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As she walked, the sun’s light would shine on small pieces of rock, making her shield her eyes from the glare. Aine knelt and picked up one of the smooth, round stones and studied it. She was mesmerized by what looked like billowy clouds of blue and white atop a moonlight sheen. Moonstones, obviously, she thought as she put several in her pocket along with blue and green sea glass, sand dollars, and shells so delicate it was hard to believe they’d stayed in one piece as the ocean washed them onshore.
With pockets almost full, Aine stood to walk back up the beach. She hadn’t seen a single person since she started out, but now she saw one—a man—walking toward her.
Aine picked up her pace when, as she got closer, she realized the man was Griffin. She kept herself from running toward him, until she saw him break into a jog.
When they came together, he picked her up and swung her in a circle.
“Do you know how happy I am to see you?” He rested his forehead against hers and set her back on her feet. “Can I kiss you?”
Instead of answering, Aine kissed him.
Griffin tightened his embrace and thrust his tongue inside her mouth when she opened to him. The intense passion of his kiss left her dizzy, and she clung to him.
“How did you know where to find me?” she asked, out of breath.
“You forget what I do for a living.”
“Seriously?” She pulled back from him.
“No. I asked your mom.”
Aine laughed. “Okay, I’ll bite. How did you find her?”
“She found me. I got the impression she was anticipating my arrival.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He rested his forehead against hers again. “Don’t be. I found you faster than I would’ve, which means I have more time for this.”
Griffin covered her mouth with his and held her so tight. With anyone else, she might’ve had a hard time breathing, but she’d waited so long to be in his arms that getting air into her lungs didn’t seem to matter much.
—:—
“Is there anything special you want to do tonight?” she asked as they walked back to the inn hand-in-hand.
There were many special things Striker wanted to do, but he refrained from listing them in detail. “Dinner?” he asked instead. “I heard that place is pretty good.” He pointed to a restaurant a few doors down from the inn.
“I love that place, and it shouldn’t be busy since it’s Monday.”
“I haven’t checked to see if the inn has any rooms available yet.”
Aine stopped walking momentarily. “Oh,” she said before continuing on.
“Hold on,” he said. “I didn’t want to assume.”
Aine’s cheeks flamed, and she tried to look away from him, but he held her chin with his hand.
“Are you inviting me to stay with you?”
“I…um…yeah. I guess so.”
“You guess so?” Striker smiled and then leaned forward to kiss her. “Maybe this will help convince you.”
Chapter 5
Mantis, Alegria, and Dutch
Mantis zipped up his bag and was about to hoist it over his shoulder when he heard a knock at the door. He peered out the window, saw who it was, and considered pretending he wasn’t home. However, both his motorcycle and car were parked on the street in front of the condo he’d rented in the same complex where, unbeknown to him at the time he’d signed the short-term lease, Dutch was also living temporarily.
