Page 27 of Holy Sinner

“How do you know? Have you heard from him?” I go right for my bag and dig out my phone. There’s no messages from Grant. When I search his name on the internet I don’t see any horrible stories saying he’s been arrested for murder.

This is good.

I sigh and stare at my phone before I drop it onto the blanket beside us. It’s not like I can text him when he’s off murdering someone. Knowing my luck, my text will be the thing that gets him caught so I sit back down next to Rafe and worry.

“He’s fine,” Rafe says and tips my chin back so I’m getting a face full of sun like he is. “Did you put any sunscreen on?”

“What?” I ask, because I don’t know how to process that. “Did I what?”

He squeezes my chin and I wince. “Sunscreen. Did you put it on?”

I huff out a laugh and bury my face in my hands. “You’re worried about sunscreen?”

“I’m not having you get skin cancer.”

I make a face but I answer when he looks at me. “Yes, I put some on earlier.”

“Better not be lying to me, shy girl. You know what happens when you lie to me.”

The last time I lied to Rafe it was over who I was texting at one in the morning. It was one of the supporting actors trying to get me to meet him for drinks. From the typos, I knew he was drunk and I didn’t exactly reply to him but Rafe did catch me in the act of reading and blocking.

I’d told him it was Alana because I hadn’t wanted the actor to end up cut to pieces. Rafe had turned my ass red that night. Not even Grant had stopped him when I’d sobbed. He’d watched.

“This is what happens when you lie, sweetheart. This hurts us more than it hurts you.”

When it was all over, I’d flipped them off and ran to the bedroom to hide. All that had gotten me was another round over Rafe’s knee, but when he was done he’d taken me to the bathtub to soak and cry it out while he held me.

That had been two weeks into us dating, one since we’d moved into the apartment together. I hadn’t lied to them since.

I dip my head when I feel Rafe’s eyes on me. I wonder if he’s thinking about the last time I lied like I am and my cheeks go hot. “I know. I swear I’m telling the truth.”

Rafe watches me for another second before he nods. “I believe you. Now, come here and stop worrying about that dumb bitch.” He holds out an arm to me.

“Grant is not a bitch. Don’t call him that,” I say and move into his side. “You should talk nicer about each other. You know I don’t like it when you fight.”

“Shy girl, I love you,” he tells me and I feel my heart speed up. There’s no universe that exists where I don’t get flustered over hearing Rafe tell me that he loves me, “but Grant and I are never going to get along.”

“Not even for me?”

He frowns but sighs. “We make it work for you,” he says and I want to call him out about the other night. I heard them together. I’ve heard them together before, but when I brought it up to Alana as proof that they didn’t hate each other, she laughed and shook her head.

“Sweetcheeks, that’s called a hate fuck. Just because the sex is top tier doesn’t mean they’re going to play nice and get along. Them hating each other just makes the hate fuck that much better.”

“You’ll come around,” I tell him, because I’m nothing if not an optimist. Even if it’s foolish, I’m not going to give up on Rafe and Grant loving each other as much as I love them. In my perfect world we’re a happy throuple. One that might be prone to outbursts, but we’re in love.

All of us.

“He’s your boyfriend, too,” I point out sullenly.

Rafe chuckles and pulls me into his lap. “Boyfriends are assholes. Everybody knows that.”

“You’re not an asshole.”

He smiles at me and leans down so our faces are close together. “I’m not, but that’s only to you. You’re the only one that gets that,” he whispers. When he tips my face up to his I close my eyes and kiss him. It’s a slow kiss. Sweet, soft, gentle. Exactly the kind of kiss that I write about. The kind that I dreamed of having all for myself and Rafe gives it to me gladly.

“Rafe,” I whisper. My eyes are closed but I can feel his smile against my lips.

He slides his fingers through my hair and I open my eyes when he taps my nose. “You’re the only one I go soft for and that means Grant gets shit-talked. He’s an asshole.”

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