Page 29 of Property of Rio

“I thought I’d find you here,” I tease Rafe as I wrap my arms around him from behind. He’s sitting at the bar in the clubhouse, several of the brothers situated around him as they enjoy a few beers. “You busy?”

“Never too busy for you, Issy,” he replies, turning slightly so he can kiss me. BamBam makes a noise as though he’s choking, but I suspect he’s trying to hold back his laughter, because of what Rafe said to me.

“Pancho’s had Luis running Stargazer through the barrels to keep her in shape and ready for the upcoming rodeos,” I tell him.

“Yeah, he asked what the schedule was back when you first got hurt and weren’t able to exercise her,” he informs me. “They couldn’t really work Starlight since dressage is so subjective.”

“I’m not worried about getting her form back now that I’ve been cleared by Doc to resumeallnormal activities. I took Gazer through her paces today and will work with Starlight tomorrow since Pancho suggested I use a routine from a few years ago and maybe tweak it a little because it was a judge and crowd favorite.”

He leans in and whispers, “Resume all normal activities, huh?”

I nod while grinning up at him. “Yep,” I reply, popping the p. “Thinking we can move forward in other areas of our life now.”

“Good to know,” he teases, his voice deep and husky. “So, y’all, we’ve got something to take care of. We’ll catch y’all later.”

Laughter rings out as Rafe catches me up in a fireman’s carry and strides out of the clubhouse and toward the big house, while I giggle so hard, I’ve got tears flowing. When he runs up the steps and onto the porch, he sets me on my feet and cups my face in his hands.

“Fuck, I’ve been waiting for you forever,” he murmurs as he lowers his lips to mine.

As the sexual heat rises between us and intensifies, I move closer to his body, craving his warmth. “Think we might wanna go inside,” I whisper against his lips. “Otherwise, we’re gonna have some onlookers.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” he decrees, his gravelly tone causing goosebumps to rise along my skin, scooping me up in a bridal hold then somehow managing to open the door and walkthrough without dropping me. He locks the door then strides over to the stairs without losing his gait.

“I can walk, Rafe,” I tell him as he starts up the stairs. The last thing I want to have happen is to fall and break something because he’s being Mr. Macho.

“Like I’d ever drop you, Issy,” he scoffs.

I’m actually impressed because while I’m not heavy per se, hehascarried me since the clubhouse and now that we’ve made it into his bedroom, he’s not even breathing heavily! I mean, my heart is nearly thumping through my chest wall at what’s about to finally happen, but he’s as cool as a cucumber.

He gently sets me on my feet then says, “I hope you didn’t have anything planned for the next few days. We’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”

“But what about the club’s businesses?” I ask.

“That’s why I have officers,” he teases. “They’ll cover them and ensure everything keeps running smoothly.”

“Oh, okay,” I reply, suddenly very unsure of myself. I mean, I have literally no experience outside of the hot kisses he’s given me. Even when I was dating Miguel, it was definitely tame as hell. He held my hand, occasionally kissed my cheek, but there was no real chemistry.

“Why are you so nervous, Issy?” he asks.

“Maybe because my development in this manner is somewhat arrested?” I retort. “Rafe, I’m clueless about sex.”

“I know Constance talked to you about the birds and the bees, Issy,” he jests, trying to calm me down. “So, that’s not the problem.”

“What if… what if I can’t satisfy you?” I murmur, dropping my head as my utter lack of confidence in my sexual side rears its head.

“Babe, that’s not going to be an issue,” he declares. “And I’m not worried about your experience or lack thereof, since this is about me and you and whatwefigure out we enjoy doing.”

Damn, he has a silver tongue at times, always knows the right thing to say when it comes to calming me down. With his experience level, I’m positive he’ll make it good for me, so I decide to just toss my insecurities aside and I pounce on him, pushing him onto the bed and landing on top of him. My sudden move has him chuckling as he wraps his arms around me and gives me a quick kiss.

“I do enjoy kissing you,” I admit.

“Same,” he replies, rolling us over so I’m on my back and he’s hovering over me with his weight on his forearms. “We’ll start there and see where it leads us, okay?”

“Okay,” I agree. “Don’t we have too many clothes on, though?”

“Oh, we’ll get to that soon enough, Issy,” he silkily whispers, causing a full body shiver to flow through my body. “Just know, I’ll like anything you do, babe, but if there’s something that makes you uncomfortable, speak up.”

I nod, now eager to kiss him again. Reaching up, I run my thumbs through his short, well-manicured beard, and hear him moan. As I explore his face with the tips of my fingers, seeing theflecks of gold in his pupils, a few light freckles across the bridge of his nose, and the tiny scar at the corner of his eye from a tree-climbing accident when we were younger. Winding my fingers through his hair, I gently tug so he comes closer then place my lips against his.

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