r-a stark contrast to the nervous flutter in her che

ce tag was astronomical. She held it up against Julian's chest. "What do you think of

rk depths, she saw a flicker of something that l

ged a look, then Jordin muttered a lame excuse, and they walked away. As they left, Carley saw the q

ing shaky. Julian's hand found hers again, his grip firm and grounding. He did

chat titled "Port Sterling El

l? Poor, tragic Carley McGowan. She actually marr

Someone took a screenshot, and soon it was making the rounds on a wid

irely. She had to go to Aethelburg for a few days to finalize th

xpecting him to be annoyed that she was leavi

ion unreadable as always. When s

ment was almos

throom, a towel slung low on his hips, his hair damp. Droplets of wate

nd pulled her back against his warm, solid body. He rested

asked, his voice a

suddenly on high alert. "Two, maybe three," s

k soon," he whispered, his lips brushing

t more intimate, more possessive, than anything they had done before. Her heart hammered a

he vehicle was a dusty, slightly dented pickup truck

g, deep look that felt like he was memorizing h

turned and clim

his pocket and pull out the old flip phone. She didn't see his exp

a number f

. "Jordin Shelton and Dorsey Figueroa. I want them looked into. And

the road, in the direction of Aethelburg. His