He leans forward and picks it up, then places it in my lap. “It’s just something small.” He looks down quickly, as if he’s worried about my response. I tug at the end of the ribbon that feels like real silk, and it uncoils from the box. Rafe pulls the end from my lap and rolls it up in his hand.
“Go ahead,” he urges.
I lift the lid off the box and find a sea of deep burgundy silk. No wonder the box was so light.
He’s looking at me sideways, and his eyes are a little narrowed. “I promised you a robe.” I’m taken back to last night when I left his room in a sheet.
I run my fingers over the fabric, and I’ve never felt anything finer. A lot of the girls at the club had robes, ones I thought were silk and soft, but after feeling this, I begin to question if I’ve really ever touched silk.
I set the box down and kneel on the bed so I can lift it out. It’s clear by the amount of fabric that it’s going to be long. It billows out like a dream and covers half the bed. A glint catches my eye, and I notice the long cuffs of the robe are adorned with three shiny gems spaced several inches apart before the fabric puffs out into the sleeve. I look over at Rafe. Holy crap, this had to be expensive.I don’t even know what to say.
“If you don’t like it, it’s fine.” His voice is a little flat.
“Liking it isn’t a question. This had to be” —I shake my head— “so much money. There had to be a cheaper way to say, ‘Don’t run around my house in a sheet.’” I chuckle because I don’t know how to gracefully accept something so beautiful.
Rafe takes the box and robe from my hands and tosses them to the side of his large bed, then he crawls over until he’s kneeling in front of me. “If you like it, that’s all that matters. Do you like it?”
“Yes, but—” That’s all I get out before he kisses me. I can’t say I’m upset by his method to shut me up.
It’s not a frenzy to take each other’s clothes off, but we certainly move faster than last night. If there was a contest for who stripped whom first, I would win. His shirt is gone well before mine, and his pants too. Once he’s naked, we slow down enough that I can enjoy each of his kisses and the way he cradles my cheek just as tenderly as he touches the rest of me.
Rafe looks down at my body, and I actually like having his eyes on me. I feel wanted, desired, but it’s more than that because I know he doesn’t just want my body.
When he hooks his thumb in my panties, I lift to help him remove the last barrier between us. He lowers his head down as he removes them and kisses over my chest and breasts. My back arches off the bed when he latches onto my nipple. I didn’t think I could want him more, but his lips cause an ache between my legs that has me squirming beneath him. I love what he’s doing, but I want more, plus I’m eager to get the first time over with.
As he slides up, I feel his hardness on my leg and inner thigh. I won’t lie and say I’m not nervous, but it’s more about the unknowns than anything else. “Do you have a condom?” I whisper.
Rafe makes eye contact with me, his brow deeply furrowed. “I don’t like the idea of anything between us.”
“Unless you have a clean bill of health around here dated for today, you’ll have to get used to it.” I caress the side of his face, tracing my thumb over the lines in his forehead.
“Is that what it will take for next time?” he asks quickly.
“At least. I’m protected from pregnancy, but nothing else. I’m not judging you, but I’m pretty sure I’m the only one of us who’s a virgin.” I wrinkle my nose. I don’t like announcing it like that.
“I’ve never been with anyone without a condom,” he promises, but it’s just not enough.
I shake my head slowly. “Maybe this is happening too fast.” Even though the words come from me, I don’t mean them. I just need him to bend on this. As much as I want to believe he’s safe and telling me the truth, I can’t do that yet.
“You don’t trust me?” He sounds hurt.
I give him a little glare. “I’m literally trusting you with my body right now. I’m just asking for some reassurance. Is that so bad?”
Rafe lowers his head, and his hair tickles my stomach. When he looks up, his features have smoothed out. “Okay, we’ll go to the doctor tomorrow.” He shifts to the side and rolls off the bed quickly.
I see a glint of silver when he stands. My instincts tell me to look away, but if I’m about to have sex with him, looking at him shouldn’t embarrass me.
Rafe is only in the bathroom for a second. When he comes back, he has a condom in a black wrapper pinched between his fingers, and he’s holding it up for me to see. “I had to check the expiration date.”
“You’re pierced?” I ignore the condom. A few girls at the club had nipple piercings, and some dermal ones too. I think Lola even had her coochie done. I overheard her talking to someone else about it being a pain because she couldn’t have sex for a certain amount of time. There is no way I’m brave enough for something like that.
I look down at Rafe’s dick, and I swear it jerks a little.Oh my God, he can move it.I’d have thought I’d have felt those two silver balls in his tip when he was rubbing against me, but I had no clue. “Not just once.” Rafe wraps his free hand around his dick, and he pushes it up while sliding his grip to his base. I see a ladder of piercings running up the underside of his shaft. My eyes are probably about to bug out of my head.
“That had to hurt so badly.” I can’t even fathom that kind of pain, and to have so many? I look up at his face again. Crap, I think I just realized how far out of my league Rafe is. “How long have you had them?” My curiosity is getting the better of me.
“I got the first one almost two years ago.” Rafe kneels on the bed.
“I can’t believe you went back for more,” I admit.
