Page 66 of Cops and Robbers
Raz sighed and Sid chuckled. Exiting down the steps, he recalled the memory of him and Kate in the SUV. Her breasts swayed with each of his thrusts as her thighs gripped his. Vehicle sex was never easy, but with Kate—it was a moment he would never forget. Still, with the way she withdrew from him and along the link afterward, he couldn’t shake the feeling it had been goodbye sex.
He stared at her short-cropped hair, swaying about her face while she laughed at something Sid said. The smile that graced her lips was wide and genuine, but it couldn’t mask the strain between her eyes. The link simmered with darkness and trepidation. This wasn’t a game to her. This meant something. And Raz could only hope they’d succeed.
In the distance, the sun faded behind an ocean backdrop, and crisp night air funneled fresh, salty scents past Raz’s senses. He squeezed Kate’s thigh as she sat beside him in the third row of the van. It’d been a while since he’d been to the beach for fun.
“Visiting Coronado Island isn’t part of the plan,” Kate said, a complaining note in her tone as Caige parked the rented minivan alongside a rock wall.
“True,” Lewis said from the front passenger seat. “But relaxation is important before any mission.”
“Everyone knows their beach duties, right?” Raz asked.
“Supply run,” Caige said, voice deeper as if he’d switched his Illusion out of boredom.
“Fire charming with Sid,” Lewis said.
“What am I doing?” Kate asked with a sigh. The link fluttered like butterflies ramming against Kate’s stomach, but he was determined to distract her from the impending mission and find out why she believed this would be a goodbye for them.
He winked at her. “You will accompany me on a romantic beach walk.”
Groans filled the vehicle, followed by doors opening. The trunk popped up as Sid gathered some supplies they had packed. Raz laughed and bent to take off his shoes.
“What are you doing?” Kate asked Raz.
“We won’t need them.”
“Oh.” She took off her black combat boots and rolled her leggings up to her knees. He’d worn shorts for the occasion.
As he exited the van, with Kate behind him, she shivered. “It’s cold at night with the ocean breeze.”
It had a bite, and goosebumps prickled up his arms. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer. Together they walked to the beach inlet, and the still-warm sand crunched beneath his toes. Ahead, the waves crashed against the coast, midnight water cresting into gray foam. To his right, Lewis had already claimed a metal firepit, and Sid placed the fold-up chairs around it.
They traveled farther away from the others, toward a shadowy cliff in the distance. As the sky grew darker, pockets of stars lit it up. But Kate’s gaze stayed locked on the ground, and the link shimmered and tugged as if her mind were working a million miles a second.
She said, “About the plan tomorrow—“
He tickled her side, and she leaped away from him, hands up, warding him off from doing it again.
“What was that for?”
“You’re supposed to be relaxing, not thinking about the mission.”
“But…”
He lunged forward to tickle her, but she dodged out of his way, giggling. His heart flew, light and airy. Unable to help himself, he hauled her closer and kissed her. She melted into him, body molding against him as their lips caressed.
“Now, look up,” he whispered, tilting her chin toward the sky.
He drank in her wondrous expression as she gazed up at the starry view. Her black hair curtained back and her cheeks pressed high from the dazzling smile that lit up her entire face. His dragon thrashed, the desire to claim burning along his spine.
“There are so many,” she said. “I haven’t seen them like this since I left Japan ages ago.”
She caught him staring at her, but he didn’t look away.
“What?” she asked.
“I’m wondering what I did to deserve you. You gave me hope when I’d nearly given up. And spending time with you has been the most fun I’ve had in a really long time.”
Her throat worked, and a flash of something he wanted to deny—guilt—passed through her gaze. “Raz…”
