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“Did you have a lot of friends?”
“Not really. I kept to myself a lot. Even when I went to college. I didn’t relate well to kids my age. I think I was too serious for most of them. Too much in my own head. Aloof, maybe. Doesn’t help that I speak my mind.”
“You speak your mind? No way.” He grinned.
She turned and bit him gently. His sharp intake of breath was low, charged, and it made her insides warm. The look he gave her said he’d happily back her against one of these buildings and sink into her.
“Careful now, little Diana. You bite me, and I’ll bite you back.”
She giggled and nipped him again. “I dare you.”
“I see what you’re doing. Trying to tempt me so you don’t have to talk. I’ll give you what you’re asking for later, when we get back to the apartment, but we’ll talk first.”
She narrowed her gaze but kept walking. “So I don’t have many friends, I guess.”
“And boyfriends?” His question was quiet, but she heard the hint of ice and possessiveness in his words.
“Like I said, I have a hard time connecting. It’s like everyone spoke one language and I spoke another. I wasn’t too close to my father or brothers, so I had no real male role models. I practically begged for attention from them. I guess I carried those habits into
my dating life and made some crap choices. It’s like I’ve been searching for something, you know? Although it’s not like I had a lot of boyfriends. One in college and one after.”
He ran his hands over her hair. “You don’t have to make those wrong choices anymore.” He paused and tugged her to the edge of the sidewalk, then kissed her deep, and Diana’s synapses fried.
His kisses dragged her into a lust-filled fog of denial and need. A place where she didn’t have to think about the girl she once was. A place where she wasn’t the lonely girl who just wanted someone to love.
The lonely girl whose father had been taken.
He cupped her cheek, gently stroking her skin as he kissed her. Diana knew she would never be the same after this. He was changing her. And she wasn’t sure if it was for the best.
Back in the apartment with their coffee and their pastries, Rafe tried to discern what she was thinking. Noah had to be right. She was evasive. Not exactly lying, but not eager to talk about her life. Maybe she was scared.
She needed to trust him. Had to know he’d help her with anything. He set the coffees down and tugged her close. “Listen, I know you’re gun-shy. But no matter what, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He slowly slid his arms around her waist and pulled her into his body.
She nodded. “Y-yes. I know you wouldn’t.”
“Good.” With a groan, he took her mouth under his, teasing with his tongue. And she opened for him on a sigh. She tasted like coffee and spice, and he never wanted to stop. He was spinning out. He needed her. Even as his brain told him to be careful, to go slow, his body and his heart dived in headfirst. She was his. He always protected what was his. He just had to convince her that she wanted to stay.
Rafe angled his head and deepened the kiss, dipping his tongue into her mouth, drawing hers out playfully. As he teased her, she looped her arms around his neck and brought her body into close contact with his, rubbing her nipples against his chest.
He snuck his hand under her T-shirt, and she rocked her hips against him. With his thumb, he teased a circular pattern around her belly button.
She was so soft everywhere, with skin like satin. He could spend hours touching her, savoring every inch of her skin, but her breathy moans urged him on. Sliding his hands up her torso, he let his thumbs graze the underside of her breasts, and the rest of the blood in his brain migrated south. His cock throbbed painfully against his thigh, and he bit back a curse.
He traced his thumbs over the lace of her bra to the taut nipples beneath. With a frustrated snarl, he picked her up and settled her on the counter. She started to quiver when he stroked his thumbs over her nipples. When he closed his palm over her full breast, Diana slid her hands into his hair and tugged. Her nails scoring over his scalp sent a shiver through him.
Diana rocked her body against his, and the thick, pulsing lust coursing in his veins made it impossible to think. He craved more. Needed more. His hips jerked—he was so desperate to get closer, to be inside her and possess her.
“Wrap your legs around me, Diana,” he muttered before sucking on her bottom lip. When she didn’t, he teased her lip with his teeth. “Did you hear me, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, I just can’t seem to move.”
With a chuckle, he helped her into position, then moved them over to the couch. He levered over her, then slowly eased his weight down on top of her, his throbbing dick directly against her core.
Rafe lifted the hem of her shirt. Her smooth skin beckoned. Trailing kisses down her neck, he sought out one of her nipples. Through the lace fabric of her bra, he suckled and drew her in deep with his tongue and lips, then with the barest hint of teeth, he grazed the peak. Diana bucked beneath him, and his cock begged for relief.
He teased first one nipple, licking it, suckling it, while his fingers played with the tip of the other. Every tug sent a stab of lust through his body.
But he couldn’t get enough of her. Finally he pulled her into a semiseated position and tugged her shirt over her head. The bra followed in short order, and Rafe forgot to breathe. Her breasts, full and heavy with dusky rose tips, beckoned to him. He laid her back gently and settled himself directly between her thighs again.
