AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"We deserve to see where this could go," I said, gesturing between us as I closed the distance.
"Monogamy isn't for me." She lifted her gaze back to mine. I was close enough to see her hesitantly swallow. It was more than enough to encourage me. “Rai, relationships in general aren’t for me. I can’t guarantee forever for anyone.”
"Then we don't do exclusive. You can date who you want or don’t," I replied. It might kill me, and I would only have eyes for her, but I must do it if I could even have a part of her. “I’ll take whatever I can get in the present.”
"What happens when it doesn't work out?" she whispered the words, and her breath ghosted over my lips. “I can’t live without your friendship.”
I was close to breaching her walls. I could feel it. She might not think a relationship was for her right now, but her parents were proof she had some sort of future. She didn’t even have to look far to see it.
"Let’s not think about that right now. We'll cross that bridge if it ever comes," I whispered back.
CHAPTER 25
Samantha
Raiden hada dopey smile on his face for the rest of the night that made me feel slightly guilty. But all I could think about was getting him alone. The tiny kiss he had placed on my lips in the living room was hardly enough for my starving heart. It was okay for me to have feelings, as long as he wasn't aware of them. Right?
He offered to help me do the dishes after dinner. My parents and Ty moved to the living room, all of them with knowing looks.
I could die.
The feeling didn't last that long. I rinsed all the dishes before plugging the sink and running warm water over them. Sometimes I wished we had a dishwasher, especially when I was growing up and I couldn't leave until dishes were done. I had perfected it over the years, and it didn't take me that long now.
We were silent as the water created bubbles combined with the soap. There was a nervous tension in the room that I wasn't entirely sure was coming only from me. He bumped my hip and smiled down at me. Still, neither one of us broke the silence. I turned the water down and moved the spout to the other sink, and started washing the plates. Because, let's face it, they werethe easiest. He rinsed them and lined them in the drying rack. We worked in quiet synchrony. It was domestic, in a way that was both familiar and different, and I wanted more nights like this.
As I finished the normal dishes, I let the soapy water down the drain before turning to grab the pans that were dirty. Rai moved out of my way, and his fingers grazed my hip once I settled back at the sink. He caged me in, and I tried to focus on the skillet. It was a losing battle, and I turned in his arms, threading my wet fingers through his hair as I looked up at him. All of this gave me an idea of what a life could be like with him.
We would have at least two little rug rats running around. Sometimes he would cook and other times I would. We would do it together. He would provide for our home as a firefighter, and I would continue to hunt demons. Until one of our girls was old enough to take my place, because we would have two girls. It would be full of love like my parents. I allowed myself to get lost in the fantasy as I pressed my lips to his.
The kiss was like before, soft and gentle. Nothing like what I was used to, but a difference that I was enjoying. It reminded me of the kiss I shared with Lex. Something inside me twinged with guilt at the thought of him. It wasn't like we were in a relationship. He had said a million times, no strings. Mentally shaking myself, I sank into Rai's warmth. My heart may be confused, but my body knew what it wanted.Both of them, something inside of me whispered back. It was jarring enough that I broke away from Rai, with a shaky laugh.
"Dishes," I said firmly.
My head swam with thoughts of both of them and not only apart, but together, naked. There was something wrong with me, and I was going to blame Brook's relationship for putting the thoughts in some part of my brain. Not that it was her fault, butseeing her find her happily ever after with four Fae Princes told me that anything was possible.
No. No relationships for me. It was one thing to dream about, and quite another to wish for a different life than I was given.
"You okay?" Rai asked. He dropped a kiss to the nape of my neck as I turned in his arms and faced the sink again.
"Fine," I replied, forcing cheer into my voice.
He snorted out a laugh. "Sammy, I know you. Spill," he demanded softly.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking about Brook. I miss her," I admitted.
Not a lie. I missed my best friend. She would roll her eyes and scoff at my current situation, but it was what I needed right now. Auberon, one of her mates, left me with a way to come visit anytime I wanted. She had just been so busy with learning how to rule an entire realm that I didn't want to get in the way. Besides, I knew they treated her right.
"Call her," he suggested. It was my turn to snort. Of course, he would think it was that easy, he didn't realize she had even left.
"She doesn't have very good cell service where she is," I replied. Like none. "But I might take a day or two and go visit, after this newest demon thing is under control."
His arms wrapped around me, his fingers rested on my food baby, and I didn't even attempt to suck in. This was Rai, he knew me. He'd seen me at my worst, and he still wanted to kiss me. A little bloating from food would not scare him away. My heart ached at his care. Did he even realize how domestic he was acting?
"I could go with you," he offered.
Butterflies erupted in my stomach and took flight, battering inside me until they were brain dead. This was how girls got into trouble. The nice guy. They came in and swooped you up, theyshowed you what an actual relationship could be like if you did choose them. Even with alarm bells ringing inside my head, I finished up the dishes and then linked our fingers together.
I pulled him into the backyard, away from the direct line of sight of the windows. Not that my family was going to barge out here to see what was happening. My parents had been hinting that we would make a good pair for at least the last year. It was why I suspected they tried to include him in everything.
