AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s okay,” Rafael murmured, crouching down beside me and reaching for my keys. He turned them, switching the engine off, then pulling them from the lock. “Take your time.”
His voice was so soothing that I felt myself relax a little, but as soon as I heard another engine coming down the street, I tensed right back up, my head whipping around to see who it was—to see if it washim.
“It’s just Romeo,” Rafael said, as his own head turned to look. My heart pounded so hard I swore it was like everyone around us could hear it. “Take a breath, mama,” he whispered, placing his large hand over both of mine that were still attached to the steering wheel.
His touch made me jump, but he didn’t let go, not as Romeo pushed out of his car, his attention focused solely on his little brother. “Raf,” he called, his tone sounding all kinds of pissed off. “You should have told me you were coming to see Bailey.” Romeo paused. “You disappear for an entire week again and just turn up?” Romeo was closer now, but I didn’t look away from Raf, needing him to ground me in that moment. “Get inside, I need to talk to you.”
I made a noise in the back of my throat, hating that the thought of Rafael leaving me sent all of the panic back full force. Dammit. I didn’t need anyone to protect me. I didn’t need—
“I’m busy,” Rafael answered, bringing my focus back to him as he lowered his voice. “What happened, Peyton?”
I couldn’t decide if I preferred when he said my name like that, or called me mama. They were both equally as alluring coming from between his lips, and fuck, I shouldn’t have been thinking about that.
“I…I saw him.”
“Saw who?” Raf asked as he pulled my hands off the steering wheel and held them between us.
My gaze turned down as I held my breath, feeling my head start to spin before I let it back out again in a big gush. “My…” I couldn’t say husband—it was the truth but…I couldn’t say it out loud. “Ex.”
Raf’s eyes darkened so much that I swore I could see my reflection in them. He had no idea what I’d run from, but he knew enough from what he’d overheard from Kian a few weeks ago.
“Where?” he growled out.
“The grocery store.” I let out another stuttering breath, trying to get myself together. “It’s fine, he didn’t see me.” I laughed it off, not able to handle the look on Raf’s face. It was too…much.
I pulled my hands from his, then swung my legs out of the car and placed my feet on the floor. He didn’t back up though, instead, he just stood, keeping all of his focus attached to me. “You don’t look fine, Peyton.”
His words were the truth; I wasn’t fine, I was so far from fine, but I hated the audience we had. I hated confiding in someone. I hated…I hated the situation we were in.
“It’s none of your concern, Raf,” I whipped out, wincing at how sharp my tone was. I hadn’t meant it to sound like that, but as he took two steps back from me, I’d known it had the desired effect.
“Raf,” Romeo called from behind him, and as Raf turned to look at his older brother, I took that as my opportunity to escape from him as I grabbed the three grocery bags from the trunk of my car and then beelined it for my front door. I’d just placed the bags on the ground when footsteps neared from behind.
“You forgetting something?”
My heart raced in my chest again, only this time it was for an entirely different reason. I felt his body getting closer, his front against my back as he towered over me from behind. I tilted my head back, staring up at him as he held the keys in the air.
Dammit.
“Raf,” I whispered, still not feeling okay. I was shaken to my core, trying to process it all, trying to figure out when I needed to run and how I was going to do it. “I can’t…”
“You can’t what?” His lips lifted on one side as he reached around me and unlocked my door. Blinking, I didn’t move a muscle as he stepped around me, picked up all three bags effortlessly, then walked right on into my home.
I wanted to be angry, I wanted to shout at him for thinking he could do that, but…it looked so natural, like he’d done it a thousand times before as he turned to face me when he was halfway to my kitchen, winking at me.
Fucking hell. I needed a distraction like I needed my last breath, butthiswas not the distraction I was hoping for. This was just trouble with a capital T.
“Raf,” I huffed out, but I paused as I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I turned, searching for whatever had made my body have that reaction, but there was nothing there.
Shaking my head, I berated myself. I was on edge and just needed to get inside. That was all it was.
So I turned back, catching sight of Romeo who was standing on his driveway, watching us with a deep frown on his face. Although, that wasn’t unusual for Romeo, he was the epitome of broody man.
“You know you shouldn’t just let yourself into other people’s homes, right?” I announced as I closed the door behind me and made my way into the kitchen. Silence greeted me. “Raf?”
“Hmmm?” His deep timbre had my stomach dipping. Dammit, I hated how he made me feel. We’d only been alone once before, and I’d sworn I wouldn’t be alone with him again. But here we were, in my kitchen with not a single soul in sight.
This was bad. Really bad.
