Free Public Secrets (Artificial Intelligence Book 1) by Liza O'Connor

and he diminished in size.
    She pushed him again. “You were doing it on purpose. Here I am tugging and tugging like some idiot...”
    He stepped back, pulling her off the bench, letting her slide just enough that her face was level with his.
    “My feet will get dirty.”
    “Your feet aren’t touching the ground.”
    “But they will eventually. I’m too heavy to hold for long.”
    She felt his chest swell against her.
    “I regularly lift two hundred pounds. Surely you don’t weigh much more than that.”
    Carla squirmed in protest. “Put me down. I refused to be kissed by someone who insults me so grievously.”
    Chad smiled but made no effort to release her. “Who said I was going to kiss you?”
    Carla seemed at a loss for words as she blushed.
    “Well?” He tried to catch her eyes.
    “My mistake. I misread the moment.”
    “I think it would be a mistake to kiss you while I’m holding you in my arms,” he explained as he moved them closer to the table. “You’d be fretting over whether I was going to drop you and get your feet dirty, or get a hernia holding so much weight.” He set her down on the table’s edge. “Now here, with you safely lodged on the table...” He pushed her legs apart so he could move in closer. “The moment is altogether right.” He leaned over, enjoying the anticipation of their first kiss...
    “Ready?” Jackie called out as he rounded the truck. “Oops, not ready.”
    Carla put her hand on Chad’s chest and smiled apologetically. “Can I get a raincheck?”
    He stepped back and dampened his feelings. “Absolutely.”
    ***
    Jackie drove them to his raft-shack, where they collected their clothes and belongings. Then Chad walked her to her car but stopped her before she could get in.
    “Where are you staying?”
    “The YHA.”
    He shook his head. “That story again.”
    “I really am going there this time.” Her eyes sparkled with laughter.
    “I don’t think so.” He leaned down and kissed her, at first with a gentle tentativeness, but soon growing more demanding with passion.
    When he finally released her, they were both breathless.
    “Stay with me.”
    His request was so soft that Carla almost thought she’d imagined it, but looking up into his eyes, she knew she hadn’t.
    “I’d like that. Where are you staying?”
    “At the YHA,” he replied, and laughed at her moment of confusion. “I’m kidding. I’ve a house on Lake Taupo.”
    “That sounds much nicer,” she said as he leaned in to kiss her again.

Chapter Thirteen
     
    Luke’s phone rang. The newly promoted Tom was calling. His stress increased before he’d even answered. “What?”
    “Got a call from Visa. She just used the card outside of Lake Taupo. A place called River Rats,” Tom said. “Think you can find it on your own, or do you need me to come down?”
    “I’ve got it,” Luke snapped before ending the call. His anger flared, but at himself. He should have thought of checking there on his own.
    ***
    Gary Eder watched the students board the buses. He saw Claire get in, but not Carla. He followed the buses all the way to the airport. Carla was not with them. The girl must have been telling the truth when she said Carla had left them, but where had she gone?
    Maybe he had been wrong in his assumption that she was aware of his presence. If she wasn’t hiding, where would she go? He remembered the anchorwoman talking about a twenty-three-foot waterfall. Checking the brochures at the airport, he soon located the waterfall near Rotorua. He returned to his rental and headed north. It was a long shot, but his only other lead was a local boy in Lake Taupo and he didn’t look forward to sorting through several thousand local boys.
     
    ***
    Carla followed Chad to his “house” on the lake. It was a mansion with a security gate. After a brief conversation, the guard let him through and waved her in as well.
    She parked her car in an eight-car garage and grabbed her bags. “Is this the