whale and dolphins. "They're so beautiful."

She'd always felt like the whales and dolphins that were being held captive in amusement parks. Honestly, she could relate to any captive animal that ached to be free. All of this might change for her, so she planned to enjoy what freedom she had.

"They are. I could never go see them at one of those parks, though. It's awful how they are forced to live." He frowned and his forehead creased with the disturbing thought.

"Are you in my head?" A legitimate question, considering how in sync they were.

"Nope. I just can't stand the thought of them living cooped up in tanks too small for them and getting exploited just so people make money. Any animal captured. I'd love to see them in person, but not to that extent." He laughed when a small boy came running around them and up to the statues.

They stepped out of the way, but not far. His blond hair had her thoughts drifting to what Mike's child would look like. What their child would look like if life weren't so cruel. She knew if they had a boy, he'd look just like his daddy. It would be perfect and she'd love seeing a little boy or girl running around her like that. One that would call her mommy.

"Hi!"

The small voice jerked her back to the now and she smiled down at the kid giving her a curious look. "Hi! What's your name?"

"Jackson. That's my mommy." He pointed to the bench right beside the statues where a young woman watched her son with a grin.

She spoke up, "Jackson, you shouldn't bother them."

"He's okay," Tessa said, and then turned her focus back to Jackson, not at all minding entertaining the young boy. "How old are you?"

"I'm five!" He held his right hand up, showing all of his fingers. "This is my new toy."

The innocence of him warmed her. He grinned so big, proud of the new action figure he held.

"I like it! What's his name?"

"Oh!" He squealed, his eyes growing wide as he raised the pager in his other hand then ran off to his mommy. "It worked! We can go inside now."

Tessa laughed at how the simple pager made the boy jump with joy.

"Cute little thing," Mike said.

"Yep." She sat down, pressed up against him at the now empty bench, thankful they had that time together. He had his hand resting on her thigh, rubbing his thumb back and forth, tempting her to change her mind about waiting on their dinner and hurry back to the house instead.

****

Tessa's eyes fell shut, her skin flushed, and she squeezed her legs together. That's when Mike thought he was losing control, and then she bit her bottom lip, just as her eyes popped back open. Their gazes connected and he was glad he didn't pick her up and carry her off like some caveman.

"Pizza good?" she offered, her voice turning husky.

"Hell yes." They didn't waste time and practically ran back to the car. "I don't know why we even left anymore."

Without removing his eyes from the road, he found her thigh and resumed right where he'd left off. He slid closer to her hips, while making sure he inched his way to the inside of her thigh. There, he gave a little squeeze and then traced his index finger lightly over the inseam of the pants. She groaned when he let his finger graze the inside of her thighs.

Her legs fell open a little more, giving him more range of motion. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand away when he parked in the driveway. He studied the beach house, happy the other houses stood farther from it. The darkness had settled outside. The look he gave her must've given her a clear idea of what he had planned, because her eyes widened and she darted her gaze around them.

He didn't give her enough time to be rational before sliding his seat all the way back and then, he twisted and reached across her body, making sure he touched as much of her as he could, pushing the button to move her seat back as well. Her heavy breaths fanned his hair while he leaned over her to lay her seat down. The task proved difficult in the confined space and he wanted to move them into the house. However, that would take time and he needed to touch her right away. He unbuttoned her pants with shaky hands and slipped one inside to touch her. Moans filled the quiet car as he pushed two fingers inside of her, the tightness of her pants not making it easy, but forcing the palm of his hand flat against her. From the way she bucked against his hand, the snug fit added to the pleasure of his invasion.

He maneuvered his body around, never ending the pleasure he was giving her, only getting in a better position to give her much more. With his free hand, he lifted her shirt up to the bottom of her breasts and bent over to kiss below each of them, then, moved his way down slowly. He circled her belly button and made a straight line down to where his hand covered her.

"I can't take it anymore!" she cried.

"Yes, you can." He lifted his head and kissed her, driving his tongue in and out of her mouth to match the motion happening lower. Then, he circled her tongue and copied the movement between her legs.

She broke their kiss and screamed his name. The tightening around his fingers had him aching to be inside, joining her in the release. He had to close his eyes and take deep breaths before he could concentrate on moving.

"I can't believe we just did that." She buttoned her pants after he pulled his hand free. Then she looked around to check their surroundings.

"No one saw us." He kissed her again, taking his time tasting her. "I want you completely now. To myself."

She nodded and he didn't waste any time getting out of the car and helping her do the same. Pressing her back against the vehicle, he kissed her neck, ear, cheek, and lips, giving her a good idea just how bad he wanted her, by letting her feel what strained behind the zipper of his pants.

"Let's get inside. I'm going to get my dessert first, even as I work at burning off all that sugar we were talking about." He picked her up in his arms and ignored the ecstatic feeling it gave him to carry her across the threshold. It was then he decided that he loved the idea of making her his completely and being able to do the same thing with her as his wife. One day he'd do so, because if not, he didn't know how he'd move on with his life.