Page 75 of The Patriot

His hand slid into my hair, fingers curling at the nape of my neck, thumb stroking a slow line that sent a shiver down my spine.

“But it makes one thing very simple,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“I’m not letting you go again.”

My throat tightened.

“Good,” I said, leaning down to kiss him once, quickly, grounding us both.

18

LEVI

We lay tangled together, breathing hard, the yacht rocking gently beneath us.

Twice.

We'd had sex twice, and I was pretty sure if I moved too quickly, my legs would give out.

Amelia shifted beside me, her hand trailing lazily across my chest. "You need to go talk to your father."

I groaned. "No."

"Levi—"

"Let's take the yacht far out to sea," I said. "Or maybe take the black card and buy a flight to Australia. I hear Queensland's nice this time of year."

She propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at me with that expression—the one that said she was serious and I wasn't getting out of this.

"I'm serious," she said. "This is serious. It's your dad."

I stared at the ceiling. "I know."

"Then you need to talk to him."

I turned my head to look at her. "I'm not sure I'm ready to face him alone."

She studied me for a beat, then made the decision for me. "I'm going to have breakfast up on deck," she said. "And then I'm going to call my boss to discuss my … change of plans."

I frowned. "What does that look like?"

She shrugged. "I'll figure it out as I go."

That was Amelia. Jumping into the deep end and figuring out how to swim on the way down.

I sighed. "Fine."

The shower helped.

Hot water, steam, the rhythm of it pounding against my shoulders. I stood under the spray and thought about all the things I needed to say to my father.

Where the fuck have you been?

Why did you let us think you were dead?

How many more lies are there?