Page 43 of A Discovery: Love and Other Things

Then, suddenly, he blanketed my body with his, propping himself on his forearms so as not to crush me. His breath tickled my neck as we lay together, the sound of our thumping hearts evening out.

When our sex high wore off, he pulled out of me. I grieved the loss, feeling empty and hollow without him inside. He ventured through a door, which I guessed was a bathroom, because moments later he came back with a washcloth and set to cleaning me up. Thoughtful, yet too intimate.

After cleaning himself up and discarding the cloth, he lay down next to me. I curled into his side, swinging my leg over his body.

“Now, do you want to tell me what all of that was about?” he asked, resting his hand on mine on his chest.

“Thank you.” It was all I could say.

He knew what I was referring to. “I take it that you called the number?”

“My uncle’s alive. He has kids.” I could feel the tears returning, happy ones.

“Where are they?”

“I don’t know. Aaqil says he needs more time.”

He squeezed my hand. “He’ll find them.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Just a feeling.”

“You didn’t have to pay him.”

“I’m sure it’s frowned upon to not pay a PI for his services,” he teased.

“No, I mean that you didn’t have to do that for me.”

He didn’t reply. It seemed he wasn’t very good at accepting gratitude.

I lifted onto my arm and pressed a kiss to his lips, ready to thank him in ways that I knew he would accept.

But he threw a bucket of cold water on my plan. “As much as I want to fuck you until daylight comes, you need to get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow and need to be up in two hours.”

I wanted to stay with him tonight, even if just to catch a few hours of sleep by his side, though I wasn’t sure he was inviting me to stay. The team would have a million questions for me if I didn’t get back to the hostel before they woke up. Angela would strangle me until I spilled every detail.

“I should get back before anyone talks.”

“I’ll drive you home.” I could sense the reluctance in his body language. Maybe he did want me to stay after all.

I bit back a giddy grin. “Thanks.”

Chapter 19

I had reached the hostel just in time to throw my sheets over my body and shut my eyes tight before Angela’s alarm blared across the room.

That was a close one.

I did my best impression of a woman who’d gotten a full night’s rest when inside, I was exhausted as hell. I only had the memory of last night’s delicious sex to keep me motivated throughout the workday. Sneaking glances of Dr. Sex God in between disguised yawns would have to serve as the hit of adrenaline I’d need to stay awake.

My act must have been convincing because Angela hadn’t said a word all through breakfast, or on the shuttle ride over to the site.The Academy Award for Best Performance by a Sexually Hungry Intern goes to Sanura Taha.

I stepped out of the shuttle and was immediately blasted by the hot, dry air. It was already hot as hell, even though the morning sun had yet to fully break through the dim sky.

The rest of the workers had already arrived and were busy preparing the tools needed for the day.

I scanned the grounds to find the pair of blue eyes I hoped would be searching for me, too. His tall figure emerged from the temple with a flashlight in hand, followed by a visibly flustered Mo and another man whom I didn’t recognize. The stranger looked important, dressed in a white polo shirt and tan slacks with a clipboard in hand. A gold badge that hung around his neck glowed in the distance.

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