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What are you doing here? He wasn’t used to feeling unsure.
The whole thing was just a mess. He’d never had problems with women. Probably because those encounters were just sex. But he liked Diana. He sort of felt responsible for her, though he had no right to those feelings. She wasn’t his.
He’d found her last Friday night. And she didn’t seem any closer to getting her affairs in order. He knew she’d called for her cards, but that always took a while. So for the time being, he was responsible for her, and he didn’t want to take advantage of that.
Those truths still didn’t stop him from wanting to taste her lips again. He wanted to know if he had imagined that flash of heat, the connection. And of course, his dick, persistent as it was, wanted to know if the promise of heat could deliver.
He took a bite of his lasagna, the garlic and tomato hitting his tongue with the perfect blend. He moaned. “I forgot how good Anna’s lasagna is. Do not tell Nonna, but I think this is almost as good as hers.”
She took another large gulp of wine even as she laughed. “I won’t tell. I still owe you one for the whole saving-my-life deal. Thank you for that, by the way. I’m not sure if that point made it across since I was too busy being a brat that day. Although I suppose we’re even now after I took out that guy in the alley for you.”
He shook his head. “We’re not even because I’m not keeping score. And you don’t have to say thank you. It’s no big deal.”
She gave him a pointed look. “You mean you rappel down the side of a cliff to rescue damsels in distress every day? And here I thought I was special.”
He laughed. “Yes, that’s in my superhero description. You were the third one that week. Granted, you were also probably the mouthiest.”
She laughed. “I am not mouthy. How was I supposed to know you do things like that all the time? I mean, what is rappelling anyway?”
His lips twitched. “It’s a legitimate sport.” Better she think he was some crazy adrenaline junkie than guess the truth.
She lifted her glass of wine and he followed suit, but once again he got distracted watching her mouth. Fuck, if he didn’t address that kiss, he was going to drive himself insane. He put his glass back down and watched her for a moment.
They ate in companionable silence for a while, and finally he figured the hell with it. “So, can we talk about that kiss?”
A deep pink flush tinted her cheeks, and he had to resist the urge to reach over and caress a thumb over what looked like the softest skin he’d ever seen.
She lifted her lashes and met his gaze. “You mean when you kissed me?”
Rafe almost choked on his salad. “I kissed you? I seem to recall you standing on your tiptoes and leaning into me.”
She laughed. “So you’re suggesting that I totally made the first move?”
“Yes.” He grinned. “Clearly you did. It’s okay. I know I’m irresistible.”
She laughed so hard she snorted a little. Holy hell, why was that sexy? It’s sexy because you’re horny. That was it. Nothing more. At least he knew he wasn’t the only one affected. Diana was downing her wine fairly quickly. Was she nervous?
“You really are full of yourself, aren’t you?” She stood and went to the counter, then brought back the bottle of wine she’d already opened to let breathe. She poured them both a glass before taking her seat again.
Rafe frowned. “So you don’t think I’m sexy?” She coughed as her face flamed again, and he grinned. “I’ll save you from answering that. Of course I am. How can I not be?”
“And so modest too.”
He shrugged. “We all know our strengths. But seriously—” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean to take advantage of the situation. You know you’re safe here. I would never—”
Her eyes went wide and she immediately shook her head. “No. I didn’t think— That wasn’t what I thought at all. It just”—she licked her lips again, and Rafe had to bite his to keep from groaning—“happened.”
He nodded, just on the verge of telling her that if she kept doing that lip thing, it was going to happen again. But they had other things to discuss. He needed to know more about her. Anything. So far all he knew was the surface stuff, and he wanted to go deeper. But given what she’d already been through, he wanted her to give him that information willingly. He didn’t want to have to go digging for it.
“So I know you said you didn’t want to call anyone before, but you must have friends or family who are worried about you.”
Diana finished her last sip of wine and immediately poured another glass.
She shook her head. “I do have one friend, but she has a family. Little ones. I’d have to explain my bruises and my situation. So it’s basically like I have no one.”
He nodded. “You know, I find that even when people think they have no one, there’s at least one person they can call. I don’t like the idea of you being all alone. Not with that asshole still out there.”
She swallowed hard. Her gaze shifting to her plate, she picked at the rest of her salad. “I’m fine. I left. Right now he doesn’t know where I am. So maybe that’s for the best. If he tries to check my phone or something, it’s down at the bottom of the ravine. There’s no way he can find me.”
