It makes me want to tell her the truth. I'd love to see why he's so scared of her.
Her breath of relief makes me decide against it—that and the fact I don't want to sleep with the lights on for the rest of my life. Something tells me Josh would come for me.
"You guys ready for supper?" her mother asks loudly.
I want to keep Raya under me, hold her to me, never let her move, but instead of groaning in protest, I sigh.
"You're exhausted, aren't you?" she asks, her words muffled by her pillow.
She doesn't realize the sigh was because I don't want to move. And it's not because I'm exhausted. I happen to love having her body pressed against mine.
"You feel more tense than I was the whole time," I joke, deciding against telling her the truth.
"I know Josh better than you do."
That makes me laugh, because I doubt she has a clue what Josh has been doing to guys who have been interested in her. I pull her to her feet, ignoring the bulge in my pants.
I was honestly worried my cock would never work again after having the barrel of a gun pressed against it—a loaded gun. Leave it to Raya to bring it back to life.
She has an enigmatic grin that intrigues me as she walks over to her bag. I'm even more curious when she pulls out a wrapped box.
"What's this?" I ask as she hands it to me.
I look down to note the small Christmas trees on the red paper, making me bud with excitement unexpectedly. I can't remember the last time I received a wrapped present.
"Something for you. It's impossible to buy a Colton anything unless you're the Queen of England, but I wanted to get you something," she says, seeming genuinely giddy and nervous in the same breath.
I smile as I sit down on the edge of the bed, but suddenly I feel like a complete jerk. Christmas. This is her family's Christmas, and I didn't get any of them anything. Damn it.
"I didn't even think... Raya, my family hasn't done presents since we were kids. I didn't even think to get you anything."
When you get what you want anytime you want it, it makes gifts seem unnecessarily redundant or pointless. Not even my granddad does gifts anymore.
"I don't expect anything. Believe me, this is nothing exciting. Open it," she says, her excitement not faltering.
She goes and does something nice for me, and I haven't got anything for her in return. I'll buy her something on the way home. Anything she wants. And then some.
I start tearing the paper away, but I know what it is before I even open the box. Holy fucking hell, and I thought that cherry pie smelled good. This is divine.
I stifle a whimper when I see all the baked goods in small Ziploc bags, and my mouth waters. But my chest clenching overrides my hungry desire. She did this. For me.
"Seriously? You can cook like this and you're just now telling me?" I ask, trying to choke back the strong emotions she's just stirred within me.
No one has ever done anything like this before.
She snickers as I put the box down, and then I pull her to me, needing my arms around her for a few different reasons. She smells just as good as the box of treats.
"It's perfect, Raya. Thank you."
I can feel her smile as I brush my lips over her forehead. I'm ready. This is the moment I've been waiting for. I wanted her to come to me, but this is close enough. She's ready. She has to be.
"Raya, I think we-"
"Come on!" her mother yells, completely shattering my moment. "Food's ready!"
When she pulls back, I can't help but touch her, so I move a stray piece of hair from her face, letting my hand graze her cheek.
"What were you going to say?" she asks, her eyes locked on mine.