He leans closer, his lips hovering near mine. “I think we are, too.” Before I answer, he pulls back for a moment and looks at me, eyes glowing. “I want you, Rafe. I want you in my life, in my bed, and in my body. I think it’s time we all had a little fucking joy.”
That said, he kisses me hard, and I hold on as we press together.~You know I want you. You know I crave you. You know I love you. ~
~Fuck, yeah, love. I crave you. ~
His body moves against mine and we both groan. “It’s late, we’re drunk, and I’ve got people to kill in the morning. But as this is a bed in my house, I plan on staying with you tonight. At least part of my wants will get taken care of.”
I rub my nose along the column of his neck, inhaling his scent like an addict. “That’s nice.”
“None of that, you randy bastard. I’ll get no sleep. Sleep with me.”
I give him a drunken grin, inordinately pleased that he’s staying. “I told you that you hadn’t seen what else happens when I’m drunk.”
“Christ, we’re a pair. This is going to be a hell of a time.”
~Night, baby. ~I murmur, tucking into his side.
~Tomorrow, love, ~he replies.
The Cat Makes Her Point
DELILAH
“You’re ruminating again, love,” she says, rolling over to sit her chin on my knee.
I smile, running my fingers through her hair. “I am. There’s something coming, I fear. I don’t know what or from where. It’s only a feeling.”
“What makes you think so?”
Sighing, I shrug. “There’s nothing I can say in definitive terms because it’s nothing quantifiable. I see little pieces like silence here, tenuousness there, or a stupid email. They are all pieces of a bigger puzzle that I can’t see yet. It’s unsettling.”
Talia licks her lips and rolls over, perturbed by my statement. “You got an email? That can only mean one thing—the gnome.”
I nod, wrapping myself in the surrounding silk to pad over to the bar, needing to move to re-settle the wee one. “Yeah. I think I stumped her. Sari asked what Rafe and I wanted from her. I asked if we were supposed to want something outside of love from someone we care about. She hasn’t been able to come up with an answer.”
My new mate gets up, looking forlorn yet angry. “I wish you didn’t.” She veers towards the dresser where she grabs Precious, the big wicked blade that gives her the most comfort and security. “I wish you didn’t love her, him, or his memory.”
“I do, too, sometimes,” I murmur, watching her close off as she flips and spins masterfully.
“You know, I don’t know how much we—I—can take.”
“Stop. It helps nothing to get tangled up in this. We’re not going anywhere.”
Talia turns on her heel, glaring. “I don’t know where my line is.”
Blinking, my bravado fades as it’s wont to do because her instability feeds my insecurities. We’re a pair, and we make one another happy, but terrified simultaneously. “I mean, I guess if you don’t want...”
Precious flies and embeds in the wall from the velocity of even her most casual toss. Her voice is flat and toneless as she mutters, “Don’t. You know better.” She reaches for an arm blade, spinning it in agitation as I stare.
Do I? Do I, really? I’m trying to get there.
Moments like this keep happening, and I find myself scared and on the edge. As much as Rafe and I share when no one else is awake or I’m not out on a mission, I know he’s not having nearly this amount of doubt with Taurus. What Talia will do is another story and connects to my fears. She’s a known unknown, and it scares the living hell out of us.
“You know how much power you have over me. You ask me to stay; I stay. You ask me to die; I die. Don’t tell me you don’t know how much I love you.”
There’s the rub. I don’t doubt how much she loves me; I doubt that she’ll choose me over her neuroses. I doubt I will win if it comes down to jealousy and fear over Taurus and Rafe.
“I’m sorry. I know you love me; I do. You look so distant, and it’s making me insecure. It’s my fault, I’m sure.”
