Because Of Love

Elbow pressed to the arm of the chair, he leaned in closer towards her, a fire in his eyes that told her to listen carefully and believe every single word that would be coming out of his mouth because he meant each one and said, “It means, I’m going to start living my life the way that I want and no one is telling me otherwise. Not. Even. You.”

Then he sat back in his seat, like he hadn’t just blown her mind with that statement and casually asked, “When are we moving in?”

Ha! He may have shocked her, but he hadn’t turned her brains to mush.

“Since I’m paying for the house and I bought it for me, I’m moving in three months. You’re still a guest in my apartment. You can take over the lease if you want.”

His brows pulled in a deep V over his narrowed eyes. “You didn’t hear me.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Oh I heard you,” she said standing up, “but no one strong arms me into anything.”

She shrieked with a sharp intake of breath when he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her onto his lap. His arms wrapped around her, he held her tightly to his chest then pressed his lips to hers in a demanding, claiming kiss. He plunged his tongue into her mouth and hers eagerly met his. With every hot pass of their tongues the heat that was slowly growing to a burn melted her muscles and she hungrily pressed herself against him, wanting more. As if to punish her, he pulled away then, breaking the kiss.

“I could kiss you into it,” he whispered against her warm wet lips and he chin rose seeking more of that kiss.

“Talia, the house isn’t yours yet. So let’s keep things PG in there,” Nelson yelled from what sounded like the downstairs patio.

Talia gasped, then hid her face in Rafe’s neck as he chuckled, his mouth close to her ear.

“I guess you should sign those papers now.”

She groaned her annoyance, punching him in the shoulder. As she went to get up, his hand on her thigh stopped her. She looked up from where she was perched on his lap and their eyes met. Her breath caught at how open and bare it was. She’d seen countless things in those deep browns, but for the first time in the months she’d known him, she saw vulnerability.

“You can pay the down payment on the house-”

“Can?” she interrupted.

With a raised brow he said, “Stop trying to avoid this, me. No more running for either of us. I want to be with you. Whether that means I love you or not, you would know better. I don’t think I’m even able to spell it right now, but, I won’t lie and this isn’t some ploy to convince you, I think I do feel like.” He placed his hand over his chest. “There is something in here, it has been for months and I don’t know how to describe it, let alone name it because I have never felt it before. But I only feel it with you.”

“Sure it has nothing to do with how I help you sleep.”

“I barely sleep now because I’m scared you’ll vanish from my life. That kind of fear isn’t one I would wish on anyone.”

Talia tried to smile but her lips trembled with emotion, her eyes burning with relief. She didn’t need him to say those three words. Countless men had said it and never meant it. That confession was more than enough.”

She placed her hand over his on his chest and said, “That is something you never have to carry.”

“I believe you,” he said confidently, “but I doubt you’ll believe me if I said the same.”

She wasn’t going to lie, those kinds of promises came tied to a bolder named doubt. She was born with trust issues. Her father had said the same thing to her mother before he took off when he found out she was on the way. But that was on her wasn’t it? Maybe it was time for her to unlearn that.

“You can teach me to trust you,” she murmured, not daring to look him in the eye.

“So we are both learning?”

She tittered with a nod. That was what life was about wasn’t it? Learning to be, learning to live, learning to survive and most importantly, learning to love without reservation.

She felt the tips of his fingers at his chin as he pushed her head up. Shyly, she looked up and met his gaze. His eyes searched her for a moment then his head lowered to hers.

“Six months, then, you can take over payment for the house,” she whispered against his lips, her heart speaking without consulting her brain. It was a risk, but they were learning right?

“I think I love you,” he whispered in response.

Something inside her shook as hope and pessimism waged war.

“You said you don’t even know how to spell the word.”

“This burning in my chest says all I’m missing are vowels.”

She laughed then, freely as the war leaned against pessimism. She placed her hand behind his head and pushed it down to capture his lips with hers. Yes, he definitely loved her.

A thought struck her, and she pulled away. “Quick question,” she began.

“Can it wait five minutes?” he murmured against her lips as he leaned down to fuse them together again.

She leaned away, “What were you looking for in all those boxes?”

“What boxes?”

“The mountain of them you had in your office. From the archives?”

He shrugged, “Everything and nothing,” then tried to kiss her again.

Her brows shot up, “You can’t be serious.”

With a heavy sigh he leaned away, “Truthfully?”

“I wasn’t asking you to spin a tale-unless you can’t tell me the truth.”

“Distraction.”

“Ha?”

“I needed a distraction from my-” he stopped and pressed his lips together, “you know what.”

His anxiety was what he meant to say. What he wouldn’t say. He still wouldn’t acknowledge his anxiety. But that was a fight for another day.

Talia dropped her arms from around his shoulders and crossed them over her chest, “Let me get this straight. You set fires in the office, terrorized employees because you needed a distraction?”

He shrugged again, very unbothered by his revelation. She should be pissed, she knew that. She was slightly annoyed as she remembered the tension filled weeks. Quite a number of her coworkers had called in sick, the number probably tripled the normal. And yet, she kind of understood him, the reasons behind it. She still got a bitter taste in her mouth knowing that she had become that distraction. But they were starting anew, so she was going to focus on that.

“Besides, those kinds of audits bring a lot to light.” His lips thinned and his brows pinched, “No one crosses me and get away with it,” he said, steel in his voice.

Talia didn’t doubt it. As she traced the hard look on his face, a slight chill ran down her back, she realized she had a lot about him she needed to learn.

His face suddenly softened, and a mischievous smile played on his lips, “It was quite amusing seeing the toupees sweat off those dinosaurs’ heads.”

She chuckled and with his hands on her hip and thigh he pulled her more into him, forcing her to shift her crossed arms from her chest and back to his shoulders for lack of space.

“I bet this wasn’t what they had in mind when they got you to spy on me.”

She chuckled, “No, it’s not. We should send them a thankyou basket.”

Rafe threw his head back in a laugh before he claimed her lips in a searing kiss. She was starting to believe the guy had a one-track mind.