Chapter Twenty-Three
chapter twenty-three
MAY
Shit, Rafael wasn’t lying when he said it was a hike away. Actually, that might have even been an understatement. I feel like we’ve been walking for hours. Sweat has settled into my hairline the further upstream we’ve walked.
“Are we nearly there?”
“Wow, I’m actually surprised it took you this long to ask. I was expecting that at least half an hour ago,” he says as he ducks under a low branch.
“We’ve only been walking for just over half an hour.”
He chuffs a laugh. “Exactly.”
I stop in my tracks, resting my hands on my hips. “Do you think I’m that unfit?”
He turns around to face me. “Oh no, I’m fully aware of your fitness .” He looks me up and down, and if it wasn’t so hot, I’m sure goosebumps would follow in his wake. “It’s about your resilience.”
“ My resilienc e?”
“That might’ve been the wrong word. Your dedication maybe.”
“My dedication?!” I’m nearly squealing with disdain. “I’ll have you know I’m very dedicated in all aspects of my life.”
“Whatever you say, March.” He turns around and continues leading the way. I scoff and roll my eyes. The audacity of this man.
“To answer your question.” He looks at me before gesturing ahead of himself, and my breath is immediately stolen away.
The most beautiful scene I’ve ever looked at is lying just a few steps away. I mindlessly wander past where Rafael is standing, watching my every move.
A huge waterfall cascades off a cliff so high I can barely see the edge. The water here is even clearer than it was down at our fishing spot. It’s like something from a fairytale. I’m half expecting a mermaid to be sitting on a rock jutting out of the water.
Lush green surrounds us, and the sounds of the nature are amplified here, but get drowned out the closer I get to the falls.
The water rushes down, crashing into the pool below, before it tapers down and creates the river we followed to get here. But just there in between, there’s a moment of calm. A moment of quiet serenity between the force of the currents.
I hear rustling behind me and as I turn around, I’m suddenly staring straight at Rafael’s abs. His beautiful, beautiful abs. His shirt is discarded on the ground along with his baseball cap.
“Are you coming in?” He asks before he begins unbuckling his belt. My stomach heats when I watch his corded forearms flex as he pulls on the leather, letting his pants fall down his legs.
“Like what you see, Whitley?” My eyes flick back to his and I see the mischievous glint in his eye. Toying with me just like I toyed with him that day at the festival. To be fair, he was clearly looking at my tits, and I am now clearly looking at all of him.
He walks past me and up onto a higher bit of ground before diving into the pool. I gasp as his body hits the water, expecting him to have hit the bottom, but I can see his form moving under the water, getting further into the middle of the water. He finally comes up, flicking his hair around like a dog, with a smile on his face. A real smile. It’s obvious how relaxed he is out here, away from everything else. It makes me wonder what has him so tense back in Ruby Cove.
I decide to follow suit. Pulling on the hem of my shirt and shuffling my shorts off, leaving me in my mismatched lingerie. It’s not like I was planning on taking off my clothes today. I walk up to the spot he dove from and make my jump.
The arctic water burns my skin as I fall under the surface. I scramble to get my head out of the water. “Fuck!” I scream as soon as I can take in any oxygen. “It’s freezing!”
Rafael laughs across from me, and I have to look over at him to see the smile on his face to make sure I didn’t imagine it. That the cold water didn’t burst my eardrums, but no. Rafael is laughing.
“It gets better quickly. Don’t worry.”
I puff as I look up and around us. A canopy of trees hangs over us, leaving this place almost entirely in the dark. With only slivers of sunlight peeking through the leaves. No wonder the water is so damn cold.
“There’s no one for miles to hear you screaming,” he says.
“When you kill me, you mean? I knew coming to a cabin with you was a bad idea.”
“Sometimes I just come here to scream.” I look over at him now, but he’s looking up. “To let the water swallow the sound of it.” He closes his eyes as he leans his head back into the water.
I can feel a small smile creep up my cheeks as I think of it. Him coming out here for a release. Sometimes it feels like that’s all you need and the world will be right again. You just need to scream. So I do.
I scream. Raw and guttural and straight from my core, letting the shelter of the leaves around us carry it away.
When I open my eyes, Rafael is looking over at me, and not like he normally does. No, he’s looking at me like he knows exactly where that scream came from. I puff as I look back at him, catching my breath back after I screamed it away.
“Did that help?” he asks .
I nod in response. “How often do you come here just to scream?”
“More often than I care to admit.” He runs a hand over his hair.
“What are you screaming about?” I ask, cautious of crossing any lines between us, not that I know exactly where they lie.
He turns away, swimming deeper into the pool. I don’t know whether to follow or stay where I am, but my body makes the decision for me, and I move after him.
“I hate Olive&Vine.”
My eyes snap to the back of his head. “What?”
“Okay, I don’t hate it,” he turns around to face me. “I just… don’t love it. Not like I used to.” His voice is thick with shame, regret.
“What changed?”
He sighs, running his hand through his hair once more. “My nonna died two years ago. Olive&Vine was her restaurant.”
The floral wallpaper makes a little more sense to me now.
“Ever since she passed, I just… I can’t help but see her everywhere I turn when I’m there. I hear her laugh in the kitchen, see her dancing between the tables when one of her favorite songs plays on the radio. It doesn’t feel like mine. It felt more like mine when she was still here, even though that doesn’t make any sense.” He shakes his head.
“It makes total sense,” I say, swimming closer. “I get the idea that she was the heart of that place.”
He nods. “My whole family was. It dulled more and more over the years. First after my parents died, then again after nonna...” He shakes his head, and my heart breaks for him. I never imagined that he’d been through so much pain. My mind works over everything I know about him, everything I thought I knew.
“I wanted more than working in the one place where my memories haunt me. I wanted to go places, to meet people, to share this passion all over the world.”
“You wanted to teach?” I ask .
He shrugs, as much as he can while he’s treading water, anyway. “But how was I supposed to do that when everyone was gone? How could I leave that place and let it become whatever someone else wanted it to be? I couldn't let everything my family had worked to build crumble just because I wanted to do something else. Keeping this place running was more important—it still is.”
My heart aches for a younger version of Rafael who had everything ahead of him, for the guy who lost everything that mattered to him. “But it’s not what you love to do anymore?”
“Sometimes I just have the urge to knock it down and start fresh. That’s when I come out here, when I think too much about destroying the place that my nonna created. The place where she taught me to cook.”
My mind turns, spinning with an idea. “Maybe you don’t so much as need to start completely fresh. Maybe you just need a refresh. A renovation.”
He looks up at the sky with a sigh. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
The fact that he didn’t shut the idea down straight away is already a good sign. “Well,” I swim a little bit closer. “When you close your eyes…” His stay open, looking at me. “Do it.” I flick water across at him.
“Think of Olive&Vine, but not like it is today. Imagine the walls are stripped, and the floorboards are torn up. Imagine only the bare bones. What would you do with it?” His brows furrow together, but his eyes stay closed.
“Imagine people there, customers. What atmosphere do you see them sitting in? What energy is floating through the room?” His eyes finally open to meet mine. “That’s what you should do with it. Whatever you see in there, that’s what you should create.”
He looks at me like I’ve just spoken a different language. “Would you help me?” I don’t mean to frown, but I didn’t expect him to say that.
I nod. I can help .
His eyes don’t leave my face. They’re glued to my own, so I study them. They look like they hold so much. Like he sees so much more than he lets on. They finally drift, trailing down my neck and over my collarbone before they dip to where I know my white bralette is see-through under the water. I might as well be naked by the way his eyes are undressing me.
The vulnerability between us in this moment gives me the courage to ask the question I've been holding onto for weeks.
“Why did you watch me?”
His eyes snap back to mine. “When?”
“Was there more than one time you watched me come?”
His eyes turn darker than night. Just the way they did that night, the way they did at the club. “I couldn’t help it.”
I don’t know when we got close enough that I can feel his breath on the apples of my cheeks. This conversation is raw and open, something we don’t do often, and it feels like it's charging the current around us.
“I came to tell you that I could hear you, but then I saw you, May.” Shivers trail down my entire body when he says my name. “And I couldn’t walk away.” My entire body tingles at his admission, my heart beating at a deadly pace. “And then I saw you with Jack.” He huffs a laugh as he breaks our eye contact, but it’s humorless. Like he has any right to be upset with me over that.
I scoff. “You never mentioned anything after that night you saw me. You think after that I just fell head over heels for you, Rafael? I didn’t.”
In a second, he grabs me by the back of my neck, yanking me closer to him. “Head over heels? No. But you think of me, I know you do. I bet you even wished his hands were mine, didn’t you? Wished it was me gripping your hips?—”
“Oh, fuck you.”
“It’s about time you do.” And then his lips are on mine. My entire body sparks at the sensation of his mouth closing around mine. I can’t help but open up to him. He gives me no choice, his tongue forcing it’s way into my mouth. I moan as I finally meet his tongue with my own, licking and twisting as I yank on his hair hard enough that he groans into my mouth. I wrap my legs around his waist and am immediately met with his hardness, and it just spurs me on. I grind my hips against him, making both of us moan into the open air around us.
“Whitley,” he groans. “If you want me to stop, you’re going to have to tell me.”
His lips meet mine as soon as the words leave his mouth. I’ve never been kissed like this in my life. Never been kissed with so much anger and frustration, but with so much need.
“Don’t stop.”
The door of the cabin bangs against the wall as Rafael storms in, my body still wrapped around his.
“Fuck,” he groans when my nails scrape against his scalp as he walks further into the room. He’s been kissing me the entire walk here, not giving either of us a minute to second guess this.
And then I’m falling.
The mattress bounces under my weight as I land on the bed. Rafael stands at the edge of the bed, his chest heaving as he looks over me, almost like he’s deciding what he wants to do with me.
I move to kneel on the bed and reach my arms behind my back, unclasping my bralette and letting it fall in front of me, baring my tits to him.
“Jesus Christ, May.” He scrubs a hand over his mouth as he looks at me.
“So does it hold up?” I ask, and his brows draw together. “To how you’ve been imagining it, I mean,” I slowly make my way closer to him. Letting my hands fall against his hard chest while his eyes are fixated on mine. “I hear you in the shower, you know. It’s flattering really.”
His nostrils flare. Rough hands are suddenly on my waist and then I’m face down on the mattress.
The feminist in me should not be so turned on by the manhandling I’m receiving right now, but I can’t help it.
“You like that, do you?” Rafael’s voice is low and right in my ear as he leans over me. “Do you like hearing me come to the thought of you?”
I can’t help the whimper that erupts from deep inside of me as my mind produces the exact image he describes.
He chuckles. “That’s what I thought. Now, you’re going to tell me exactly what you want, exactly what you were thinking of that night in your room.”
I just moan in response, barely able to form coherent thoughts aside from the fact that I can feel his cock pressed against my ass through his boxers.
His hand wraps around my neck, pulling my head up and making my back arch. “Does my little spitfire like it rough?” He softly kisses my cheek and the contrast between his actions makes heat pool in my stomach.
“Yes, chef.”
“Fucking hell,” he says before he fills his spare palm with one of my tits, rolling the taut bead of my nipple between his fingers.
“Oh my god,” I moan, pressing my ass back into him. More, I need more.
And then he’s gone, my body released from his touch, but only for a split second, and then he’s back, flipping me on my back and settling between my legs.
“I’ve been wanting to taste this sweet pussy since I first saw it.” He runs a finger over where I’m aching for him through my panties. “Do you want to come on my tongue, blondie?”
“Please,” I moan, grinding into his touch.
He stops his stroking, and I lift my hips, trying to get his touch back, but he uses his big palms to pin my hips to the bed. “What was that?”
“You know what I said. ”
“Say it again, Whitley.”
I shake my head. “No way.”
He pulls my panties to the side, exposing me, before he blows a soft breath over me, sending waves of arousal pulsing through my body, and I’m fucking throbbing for him.
“That’s a shame,” he says, and then he pulls my panties back into place.
“Wait! Fuck, please Rafael. I need it.”
“You need it , or you need me ?”
“You, fuck. Please, I need you to touch me.” I’m aware that I’m telling him everything he wants to hear, everything he accused me of last night, but I don’t have the self-control to care.
A guttural moan comes from the end of the bed as he yanks my panties down my legs. He kisses roughly back up my thighs, making his way to exactly where I need him, and just before he reaches it, he bites down. Hard.
I squeal, and my leg jerks in response, pain burning where his teeth just left my skin, but he uses his arms to press my legs wide open and presses a kiss to my core, immediately distracting me.
“Oh my— fuck .”
He chuckles against my skin, and it sends vibrations right through me, just before he flattens his tongue, licking me with intent, over and over until I’m writhing beneath him.
“ Sei dolce proprio come immaginavo,” he says, before he sucks down on my clit. I moan and dig my fingers into his hair, needing something to grip onto.
Hearing him speak Italian while he’s eating me out is hotter than anything I could’ve ever imagined. “Say that again.”
“You’re just as sweet as I imagined,” he says before he rakes his teeth over my clit.
“Oh my god, Rafael,” I moan. My hips start to move of their own volition, grinding myself on his face as I feel myself getting closer to release. Then he’s pulling away. His chest heaving, and his stomach muscles flexing with every harsh breath. He never got dressed again after the waterfall. His clothes are still out there at the water's edge. The only thing keeping me from seeing all of him right now is one pair of boxers.
“Turn around,” he growls. I do it without a second thought. “Where’s that resilience now, huh?”
“I hate you.”
He just chuckles. “How bad do you need it, May?” Every syllable of every word making me need it even more. He reaches between my legs, running a hand through my center. “You feel like you need it pretty bad.”
I just nod frantically before I feel his warm cock pressed against my ass. There goes that pair of boxers.
“Oh my god,” I moan. He’s right—I need it pretty bad.
He drags his cock through my slick core. “You’re fucking soaked.”
He teases my entrance, building me up and pissing me off every time he veers away. I look back over my shoulder. “Are you gonna keep teasing me, Rafael, or are you gonna fuck me?”
His dark eyes meet mine, that look in them that he reserves just for me. His grip tightens on my waist as he pushes into me in one thrust.
“ Fuck !”
“That better?” he coos, and it just riles me up.
I push back as far as I can, the tip of him touching my innermost walls, and then I circle my hips, eliciting a guttural moan from him.
“Perfect,” I say.
“God, I wanted to take my time with you,” he says, his fingers digging into my hips. “But I don’t think I have the self-control.”
I moan at the feeling of being so full, but more so at his words. “Good.”
Rafael slowly pulls out before slamming back into me with so much force I couldn’t hold in my moan if I tried. I grab onto the metal headboard with both hands, steadying myself as he increases his pace, not allowing me any time to adjust to the size of him before he’s pounding into me with a punishing rhythm .
He runs a hand up my back, roughly dragging his palm from my ass all the way up my spine before grabbing a hold of my hair and tangling his fingers in the short strands.
“Come here,” he says, and yanks on my hair, forcing me up, my back to his front as he hits a new angle.
I lean my head back to rest on his chest. “Oh fuck, don’t stop.”
“Do you want to come, blondie?” I sigh and nod against his hard chest. “Open up then.” He closes one hand around my neck, keeping me steady, as he brings the other up to my face and stuffs two of his fingers into my open mouth. I don’t hesitate before sucking his fingers, running my tongue over them before he slowly pulls them out. “Who knew you knew how to take instructions?” he teases.
Before I can snap back, his wet fingers are trailing down my chest. He circles the moistness over my hard nipple and my body instinctively moves against him as his hand continues it’s journey down my stomach. Heat courses through my body with every inch closer to where I need them.
“Did all those Tinder dates fuck you like this?” he asks, his breath against my neck and his hand hovering against my lower stomach. “Hm, Whitley? Were you this needy for all of them?”
“Mm-mm,” I shake my head.
“Tell me I’m the only one that makes you feel like this, and you can come.”
My mind is fighting my body, not wanting to admit what is so painfully obvious. Not wanting to tell him what he wants to hear, but needing release more than anything.
“None of them made me feel like this. Just you,” I breathe.
“I’m the only one that’s made you this wet?” He drags his fingers up my pussy, bringing my moisture with him.
I nod, grinding against his hand. “Fuck, please Raf.”
He gives in all at once. His fingers tease my clit, rubbing against the sensitive spot with every thrust from behind.
I moan as his tongue meets my neck, licking, and nipping, and sucking so hard it’ll leave a mark. It’s sensory overload, and I feel like I’m about to explode. “Oh my god.”
“That’s it, let me watch my little spitfire come undone.” His words send me careening over the edge. My orgasm slams into me, leaving me screaming out as Rafael messily pumps into me three more times before he’s groaning into my ear, his release chasing mine.
“Still hate me now, Whitley?”
I shake my head that’s still leaning against him. “Even more than I already did.”