AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Looking at her sitting across from him, Dexter wanted to demand answers from her. Yes, he was here now, but it was by his own hand. Not hers. She hadn’t even invited him here to her home to meet her parents. Annoyance flowed through him at the thought. Removing his hand from hers, he took another sip of his coffee.
“I tried to see you last night,” he said.
Raven began coughing, her eyes watering. He patted her on the back until she raised her hand, indicating she was okay. “You did?” Her eyes were wide as she looked around the room to see if any of the guards were around. “Wait, you said ‘tried.’ What happened?”
Dexter smiled. “Thomas.”
Raven laughed out loud. “What? How did Thomas stop you from getting to me?”
A smile lifted his lips. Dexter knew Thomas was just doing his job. But dude was a fucking cock-blocker, and he knew it. “Does that guy ever sleep? I got no more than ten feet away from my room, and there he was. The man looked wide awake, even though I know he’d probably been awake since early morning.”
“No, he never sleeps. Not that I can tell, anyway. Thomas is just really good at his job.” Taking another bite, she glanced over at him. “So, you were trying to get to me last night, huh? You wanted some late-night loving?”
Moving closer, he placed one hand on her knee. His fingers traced circles on her leg, even though she wore pants, he knew she could feel his touch. Her eyes glossed over, and her mouth fell open. “I wanted to be with my woman. Even if we didn’t make love, I wanted you in my arms.”
Her tongue came out to lick her bottom lip, and Dexter’s gaze tracked the motion. From the moment they’d first met, Raven had enticed him with the smallest of gestures. A small smile, the touch of her finger against his skin, the swipe of her pink tongue over her full lips. Even when she wasn’t trying to, she turned him on. But he couldn’t focus on that right now.
“Baby? Explain to me why you left me. Why you walked away from what we had,” he said abruptly, pulling back from her.
He knew she was caught off-guard by his question. Her mouth opened and closed in shock as she stared at him. If she thought he wasn’t going to bring this up, then she didn’t know him very well.
“Does it matter now?”
“Yes. It does. You seem happy to see me today, but that wasn’t the case last night. When I walked in, you looked like you’d seen a ghost.” Just the memory of the shocked look on her face made his heart hurt. Even though she claimed to love him, she’d still been willing to leave him behind as if he meant nothing.
A sad look came over her face, and her head dipped low. “It wasn’t that I was unhappy that you’d arrived. I just hadn’t expected it. I thought you’d be too angry. Feel that I’d somehow betrayed you.”
“I am angry. I do feel betrayed,” Dexter growled.
Glancing away from him, she looked to be lost in thought for a few seconds. “What do you want from me, Dexter?”
“I want the truth!” He stood from his chair and began pacing the floor.
Placing her fork down, she wiped her mouth with her napkin before placing it on the table next to her unfinished plate of food. “What if that’s not possible? All I can say right now is that I’m happy you’re here. I’m sorry that I left the way I did. The truth is, I loved you before I came home, and I still love you today. Even if you don’t believe me, it’s the truth.
Anger, frustration, and need for the woman in front of him coursed through his body. He wanted to be angry with her. Tell her he was through with all her bullshit and walk away, get on a plane, and get back to his life in D.C. But he couldn’t. Something held him back from taking that next step. Sighing deeply, he placed his hands on his hips and closed his eyes. “Do you know I’d planned to ask you to marry me?”
Her gaze shot to his and he could see the surprise, then joy, and finally sadness reflected on her face. “You were? I didn’t—didn’t know.”
“I was waiting for the right time. But now, being with you in your world is a new experience for me. Back in the States, we were just two people who fell in love. Sure, I knew about your family, but it was an afterthought. Not something I had to deal with regularly. Here,” he paused while looking around, “I’m at a disadvantage. I’m still me, but you’re no longer the Raven I met and fell in love with.”
“But I am, Dexter.” Her bottom lip quivered with emotion. “I’m the same person you met that night at the club. I’m still the woman who brought you chicken noodle soup when you had the flu. Who I am hasn’t changed. Not when it comes to you. I just needed to deal with this situation with my parents and my home. I need you to believe me.”
He didn’t want this moment to spiral. Sadness wasn’t in the cards today. But he also needed Raven to know how serious he was about the two of them. “It was never my belief in you that was in question. My trust in you is the issue. You didn’t trust me enough to tell me what was going on, or that you had to leave. Hell, I still don’t know if you’re telling me the truth about everything. Raven, you know the one thing I cannot abide, is a liar.”
Raven stood from her chair and began pacing along the length of the table. “I messed up, okay?” Her voice was loud and filled with frustration.
“Raven, stop. Babe, stop talking!”
She turned to look at him with those big beautiful eyes, wetness trailing down her beautiful face. He wasn’t trying to break her spirit or make her feel as if he’d never forgive her. He would. Hell, he already did. But she was going to be his wife one day soon, and he couldn’t have shit like this happening again.
“Raven, I love you. More than I ever thought I’d love anyone else. If we’re going to make this work between us, there can’t be any more lies. You can’t run away because you think you can handle shit alone. That’s not how it works.” Dexter moved closer to Raven, bending his knees to capture her gaze. “Don’t hide from me. You know I don’t like that shit.” His arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her body closer to his. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Shaking her head, she raised her hands to his shoulders. Looking into his eyes, she smiled. “Not yet.”
He wanted to press the issue but knew this wasn’t the time. Plus, having Raven in his arms like this reminded him that he hadn’t made love to her in over a week. Leaning his head down, he kissed her soft lips. “Damn, I missed you.”
Her laughter rang out, the sound reverberating throughout the courtyard. “Is that all you think about,” she teased. Her fingers reached up to play in the hair at the nape of his neck. Raven knew how much he loved it when she did that. His cock thickened in his pants as he thrust his body against hers.
