Page 80 of Protected from Malice
And as I look into Rafe’s eyes, I’m filled with renewed certainty.
This is right. Me and Rafe. Maybe it took us a long time, and it didn’t happen conventionally, but we’re here. Together.
Finally.
Framing his face with my hands, I pull him in for another kiss. I’m not slow or careful about it. Not this time. This time, I show Rafe just how much I want him.
I press my body against his, feeling the evidence of his arousal nudging at my stomach. It’s not scary. Not intimidating. All it does is intensify the need burning inside me.
His arms come around me, hugging me close. One hand drifts below the swell of my butt, the other comes to the back of my neck. A low rumble sounds in his chest.
As our kiss deepens, fire surges through me, turning my skin aflame. Every touch sends sizzles of electricity across my skin. Desire throbs at my core.
Just for a moment, gratitude takes over everything.
I’m not broken. I’d worried about it, of course. I was afraid I might never want to be intimate with a man again. But with Rafe…
I want. I need. But only him.
As the fire consumes me, I feel my nipples tightening. My panties go damp. Our kiss grows more desperate; tongues lashing and teeth bumping.
My hands come to his biceps, feeling hard muscle and restrained strength beneath them.
“Eden,” Rafe murmurs as he drags his mouth from mine. “Shit, baby. You feel so damn good.”
“So do you,” I reply breathlessly. “All of you.”
Then, in a bold move, I reach one hand inside his pants. I palm his straining erection, the heat of it searing into my skin.
He twitches against me. Thickens. Surges.
“Fuck,” he grits out. “Ah, fuck, baby.”
“I want you,” I tell him. “Not in a week or a month. But now.”
Rafe gazes down at me, his brows pinching together. “Our date.”
“We can reheat the pizza. Play games and eat after.”
“I don’t want to rush you,” he insists. “I didn’t come here expecting anything. However long it takes for you to be ready?—”
“I’m ready now.” My heart stutters as uncertainty hits me. “Unless you don’t want?—”
“Of course I do.” Those two-toned eyes flash with hunger. “Fuck, Eden. Of course I want to be with you. But I don’t want to hurt you. Scare you.”
“You won’t.” Seeing Rafe’s worry makes me even more certain. He’ll do anything to protect me. To make sure this is asperfect as I always dreamed it would be. “You couldn’t. I trust you, Rafe. And this…” My face warms. “I’ve thought about being with you for a long time. A really long time. And I don’t want to wait anymore.”
Rafe stares at me for a few moments, emotion working in his eyes. “How long have you thought about being with me?”
“Um.”
He strokes my cheek. “How long?”
“Since the first weekend you came to visit with Indy,” I admit. “After we all went to bed. I got up and you were in the kitchen, getting something to drink. All you were wearing was a pair of shorts, and I thought… you were the sexiest man I’d ever seen.”
“Eden,” he breathes. His erection jumps. “I remember that night. You looked so pretty in your little sleep shorts and T-shirt, your hair curling all over the place?—”
“A mess, you mean.”
