I stop. I remember Iron from the club. He would only ever go into the VIP area. All the girls liked him, but he’s always given me bad vibes.
“You know him?” Rafe questions softly.
“Of him, from the club.” He’s different than Wing. I never saw Winger mess with any of the girls. I never once caught him looking at us in a way that made me feel dirty, but Iron did. He used the girls every time he came in, and I meanused. Things happened in those rooms I don’t even want to think about.
“Did he bother you?” Rafe’s tone is calm and level, but I feel an undercurrent of anger.
“Not really, but he would watch the shows.” I fidget with the hem of my shirt. “He might recognize me.” That would be embarrassing for both of us.
“That bothers you?”
“It doesn’t bother you? You’re not embarrassed?” Rafe has always seemed…I don’t know, protective and jealous. I assumed he would hate that anyone else had seen me doing that.
His brows drop, and he frowns. “I’m gonna be honest, and I don’t know if my answer will get me in trouble or not.” I wait for a few moments for him to continue. “It didn’t used to bother me. In my head, you were already mine. I was allowing them something they would never have.” Rafe lifts his shoulder. “It’s fucked up to admit, but I was okay if they only looked and never touched what was mine.”
I’m not sure how I feel about his answer. On one hand, it sounds like he was proud of me in a weird way, but in another, it reduces me to just a thing, just a body, the way I always felt.
“That was the wrong answer, wasn’t it?” Rafe asks.
“I’m glad you were honest. I just don’t know what to do with it.”
“It wasn’t always easy. Sometimes, I would want to hurt them too,” he offers like that should make me feel better. “I would kill anyone now. I thought about gouging out Winger’s eyes when he saw you in my sheet.”
I scrub my hand over my face. This is so not normal. The fact that he thinks hurting someone for me would appease me should warn me Rafe plays by a completely different set of rules. “Let’s make a deal, you tell them to pretend like it never happened, and no killing or eye gouging on my behalf.” It’s all I can come up with right now.
He tilts his head slightly, as if he’s trying to determine if I’m serious. He must settle on something, because he resumes walking, pulling me along with him. I do note the fact that he never actually agreed to my compromise. I’m more concerned about the second part of my request now.
The house is empty, and there are more lights on than I’ve ever witnessed. As we walk through the halls, I see newly added pieces of furniture filling the space, so it feels more like a home than an empty vessel. “You went shopping?”
“No, I had a decorator order some shit.”
“Wait, you just hired someone to buy you furniture? What if you didn’t like it?”
He looks down at me. “Then I would have told them to take it back, but I don’t really give a shit. We’ll probably be at your house more anyway once your mom is gone,” he remarks casually.
I snort. “Is that so?”
“You said you wanted your land and your ranch. Has that changed?” He takes us right past the living room and toward his bedroom. “Go away now, I’m busy,” he hollers as we pass the stairs.
I swat his arm. “Rafe, I don’t want them to leave just because I’m here. They will know it’s my fault,” I hiss.
“Wait,” he announces loudly. To me, he says, “You want them to stay?”
“I want you to finish what you were doing, hanging out or whatever. I can wait for you in there.” I point to his room. I’m not really up for seeing anyone else right now.
“If you’re in there, I want to be in there.”
When he says stuff like that, it makes my heart feel all gooey. I pinch my temples. “I should have just called.”
“No, I’m glad you came to me. I probably would have just snuck into your house and waited for you to wake up anyway.”
“You say that like you have experience with it.”
Rafe gives me an amused look. “I did mention I’m obsessed with you.”
“Jesus, it’s like you’re trying to make my mind explode right now.” I shove his chest when he tries to come into the bedroom with me. “You go be with them for a while, and when you’re done, I’ll be here.”
He actually lifts his lip in a snarl, but I’m not in the least bit intimidated. I think his kind of crazy may be contagious. “Fine.” He pouts. “I’m going to kick them out anyway,” he calls over his shoulder, not bothering to be quiet as he walks down the hall.
