Page 109 of Boost

An incredulous laugh fell from his open mouth, and he raised both eyebrows above the tinted lenses of his sunglasses. He visibly fought another smirk. “Is that so?”

My pinched fingers turned into a savage jab at his chest. “Yes, it is. And tough shit if you don’t like it, because that’s what’s happening.”

Raf moved with predator-like precision before I could react. Within a blink, his fingers wove around the back of my neck and jerked me forward. His mouth claimed mine with hunger and possession. Urgent and demanding, rendering me instantly breathless.

Ignoring the lingering tenderness across the bridge of my nose, I roughly balled his shirt in my fists, torn between shoving him away and forcing him closer. A long moan wove from deep in my throat as he kissed me with everything he had. The bite of his fingers skimmed my waist, and there was no escaping the onslaught that ignited my craving for him.

“I don’t like pushy women, Greer,” he growled against my mouth, before kissing me forcefully again.

“And I don’t like arrogant, self-conceited men,” I snapped, at the first chance I got.

Our kiss broke at a speed that made my head spin. Raf gripped my jaw with one hand while angling his body against mine, coming nose-to-nose as I fought to catch my breath.

“You have no idea how much I want to fuck you right now.” Anger and frustration laced each syllable, and spoke direction to my own desire to be claimed.

I reached up and pressed a thumb against his Adam's apple, feeling the swallow that worked down his throat.

“You can fuck me all you want, but only after you play by my rules.”

“I don’t do rules-”

I pressed a little harder until Raf’s grip on my jaw flexed in warning. “Today you do, whether you want to or not.”

“Well, I don’t.”

I smiled up at him and laughed quietly. “I know.”

It made bringing him to his knees all the more satisfying. Despite the smile gracing my mouth, I commanded his attention and allowed some of the broken part of me to show herself.

“What I need to tell you doesn’t involve you.”

His expression softened, only to change as his thoughts ticked over. “I hurt you, baby. You shouldn’t want anything to do with me. You shouldn’t be wanting to share parts of yourself with me. I’m bad blood, Greer. I’m tainted, and me hurting you proved that I’m no better than my poor excuse for a father was.”

Disdain contorted Raf’s face, and he practically spat each word. Anxious vibrations transferred from his fingertips onto the delicate skin on my neck.

Lifting his sunglasses and taking his face in my hands, I wanted to shake him. To make him understand.

“You’re nothing like he was.Nothing.What you did was unintentional. You didn’ttryto hurt me. I believe that with all my heart.”

The muscles of his jaw worked under my palms as he ground his teeth together. “That’s not the fucking point!”

“It’s theentirepoint!”

“What would you know? What the fuck makes you think you could possibly understand an ounce of what I’m going through?”

Tears unexpectedly stung the back of my nose, and I blinked rapidly to stop them reaching my eyes. Raf had made my heart so full after my last serious relationship had left it so empty. The experience scarred me for the longest time, and while I had Christian’s patience to thank for pulling me out of a realm where all men were guilty until proven innocent, I now had Rafael to thank for allowing myself to love again.

I took a deep breath. My heart hammered so damn hard it was all I could hear. The words of my ordeal congregated on my tongue but clung to the surface, refusing to be voiced. The shame and stigma that came with domestic abuse crawled over my skin, leaving behind sweat that had me pulling my hands back from Raf’s face.

“Greer? What is it?”

Looking up into his stricken expression undid me. His brows knitted together as if begging for my innermost thoughts.

No matter how hard it was, no matter how much it hurt, I yearned for him to understand that I didn’t think he was the monster he painted himself to be.

I swallowed and gripped Raf’s wrists for support, and let the confession slip off my tongue.

“I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of the worst kind of love.”

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