His lips tipped up. “And I thoughtyouwere in a serious relationship. That changes things, Lex.”
I nodded slowly. “But you weren’t moving because of me, were you?”
He wobbled his head. “You had a little something to do with it. Do you need to study more, or can I take you out to dinner?”
“We could DoorDash.”
His fingers slid under my t-shirt at the small of my back. “No, we can do that some other time. If we order in, I’m not gonna be able to take my hands off you, and my gut says we need to get to know one another again.”
I mulled that over. “You’re right… and you’re wrong. We may have kept our distance, Raff, but I think we both know plenty about each other. But, I’ll do this your way.” An idea hit me and I beamed up at him. “You suggested sushi? I’ll take you to one of the best places in town.”
He turned his head a touch. “Same place where Simone got sick last year?”
I shot him a cynical frown. “Simone got morning sickness, even though she didn’t know she was pregnant yet. Get your story straight, sir.”
He chuckled. “They got any food that’s actually cooked?”
I tipped my head back and cried, “Oh my God, you really have been talking to Dad!”
The sound of his laughter was music to my ears, but it didn’t last long before he put his lips to my throat and kissed a path to my jaw. Heat flooded my body and I righted my head. Before I could say anything else, Rafferty’s lips found mine and he kissed me.
God, he could kiss.
I slid my hands up his chest to his shoulders and up along his neck. One hand went around to the back of his head and fisted his hair. On a groan, he pushed forward and arched me slightly over his arm.
I attempted to give as good as I got, but Rafferty had total control over this kiss. Seemed all he wanted me to do was hold on and enjoy the ride, which I did until he ended it.
His lips were a millimeter away from mine. “You’re sure you want sushi?”
I swept my thumb along his throat. “I’m sure I want DoorDash is more like it.”
He chuckled and straightened up taking me with him. “Nope. That’s just a taste of what we’re gonna do later. Put your shoes on while I put away the shit I bought at the store.”
“What’d you buy at the store?” I asked, moving to the living room.
“Odds and ends,” he muttered.
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “That sounds almost ominous.”
“Hurry up, I’m hungry.”
Chapter eight
Riling You Up
Rafferty
Thewaitresssetanappetizer sampler plater in the middle of the table, took our dinner orders, and hurried off toward the kitchen.
Alexandra sat across from me, sipping a French martini. She set it precisely on the round coaster in front of her, then glanced up at me. “Why did you ask me earlier if they had cooked food, if you were just going to order the rainbow roll?”
“Why do you think?” I asked, picking up my Stella Artois.
She gave a short head shake. “You just wanted to rile me up.”
I grinned. “Riling you up is one of my favorite things to do.”
“I’ve never understood that.”
