Surrender

“I know Marie’s is closed, but what about that place that just opened by the bookstore?”

“Jean’s?”

“I think that’s it.” He threw a kitchen towel over his shoulder, and suddenly looked irresistible. I forgot about the bugs, and reached up to kiss him.

His arms wrapped around my waist. Big strong protective arms that blocked the rest of the world. The kiss burned my lips and my tongue. I wanted him. I needed him. But I wasn’t an exhibitionist. I hadn’t been able to have sex the past two nights. The thought that our most intimate moments were being recorded made my stomach turn.

It was killing me not to touch him. Not to lose myself in him. Not to get naked and wrap my body around his.

He growled. “Or we could stay here.”

I shook my head. “I think I want something chocolate. Ohh, I know. The mousse. I’ve heard people talking about it. I want mousse.”

He laughed. “Of course you do. Come on, let’s get our coats and go out.”

The mousse at Jean’s was everything people raved about it being. Creamy, smooth, and decadent as promised. I scraped the bottom of my parfait glass with the long-handled spoon.

“Should we order more?” Vaughn teased.

“No. One is enough. I’ll run tomorrow.”

“Should we walk back along the river?” he asked.

“Sounds nice. It’s not as cold tonight.”

We huddled close to each other as we strolled along the Seine. The lights reflected off the river. It looked dark. Black enough that there was no bottom. If you fell over, you would keep sinking with no barrier to stop you from being dragged away. We passed the bench where we sat the other night.

“All right. I have the first step of the plan.”

“Are you going to tell me how to get the code from Aubrey?”

“We can talk about that back at the apartment openly. This conversation is between us and the Seine.”

“I wish that was the name of a song.”

“I know, babe.”

We followed the riverwalk under low tree limbs. “I’m listening. What is it?”

“Eloise confirmed what we thought was happening. The FBI is actively looking for us. We know for certain that it would be easy to show up on their radar.”

“Ok. So we just have to stay off it, the same way we have been.”

He shook his head. “No. Just the opposite.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have someone to help us. Someone I trust.”

“Really?” I never thought about relying on another person. How was there anyone we could trust?

Vaughn huffed. “I trust him because I’m paying him well.”

“Oh, ok. What is he going to do for us?”

“I won’t get into the technical side, but he can send data pings to whatever part of the world we choose.”

“And that does what exactly?”