Point of No Return

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Kade collected our luggage from the hotel and put it in the trunk of his Mercedes, then he took me to a quiet restaurant on the outskirts of DC and fed me. Not that I was in the mood to eat, but my body was complaining very loudly of an empty stomach, leaving me little choice in the matter.

Still, I picked at my food, pushing it around my plate as I worried about Blane. Kade was outside making a phone call and I finally gave up, setting aside my fork with a sigh.

The image of Keaston’s blood on the wall, the back of his head blown away, kept replaying in my mind. I struggled with how I should have felt versus how I really felt. I’d never thought of myself as the kind of person who would be . . . glad about someone’s death. And yet the only thing I was sorry about was the effect killing his own uncle had had on Blane. What did that say about me as a person? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“Not hungry?” Kade asked, sliding back into the booth across from me.

“I ate some,” I said with a weak smile. “What was your phone call about?”

“Needed to arrange some paperwork for you,” he replied. “We’ll pick it up in New York.”

“What kind of paperwork?”

“A passport.”

My eyebrows flew up. “Are we going somewhere?” I’d never been out of the country before.

Kade lips twisted in a half smile. “Maybe,” he teased, which made me smile, too. “It’s a surprise.”

“Will Blane be all right?” I asked, my smile fading. Kade’s grin also melted away.

“He’ll be fine, princess,” Kade said, reaching to take my hand in his.

“Shouldn’t we stay? Help with the funeral? Something?” I hated leaving Blane to deal with that alone.

“If we stay, it’ll just make him worry about you,” Kade said reasonably. “He’ll be better knowing you’re out of town and safe.”

I nodded, knowing he was right.

The waiter came and Kade paid the bill, then we were back in the car and heading out of town.

“Try to get some sleep,” Kade said. “It’s a four-hour drive to New York.”

He was right. I was exhausted. The emotional turmoil of the day had taken a toll. I slipped off my shoes and curled up in the seat, turning my body toward Kade. The glow from the dash softly lit his face, easing the hard edges and planes. I knew he was trying to keep things light, but I could also tell he was worried. Whether he was worried about Blane, me, or all of the above, I didn’t know.

But I wasn’t worried about my safety. Kade would protect me.

I reached up, my fingers brushing his cheek, and he glanced my way. One corner of his mouth lifted in a soft smile as he took my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles before resting our joined hands between us.

The warm feel of his palm against mine, the strength of his presence beside me, comforted and soothed me. Eventually, the gentle motion of the car lulled me to sleep.

The slowing and then stopping of the car woke me. I sat up from where I’d been slumped and glanced around.

“Are we there?” I asked Kade sleepily.

“Close enough.”

It was after midnight. Kade got out of the car and I heard the trunk open. Climbing out, I realized we were in the parking lot of a motel that was more the usual for Kade than the posh one we’d stayed at last night. I heaved an inner sigh. I’d known it was too good to last.

Kade had a duffel bag on his shoulder and was carrying my suitcase.

“Come on,” he said, taking my hand in his. “And I know what you’re thinking.”

“I don’t know about that,” I replied with a snort.

“This’ll be the last dump you have to stay in, okay?”

I shot him a look and he rolled his eyes. “Old habits die hard,” he said. “I’ll just feel better if we don’t leave a name behind. Cash only. Easy in, easy out.”

Well, it wasn’t like I could argue with that.

He rented us a room and I collapsed onto a bed, eyeing the thin bedspread with distaste. I watched with interest as he changed out of his suit and into his usual jeans and T-shirt, throwing his leather jacket on over that. He tucked his gun into the back of his jeans and added his knife to the holster at his ankle.

“I’ve got to go out,” he said, sitting next to me. He handed me the smaller of the two guns he usually carried. “I won’t be gone long, but just in case.”

I nodded, not liking the idea of him leaving at all. “Can’t I come?” I asked.

“Not where I’m going,” Kade replied. “I’ll be back soon.” He tipped my chin up and gave me a light kiss, then he was gone.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep until Kade returned, so I took a shower and slipped on a T-shirt, sliding under the covers and flipping channels on the television. An hour went by, then another. I worried and was starting to panic when I finally heard the lock turn and Kade walked in.

I flew at him, my arms wrapping around his neck while his went around my waist.

“You were gone a long time,” I complained.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “We had a . . . disagreement on price.”

I decided I really didn’t want to know how Kade had solved the “disagreement,” I was just relieved he was back and in one piece.

“Brought you something,” he said.

His hands had dropped from my waist to my satin covered rear, bared by the little T-shirt, and my thoughts were drifting elsewhere. “Hmm?” I asked.

Kade reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small container and holding it up for me to see.

My eyes lit up. “You got me rocky road ice cream?”

“Is there any other kind?”

I laughed in delight, snatching the ice cream and sitting cross-legged on the bed to tear open the lid.

“You might need this,” Kade said, handing me a plastic-wrapped spoon.

The ice cream was the perfect temperature between frozen solid and melty, and I wasted no time digging in. Kade discarded his jacket and weapons while I ate, then settled onto his stomach beside me.

“Wanna bite?” I mumbled through a mouthful of ice cream.

He opened his mouth and I fed him a spoonful.

“How’re you doing?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I said horrible things to Keaston, pushing him and Blane into a confrontation where Blane had to pick his uncle or me. I should feel bad, but I don’t, which pretty much says I’m a terrible person.”

“You’re not a terrible person,” Kade chided me. “Keaston tried to kill both of us, numerous times. You’re human. I’d be worried if you were all broken up about him dying.”

He had a point.

Kade poked me. “Don’t I get another bite? I did have to go to three places before I found rocky road.”

I frowned. “I’m feeling a little selfish with my ice cream,” I said archly. “You did buy it for me, you know.” My spoon scraped at the bottom and I shoved the last bite in my mouth, choking on a laugh as Kade made a grab for the container. It fell to the floor and Kade had me on my back, his fingers beneath my shirt and tickling my ribs.

A sudden noise outside made my laughter die. “Was that gunshots?” I asked worriedly, glancing at the window. A neon sign across the street blinked. Dogs started barking and I heard the distant sound of sirens. “Maybe we could find a bad motel in a slightly better neighborhood?”

Kade rested on his elbows, his body above mine, one knee insinuated between my legs. “We’re fine,” he assured me, leaning down to press a kiss to the underside of my jaw. My eyes slipped closed. His lips moved against the tender skin of my neck as he spoke. “The most dangerous thing around here,” he murmured, “is me.”

Then he started whispering in my ear, his dark voice telling me exactly what he planned to do with his mouth and tongue while his hands tugged my panties down and off my legs, and I forgot all about the noises outside.

The surprise destination wasn’t another country, but it was very far away.

“Hawaii?” I squeaked, looking at the departures board for our flight. I remembered when we were in Vegas and how Kade had told me about when he’d been to Hawaii and how he thought I’d like it.

“Just sunshine, beaches, palm trees, and miles of nothing but ocean,” Kade replied, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me back against him. His lips nuzzled my ear. “A trip to paradise sound good to you?”

My smile was so wide I thought my face might crack. “It sounds amazing,” I said, turning in his arms. “Thank you.” Just Kade and me, together in one of the most beautiful places on the planet? It sounded like heaven.

The flight was really long, though Kade had gotten us first-class seats, so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. When we landed in Honolulu, it was nighttime.

I was busy looking all around, taking in the airport, which was smaller than I’d thought it would be. Kade bought a lei with beautiful, bright pink flowers and placed it around my neck. The petals were soft and cold against my skin, the scent drifting up to me.

“Aloha,” he said, kissing me lightly. “Welcome to Hawaii, princess.”

We took a cab and Kade told the driver our destination. Twenty minutes later, he was paying the cabbie and getting our luggage from the trunk.

“This way,” he said.

I followed him, glancing around. The ocean breeze gently whipped the long skirt I wore around my legs. It seemed like we were at some sort of marina. I could hear the ocean lapping at the boats. Not that boats was really an appropriate word. My jaw fell open as Kade and I walked down a long pier. Yacht after huge yacht was berthed there, and I nearly tripped, I was so busy trying to see them all.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Right here.”

Kade stopped in front of a yacht that looked different from the others we’d passed. It had rigging for sails and was longer.

“Here?” I asked in disbelief.

Kade’s lips twitched. “Yes, here.” He climbed aboard, set down the luggage, then reached out to help me.

I stood on the deck, looking around in amazement. It was beautiful, opulent. And big.

Kade moved suddenly and I gasped as he swung me up in his arms. Turning, he walked across the deck, stepping down into a room. I wasn’t paying attention to where he was taking me—I was too busy studying the curve of his jaw and line of his throat.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Kade said suddenly, “but I’d rather not knock you unconscious.”

“Wha—” was all I had time to say before Kade had slung me up and over his shoulder.

“I want to carry you, but the stairway’s too tight. So next best thing,” he explained.

“Please tell me you’re joking,” I said, bracing my hands against his back. Everything was upside down, though I did have a nice view of Kade’s ass. And what a fine ass it was . . .

“Duck!” Kade called out, and I squeaked as I narrowly missed cracking my skull. He carried me down a spiral staircase that just wouldn’t have worked had he been carrying me the other way.

The incongruity of the situation tickled my funny bone and I laughed. Even I could appreciate the ignominious entrance I was making to a multimillion-dollar yacht—ass first.

Kade stopped and swung me down into his arms again.

“There,” he said with a small smile. “That’s better.”

I smiled back, reaching up to curve my hand around the back of his neck and pulling him down to kiss me.

Kade lowered me to what I belatedly realized was a bed. We didn’t stop kissing. He lay between my legs, the denim of his jeans abrading the tender skin on the inside of my thighs as Kade inched the hem of my skirt up to my waist.

“Wait,” I said, worry crowding through the fog in my head. “What if Blane can’t call off the contract? Will they be able to find me here?” I couldn’t handle it if Kade was hurt again, and I knew he’d throw himself in harm’s way to protect me, which could get him killed. It had taken years off my life when he’d been shot. One too many close calls and eventually even his luck would run out.

Kade must have heard the worry in my voice, because he glanced down at me, his brow furrowing. “If they do, I’ll take care of it. No one’s going to hurt you. Not while I’m around.”

That’s what I was afraid of.

We christened the bed and several other places on the yacht that night, and when the sun peeked over the edge of the horizon, we were on the top deck, a sheet wrapped around us as I sat cuddled in Kade’s lap.

I watched the sky turn a faint turquoise, then rose, and finally the sun came up, a huge ball of red rising from the ocean.

“Wow,” I breathed. “It’s beautiful.” But Kade wasn’t looking at the sun, he was studying me, the backs of his fingers lightly brushing my cheek, then drifting to twine gently through my hair. I turned my face toward his, smiling. “You’re not even looking,” I accused.

He raised his head, his gaze serious. I lifted my hand to cup his cheek, the soft stubble a gentle abrasion against my skin. Kade closed his eyes, turning his face to kiss the center of my palm, then his eyes met mine again.

“I need to ask you something,” he said.

The seriousness of his tone struck a note of panic in me. What was wrong now?

Kade’s smile faded as he spoke. “I once told you that you made me want impossible things, and I was right. I never allowed myself to hope that the life I wanted would ever be in my reach. I’m a bad man, and I’ve done bad things, most without an inch of remorse. But I love you, and I love our baby.”

Tears began to leak from my eyes. Kade brushed away the tracks with his thumbs.

“I don’t deserve you,” he said, his voice a hoarse rasp. “I’m the absolute worst thing for you. My name isn’t honorable and I can’t change the selfish bastard that I am. But I want you, and I don’t ever want to be without you.”

I couldn’t speak, couldn’t look away from his eyes, so blue and so intense, his soul shining in them. A beautiful soul, no matter what he said.

“Marry me, princess?”