Page 90 of In the Pursuit of Haven
He pulled me closer, guiding me into his chest, where I’d always fit perfectly, like I was the clay and he was the mold and we were both made from the other.
I’d been so angry at Jessie, but I also loved this man. I just wasn’t sure which of my bad habits would break first… or break me.
And presently, I couldn’t get myself to care.
His lips brushed over mine and I pulled back a fraction. “What about Dimond’s rattle? You think you can get that back from Hunter with this magic of yours?”
The lashes of his eyes fluttered against mine as they opened to meet my gaze. “I’m getting closer to it… just like I swiped that clue to Children’s Island from him.” His next words were lost as he found my lips again, and he kissed me until I was absolutely breathless.
His fingers tightened over my waist and he pulled back to let me catch some air. “Do you forgive me for shutting you out?” he asked.
I gulped. Somehow he guessed what was bothering me. “That depends. Are you done doing it?”
“Yes… just remind me if I do it again… sometimes it just… happens.”
“You called Hunter,” I said.
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Abby… she had to have gotten our cellphones from him.” He met my gaze again, his whole expression turning stormy. “No way did she find them lying around in the cemetery. I saw one of his guys pick them up before they threw us in that tomb.”
And Jessie had gone Turbo-Brother again. My heart softened. He really did care about his sister, and he’d do the same for me in a heartbeat.
“I’m sorry for putting you through this.” His rough cheek ran up against my neck, and he kissed me again. “I never should’ve kept you in the dark, and I’m glad we’re a team now. It feels really good, and quite honestly, you’re better at this treasure-hunting thing than anyone I’ve ever met. I should’ve brought you in sooner.” He hijacked my lips before I could respond.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was trying to soften me up. And it was actually working. I felt like butter in his hands, and I was melting into him, my doubts turning gooey and blurry.
It probably didn’t help that it was so late at night…or early in the morning.
My elbow ran into Haven’s notebooks and they dropped to the ground.
“Oh!” I twisted from Jessie to pick them up. A note had fallen from the pile and I saw that it was another letter to Haven.
Jessie dropped to his knees beside me, but he wasn’t being helpful at all. He gathered me in his arms, picking up right where he left off, his mouth running a hot trail over my skin. My hand squeezed against the letter. “Jessie,” I breathed against his cheek. “Did you know about your uncle Matthew and Haven?”
It took him a moment to respond. “Only what my old man told me.”
So yes… he’d hardly blinked when I’d told him about Haven’s property belonging to Matthew.
Maybe this was the worst time to bring any of this up, but I felt like my aunt and his uncle’s relationship had everything to do with us, and here was another letter? It felt serendipitous.
I wanted to share with Jessie how much these love letters meant to me. “She loved him,” I said, “… and—and they wrote the most beautiful things to each other.”
“I saw that.” And he seemed more interested in me at the moment.
I pushed the letter into his chest, and he took a deep breath and clutched it one-handed, though he wasn’t letting go of me either. “Don’t go anywhere,” he said raggedly.
Like where exactly?Jessie had me up against the wall… not that I wanted to be anywhere else when he was on the other side of me.
He ripped open the letter and read it aloud:
“Dear Haven,
“Leon has recently brought to my attention that you and my brother have formed a connection that none of us knew about. I’m sure you don’t mind my knowing now that we fear the worst. I am coming to pay my respects and also to discuss the location of some of my brother’s effects. Leon has some interesting things to say about what my brother has given you.
“Yours Respectfully, Drake Crabb.”
Jessie grew slowly stiffer as he got through the letter. The author wasn’t quite who’d I’d expected either.
“What did Leon have to do with all this?” I asked
