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Kiara stared at herself in the mirror. Her hands ran over the silk-like fabric on her body. It was a full-length dress that hugged her figure to the tops of her thighs before getting loose along her legs. And when she spun, it rippled. There was even a leg slit that went to her mid-thigh, and it was a bold color: red.
Her mother had bought it for her, saying how well the dress would look with Kiara’s skin tone and build, and she hated to admit it, but her mom was right. It made her feel like royalty. The dress looked good. She looked good, but she hated why she was wearing it. The entire situation was too annoying for her to be able to appreciate the dress as it deserved.
Tonight, she would be accompanying her parents to an exclusive dinner at one of the resorts on the shores of Kildare. She couldn’t say no despite an event like that being her worst nightmare.
When the pogues got back home to the Outer Banks after getting on Ward's ship to get the cross back, she either agreed to do every single thing her parents wanted of her, or she was going to be sent off to the wilderness camp for troubled teens. She was also grounded for the foreseeable future and wasn’t allowed to talk to John B, JJ, Pope, Sarah, or Cleo.
Not being allowed to see anyone, or even text them since her phone was taken away, wore down on her. Kiara felt like a shell of herself, but she pulled through. The gold was out there, and she may be stuck, but if she got sent away to a camp in the middle of the woods, she couldn’t help her friends. At least she had a chance by being home, even if the amount was minuscule. She was just waiting for that moment to show itself.
“You look beautiful,” Her mom said as she walked into the room.
Kiara attempted to smile. She was doing whatever she could to get back onto her parents' good side, and she knew that being amicable about going to this dinner for the elites would give her a few points.
“Who will all be there?” Kiara asked, hoping to distract her mom, so she could finish getting ready without having to answer questions. It was always better to ask first, to make her mom think she was interested in all of this.
As her mom began to list the people that would be at the dinner, Kiara strapped on the simple white heels her mom had bought for her. Her mom wanted her to meet a boy at one of these functions, and it was all she could talk about. There would be dancing, but Kiara hoped that no one would ask her. She even kept her makeup light in hope of drawing less attention to herself, although a red lip would have gone well with the dress.
“Did you want me to braid your hair?” Her mom asked, as her nimble hands began putting in earrings that matched the dark green dress she was wearing, the opposite of Kiara. Her mom always liked doing her hair in fancy styles, but tonight Kiara wanted it curly and free. She parted it to the side and let it flow down her back.
“No, thanks,” Kiara said as she adjusted her dress. The spaghetti straps were now the perfect length and held up the top of the dress. It was a square shape front, but there was a slight dip in the area over her chest where the cloth bunched together. It allowed for the perfect amount of cleavage for the night. What a disappointment it would be that no one Kiara found interesting would be seeing her. There would only be snotty rich boys that her mom will be shoving in her face.
“Alright, you got 10 minutes, and then you need to get to the car,” Her mom said as she kissed her cheek and walked out of the room.
Kiara sighed and attempted to practice her smile in the mirror but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Another night of pretending.
🥀🥀🥀
The resort where they were headed was large, and as her father pulled the truck into the parking lot, Kiara wanted to groan. It appeared like every single rich asshole would be attending. She would have to make a lot of small talk with people she detested to appease her parents.
Why was this really the life her parents wanted? None of it was real. It was all a bunch of horrible people coming together to laugh at the poor people they made their money off of. There were so many wrong things in the world that these people could work on fixing, but they wanted to do this stuff instead? It never made sense.
Knowing her parents also wanted her to be analyzing her prospects at this event made her want to throw up. As they walked in through the front doors, she saw many nice-looking young men in the large banquet hall, but her eyes found the one person she never wanted to see again: Rafe Cameron.
The last time she laid eyes on him had been when he was aiming a gun at her, and everyone else, as the pogues attempted to escape on a lifeboat after trying to steal back the gold cross. To her surprise, Rafe had put the gun down. She couldn’t see his face at the time, but she watched as he turned and walked out of sight, leaving them alone in the middle of the ocean. All her attention had then gone to JJ and she forgot about Rafe, for a little while.
His long hair was now gone, replaced with a buzz cut. She had never seen Rafe without a full head of hair. What made him shave his head? It did give him an air of importance, which his blue muted suit added to.
The suit was unbuttoned, showing off his two white undershirts. He had a brown belt to match his brown shoes. It seemed like a risky outfit for such an event, and then she realized she had thought that about herself. She didn’t like the idea of them being similar. Rafe was definitely making a fashion statement.
He was laughing as he talked with a couple, but as if he could sense her, he immediately turned and found her across the room. Their eyes locked and Kiara had to push down the urge to immediately run across the room, jump over the tables and push him into the champagne tower that sat behind him.
Neither moved. His blue eyes looked her up and down, and she felt her face heat up. A forbidden thought popped up in her head: does he like the dress?
Rafe smirked as if he could read her mind, and Kiara was so disgusted with herself that she broke their eye contact and turned away. Her parents ushered her around to meet people, and she focused on never letting her attention go astray. She didn’t want to acknowledge him; to give him that satisfaction.
Avoiding Rafe had been going well until it was time to sit down for the food to be served.
“Oh, look there’s Rafe!” Her mom said as she began leading Kiara to the end of one of the long tables as her father followed. Rafe was already sitting talking to an older man who was to his right. Kiara began digging her heels into the ground as her mom continued to pull her towards him.
No, she thought. Not him, please anybody but him.
Her prayers were not answered and her mom practically shoved her into her seat. She was condemned to sit across from Rafe for the entirety of the dinner. If this was before she was declared missing and scared her parents half to death, she would have refused to even be in his vicinity. Despite her mom’s current glare to be good, she would have stood up and let Rafe hear it. But, she needed her parents to trust and respect her. So instead, she grabbed the glass of water to her right and began sipping it to distract herself.
Kiara scowled at him. She wanted to scream at him. Maybe throw her water in his face, or better yet, smash the glass over his shaved head. Anything was better than sitting near him. She wanted to stand on her chair and yell out that he was a murderer, but no one would believe her, so she stuck to peering at him over the glass.
He eventually finished up his conversation with the man next to him and turned toward her. He placed his elbows on the table and folded his hands together. He had a couple rings on his fingers, and she couldn’t help but think about how good they looked on him. It’s the style she liked, not him specifically, she thought to herself.
Rafe stared back, but it lacked the malice she expected. It was as if he was attempting to read her. His face was more open than she was used to.
“Rafe!” Her mom said a little too excitedly. Of course, she would suck up to him. Kiara resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she set her glass of water back down, choosing to put her hands in her lap. “We haven’t seen you around in a while, how have you been doing?”
Rafe played along, acting like a sweet privileged boy. “Hi, Mrs. Carrera. I’ve been doing well. Trying to rebuild my dad’s legacy as my own. I want people to remember the good that he did for this community, but also detach from the choices he made in the end.”
His face fell a bit by bringing up his father, and Kiara resisted the urge to laugh out loud. Rafe’s eyes flicked to her. Did he expect her to blurt out that Ward actually wasn’t dead and hadn’t murdered Sheriff Peterkin? She couldn’t without sounding crazy, so she simmered in her anger.
The enemy was right in front of her, and she couldn’t do anything. She wished she could call someone to let them know that Rafe was back. Would that mean that Ward was back, too? What was their plan? Because one day, the pogues would come back for what was rightfully theirs.
“I’m sorry, again, about your dad. I’m glad you’re choosing to be a better man.”
Rafe only nodded at her mom, and then someone was tapping a mic, so their attention got turned away from each other.
It was one of the old white men, probably the person running this thing, wanting to make a speech. He droned on about the accomplishments the people here have made and kept practically complimenting himself. He even went on about what they would accomplish in the future for his fellow businessmen. It made Kiara uncomfortable, and she hated that her parents wanted this. They were so blinded by their need to be accepted and respected, that she was surrounded by people who preyed on others, and one of the worst of them was right in front of her. And to make things worse, her parents wanted to set her up with him.
As Rafe’s was turned away from her, Kiara checked him out. He looked… good, but that wasn’t a new thought. She had allowed herself to accept that Rafe was an attractive person, but that’s as far as she went with her thoughts. Had he gotten even larger than she remembers? She knew he used to lift, but had he been going to the gym in all his free time?
He was extremely tan. It gave him a golden glow. His shortly cropped hair was sun-bleached, and it all made his blue eyes stand out. He must have come from the Bahamas recently.
Why did he have to look so good? It only made her feel worse.
As the man was finishing up his speech, waiters began bringing the dinner plates around. Kiara’s meal was vegetarian and she was grateful her parents at least paid some attention to her. Her parents began chatting with other people, leaving her and Rafe essentially alone at the end of the table. They sat in silence as they ate, but the food felt like sawdust in her mouth. She eventually gave up on attempting to eat and instead chose to move the food around her plate. Being around Rafe for so long made her feel nervous. She couldn’t wait for this all to be over.
“Kie—” Rafe started as he took a bite of steak, but Kiara cut him off.
“—Don’t call me that,” she said through gritted teeth, hoping her parents wouldn’t hear her over the chaos of the room.
Rafe only raised his eyebrows at her and swallowed his bite. “I was just going to ask how you were doing.”
“As if you ever actually care about how I’m doing.” Kiara rolled her eyes, thinking about all the times he hurt her, or attempted to.
Rafe dared to upset. “I tried to protect you, but you chose your path."
“Do you hear yourself?” Kiara said, not caring that her voice began to rise. “I chose the right path. The good path.”
Rafe only looked away. He looked deep in thought, and only quietly said, “Isn’t that what we all think we are doing?”
Kiara was so sick of his lack of self-awareness that she excused herself to go to the bathroom. She was beginning to feel suffocated around him, her parents, and everyone else. It was all beginning to become too much to bear.
She pushed through the door indicating the woman's bathroom and locked herself in a stall. She could just leave... walk out a back door and make a run for it. Find her pogues, her best friends, but she couldn’t. To help them get justice, she needed to be on her parents' good side. Leaving right now would ruin all the progress she has made.
Kiara squared her shoulders and began a breathing exercise to calm herself. She would get through tonight, even if she had to deal with Rafe. Maybe she could make it a game, extract as much information she could from him and then pass it on to her friends. Yes, that’s what she would do. She could make the most of this situation. The only thing was, she would actually have to make conversation with the man she despised most.
🥀🥀🥀
After a couple more minutes to herself in the bathroom, Kiara made her way back to the table. Her mother gave her a pointed look that said she was lucky she chose to come back. Kiara lied, saying the food wasn’t sitting well with her. Her mom nodded, choosing to believe her story. She came back, and that’s what mattered.
Surprisingly, Rafe wasn’t at the table. Kiara sat down and began sipping more water, looking for him throughout the room. He was nowhere in sight and walked up to the table from behind her, so she didn’t have time to prepare herself before he was sitting across from her once again.
“You ready to talk to me, yet?” Rafe asked flatly.
“I’d rather smash your head in.” Kiara flicked her hair over her shoulder and looked away.
“C’mon,” Rafe said, “ask any questions you want. I know there are some things you wonder about.”
Kiara bit her lip. “How come you didn’t shoot us when we escaped on the lifeboat?”
Rafe leaned back in his chair and played with the ends of the tablecloth. “It’s not like I like killing.”
“But you still choose to do it,” Kiara fired back.
There was a moment of silence where they only stared at one another, but then a waiter interrupted by coming over and offering champagne. Rafe waved him away which made Kiara snort.
“You’re not the type to pass off free alcohol. Especially stuff as expensive as that.”
“I’m sober,” Rafe said as he grabbed his water glass and gulped it down.
Sober? Rafe, the notorious coke addict, was sober? He was always drinking and smoking. Was he… actively bettering himself?
A small bit of hope sparked through her.
“How come?” She blurted out before she could stop herself. She didn’t want him to think she was interested in his personal life, but she couldn’t help but be.
“I’m sick of myself,” Rafe said as he ran a hand over his face. “Addiction was making me into someone I didn’t want to be.”
Kiara felt a bit surprised, realizing her assumption of Rafe was cruel. But, why was she feeling sorry for Rafe? He was a bad person. He didn’t deserve sympathy from her, but she couldn’t help it.
“Well, I am glad you made that decision,” Kiara said as she looked down. Without anger burning through her, it felt awkward. Getting information from him was going terribly, but it was hard with so many people around. She looked back up at him. “Are you still in the Bahamas?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He smirked.
Kiara was about to ask another question, but then a blonde woman who was standing with a group of people a couple tables over squealed at the sight of Rafe and beckoned him to her.
“Excuse me for a moment,” Rafe said as he stood and walked over to the group. He was all smiles as he shook people's hands and clapped their backs.
“Alright, everyone!" The DJ called out as the lights began to dim. "The dance floor is now opening. I repeat, the dance floor is opening!"
In response to the announcement about the dance floor, the sound of chairs being pushed back echoed throughout the space as people began to stand and get their partners. Kiara’s parents stood, so she joined them.
Her mother leaned over her shoulder and whispered, “maybe Rafe will ask you to dance. It seemed like you were making good conversation.”
“Mom,” Kiara said, hoping she would give it up. She should be relieved that his attention was no longer on her, but she felt apprehension as the blonde girl put her hand on Rafe’s arm, and didn’t take it away. She turned her attention back to her mom, not liking the small bit of possessiveness she was feeling over Rafe. “He hates me anyway.”
Anna looked surprised. “Hate you? Kiara he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you, and he is always such the perfect gentleman around you. You are always so harsh towards him, and he always responds back with kindness. You should give him a chance. You’re lucky that someone like him has an interest in you.”
Pain resonated throughout Kiara at her mother’s words. It must have bled through onto her face because her mom frowned. “Oh, Kie, you know I didn’t mean it like that. I only meant that Rafe is such a great prospect for a young lady like you. You'd never have to worry about anything in life again, I think you should give him a shot.”
Worry? She wouldn’t have to worry? This is the same man who had chased down her and her friends with a crowbar, but her mom didn’t know any of that. Did her mom expect her to marry Rafe? Her mom was reverting to an old mindset and it made Kiara sick.
Before Kiara could come up with a rebuttal that was stern with her mother, but also didn’t push her luck too far, Rafe approached them.
“Hello, ladies,” Rafe said. Kiara resisted the urge to cross her arms and purse her lips. Did he enjoy getting on her nerves?
Anna broke out into a huge smile. “Has anyone caught your eye for a dance, Rafe?”
Kiara wanted to melt into the floor.
“Yes, actually—“ Rafe turned to her and held out his hand, “—Kiara, would you do me the honor of dancing with me for the next song?”
Her mother was practically vibrating with excitement next to her as she waited for Kiara to take his hand. She didn’t want to. It would be the closest they had ever been. Too intimate. But, it would allow them to speak the truth about their lives without others overhearing.
Kiara plastered the fakest smile on her face as she placed her hand in Rafe’s. “It would be my pleasure."
Rafe began leading her away, and Kiara looked back to her mom. Anna held two thumbs up. What did Kiara expect, for someone to save her? She found herself looking for any of the pogues to rescue her, but no one came, and now she and Rafe were on the dance floor.
She looked down at their intertwined hands and marveled at how small hers looked compared to his. His fingers were long and nimble as they practically engulfed her entire hand. His skin was warm, and it felt… nice.
“You look beautiful in that dress. If I could have picked a dress for you, it would have been this one. It's perfect.”
Kiara froze at his words. She was too shocked to protest as his free hand touched tentatively at her shoulder and ran down her arm. Goosebumps spread across her skin, but she felt like she was boiling up as Rafe’s calloused hand went from her arm to her side, right below her breast. His hand moved alluringly down her as if he was admiring the curve of her and the feel of the dress. Once his hand was at her hips, he stopped and held her there.
Her breathing was erratic as she tried to figure out what was happening. They were body to body and his eyes traveled to her chest as it rose and fell from the deep breaths she was taking to calm herself. Why was he looking at her like that? As if he liked her.
Was it the truth? Did he find her beautiful? She couldn’t think straight with him in front of her. Despite her heels, he was still taller than her. His shoulders were broad and made her frame seem so much smaller. Rafe was touching her, and she liked how it felt. Being so close to him was messing with her brain.
“I didn’t realize how much my presence would affect you,” Rafe smirked. “I was expecting the glares and words of hatred, not a doe-eyed and tongue-tied version of you.”
Rafe’s attitude snapped her out of whatever had been happening before, so she glowered at him. He was screwing with her. How could she let him affect her like this?
The next song started up, and they began to move to the music. It was meant for slow dancing, the only thing to expect at an event like this. She would have to be pressed to Rafe for the next couple of minutes. Instead of letting her frustration and disgust bubble out, she decided to play along. She needed to get as much information as she could from him.
Kiara only smiled at him and after a moment of silence, she bit the bullet and asked why he was really in the Outer Banks. When he only tilted his head at her, she continued, “we both know you and your dad have all the gold you could ever want right now, why come back where the people are that will fight you for the gold that is rightfully theirs?”
“I can’t visit my home occasionally?” Rafe said as they spun around, but she could tell he was trying to keep his face blank. Her dress lifted into the air as if leaving a trail of red. Kiara only continued to stare, and he sighed. “Do you want the honest truth?”
Duh, that was the only reason she was allowing this to happen. Kiara nodded. She needed to mark whatever he said in her memory so she could relay it to everyone else. But, she also had to remember that it could all be a lie.
“I am planning to get Sarah back for my dad.”
Was Rafe openly admitting that he had come back to kidnap Sarah? Adrenaline rushed through Kiara as she realized his reason for being here was much worse than she previously thought. Sarah was in danger.
“Why would you openly admit that?” Kiara asked surprised and then gave him a look of pure hatred. “I won’t let you take her.”
“You asked, and I answered. And I didn’t think you would let her go without a fight.” He laughed as if they weren’t talking about kidnapping his sister and her best friend, but then he got serious. “You’re all fire. You burn so brightly that people can’t help but notice you... to see you. It's why I found this dress fitting. You are the attraction of tonight. Everyone either wants you or wants to be you.”
Kiara was dumbfounded. How many times was Rafe going to make her speechless tonight? Was everything that he said about her real? Rafe licked his lips and then leaned in. His breath tickled her ear and the smell of his cologne overwhelmed her.
“And I came to see you... for me.”
His voice was so low and raspy that it made her skin begin to tingle. Kiara stumbled in surprise but Rafe held onto her, keeping her upright. She put her hands on his chest and pushed, but her attempts to get away were futile. Rafe held onto her tightly.
“You–you wanted to see me?” Kiara asked in disbelief. They were now standing in the middle of the dance floor as other couples moved around them. It would look suspicious, but Kiara didn’t care. He had come back to the Outer Banks to see her.
Rafe let out a laugh as he grabbed both her hands, and then they were dancing to the music again. Kiara moved as if in a trance.
“You make no sense,” she said. Her eyebrows furrowed together, and she looked right into his eyes, her voice full of venom. “You choked me. You aimed a gun at me. After everything, why would you want to see me? You clearly don’t care about me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
Kiara laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. The audacity! This was some sort of sick joke. He was playing a trick on her.
“You don’t believe me?” Rafe asked, sounding vulnerable. His jaw ticked and he gripped her tighter, which pulled her even closer and she did nothing to stop it.
Kiara was losing her mind. She put her all into dancing with Rafe. They made their way across the dance floor spinning and moving along to the music. They fit well together, and she hated it. She hated how the idea of dancing with Rafe, being so close to her enemy, had once scared her... but now she only felt exhilarated. He picked her up with ease and spun her around in the air. She placed her hand on his shoulders to steady herself. They didn't break eye contact as the world blurred around them.
Slowly, he set her down as the song finished and pulled her into him. Their faces were inches apart as they both breathed heavily. Kiara could tell that people were looking at them, but she didn’t care.
“Come with me,” Rafe whispered in her ear and pulled her off the dance floor. They moved swiftly down an empty hallway before he pulled her around a corner so they could no longer see everyone else. They were finally alone.
“I’ve been wanting to get you alone for a while now,” Rafe said as he brushed her hair away from her face.
“Have you been watching me?” Kiara squeaked out.
“I do like to observe.”
Rafe had essentially admitted to stalking her but all she could focus on was that the way he was looking at her made her light-headed. Kiara squeezed her eyes shut. If she couldn’t see him, then maybe her body and mind would quit wanting him. She could turn and run, but she felt stuck before him. It was like he was magnetic, and she was destined to always feel a pull toward him. When too close, she became weak and lost her ability to resist. So, closing her eyes would have to do.
“Kie, look at me,” Rafe said gently. She was startled at the feel of his fingers on her cheek but kept her eyes closed and her hands at her side. His fingers slid down her face to her chin, where they stayed and held her. Willing her to look at him.
She had told him to not call her 'Kie' earlier because she loved the way he said it. It was spoken with a tenderness she didn’t think Rafe was capable of having. Could he tell she was falling apart in front of him? That her control was waning?
No, you hate him, she reminded herself, but a sickening realization hit. Maybe she hated Rafe so intensely because she didn’t actually hate him. Sure, she hated the way he made her feel, the impact he had on her, and all the horrible decisions he made, but not Rafe himself. Even after everything, the crush she had on him from years before was still inside her. That’s what she hated. It had been dormant but always there, waiting to be released. Stuck behind her determination to see him only as a monster, but her feelings towards him were now breaking free. The walls of her self-control were coming down.
Rafe moved close and she could feel the heat coming off his body. Her eyes snapped open and he was leaning over her, now tilting her head up to him. At the sight of him before her, looking at her so intently, with desire in his eyes, the last of her walls collapsed and disappeared. The need—the want—for Rafe filled her. There was no more denying how she felt. He licked his lips and she wanted to kiss him, so she did.
As Kiara leaned in, Rafe’s eyes widened in surprise, giving her a sense of satisfaction. At least he hadn’t expected that from her. The extra inches in her heels allowed her to reach Rafe without having to be on her tiptoes, and it helped he was already leaning down. As their lips crashed together, Kiara put her all into kissing him.
All the pent-up feelings for him came out at once. He had compared her to fire, so she showed him what it would feel like to touch a flame. His hands held her against him as she gripped his suit with one hand and pulled him downward by the back of the neck with the other. Even if every inch of their skin was touching, it would never be enough. Kiara wanted to consume him. To make him feel the way she did around him: burning.
She pushed him back into the wall and he let out a groan as she bit his lip. They were rough, but it was what Kiara wanted. Her hands slid inside of his suit jacket and traveled over his body. Since his undershirts were thin, she could feel how toned his stomach and chest were.
“You have no idea what seeing you in this red dress does to me,” Rafe said as he moved his hands to her ass and squeezed, but he didn’t stop there. He picked her up and flipped them around so it was her back to the wall. She liked the new height advantage she had because of him holding her.
She ran his hands over his head, liking the feel of his buzz cut. His lips moved to her neck and she let out a moan. Everything felt so good and they were only kissing. To her surprise, he ran his tongue down her neck and chest. She giggled at the sight and feel of Rafe running his tongue across her cleavage.
“I want to rip this dress off of you,” he growled, and Kiara would have gladly let him, but instead, he placed her on the ground. He took her face in his hands and held her for a slow and deep kiss. He pulled away, and Kiara practically whined at the separation. It appeared he found that funny because a small smile broke out from his usual stern look. It was such an innocent, and genuine smile. It was a rare sight on Rafe.
Their foreheads came together as they caught their breath. His hands still held her face and she never wanted him to let go. She didn’t want this to end, but she could tell it had.
“Remember how I said you were wrong about me not caring about you?” Rafe said, pulling back to look at her. “Do you believe me now?”
Did she? Kissing showed that he was attracted to her, but did it mean he cared? No, Kiara didn’t think so, and then an idea popped into her head.
“No, I don’t think you care about me—” Rafe’s face fell at her words, “—but, I know how you can prove it.”
Rafe tilted his head back, waiting for what the conditions would be.
“You don’t kidnap Sarah. You leave her alone. I don’t care how much Ward wants her, he doesn’t deserve to have her, and I won’t let him.”
“And how can I prove you care about me?” Rafe peered at her.
“If you ever want proof about my feelings, then choose to be good. Choose to not bring Sarah to your father. Choose my friends and I over your father, and then my feelings will be proven.”
“That’s not a fair trade,” Rafe said, “I have never chosen you before, what makes you think I will choose you now?”
“Because now you know how I feel,” Kiara said, sticking her chin out. “Would I have ever kissed you if I didn't have feelings for you? If I truly hated you, I would have spit in your face.”
"I'd like that, too," Rafe smirked at her and Kiara pushed at his shoulder, annoyed that she found him funny.
"Be serious!"
Rafe turned his head away to think. “If I can see you again, I will do it. I won’t kidnap my Sarah and I will try and convince my dad to hand over the gold, but he did risk his life on it, he won’t go down easy.”
“I know,” Kiara said, grabbing onto his suit and pulling herself into him, “but you are pretty convincing.”
He smirked at her innuendo as she looked up at him through her lashes. She wanted to see him again. She wanted to do this, and more. And maybe Rafe would change Ward’s mind and everything will go right from this one moment with him.
“I’m kind of in lockdown, but if my parents know it’s you I’m seeing, they just might let me go.” Kiara smiled. “But if not, coming in through my window would work.”
“Well, then it looks like I will be courting you,” Rafe teased and Kiara rolled her eyes at his absurd word choice, but it was something her parents would like.
“We should probably get back to the party then,” Kiara said, looking down the hall and then back to Rafe. “My parents like you, but not enough to let me be out of their sight this long.”
Rafe only kissed her in answer. The feel of him made her body hum. As they walked back to the event hand in hand, Kiara felt accomplished. Rafe had only come here to maybe talk to her, but then he got a kiss and she agreed to hang out with him more. She got him to possibly turn on his father. This night would change the course of the pogues life forever.
Her friends may hate how she aligned herself with Rafe, but it was a small sacrifice for the greater good. She was doing it for them. They would understand once they were all safe and with their gold.
And who knows, maybe in the end, she will get to keep Rafe, too.