“What’s happened?” Because surely something had happened, rather than Lauren just deciding out of the blue that she didn’t want to see him anymore? He wracked his brains but couldn’t find a single hint of what that could be. Two days ago she’d come to his house and they’d made love for hours. True, they’d barely seen each other since, but that alone couldn’t be responsible for this sudden about face.
“I just –,”
A noise from the door heralded someone’s arrival, a cleaner, smiling at both of them before moving towards the dishwasher. He turned back to Lauren but she’d spun away, back to the sandwich she was making. Her fingertips shook slightly. Impatience was like a time bomb inside of him.
Lauren concentrated on the simple act of putting sliced tomato with cheese and bread, cutting it and placing it on a plate – such a simple deed and yet knowing he was watching her made everything difficult. Her heart was racing, her mouth was dry. She hadn’t known, until she’d spoken the words, that she’d decided to end things. But seeing him dangling off the edge of the ravine had struck a sense of dread in her heart that was so intensely familiar.
Caring about someone and losing them was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do. She didn’t love Raf, but her body knew his intimately, and as part of that, her heart knew his heart. She’d felt it beat against her chest, each strike bonding them in some indefinable way.
He’d scaled the cliff face like someone who did it often. There was nothing tentative or uncertain, no damned harness or rope to protect him, because he evidently thought he didn’t need such a thing.
But what if he’d been wrong? What if he’d fallen?
And she recalled the first conversation she’d heard between Yaya and Raf, the way Yaya had shown a hint of worry for Raf’s hiking activities. Now, Lauren understood that pain.
She felt him move behind her and her body lurched in response, every single cell vibrating with a physical need that made her knees shake. His voice was a low grumble, his accent pulling at her senses, robbing her of breath.
“This isn’t over.”
He left the kitchen and she exhaled, something like a stitch holding her heart tight.
“Okay, what’s going on?”
She started, surprised to find Raf waiting for her when she slipped out of Yaya’s room, but not surprised at the same time. They’d spoken hours ago and somehow she’d managed to avoid seeing him until now. But at just after eight o’clock at night, she realised she’d put this off as long as she could.
Her eyes lifted to his and she felt the intensity of his gaze, so her pulse fired up, her heart stuttering.
“Not here,” she shook her head, quickly casting a glance over her shoulder towards Yaya’s room.
“Fine,” he compressed his lips, putting a hand in the small of her back and propelling her further down the hallway.
“Someone will see—,”
“Right now, I don’t think I give a damn.”
He turned a corner of the villa then pushed a door inwards. It took Lauren a few seconds to realise this must be his bedroom. Her heart skidded against her ribs.
It was so very him. Uber masculine, stylish, dishevelled in a way that spoke of a person who was always moving and busy. There were books beside the bed – a detail that made something in her stomach go all squishy and soft. She didn’t know he was a reader. His laptop was set up on a desk against a wall near sliding doors that led, she guessed from the room’s position in the villa, to the citrus grove.
The door clicked shut and she spun to face him, her heart beating over-time.
“So?” He crossed his arms over his chest, drawing her attention
, for a brief moment, to the strength of his physique. She forced herself to concentrate on his face.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to tell me what happened?” His brow furrowed and despite his obvious frustration she could see him trying to calm his tone. “The night before last everything was completely fine. I know I’ve hardly seen you since but –,”
“It’s not that,” she shook her head.
“Then what is it?”
There was no reason to lie to him. She jammed her hands into the pockets of her jeans, fixing her gaze on his with determination, working to keep her voice level and detached. “I saw you climbing today. I watched you for a long time. I didn’t like it.”
His features rearranged themselves into a mask that was pure confusion. “Che?”
Of course he didn’t understand. How could he?