Page 17 of Hidden Raphael
He slammed the safe closed faster than she could see.
Then he turned back toward her. "Nothing that concerns you, other than the wallet."
"Can you please show me?" She glanced past his strong frame that was built to be of a war machine.
"Let it go." He then lowered his pants a bit, and she stepped back. She held her breath as he unloaded the bullets on the table bedside him. Then he reached for his ankle and withdrew a knife and a holster. "I want to teach you self-defense."
She shouldn’t. She couldn't move. Then she blinked. "Why?"
He inched closer and gently caressed her shoulder. "I'm going out again tomorrow, but in case something ever happens, you need to know how to defend yourself."
"I don't know." She inhaled. "I'd rather you stay here and protect me."
He took a step closer, but she stepped back. "I will search again tomorrow to ensure Roger doesn't have another weapon near his camp. He'll change his schedule when he realizes what went missing today, so I'll be gone early. He won't expect me to go out so soon."
"Don't go." She rubbed her arms. "Please."
"Everything will be fine."
She held tight to the medallion and stared into his emerald eyes. If he held her, somehow, her burdens would dissipate. His full lower lip would be a powerful instrument in a kiss. She laughed, but the headiness of her thoughts hit her hard. Then she lifted her hand and he stared at what she held. "What's that?"
Oh no. He stared at the medallion and she shivered. "Costume jewelry.”
“Where did you get it?"
"Downstairs." She lowered her eyelashes. Meg had said not to go in there, and again ice crept up her spine. Kimberly nodded. "Next to the kitchen."
He scratched his head. "We have jewels in the kitchen?"
She was never a good liar. She wanted to say yes, but knew she'd ruin it. Instead she said, "In the room next to the kitchen. I went to find candles and was trapped in your Halloween decoration closet. I saw it sparkle and picked it up."
He reached up, stared at both sides of it, then said, "It's pure gold. I'm impressed. Since you found it, keep it."
That was it? Her jaw dropped. "You can't be serious."
"What would I do with jewelry?" He shrugged and dropped the medallion back in her hand. "Should I wear it outside against your Roger Hellsworth?"
"He's not my anything." The image of a man with Raphael's biceps and dark, forbidding eyes, pretending to be light and gay, sent laughter down her throat. "You'd look silly."
He laughed too. "Agreed."
His baritone voice made her entire body tingle. She'd believe whatever he said. "Are you sure you want me to have this?"
"Why not? I don't want it and I never saw it before." He turned his head to look out the window and the sound of rain splashed against the glass. Did it always storm here?
Raphael turned his head and stole her breath. His profile could be a portrait of an ancient god. Somehow, near him, she believed she'd have a tomorrow, and for now she'd do what he said.
He turned and saw her looking at him, and his cheeks flushed. "I want to finish locking up my stuff now and go to bed, Kimberly."
She'd like to go with him, but she clutched the medallion in her palm again and nodded. "Thank you."
Something ice cold raced up her back. She turned around to see that nothing was there. She turned back, but Raphael had gone. She spoke to the air and picked up her candelabrum. "So no cake, then."
She rubbed her neck and walked out of the library.
At the grand staircase, she stared at the fiery redhead that waited for the barbarian Scot that carried three heads. She would wear this medallion perfectly, not that she did in the picture. The gold seemed medieval and old-fashioned.
Kimberly continued up the stairs and went to her princess room. She smiled. Kimberly Mira had never lived in decadence. She had grown up in a condo near the beach, but not on the beach. The class distinction between the addresses always played a role in Miami politics. In the South Pacific, she'd lived for years as an outsider.
