Zara

I absolutely hated leaving that suite. Not only because the time we’d spent there was the best time of my life, or because it had gone by way too fast, but mostly because I knew that our time together in Lanai was coming to an end. Lance would be leaving within the next few weeks. Once he got back he said the first thing we needed to do was schedule every one of our visits for the upcoming months.

I stood contemplating as he loaded our bags into the back of the taxi. My father was going to lose it once he found out. I wasn’t concerned about that, and he’d have to come to terms with it somehow. I was with Lance, and that wasn’t changing. But the very big possibility that our identities and lives would be exposed because of Lance was hard to ignore. Although it seemed like a terrifying existence, again, I was fine with that. My father’s fears were irrational. No one was after him, or us. No one cared we had fled from South Africa, or why. The past was long over and no longer mattered. Andres Jobert refused to believe that, though.

The most important thing to me was Lance and our relationship. If he had admitted he was a seasoned bank robber, I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that would have pushed me away. If I needed to be honest, though, his lifestyle did scare me a little. Since he’d confessed his true identity, I learned he always checked into hotels under an alias, he rarely went out without sunglasses and a baseball hat, and he always requested tables in a corner of a restaurant—all to avoid being recognized.

“You okay?” he asked, placing a hand on my cheek.

“Yeah. I don’t want to leave.” The fib was necessary. I also learned he was very concerned about me. There was no way I wanted him to think I couldn’t hack all that came with being with him.

He nodded and smiled. “I know, neither do I. We’ll just have to make many more memories.” He kissed me softly before holding the door open for me. I slid across the seat, and he followed behind.

“Where to?” the driver asked, his eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror.

I recited my sister’s address and settled against Lance. His arm automatically circled my shoulders as he pulled me closer to kiss the top of my head.

“Did you have a good time even though we barely left the hotel?” he whispered directly into my ear. His handsome face turned my way expectantly.

My eyes cut to the taxi driver before nodding. “Too good.” I leaned closer, placing my lips on his ear. At their touch, his fingers tightened on my bare shoulder. “I love you.” His breath hitched, and I smiled. “What?”

“I’ll never tire of hearing you say that to me.” He kissed me softly before adding, “Or get used to hearing it from someone other than my mother.”

I poked a rib at his teasing. “You expect me to believe no woman ever said that to you?”

He looked up briefly before bringing his eyes back to mine. “Maybe my aunt Jane.”

“You have an aunt Jane?”

“Yes. She’s married to my uncle Bill.” He deadpanned, “They have a dog named Boulder, and their children are horrible people, which is why Jane loves me so much. I’m the perfect son.”

“You’re teasing me.”

“I love teasing you.” He gave me a sloppy kiss right below my ear. “It does make me happy to hear it, though.”

“Tell me about your family,” I asked wistfully. There was so much I wanted to know about him. I felt like asking him for his life manual so I could cram and study it whenever we were apart.

“My parents are extremely supportive. It never mattered what I did, they always backed me up.” He glanced forward before adding, “And I could write a book on some of the crazy shit I did.”

“Like what? Tell me.”

“Where do I start?”

The cab hit a pothole, jolting us horribly but bringing us nose to nose. Lance tightened his arm on my shoulders as the cabbie mumbled, “Sorry.”

Lance’s lips hovered above mine, not quite touching, but close enough to drive me crazy. It took so little for him to rile me up. He cut his eyes to the driver before pinning me with his gaze. I knew what he was thinking. It’d been too long since we’d last made love only an hour prior. This innate need to have him at every moment couldn’t be normal.

Bringing my lips closer until they brushed with his, he followed my lead and kissed me forcibly. Hating myself, I stopped it before we went too far. I really didn’t want to get hot and heavy in the backseat of this cab.

“Your crazy shit?” I whispered.

“Oh, right. Well, I told you about my brother, Logan, and how I took on the role as his bodyguard, for lack of a better word.”

“I remember. Were you identical?”

“Yes,” he said with a sad nod.

I pictured Lance’s twin. How handsome he must have been, and how difficult it must have been for their mother seeing such vast differences between them.

“His condition was due to complications during birth. The entire time of my delivery, the cord was wrapped around his neck.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Me, too.” He glanced away again before dragging in a deep breath. “When we were in kindergarten, there was a boy named Chuck who was as nasty as they came. One day he fixated on Logan, and tried his damnedest to torment him. Of course I needed to put that little asshole in his place. So the next day, when the class was supposed to be napping, I made sure my mat was right next to his. Once the class was quiet and resting, I pulled a small garden snake from my pocket and unleashed it on his face. He was so startled, he peed himself.”

“Oh my God. Lance! That poor boy.”

“Poor boy my ass. He deserved it. Never bothered Logan again,” he said proudly.

I couldn’t help but grin at him. “Did you get in trouble?”

“Hell yes. No recess in school and no bike riding for a week. But putting that prick in his place was worth the punishment.”

“Can five-year-olds be pricks?” I asked on a laugh.

“Yes,” he pouted. “When it came to Logan, I was a prime example. I’m a beast when it comes to protecting my family, my loved ones.” He dipped his head even closer and added, “Including you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, baby. If anyone ever tries to hurt you in any way, my inner prick will most definitely come out.”

He was dead serious, and I was a bit turned on.