by E. J. King
“Maybe.” He kissed me again, softly this time. “But I’ve found that life isn’t worth living if you can’t get a little crazy now and then.”
My heart thudded loudly in my chest and my body felt like it was holding in a raging fire. I remembered what Hope had said about taking risks and I made up my mind. “What would you say if I suggested we get more than a little crazy tonight?”
“Like what?” Rafe grew very serious.
“Like, we go back to the house right now while Ethan and Hope are still preoccupied.” I couldn’t look him in the eye when I suggested it. “You made an enticing offer earlier about helping me out of this dress. Is it too late to accept?”
Rafe went perfectly still. He didn’t say anything until I finally looked him in the eye. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then, no, it’s not too late.” His lips formed a perfect smile. “You could make me wait our whole lives and it still wouldn’t be too late.”
“We don’t have that kind of time,” I reminded him. “So how about now?”
“Now is good,” he said, sealing the deal with a firm kiss.
Whatever confidence I had been feeling at the dance started to waiver when we were standing in my dark bedroom. A small bedside lamp provided the only source of light as we stood next to the bed.
“Well, here we are,” I said, sounding like a total dork. These moments were never as romantic in real life as they looked in the movies.
Rafe hadn’t said a word since we entered the house.
“Are you changing your mind?” I asked, hugging my arms around me.
“I need to tell you something, Kaylie.” He pointed to the bed. “Can we just sit and talk for a minute?”
“You’re not a virgin, are you?” I asked, lamely attempting a joke.
Rafe’s smile was forced. “If only that was the problem.”
We sat on the bed, keeping a few inches of space between us. Rafe took my hand and continued to stare at our entwined fingers. “I’ve told you that sometimes it’s hard to be around you. But not just you- people in general. The craving for blood is always there.”
“I know.” It was something I thought about every time we were together.
“It’s not just the bloodlust, though. Because of that constant thirst, all of my cravings and feelings are enhanced. Things like hunger, adrenaline, anger… desire.”
His eyes were guarded when he looked at me. “Sometimes giving into the cravings helps. Frankly, that’s why I eat about ten times a day.”
“And why you bring home all those girls?”
“Brought home- past tense. But, yes. It helped curb the bloodlust.”
My head tilted. “That’s a good thing, right? Being able to control the bloodlust by giving into more normal, less deadly, activities.”
“Normally, yes. But sometimes when I give into something I really crave, I lose complete control and the bloodlust nearly overtakes me.”
Understanding dawned. “And tonight what you really want is…”
“You.”
“Oh.” It was the strangest compliment I had ever received. “You’re not sure you’ll be able to hold back if we…”
He nodded slowly. “It’s not that I don’t want to do this, I’m just don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m not willing to risk hurting you. Or worse.”
A few months earlier, I would’ve told Rafe to leave my room, and to leave town. I hadn’t been willing to trust or take a chance on anyone. But now I’d gotten to know Rafe and I was invested. Truth be told, as crazy as it was to admit, I loved him.
“You don’t know that you will hurt me, Rafe.” I knew that I was foolish to even consider still proceeding, but we didn’t have another option. “I’m willing to give it a shot.”
“We can wait. It doesn’t have to happen tonight.”
“I think it does.” I didn’t really want to say the next words out loud, but Rafe still needed convincing. “We don’t know how many more nights we will have, James.”
Maybe it was that final argument, or maybe it was hearing me say his real name, but Rafe’s resolve faded. “You really want to try this?”
“Yes. We can go slowly- see what happens.”
Rafe let out a long breath and brushed his fingers over my cheek. “You never stop amazing me, Kaylie Hart.”
“That’s because I’m awesome.” I gave him a smile even though my anxiety level was at an all-time high. “You’re about to find out.”
His laugh helped cut some of the tension. “If anything goes wrong-”
“I’ll kick your ass,” I finished for him. “Keep those fangs under control, or else.”
Rafe knew I was teasing, but he proceeded hesitantly anyway, almost reluctantly. I helped speed up matters by yanking off my dress after he fumbled with the zipper for nearly two minutes.
“I said we could move slowly, but at this rate we’re going to start traveling back in time,” I said, kicking the satin fabric away from my feet.
Rafe looked me over carefully and swallowed hard. “Okay.”
He hurried to get rid of his own clothes while I settled onto the bed. When he crawled over me, I noticed a few things. One, his body was more amazing than I remembered. Two, he knew exactly the way to position himself to set every nerve in my body on fire. And last, with his face just inches from mine, I could see in his eyes that this wasn’t just about sex for him. He couldn’t seem to look away.
“I need to tell you something else.” His hand brushed a strand of hair from my eyes. “Something important.”
“Okay.” I braced myself for the worst. He was probably going to say that he had changed his mind and we couldn’t proceed. Or maybe he would say that he didn’t think we should be together at all.
But his actual words were even more difficult to hear, almost impossible to believe. “I love you, Kaylie.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
My experience with Rafe was the exact opposite of my fling with Luke. For one, I was older now and understood the important distinction between sex and intimacy. But what really made it superior was the fact that Rafe and I loved each other. Sure, it was still complicated.
For a few seconds at the height of passion, Rafe had struggled to keep control. His eyes started to darken and he’d had to stop and close his eyes while I repeated his name nearly a dozen times until he looked at me and he was Rafe again, eyes filled with nothing but tenderness and love- and desire.
But aside from that brief pause, it went smoothly. Afterward, we lay in each other’s arms, sweaty and satisfied.
I watched Rafe for a long moment. His eyes were distant as he stared at the ceiling. “At the risk of sounding incredibly girly, what are you thinking about right now?”
“Truthfully? I was just thinking about how incredibly improbable it is that we ended up here.” His fingers slowly skimmed my bare back.
“Because you’re out of my league?” I guessed, only half-joking.
Rafe’s eyes rolled. “Yeah, right. Stop fishing for a compliment.”
“Fine. Why?”
He said, “You’re not the kind of girl that usually brings home a guy like me.”
“Because I’m a prude?”
“Yes, obviously.” He pointed to the middle of the room where my dress was crumpled on the floor. “I meant because you’ve got standards. I’m just glad you were willing to lower them tonight.”
I tapped a hand against his rock-hard abs. “It was really generous of me to slum it tonight.”
“You don’t regret it, do you?” He suddenly seemed very serious.
My eyes narrowed. “You’re kidding, right?”
He looked at me but didn’t say anything. His eyes betrayed that he was genuinely worried that I might be second-guessing my decision to sleep with him.
“Life’s too short. No regrets.” I matched his seriousness. “And you?”
“I only regret not making my move sooner.”
I was surprised.
The first few weeks we spent around each other, Rafe had never betrayed any signs that he was attracted to me. “How much sooner? When did you first decide you wanted to jump my bones?”
My question wasn’t serious, but Rafe’s response was. “Since the first day I saw you.”
I let his proclamation hang in the air. I couldn’t think of anything to say that would be as sweet or meaningful.
“Can I ask you something personal?” I asked, a little hesitant to break the silence.
“After what we just did, I think it’s allowed.” Rafe’s hand brushed gently through my hair as I rested my head on his chest.
“How did you get the scars?” I couldn’t help but notice that his back, and even his sides were laces with thin scars.
His hand stopped, just for a second, but it was enough that I knew I had hit on a sore subject.
“You don’t have to tell me. It’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s okay. I want to tell you.” His chest rose and fell heavily as he took a few deep breaths. “I’m sure you’ve noticed how I never talk about my parents.”
“I have,” I said quietly. “Ethan told me about your dad’s death.”
Rafe’s hand moved from my hair to my back, his fingers tracing a slow path over my spine. “My mom met Ethan’s dad while I was still a baby. They married, had Ethan, and we became one big unhappy family.”
“You didn’t get along with him?” I looked up in surprise. Ethan had said that his dad had raised them both as equals.
“At first, it was fine. I called him Dad, and he adopted me as his son. But as I got older, I think it bothered him that I was so much like my biological father. He wanted me to be more like Ethan, and I wanted to be my own person. That made Dad angry.”
“But you were just a kid.” I didn’t like how hard Rafe’s face was when he talked about his step-father.
He smirked. “There’s no such thing as kids in the Hunter world.”
I knew from my own childhood that he was right. I got my first broken bone on a hunt when I was just eight. But I also knew that Rafe wasn’t just talking about the typical Hunter drama.
“He hurt you, didn’t he?”
Rafe stared hard at the ceiling. “Yes, he did.”
“How?”
“He had this thin, metal strip. Like a car antenna. It cut like a blade with his Hunter muscle behind it.”
I didn’t know what to say. Just picturing someone hurting Rafe, especially a young, helpless Rafe, made my blood boil. “Didn’t your mom try to stop him?”
“No.”
I thought that I could see moisture beginning to fill his eyes, but he closed them before I could be certain. His jaw clenched and his breathing deepened. I felt an intense hatred for a man that I had never met.
Very slowly, I lowered my head, my lips pressing against the first scar I could find. I kissed my way along the scar, then found the next one. When I lifted my head again, Rafe was watching me, eyes full of wonder.
I moved up until my face was even with his and said, “If that man ever comes near you again, I’ll kill him.”
“I’m supposed to be your knight in shining armor, remember?” he said with a smile.
“I’m nobody’s damsel in distress.”
“Trust me, I know.” Rafe pulled my head down to give me a proper kiss on the lips. “We still need to hunt for the Siren tonight.”
I glanced at the clock. “It’s still early. We’ve got another hour before we need to head out.”
“Hm. What can we accomplish in an hour?” He gave me a wicked grin.
“I’ll let you decide.” My hands moved playfully over his firm chest.
Rafe moved quickly, flipping me onto my back and hovering over me while I laughed. “That first round was good.”
“Very good,” I agreed.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, love.”
Exactly an hour later, we were back in street clothes, waiting on the porch for Ethan and Hope to return from the dance.
“When are you going to tell him?”
We were sitting next to each other on the porch, close enough that we were touching, but not so closely that Ethan would suspect anything.
“I don’t know. When are you going to tell Hope?”
I flinched. “About that…”
“You already told her?” Rafe sighed. “Ethan probably already knows now.”
“Hope won’t say anything.” I patted his thigh. “And if she does, I’m sure you can handle Ethan’s wrath.”
“You’ve never seen him pissed off.” Rafe nudged me. “They’re coming.”
I pulled my hand away just in time.
“Losers!” Hope sang out loudly as she skipped up the porch steps. “I can’t believe you guys left so early.”
“Hope, we’ve known each other for months. How can you still be surprised by my lameness?”
“Fair point.” She twirled in a happy circle. “Give me a minute to change and we can go find this creepy Siren chick.”
“She’s coming?” Rafe asked after she was gone. “Is that a good idea?”
Ethan shrugged. “We took her on the road trip.”
“Yeah, and we had to worry about her the whole time,” he reminded us.
“Rafe, if we’re really dealing with a Siren then we don’t have much to worry about. They only prey on men.” I elbowed Rafe in the ribs. “Maybe Hope and I should hunt and leave you helpless boys at home.”
“Funny,” he said without laughing.
Ethan was studying us both with a curious look on his face. “You guys left really early.”
“Yeah, we already went over this, bro. Try to keep up.” Rafe didn’t sound as cocky as he usually did.
“I’m pretty sure you weren’t even there for twenty minutes. Did something happen?” he asked, looking at me.
“Rafe stepped on my foot while we were dancing. Nearly broke it.”
Now Ethan turned his attention back to Rafe. “You danced? You don’t dance. Ever.”
“She threatened me.”
Rafe and I were terrible at lying. It was obvious that Ethan didn’t believe us, but Hope returned just then and it was time to start our night shift.
We made it through three bars without noticing anything out of the ordinary. Ethan and Rafe roamed the bars while Hope and I sat by the door, waiting for a suspiciously good-looking woman to leave with a vulnerable male companion.
“At the first two bars, this was kind of cool. Like we’re undercover or something. But now it just sucks.” Hope slammed an empty water glass on the table. “The boys get to walk around drinking and flirting while we have to sit here like a couple of losers.”
“We’re working, Hope. This is what Hunters do.” I kept searching the crowd, looking for anyone that resembled the description of the Siren.
“Hey.” Hope slapped my arm. “I’ve been meaning to ask- it happened tonight, didn’t it? That’s why you guys left so early?”
I was sure that my face had already betrayed the truth so I nodded.
“Yes! Good for you.” She leaned forward, chin in hands. “Tell me everything. Was it amazing?”
“It was.” I wasn’t willing to give more details than that. But there was one thing that still bothered me. “He told me that he loves me.”
“He what?” The words shot out of her mouth at a high pitch. “He loves you?”
“Apparently.”
“And did you say it back?”
I paused, trying to remember my response. “No, I didn’t.”
“Why not? Don’t you love him?”
Again, I paused. “I do.”
“You should tell him.” She pointed across the bar. “You should tell him now because some trampy girl is hitting on him at the bar.”
I whirled around, certain that he would be with the Siren. But the girl at his side looked nothing like the description we had been given. It was just a normal-looking college girl.
“Go,” Hope insisted. �
�I’ll watch the door.”
I jumped to my feet. “Thank you. I’ll bring you back a drink.”
“Make it a strong one,” she called after me.
Rather than bust into their conversation like a jealous girlfriend, I snuck up from behind, using my stealthy Hunter skills to eavesdrop. While I listened, I ordered two mixed drinks from the bartender.
The girl was doing all of the talking while Rafe nodded politely. She said something about his body and put her hand on his arm. I pictured myself throwing the drinks in her face. As if he could sense me nearby, Rafe turned.
“Kaylie.”
“Rafe.” I did my best not to let my tone reflect my annoyance. Technically, Rafe wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“This is Jane.” He pointed to the girl. “This is my friend, Kaylie.”
“Nice to meet you,” I smiled politely and directed my next comment to Rafe. “Hope and I are about to call it a night. We haven’t seen much excitement tonight.”
He shrugged. “Okay.”
“You don’t want to come?” It hadn’t occurred to me that Rafe might stay.
“I’m having a nice time talking to Jane. We’re discussing Greek mythology.”
“That’s weird.” I pointed to my left. “Can we talk for a second?”
Rafe sighed. “Excuse me, Jane. I’ll be right back.”
“You don’t think we should all go to the next bar? There’s no sign of the Siren here,” I said.
“It’s almost closing time. I’m not going to ruin my chance with Jane to go to some crappy bar with you guys. She’s a sure thing.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“What?” My cheeks burned as if he had slapped them. “You’re planning to go home with Jane tonight?”
He looked at me with pity. “You didn’t think that what happened between us earlier means I’m your boyfriend or something, did you?”
My mouth dropped open and I couldn’t find words.
“It was just sex, Kaylie. Good sex, but that’s it.” He playfully bumped his fist under my chin. “Buck up, kiddo. I had a nice time, but it’s over now.”
I said the first thing that came into my head. “You can go screw yourself, Rafe.”
Keeping my head up, I marched back to the table. Ethan had joined Hope and they both looked at me in concern.