Page 74 of Boost

It only took one more unhurried stoke of his tongue to kiss away the disagreement, and I reached for him with renewed fervor.

Clasping a hand around the back of his neck, I drew him closer. My legs opened wider to accommodate his hips, and with my neck extended skyward, I kissed him with forever-igniting passion. We were electric together. There was no denying that.

When we came up for air, he moved his hands to cup my face. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

He not only spoke the words; he emanated them in a way that made my soul dance across each syllable as they wove around my heart.

Under his hardened exterior, Rafael possessed a heart far bigger than I expected. I’d seen many sides of him—the bad boy, the savvy businessman, the shameless lover, and a son who cared deeply for his mom. The tender side took me by surprise, and I admired him immensely for gifting me with rare glimpses of that beauty.

Although he wasn’t the kind of guy I typically dated, I couldn’t help but feel our worlds were always destined to collide. That our paths were meant to cross to open my eyes and encourage my wings to spread. To heal me, and to learn to trust again.

“Thank you,” I whispered, as I fell for him that little bit more.

Enveloped in his arms as if I was his entire world, I allowed the moment to consume me. Within Raf’s embrace, I was able to shed the experiences in my past that subconsciously held me back from committing to a relationship.

With Raf it felt good, like I’d found a part of myself I’d lost many lifetimes ago.

As we stood wrapped in each other’s arms, he pressed a kiss to the top of my head and murmured into my hair. “Don’t break me, baby girl.”

I gazed up into his never-ending brown depths and my heart stumbled. “Don’t breakme.”

He shook his head and swallowed thickly. “Never intentionally.”

Chapter 31

-Greer-

Raf and I went our separate ways for the rest of the day, and Sunday had me waking with a smile on my face, pleasantly achy, and wishing I had a little more of Rafael to satisfy my renewed morning craving.

I fixed a breakfast-smoothie, showered, pulled on a cute two-piece workout tight and crop-top set, and then sat on the wooden living room floor to paint my toenails before my workout buddy arrived.

Adrian lived on the lower floor, and we’d randomly got talking about workouts one day. From that conversation, we decided to make it a team effort two Sundays out of every month. Sometimes we would run, but I preferred at-home cardio workouts done in the privacy of my living room.

Adrian’s fitness put mine to shame thanks to the miles he cycled each day as a bicycle courier, and his humor never failed to brighten a room. For that alone, I always looked forward to our workout sessions.

A hard knock on my condo door pulled my attention from my pretty pastel-pink toe nails that now matched my workout attire.

“It’s open, Adrian!” I called, getting to my feet and awkwardly walking so my toes didn’t touch the floorboards.

“Who’s Adrian?”

My heart stopped beating, then kicked painfully when Rafael came into view.

“Raf! What are you doing here?” I asked breathlessly.

“I was in the neighborhood. Is that a problem?”

“No, not at all. Hi!” I threw my arms around his shoulders and melted into his tight hug.

His hands running up and down my back smoothed away the shock of him being here and reminded me of this morning’s desires.

I took him by surprise by sealing my mouth over his. His response was immediate, as if he’d been thinking similar thoughts. Hands cupped my booty and roughly pulled me closer. Our tongues met and moved in sync, kissing like it had been weeks, not hours.

Raf let out a delicious groan as our kiss eased to an end. “Nup, I wasn’t trippin’.”

I frowned. “Tripping about what?”

“Feeling a whole lot of things when I kissed you. One of them being how much I can’t wait to peel these off you.”

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