Diana put down her fork with a sigh. It was entirely possible that Rafe was just reacting to her shifting emotions. How was she supposed to reconcile the man responsible for her father’s death with the same man who seemed hell-bent on protecting and sheltering her?
“Is it good?”
She jerked her gaze up at the sound of his voice. They’d been eating their takeout on the couch, watching a movie, but she hadn’t paid attention to any of it. Rafe didn’t look like he much cared about it either. He’d been sneaking glances over at her the whole time but hadn’t said anything to her directly until now.
“Diana? Are you okay?” Rafe’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked her over.
“Yup. I’m great.” She winced at the cheesy response. “Just really hungry.”
His eyes dropped to her almost-full plate of food. She’d been pushing the same pile of noodles around for the past half hour. He didn’t call her out on the obvious lie though, just took the plate from her and placed it carefully on the coffee table in front of them. Then he knelt on the floor at her feet and took her hand, her fingers small in his larger ones.
“Rafe, what are you doing?”
He moved forward until he was between her legs. She sucked in a breath as his body insinuated itself right between her thighs, brushing against her everywhere. The desire that had been simmering in the background burst forth and raced through her, stealing her breath. Damn, the man could just breathe and turn her on.
Diana tried to look away, but he put a finger under her chin and held her still so she couldn’t avoid his eyes. Even that was sexy, the way he just took control and handled her. She wouldn’t have thought she’d like that, especially coming from a background of such domineering men. But Rafe had a way of doing things that made her feel safe and protected instead of trampled over and ignored. Everything he did seemed to be for her benefit and pleasure.
Especially in the bedroom.
She blushed. The man definitely enjoyed putting her pleasure first and seemed to consider it a challenge to make her lose control.
“I’m talking to you. I’m making sure you know that you can tell me anything. Anything. I’m not going to judge you.”
Diana bit her lip. It was so stupid that she had this sudden urge to cry. But he was being so sweet and gentle with her. Was it so wrong that she wished it could be real? That she wished they were just normal people who’d met one day and could actually have a relationship? Instead, he was a dangerous former assassin, and she was a stupid girl who’d actually believed she could investigate her father’s death on her own. Her investigation was a joke because she still had no idea who had actually ordered her father’s death, and worse, all she’d accomplished so far was falling halfway in love with Rafe.
Not that she thought Rafe was a saint. It was obvious that he was exactly who her research had revealed him to be. Lethal. But he seemed to use his not-quite-legal talents to help protect those who needed it instead of hurting others. So why hadn’t he done the same for her father? Everything inside was screaming for her to make sense of this mystery.
Rafe was still watching her closely, his eyes scanning her face like he could hear her twisted thoughts. “Are you in trouble, Diana?”
“No, I’m fine. Why would you think I’m in trouble?” she answered automatically.
He looked disappointed but didn’t say anything else, just rubbed her arms until she felt like purring. Diana let out a little sigh and then cleared her throat to cover it. It was dangerous to let down her guard with him. With him rubbing her like that and looking at her with his dark, liquid eyes, she’d be lucky if he didn’t have her spilling all her secrets in no time.
“I’m going to tell you what I think is going on. Okay? You don’t have to say anything, you can just listen.”
She nodded to let him know she’d heard him, but her tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of her mouth. His fingers were still dancing over her arms, and she was melting bit by bit with every stroke.
“You are a beautiful woman. I can see that you don’t truly understand how beautiful you are. Women like you often end up with men who don’t appreciate you. Men who take advantage of your sweet nature.”
Rafe’s voice was a quiet rumble between them, the gentle power of it making her feel so safe. Diana had no idea where he was going with this but couldn’t ignore her body’s response to him telling her she was beautiful. Her pussy clenched hard and her nipples drew up so tight that if he looked down, he’d be able to tell. Calm down, she thought, annoyed at the instant physical response. Her overeager nipples reacted like he was talking directly to them. Another wash of heat ran through her as she remembered how Rafe had worshipped her breasts every time they made love. It was no wonder her body reacted so quickly just to the sound of his voice.
“But you don’t have to worry about that with me. I would never hurt you. All I want to do is protect you. I need to protect you. Do you understand?”
Diana pulled him closer and held him against her. He softened and folded himself around her. It was a completely unique feeling to want to curl up in his arms and just stay there forever. Before this, she wouldn’t have thought herself a particularly emotional or demonstrative woman, but with Rafe all her vulnerable parts were flayed open, and worse, she was okay with it.
“You can’t save me from this,” she murmured. It was so tempting to confide in him and just tell him the whole story. But no matter how wonderful he was being right now, she had a lifetime of experience with her father and brothers, men who acted one way and then changed when you displeased them. She simply couldn’t take the chance.
“He’s not going to get anywhere near you, sweetheart. I would never allow anyone to hurt you.”
Surprised at the fierce certainty in his voice, Diana pulled back slightly. What was he talking about?
“Some men have trouble letting go after a relationship, but that’s no excuse for raising your hand to a woman. I’ll never understand those types of men. How can you harm someone who trusts you?” Rafe brushed her hair back from her forehead and pressed a gentle kiss there.
Diana stared at him in confusion before she figured out he was talking about her fabricated boyfriend. The one she was supposed to be running from.
She flushed, startled to see how quickly she’d lost the thread of her own lies. It was so easy to get caught up in this fairytale, to forget who she was and why she was really here. But she could never allow herself that luxury because Rafe wouldn’t feel this way about her if he knew who she reall
y was. People always talked about unconditional love, but there was no such thing. All love was conditional, based on the person being who you thought they were. All Rafe’s love would turn to hate if he found out she’d come here with the sole purpose of exposing him to the authorities.