Rafe (The Wounded Sons Book 4)

by Leah Sharelle

  I didn’t think I could stop now that I’d had my first taste of my intoxicating Bunny.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  PEYTON

  My lips were sore, but it was a pain I could deal with every day of my life.

  I don’t know how long Rafe and I sat there, me on his lap, his arms around me, mine clinging to his neck, my hands running through the short hair at the base of his neck. It felt like hours, but for all I knew, it was mere minutes. Time didn’t matter, all that mattered was the elation that was bubbling inside me that Rafe was finally kissing me. I told him about Dean and he didn’t get mad at me for not divulging that harrowing event in my life until now. To me, that meant a load of self-condemning guilt off my mind. Rafe was honest as the day was long, and I wanted to give him that in return.

  “Hmmm,” I hummed, pressing light pecks to the corners of Rafe’s mouth, my lips forming a smile when he moaned hungrily.

  “Definitely hmmm, baby,” Rafe answered with a hum of his own. “I think we need to take a breather Bunny, it has been a very long while since I made out this long.”

  “Me too, in fact I can’t remember the last time I sat on a man’s knee and acted like a randy teenager,” I agreed, giggling when his teeth gently sunk into my bottom lip with a mock growl.

  “Don’t think I like you talking about other men, especially when you are in my arms with my dick hard and wedged under that delicious plump arse of yours.”

  I smiled wildly, “You think my arse is delicious and plump?” I asked, lifting my butt up on one side and looking down. “This arse?”

  “Yes that arse, Bunny. Now, how about we start the movie again, cuddle and just enjoy this new start,” Rafe suggested, already moving me off his lap, but just as I was about to protest, he positioned me up against his side, his arm coming over my shoulder pulling me into him.

  Okay, this was good too. I’d rather be sitting astride him, but he obviously needed some space. Looking down wantonly at his crotch, which has been hard the entire time since he grabbed me earlier, I took pity on him and let him have his way. As much as I wanted more to happen tonight, I also didn’t want to rush and do everything in one night. It had been a very long time since I’d had a boyfriend, the last thing Rafe needed to see was how inexperienced I really was.

  Suddenly, a serious worry popped into my head. In my mind, I already thought of Rafe as my boyfriend. Was I moving too fast or presuming too quickly?

  “Okay, Bunny out with it. What is worrying you now?”

  “Is this something you are taught in the army, or were you born with mind-reading powers?” I grumbled, picking up the remote from the cushion beside me, huffily stabbing at the buttons to start the movie from the beginning.

  “A bit of both,” he laughed, taking the remote from me and placing it on the coffee table, then grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers.

  “Did you always want to serve in the military?” I asked him as the opening credits of Die Hard started. I was an action movie junky, and Bruce was high on my list of favourite actors. Fortunately, I knew this movie by heart, so the best parts were a way off from happening.

  “For as long as I can remember, yeah, I enlisted when I was twenty-two with the goal of becoming a part of the elite commandos.”

  I loved the vibrations his deep voice made against my side, I swear I could sit and listen to him for hours talking about himself. He did it so rarely, so tonight I was taking advantage, and it would keep my mind out of the gutter for a minute. My body was still humming from his kisses and light caressing hands on my hips and waist, and I needed a distraction, otherwise I might just jump his bones.

  “So you have been in the army for—?”

  “Seven years total, four with Team FIVE. I went in as general enlistment, worked my arse off, became a sniper and went for selection the minute I felt I had done all I could do as a regular soldier.”

  “Was it hard?”

  “Fucking hardest thing I have ever put my body through, some nights I ached all over I couldn’t tell what hurt the most. Men, good soldiers, gave up every day, but I refused to give in. I fought my whole life before the army to be accepted and to prove myself. No amount of hard work or pain was gonna make me throw in the towel.”

  “Did you know any of the guys in the team back then?” I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder and watching the screen. Bruce wasn’t happy his wife had not met him at the airport, poor bugger was going to have more issues than that soon.

  “I knew Kodah pretty well, we did basic training together and were in the same unit afterwards. I knew of Gabe and Bastian and Cole mainly because of their reputations and those of their dads’ when they served, but I didn’t meet Deke or Grill until I made it to Team FIVE.”

  “So, who are you closest to?”

  Rafe rubbed his thumb gently on my bare arm, the rhythmic circles causing goosebumps to dance over my skin.

  “We are all pretty tight, we have to be. Luckily the lot of us gel well as a unit, which is ideal in our line of work. We can spend a massive amount of time together, so it is best we get along, but I guess if I have to choose one, I would say Grill. We are sniper partners, sometimes it is me as the spotter, sometimes him, and there are times we have to do both jobs ourselves. I know more about Grill than I care to admit, and he me,” Rafe chuckled, “I feel sorry for Addy at times, knowing what I do about him.”

  “She says he is bossy.”

  “He likes order,” Rafe countered.

  “Addy said he is a neat freak.”

  “He likes precision. ”

  Growling, I bit his pec through his shirt. “Apparently, his farts smell really bad.”

  “That they do,” Rafe agreed, laughing outright.

  “Tell me about the others,” I asked eagerly, “I don’t really know them other than Grill. I mean, I hang out at the compound from time to time and hear about them from their wives and mothers, but I don’t have a clue who they really are. Do they have nicknames like in army movies?”

  It was true I had been spending time at the Wounded Souls compound a lot since the fire. Shiloh and her VP, Doc, welcomed me and pretty much gave me an open invitation to come and go as I pleased.

  “Most do, all except me and Kodah. Gabe is known on the field as Tank, Bastian is Ammo, Deke is Signal, Grill you know and Cole’s … is on a need to know basis. In other words, we only use his code name when on missions or when it is just the six of us.”

  “Why?”

  Rafe leaned down and brushed his lips over mine. “Nosey, aren’t you Bunny? It’s because we use it when he goes in black. We never use his given name over the radio or speak it outside our unit to keep him safe and undetected.”

  “What does black mean?” I demanded, quickly intrigued with the information Rafe was giving me, Bruce completely forgotten about entirely.

  “Black means it didn’t happen, Peyton, Cole has a dangerously important role in the Sons. What he does saves lives before we even know there is any danger, for that he gets anonymity.” The finality in which Rafe spoke gave me a clue he was done talking about Cole. Interested in hearing more, I changed the line of questioning.

  “So, why do you and Kodah miss out?”

  “We weren’t left out if that is what you are asking Bunny; Kodah is a pretty cool name on its own, and me? Well, I’m not one for nicknames, at least I wasn’t until I met you,” he scoffed good naturally. Rafferty shortened to Rafe, I reckon that will do, don’t you?”

  “I guess, so you don’t want to be called shooter or sniper man?” I teased.

  “Funnily enough, one of my mates from selection training called me shooter for a while, but soldiers being who they are, some changed it to McGavin as in Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore. I nipped that in the bud pretty quick after that.”

  Sighing happily, I turned my head and pressed a kiss to Rafe’s bicep.

  “I’m happy I told you about Dean. I have been feeling so guilty these past months, like I have been decei
ving you,” I admitted quietly.

  “Baby, I’m sorry, but that is whacked. That happened in your past, what is in your past belongs to you. It is up to you if you want to share it with people in your life now.”

  Relief swamped me hearing that. Rafe was right, of course, but it still didn’t stop me from hating myself for being secretive.

  Rafe kissed the top of my head. “Tell me about him, Pey,” he whispered, his lips lingering, sending more shivers through me.

  “Hmmm, he was a pretty baby. Most babies are born with blue eyes until they are a few months old, then they change to what nature decides, but my little boy was born with amber eyes the same as mine. The rest was all his father.”

  “Who was he?”

  “My high school boyfriend. It’s funny, we went out for two years but looking back I hardly knew him. Darren was the most popular guy at our school, an exclusive Catholic co-ed college. I was from a rich family, but with my weird eyes, I wasn’t in the cool group. When Darren showed interest in me, I couldn’t believe it. His family and mine were in the same social circles and financial bracket, so it kind of made sense for us to go out.”

  “For a year, all we did was walk around the campus like lord and lady of the manor. He never pushed me for sex or pressured me to do things I didn’t want to do, like drinking down by the lake on Friday and Saturday nights. In fact, we hardly saw each other out of school, I guess it was your typical Catholic school romance.”

  “Sounds like a wanker. Didn’t he know he had the most beautiful girl that lived on his arm?” Rafe grunted disgustedly.

  “Oh please, you didn’t know me back then. I was awkward, had spooky eyes and I had not learnt the art of hair dye as I have now. But my family had the standing in the community, which made me an ideal commodity in his view.”

  “Can you believe, I found out towards the end of my pregnancy it had been my father’s influence that got Darren into Cambridge in England? My own dad helped his family get him out of the country, away from the stigma of being a teen dad. It shows you what kind of people I come from, hey? Parents who think more of a friend’s son than their own daughter.”

  I barely had the words all out before I found myself lifted off the couch and straddling Rafe’s lap, his beautiful, deep brown eyes narrowed and spitting fire.

  “Who you are, Peyton, is despite the type of people your parents are. You are caring and have an amazing, giving heart. You’re loyal and your friends adore you. I fucking adore you Bunny, from the first second I laid eyes on you in that burning room, I knew I was in trouble. You have turned me inside out, grabbed hold of my heart, rendering me completely and utterly done for.”

  I hissed at the gruff passion of his tone, which affected me just as much as his words did.

  “Rafe,” I breathed, speechless.

  “I have been fighting this chemistry between us for months now, Bunny, and I’m through with feeling guilty for things that were beyond my control. Through with worrying if I deserve to be happy, I am done with all of it. I want you, Peyton, I want this heat that burns every time you are near me, I want to be a part of your life, and fuck, I want you in mine.”

  “More than friends, Peyton, I want the whole fucking package. The good and the bad, your obsession with cleaning my car, and any car for that matter, your liking for grated cheese on bread then nuking it in the microwave, which is gross, by the way. I know you have to have the remote on the left side of the couch, no talking is allowed during your favourite night-time soaps … you know, the important stuff.” His eyebrows wiggled, his smirk cocky.

  Rolling my eyes at him, I followed his lead in lightening our moment. “And I know that you never take your shoes off before coming in the house, you forget nine times out of ten to put the toilet seat down, and you make these strange grunting sounds when you eat.” Sliding my hands up his chest and up his neck, I laced them behind his head and leaned in until our faces were centimetres apart.

  “So ….”

  “So …” he repeated, his hands on my thighs rubbing up and down my bare skin.

  “I kinda don’t want to watch the movie anymore,” I breathed, hovering above his lips.

  “Oh? What do you want to do then, Bunny?” he asked, his voice low, sexy and hypnotising.

  Taking a deep breath, I licked my lips, my tongue just barely coming into contact with his top lip. I was about to wade into territory I was not familiar with, but my inner wanton hussy was suddenly in charge. Blame it on finally laying out the truth, blame it on the fact that I had not partaken in the act of sex since the stick turned pink. Either of those reasons would do, but I knew it was the sexy, growly, mysterious man that was looking at me like he wanted to eat me whole and go back for seconds.

  “I want to know what it feels like to have you naked and on top of me, your cock deep inside me.”

  Rafe growled deep in his throat, and his fingers tightened on my thighs. Under me, I felt his semi-hard cock grow and jerk against my core.

  “Fuck, yeah, you do, and you will.”

  Yay me!

  CHAPTER NINE

  RAFE

  Okay, so my dick was steel in my pants after Peyton said something I never thought would ever leave her sweet pink lips. I hoped but never thought it would happen.

  “You have to be sure you are ready, Pey, because I’ve got the feeling when I have had you once, that ain’t ever gonna be enough,” I admitted gruffly, putting it out there. Today was definitely a day for laying everything out on the table.

  Well, almost everything. I was going with the half-truth I gave Peyton would be all right for now, it was definitely enough for me. Talking about Angie wasn’t something I did often, and I most certainly wasn’t going to think about her with Peyton on my lap, grinding lightly on me and her lips a breath away from mine.

  If I thought about my lies about my ex, then that was just going to bring on worry about how long it has been since I have been with a woman. When Angie and I started really fighting bad, I lost all interest in sex. My dicks only action for the last few years was an intimate relationship with my right hand.

  All the nights obsessively dreaming about Peyton was about to become a reality.

  Fuck me drunk.

  My cock twitched in my pants at the thought of doing exactly what Peyton described, naked skin on naked softer skin, her breast bare and pushing into me, while my hips pounded downwards into her—.

  “Rafe?” Peyton murmured in a nervous voice, cutting into my sexual haze.

  “Huh?”

  Peyton smiled up at me, even sitting on my lap, she was short. I loved that about her. The protective instinct in me sharpened more because she was small in stature as well as beautiful as fuck.

  “Make love to me. I want to be—” I cut her next sexy words off with my mouth slamming down on hers. I had no idea my sweet, cute pastel-haired bestie had such sexy things going on in her head.

  Cupping the back of her head with one hand and the other splayed in the middle of her back, I crushed her to me as I devoured her lips once again. Our earlier make-out session was all about learning what she liked, what made her moan and what made her so hot she practically sucked my tongue into her mouth. I was a quick learner, cataloguing all her sounds and reactions in my brain for future use, thinking that we wouldn’t be here so fast.

  “You drive me wild with that mouth of yours, Bunny,” I murmured in between hot kisses, “between those sinfully sexy lips and your sexy words, you have me so hard I’m worried I’m going to blow the second I sink into your heat.”

  “Mmmm, I don’t have a problem with that,” she purred, answering my kisses with soft, wet pecks, “then I can do something else with my mouth to get you hard and ready to go again.”

  My cock nearly punched through my jeans, Peyton was driving me insane, and being a gentleman was now well and truly out the window.

  “Hold on,” I ordered, barely waiting for her hands to grip the back of my neck as I stood up, my hands going und
er her arse. The hem of her shorts had ridden high up on her thigh when she straddled me, so my fingers met the crease where her arse met her legs, and the temptation to creep them higher won out.

  Sliding my hands further under the material, expecting to find her panties, but instead, my fingers found more flesh. Soft, wet flesh.

  “Fuck, Peyton, please tell me you have on panties,” I moaned into her mouth.

  “I could tell you that, but I would be lying,” she replied, her voice husky and laced with desire. What the god damn was going on? My cute little Bunny was a sexy siren in disguise.

  “Jesus woman, are you trying to kill me one sexy mouthful at a time? I hope you don’t go out with no panties on because that would make me postal, especially when I’m not here to rip men’s eyes out when they look at you.” Walking us to her room, I continued to finger flirt with her pussy lips at the same time telling her off. Fuck, this relationship was going to be fucking fun.

  “Nope, only when I am home. One day after a shower, I forgot to take panties into the bathroom with me and the front doorbell went off. I couldn’t go answer it in just a towel, so I quickly put back on the clothes I’d taken off, minus my already worn knickers. The seam of the jean shorts rubbed along another seam, if you know what I mean, and I kinda liked the feel—”

  “No more!” I shouted. picking up my speed, “I refuse to come anywhere but inside you.”

  “Oh yes! I am on the shot, oh that reminds me I need to get a booster, so if you are clean, then you can go in bare—hey, Rafe!” Peyton screamed, landing with a bounce on the bed because … yep, I tossed her. Coming down on her, I covered her mouth with my hand.

  “Peyton, you can not tell me I can be in you bare and expect me to control myself,” I grunted, pressing my crotch into her barely covered pussy. I bet if I were to look down, I would see the legs of her denim shorts stretched and out of shape, giving me the perfect view of her wet lips. Wet because of my kisses and feather-soft touches. Soon her pussy was going to be very familiar with my mouth and tongue.