Even better.
After a quick shower, I throw on an oversized T-shirt and make my way to the kitchen. As I round the corner, I stop in my tracks when I spot Rafe standing there, counting out bills on the counter. Alerted to my presence, he glances up, his expression heating as he spies my bare legs. Nervous tingles run up and down my body as his eyes do the same. His gaze is intense, approval etched on his features, and my nipples pebble as he looks at my breasts.
God, I want him.
“Like what you see?” I ask, knowing he does but wanting to hear him admit it out loud. Suddenly, I understand the concept behind use your words.
“I know I’d like to see more,” he says, his eyes sweeping down my body one more time and darkening with desire.
My cheeks flush, and I look away, unsure of how to respond. A low chuckle escapes him, and I glance up to see him giving a slight shake of his head.
“By the way, that came for you a few minutes ago,” he informs me, nodding towards a small package sitting on the counter next to him.
The moment broken, I cross the room until I’m directly across the counter from him. “What are you doing here? I thought you guys packed it up for the night.”
“We did. I had some paperwork to catch up on, and then I remembered I needed to pay you for the day.”
My eyebrows raise. “You could’ve just given it to me tomorrow.”
He looks across the counter, setting his gaze on mine. “I could’ve . . . but as I was sitting in my trailer, I couldn’t stop thinking about you up here in this huge house, all alone.”
“Really?” I ask, my voice barely more than a whisper.
“Really,” he nods, running a hand through his messy hair. “I wanted to see you.”
I smirk, but I warm inside at the sentiment. “You spent all day with me,” I remind him.
“Working doesn’t count. Ever since that kiss, I can’t get you out of my mind. I fucking think about you all the damn time. Wondering what you’re doing. You gave me just a small taste, and it wasn’t enough. I want more. I want you. More than I’ve wanted a woman in a long damn time. I know I shouldn’t. But I can’t help myself. I had to see you. To find out if you felt the same. I can be your rebound guy, Brie, if you want me.”
“Rafe,” I whisper, looking up into his pleading eyes.
Desire is evident on his face, and I can tell he wants to fight it, but he’s not trying all that hard. He just needs to know I want this, him, just as much. Can I actually do this? Here, in this house, with this man? Is this the trouble Adrian was warning me of?
He drops what he’s doing and rounds the counter, gripping my hips and lifting me up until I’m sitting on it. The cool granite against my bare skin causes me to shiver. His hands move from my hips to the counter beside me as he leans in close.
“Do you, Brie? Do you feel the same?” His piercing, blue eyes search mine. “Have you thought of nothing but our kiss since the other day? Do you imagine my hands on you? Touching you? My lips on your skin, tasting you? Can you feel me inside you, giving you more pleasure than you can handle? Or is it just me? Am I the only one who feels this?”
My pulse ignites as one hand moves from the counter to my bare skin, his thumb stroking my thigh slowly, deliberately, as he waits for my answer.
“No,” I admit. “It isn’t just you. I feel it, too. It’s all I’ve thought of. I ache for you, Rafe, and even when I thought to satisfy myself, I couldn’t. It wasn’t you, and it wasn’t enough.”
His eyes darken at my admission. With a low groan, he hangs his head. “I told myself I wouldn’t do this. That I’d let you come to me, but dammit, Brie, the idea of you touching yourself and thinking of me is too much. And I’m too damn selfish to walk away now.”
“Then don’t,” I whisper, and it’s all he needs.
As he leans in, our lips collide as if we’d been waiting for this for far longer than a few days. Rafe kisses me so thoroughly that, if I weren’t sitting on this counter, I’d be dizzy. My hands brace his shoulders as my mouth opens, his tongue sweeping inside and tangling with mine. Unlike our previous kisses, this one is hot and frantic as I try to pull him closer. He places his hands on my bare thighs, fireworks exploding between us at the mere contact, and I moan my satisfaction.
“You’re so goddamn beautiful, Brie,” he whispers against my mouth as butterflies consume my belly. “Let me show you how I see you. Let me take care of you the way you’re meant to be cared for.”
I glance up into eyes I could get lost in for days. The piercing blue of his irises has darkened with his lust, his passion turning them wild and treacherous, like the stormy sea wanting to pull me into its depths, consuming my entire being. Yet I’m not afraid. I want what he’s offering. I’m ready for the storm to rage and for him to take whatever he wants.
His hands slide up, his eyes dimming when he finds I’m not wearing any panties. I shiver with delight and scoot forward, wanting so much more. One lone finger strokes me up and down before he pulls his hand away, which elicits a whimper of protest from me.
“Does he touch you like this? Does he make you tremble? Does he fill you fully? Does he savor your taste, drink every last drop of your pleasure?” he asks, a hand slipping beneath my T-shirt and finding my bare breast.
I gasp as he pinches a nipple, and I shake my head. “No. Not for a long time,” I admit.