Long Gone by Marliss Melton, Janie Hawkins

expression from beneath his heavy lashes, he took pride in his self-control. But then Skyler caught him staring. Their heavy-lidded gazes locked, and the mutual lust reflected in each other’s eyes was their undoing.
    “Drake,” she cried as they spiraled toward orgasm together.
    Like a falling meteor, they crashed into the atmosphere and exploded into flame. Lungs stripped of oxygen, his nerves singed but sated, Drake collapsed onto Skyler , with no strength left in his limbs whatsoever. 
    “My God,” she breathed her heart still pounding beneath his heaving chest.
    Kissing her tenderly under her ear, he rolled them both onto their sides to protect her from his dead weight. The towel they had brought from the bathroom lay within arm’s reach. He dragged it over to wipe away the sticky moisture on her thighs. Tossing the towel onto the floor, he pulled the covers up over them.
    Skyler cozied into the curve of his body, drew the pillow closer, and shut her eyes. “So tired,” she whispered. He watched the lines of exhaustion on her face slowly fade as she relaxed toward sleep. “I love you, Drake.”
    “I love you, Sky.” His own eyes felt like they had sand in them. How long would Connor interrogate Jameson? Probably for hours. Maybe he had time to catch a few winks himself. That way, he’d wake up refreshed and clear-headed, ready to take action on Skyler’s behalf.
    That was his last thought before his eyelids slammed shut.
     
     
    A frightening dream jerked Skyler awake. For an awful second, she thought she was still on Jameson’s yacht, trapped in his smothering grip, a hair’s breadth from having her ear cut off.
    But it was Drake’s handsome visage that filled her eyes as she turned her head toward the man holding her. His rumbling snore muted the frantic thud of her heart as she gazed at him, memorizing every angle of his face, the way his dark lashes fanned his strong cheekbones.
    God, it hurt to love him the way she did! But it would hurt so much more to watch him give up everything for her sake.  
    Involving him at all had been a mistake.
    She had to leave. To take responsibility for her own actions so that Drake would not be reprimanded because, God help her, she refused to ruin his life the way her own life had been ruined.
    Lifting his arm off her hip, she eased away from him and rolled stealthily out of bed. 
    “ Wher’re you goin ’?” he protested.  
    “To the bathroom,” she lied. She stood over him, watching as he lapsed back into slumber, branding the image of his dark head upon the pillow into her memory. 
    Then she turned away, picked up her bag and purse, and went into the bathroom to dress. Her body and her mind felt equally numb. This was something she had to do, not something she wanted.
    Stuffing her pajamas into her bag, she took one last look at her pale, tight-lipped reflection and turned off the light.
    With stealth she had learned as a child to avoid her father’s notice, she let herself out of the motel room, closing the heavy door without a sound behind her. As she coursed the motel corridor, she marveled that just yesterday, she’d been cleaning guest rooms like the maids up ahead, working their way toward Drake’s Do Not Disturb sign. The past twenty-four hours felt like a week. 
    She left the motel via the side exit.
    The instant she stepped outside into bright sunshine, vulnerability assailed her. What do I do now? Exactly what she ought to have done last night—head straight for the bus station and leave town.
    Traffic whizzed by, disorienting her. All the restaurants, all the souvenir shops along this thoroughfare looked the same. Which way was the bus station? She took a wild guess and started up the sidewalk.
    The sight of a police officer rolling up out of his cruiser half a block away broke her stride. At one time, Centurions had infiltrated every level in law enforcement, especially the local level. The officer appeared to be handing out parking