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“It’s okay.” I try to smile but it’s more of a grimace. “I called the police and told on him. They put him in prison, Mom came out of hospital, and I left Philadelphia. Left Mom. Couldn’t live like that anymore. I was eighteen and a friend had a job for me here. It was good, until Carson came out of prison and tracked me down here, tried to kill me. If it wasn’t for Rafe and the guys…”
I shudder.
Dakota leans forward and puts her hand over mine. Sadness fills her eyes, and a healthy dose of anger. “That asshole is going to jail for a long, long time. Sorry you had to go through that.”
“Thanks.” This time I dredge up a real smile for her. “But I’m here now. We’re here, and I can’t regret a thing, because otherwise I wouldn’t have met you guys. I wouldn’t have met Rafe.”
“Ah.” She tsks and winks. “Not sure about that, girl. These things are fated. You and Rafe… You’re like yin and yang. You fit so well together.”
Heat rises to my face and I bite my lip.
“We do fit well together,” a rich male voice says from the kitchen door, and I jump, heart in my throat.
Rafe is leaning on the doorjamb, barefoot, dressed only in a black tank top and thin sweatpants.
My mouth goes dry. So much beautiful, inked skin on display, colors and shapes swirling down his muscled arms and on his shoulders.
“Rafe.” Dakota pushes back her chair and goes to him, puts her arms around him and presses her cheek to his chest. “Don’t ever do anything like that again, you hear me?”
He pats her head, wraps one arm around her slender back, and I hope she’s not pressing too hard on his ribs. “Good day to you, too, Koko. How’s Zen-man?”
“Okay,” she says, her voice muffled. “Moody, brooding and pissed at the world. He needs to see you, I think. To reassure himself you’re okay.”
“I’ll pass by Damage tomorrow.” Rafe looks at me over her wild dark head, his gaze going to my mouth and then down to my cleavage. Heat rises to my face, and his mouth twists in a crooked smile. “Tell him that. Tell him I’m fine.”
“I will.” Her voice is thick. She pulls back reluctantly, glaring at him. “Dammit, you asshole. You’re like my brother, you know that, right? So stop trying to throw your fucking life away. We love you. Remember that.”
A laugh escapes me.
Rafe lifts a brow. “You kiss Zane with that mouth?”
“And he loves it.” She smirks, wipes at her eyes, and turns to nod at me. “Thanks for the coffee, Meg. I’ll send someone to get the drum set later. I should be outta here.” She points at Rafe. “Take care of grumpy bear for me, will you?”
“Grumpy bear?” Rafe repeats, frowning. “Seriously?”
Dakota laughs, shakes her head. Then she wiggles her fingers at us and rushes out. The apartment door clicks shut behind her, and we’re left alone.
Rafe’s mouth is hanging open, and it’s so funny I snicker. “Where did she go to? What did I do? A guy gets out of bed for the first time in days, finds two girls in his kitchen, and after only,” he checks the clock on the wall, “fifty-five seconds, one of the girls has already run out screaming.”
“She didn’t scream,” I remind him. “And how can you tell the seconds on that clock?”
“I’m sure she was screaming inside.” He lifts one arm to rub the back of his neck, and I lick my lips as muscles bulge and tattoos shift in a mesmerizing dance. “What about you? Will you run, too?”
I open my mouth to say I just might, but there’s a vulnerability in his amber eyes that stops me. He’s not joking anymore. And even though we’ve been over this, it’s obvious he still doesn’t believe it.
It stings a little, to think he doesn’t trust my reassurances. After all, I didn’t run, and I’ve been here, by his side, all these days when he drifted in and out of sleep.
But this is Rafe, the guy who doesn’t believe he deserves happiness or anything good in life, who doesn’t think his life is worth much.
“I don’t plan on running,” I inform him and watch his eyes brighten. “I’ll keep saying it until it gets through that thick skull of yours.”
He puts a hand to his chest and pouts. “Why is everyone so mean to me today?”
God, this boy. This funny, relaxed boy, so different from the Rafe of these past months, who was silent and tense, his nerves so taut he’d twang if you touched him. I loved the intense, stressed Rafe and wanted to break through his defenses. Break his shell.
And I love this joking, more mellow version of him even more, because this is who he really is underneath it all. Putting him back together may take time, and that’s fine. He’s worth every second of it.
“What’s that look?” He lifts his chin at me, challenging. Those sexy dimples make their appearance as he grins. “What’s on your mind?”
