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Damn, it was too soon for that—even if he’d been half thinking it as he drove out of town a year ago today. Even if it had been on the tip of his tongue when they’d been in this very spot the night before.
Kayla didn’t hesitate, taking the stairs two at a time. Guess she was eager to offer up the crash course she was so sure would get rid of him once and for all. Only as they approached the landing she slowed her steps, then stopped to give him a tentative look over her shoulder.
He shook his head. “No way, Kayla. No backing out now.”
She glanced up at the door, and then back to him with sad apprehension in her eyes. “I believe in the spell. But for what it’s worth, I knew there was a connection between us already. It was just a matter of degree.”
“Okay.” He took her hand. “I’ll take that as a start.”
She took the last couple of stairs and paused at the door. “It’s not the start,” she said and pushed it open.
He wasn’t sure if she meant the start had been when he’d first laid eyes on her a year ago, or if she meant it was the end. But her meaning became secondary when he got his first look at her apartment. Leaves and twigs had collected in the corners, and more blew in through the open windows as he watched. Burnt down candles and board games littered the counters and floors, and clothing was strewn about over the furniture. In short, there was crap everywhere.
Kayla stopped in front of him, seeming to wait for his response to the sty she called home. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze to reassure her. While he was pretty sure he didn’t want her to treat him to a home cooked meal in this place, the mess wasn’t reason enough to make him walk away. Yeah, sometimes he ironed his t-shirts. And since he’d moved into his place at midnight, he’d already managed to unpack. But it wasn’t like he was some kind of a neat freak. He could deal with this.
“Honey, a lot of people don’t know how to clean. My mother actually goes to this website, fly-woman or bug-lady or something like that, that breaks cleaning into manageable steps. It might be good for you, too, if you’re have trouble getting organized.”
“What?” She looked at him like he was crazy. Maybe the state of the apartment wasn’t the crash course.
“Nothing. Um, what did you want to show me?” he asked.
A strange glint flashed in her eyes and she spun around, peering this way and that. She cleared her throat and then waited some more, her head cocked slightly as if she were listening for something.
Rafe leaned closer. “What are we waiting for?”
“Shh,” she snapped, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
Chastised, he tried whispering. “What—?”
Kayla shot him a scrutinizing glance and took his hand. Looking around, she wove her fingers through his. When nothing happened, she furrowed her brow and moved his hand to her butt, nodding at him.
This was ridiculous. “Kayla—”
She wiggled against the palm of his hand and motioned for him to continue.
Raising an eyebrow, he figured why not and gave her perfect ass a nice squeeze and then checked for her approval. This was definitely weird. Not even close to romantic. So what—Then it clicked, and his senses tingled. He went on alert.
“Shit, Kayla, are you expecting your brother to jump me?” What the fuck? No way was Kayla one of those psycho chicks who lured guys in, getting off on the violence they were about to meet.
No way he was that wrong about her.
“He wouldn’t jump you, but I thought for sure you’d meet him.” Frustrated, she glanced around in confusion. “That would be enough.”
“Enough for what?” he asked, raking a hand through his hair. He had to be reading this wrong.
He was. He could see it in her haunted eyes.
“You said you were a see it to believe it guy…I thought—” Breaking off, she grabbed his hand again and pulled him down to the end of the hall. Rafe halted at the threshold, recognizing a bedroom when he saw one, but she pulled him into it with a firm yank and planted his captive hand on her breast.
He jerked it back, reaching for her hand instead. “Kayla, what are you expecting to happen? There’s no one here but us. Just talk to me and I know we can figure it out.”
“There’s no way,” she murmured, sounding genuinely stunned as she turned in a slow circle. “We’re alone?” She blinked, as if being alone in her bedroom was the most unique experience of her life. And like that, she was the woman he knew again, the woman from the year before.
Leaning into her, he tucked a wild red curl behind her ear. “Yeah, we’re alone. So lets talk.”
Her lips parted like she might have been about to explain, but then she looked away shaking her head.
“Then why did we come up here, Kayla. I know you thought if we did, I’d give up. So either tell me what’s so bad, or just,” he reached for her shoulder, gently pulling her back to him. “Just stop fighting me.”
