Page 127 of Burn for You

I pull back. “You want to wash my hair?”

“Do you trust me to?” In this moment, I see it in his eyes. Those dark eyes that used to be like frosted glass, I can see right into them now. I can see that even though I’ve told him I trust him, he won’t stop doing these little things to continue to prove it to me. Even if it’s something as simple as washing my hair.

“What about that?” I flick my eyes down to his enormous erection.

“We can deal with that later.”

A smile tugs on the edges of my mouth, and I don’t think I can resist it anymore, not the way I used to.

I spin around, my back to Rafael’s front, and he can’t resist the urge to grab a handful of my ass before he’s reaching over into the cobweb infested corner to reach a shampoo that’s been sitting there for god knows how long.

I groan as Rafael digs his fingertips into my scalp, massagingthe shampoo through my hair. In this moment, everything feels right, perfect even.

Something I never thought I would find in a man’s arms was peace, but as Rafael rinses the warm water over my hair, I can’t think of another word to explain the complete and utter harmony in my mind. Like the inner war is over. My heart and mind are in a truce, at least for now. I know it’s a work in progress, something that I can’t just switch off, but I also know that now it’s something that I want to fight, something I want to work through with the gorgeous man behind me, and I’ve never felt like that before.

epilogue

MAY

“I think you should move in.”

Rafael pauses what he’s doing at the stovetop and whirls around to look at me. “You think I should what?”

“Move in.” I lean against the counter. “You pretty much live here, anyway. Plus, you’re using up all my electricity with all this cooking you’ve been doing lately, and I could really use some help with the rent.”

The corner of his mouth tugs up in a smirk. “The rent, huh?”

I nod as he moves around the island until he’s in front of me. He picks me up by my waist and plonks me down on the countertop. “Do you not like all the new meals I’ve been making you?”

“Of course I do.” I run my hands through his hair. “I just didn’t know how expensive it is to run an oven.”

He chuckles, and it reverberates through my palms. It’s been over eight months since I uttered those once dreaded three words to Rafael at our fishing spot, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.

Rafael has finally had the inspiration to try out some new recipes for Olive&Vine and he’s been at it for months, making me taste test every new thing that he comes up with and I have given him a gold star rating for every single one.

He presses a soft kiss to my lips. “Are you feeling alright?”

In all honesty? No, no I am not. I am a ball of nerves right now, and I am just building up the courage to tell him exactly what I’m nervous about.

“I think we should adopt a dog.”

He frowns. “A dog?”

“Well, a puppy.”

He smiles, running his hands along my thighs. “We can get a puppy one day.”

“How about today?”

“Why today?”

“There’s an adoption day today. Down at the park. I just think we should go have a look, you know? See what the options are. We can always come home without one.”

He tilts his head, his eyebrow quirking. “We all know there is no way we are going and coming back empty-handed. There is no way you would let me walk away from those poor little puppies without adopting one.”

“So that’s a yes?”

He sighs. “So you want me to move in and adopt a puppy with you? That’s a bit fast paced for you, Whitley. Anything you need to tell me?”

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