Page 47 of Rafael

The microwave beeped, and the turntable came to a halt.

Gisele pressed her forehead against his back. “We cannotcatch a single break.” Her body shook gently, then harder.

Was she crying?

He disengaged her arms from around his waist and turned. When he tipped her chin up and stared down into her moist eyes, his heart pinched hard in his chest.

Then, the source of her body’s tremors emerged in a stifled chuckle. She laughed, tears spilling from her eyes.

Her chuckles and laughter were contagious.

Soon, Rafael was laughing with her.

“I almost busted a gut when Shelby told you your barn door was open.” Gisele wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Your sexy walk had me ready to tackle you,” he said, brushing her hair back behind her ear. “Until you crashed.”

“I can’t believe we almost made love on the floor of the shop.” Gisele shook her head. “In broad daylight.”

He tipped her chin up and stared down into hereyes. “And we would have if I hadn’t left the back door open.”

“I doubt a closed door would’ve stopped her,” Gisele’s lips twisted in a wry smile. “She was on a mission.”

“To warn you off me.” Rafael sighed and rested his forehead against hers. “You’re an independent woman with a smart and beautiful head on your shoulders. I can’t promise you anything but today. Now. The present. I won’t lie and tell you different, just to get you in my bed. You can choose to walk away or tell me to leave you alone. I don’t want to...but I’ll respect your wishes.” He lifted his head and met her gaze. “What do you want, Gisele?”

She smiled up at him. “I want you.”

His heart sang at her words. He hadn’t expected the rush of joy that filled him so completely. He tempered his elation with a warning. “If we’re together today, we might not be tomorrow.”

She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “So, tomorrow is not a given. You might decide being with me is not for you. It goes both ways. I might decide you’re not who I want. Either way, we walk away. No strings. No hard feelings.” She held out her hand. “Deal?”

Rafael’s brow wrinkled. He’d always been the one to walk awayever since his fiancée had walked away from him. How would he feel if Gisele was the one who ended it?

One of her eyebrows rose on her forehead,though her hand still hovered between them. “Do we have a deal, or have you decided to opt out of this before it starts?”

He wasn’t going to walk away now. But her comment about him not being right for her had him stymied.

Her face softened into a gentle smile. Gisele reached up to cup his face and rose onto her toes to brush her lips across his. “What do you want, Rafael?”

Every wall inside Rafael cracked, and the emotions he’d held back for so long rushed through like water pushing through cracks in a dam. He had no way to stop the flow, to plug the holes. If he kissed her now, there was no going back.

He crushed her to him and lowered his mouth to hers. “I want you,” he said and then kissed her.

CHAPTER 10

Gisele opened to his kiss,meeting his tongue with hers in a long, slow caress that left her breathless and wanting more.

They weren’t in her shop; the sun had gone down hours ago. No one would come knocking on Rafael’s door.

Nothing stood in the way of the inevitable.

Her body quivered in anticipation.

They were going to make love.

When she thought she might never need to breathe again, Rafael raised his head.

Then he bent, swept her up into his arms and carried her the few short steps across his apartment into his bedroom.

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