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He wanted to go slow, to savor and comfort her, but it was impossible with his blood rushing at a fever pitch. Diana’s nails dug into his shoulders as she rocked her hips, riding the rhythm he set. She was always right there with him, game to go as hard as he was. Before long, they were both moaning, their breath mingling as Rafe thrust into her eager, wet warmth.
When Diana turned her head and screamed as she came, Rafe could no longer hold back. He was surrounded by her and could feel the sensations they generated together all over his body. He was falling into her, and he never wanted to come back.
“Yes, Rafe. I want to see you come too. I want to make you feel good.” Her soft whisper was the last straw.
Rafe roared in satisfaction as the knot of tension at the base of his spine snapped. He thrust once, twice, and then held himself firmly inside her as he drowned in pleasure.
“I love you, Diana.”
Her eyes stayed on his as he continued to circle his hips, drawing out the connection between them. Her eyelids fluttered, and she moaned softly when he finally dropped down next to her, too weak to hold himself up anymore. This was what she did to him, made him feel weak but also safe enough to let his guard down.
“Tell me you love me. I know you do.”
Without lifting his head, Rafe waited. He probably should have played it close to the vest and not pushed her for more than she was ready for, but he couldn’t handle not knowing if she felt the same way. She was quiet for so long, but he knew she’d heard him because her hands had flexed on his back in shock.
Finally she let out a little sigh. “I do love you, Rafe. It’s not a good idea, but I just can’t help it.”
“Good. I don’t want you to.”
He kissed her gently before disengaging. He went to the bathroom to take care of the condom. By the time he got back, Diana was wearing her sweater again and facing the other way.
He climbed on the bed behind her and pulled her into his arms. “I know you’re worried about how things will play out, but there’s nothing you can do about it right now. Sleep. No one can touch you here. All the rest… we’ll work it out, okay?”
She stiffened at first, but after a brief pause, she relaxed in his arms. “Okay.”
Diana stretched and rolled over, her hand connecting with Rafe’s arm. The sight of it reminded her of the prior day’s events. That, along with the intense soreness in her throat. Suddenly alert, she glanced around the unfamiliar room. They were in the guest room at Rafe’s brother-in-law’s place, hiding out from her deranged brothers. His place was compromised because he was helping her. She couldn’t afford to forget that or how much he’d sacrificed on her behalf.
He loves me.
It was unbelievable and something that she didn’t think she’d ever get her mind around. Rafe had been a lot of places and done a lot of things. If the things she’d seen in that file were just a sampling of the kinds of missions he’d done, by all accounts he should be hard and deadened inside. But nothing could be further from the truth. He’d held her so gently and touched her like she was the most precious thing in the world.
She didn’t fool herself that he was some kind of monk due to his background either. Just because he’d been all over the world doing those top-secret missions didn’t mean he’d lacked female company. A man who looked like Rafe, a man with a body like that, would never be starved for female attention. But she doubted that he’d ever let any of those women into his heart.
Instead, he’d saved that for her.
Diana smiled to herself, but her smile faded as she thought of all the things Rafe still didn’t know. It was humbling and scary as hell at the same time. Rafe had her on this pedestal where he’d convinced himself that she was perfect. All the amazing feelings he had for her, what would happen to all of that when he discovered she was part of one of the most heinous crime syndicates in the world? The fact that she hadn’t known about it until recently wouldn’t matter in the end because it would still have the same result. Rafe would lose out on the normalcy he’d craved for so long. He said he was retired from the FBI, but what would happen if his old colleagues found out he was harboring a criminal? If he got in trouble for helping her, it would ruin his chances for having a new life and career outside his former line of work.
It was a choice she didn’t want him to have to make.
Moving carefully so as not to wake him, Diana slid to the end of the bed. It was a struggle to get the covers untangled from around her legs so she could stand without bringing the entire sheet with her. Then there was the ache in her throat that had somehow transferred to the rest of her body. Ow. Diana slowed her movements, trying not to anger the muscles that already felt like they’d been run over by an eighteen-wheeler. When she was finally untangled, she stood up and turned around. Rafe watched her silently from the bed. Shit.
“I was trying not to wake you,” she admitted.
He only smiled. “I know. You didn’t do too badly. It probably would have worked on anyone else. Well, anyone who hadn’t been waiting for you to try sneaking out since four a.m.”
Diana shouldn’t have been surprised. It was nearly impossible to sneak anything past Rafe. He was too well trained for the usual tactics to be effective. Now that he was on alert, Diana figured her nut jab was the last time she’d take him off guard.
“No more running,” Rafe said as he sat up. The sheets slid down slightly as he moved, showing off his ripped chest.
Diana sighed as she took in the full view of a morning-after Rafe. The sight was quickly becoming one of her favorite looks on him. With his hair wild and his dark eyes sleepy and shuttered, he was her every erotic dream personified. He was the embodiment of everything she’d wished for as a young girl when she imagined the kind of man she’d marry when she grew up. Diana smiled.
Okay not exactly.
She definitely hadn’t thought she’d marry some black-ops type, but she’d imagined someone intense and protective. Someone who’d do anything for her and considered her love as a gift. Rafe was her dream lover in all the ways that mattered.
Except for the part where she could potentially ruin his career and put him and his family in danger.
She shook her head, emotion clogging her throat. The worst part of all this was Rafe thought he was doing the right thing. He wanted to show her that she could trust him and that he would be there for her no matter what. What he didn’t understand was that those traits were exactly why she needed to leave.
