Chapter Four
Faith clutched at Rafael’s hands as he pulled her along. Her breathing was out of control, and she was doing her best to stay calm, but she’d never been so afraid in her life. To make it worse, she was leaving her sisters, and they had never been apart from each other.
Rafael took her down a set of stairs to the basement, where laundry trucks were loading the dirty laundry while crates of food were being delivered. No one paid them any attention.
“Just a little bit longer, Baby.”
She nodded and stayed silent.
Her heart jolted when they walked down the alley, and a car and big men stood beside it.
“Easy,” he said. “They’re with us.”
He pushed her into the back of the car and then slid in next to her.
“Let’s go, guys. I’ll tell you about the situation when we get home.”
Faith watched as the city lights rushed by. She looked behind her and noticed Rafael’s car was with them, so she relaxed a bit more. He still gripped her hand and lifted it to kiss her knuckles.
“We’re about home.”
She nodded, rested her head back, and closed her eyes.
She hadn’t known she’d fallen asleep until Rafael shook her awake.
“Come on, Baby. You’re beat. Let’s get you into bed.”
She nodded and followed him into a huge house. Since it was the middle of the night, most of the lights were off. Shivers skated down her spine as they passed through shadows on the way up the stairs and down the long hallway.
Rafael pulled her through a double door and turned and locked it. “We’ll get you everything you need, but right now, we’ll make do with what we have.” He walked into a huge closet, pulled one of his dress shirts down, and handed it to her. “Go take a shower and then get into bed. I have to go over everything with my team. I’ll be up soon.”
She nodded and watched as he walked away. He stopped suddenly, came back to her, and cupped her face in his large hands.
“We haven’t really kissed yet. That peck I gave you at the wedding wasn’t enough.”
She shook her head. “No, we haven’t.”
He gently pressed his lips against hers. He started slowly and gently, but it quickly grew heated for both of them. Her hands grasped his wrists, and she stood on her toes to get closer. She heard a few moans but didn’t think anything about them. Feeling his mouth on hers took all her concentration.
He finally tore his mouth from hers and then stared down at her.
He took a moment to catch his breath. “I think we’re going to do just fine.”
She didn’t know what that meant, so she just nodded. She watched him go and was surprised by the feeling of loss she felt.
Faith exhaled and looked around the large bedroom. The bed was huge and had an ivory-colored tufted headboard. It was very luxurious with the gray and tan striped satin comforter and pillows. There was a medium-sized wooden nightstand on either side of the bed.
To the left were three doors. One she knew was his closet, and the middle one she could tell was the bathroom because the door was open. To the right were two large chairs in soft suede with a table in between. She could see them sitting and having coffee in the morning, or she would curl up with a book when he wasn’t there. They looked large enough for her to sleep in. But then again, they needed to be big because her husband was. God, just saying, “husband,” was enough to get her heart racing and her blood to heat in her veins.
She made her way into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She tied her long, dark hair into a knot on top of her head. There was nothing to use for her hair, so she tied it into a loose knot and hoped it would hold through the shower. She undressed and stepped in. She used his soap since it was the only thing in the shower, and quickly rinsed off.
After drying herself, she slid on the shirt he’d given her and buttoned it up to her chin. She almost laughed when she looked in the mirror and saw how ridiculous she looked. It was like she was a child playing dress-up in her father’s shirt. She did the best she could, rolling up her sleeves before looking in the drawers for a toothbrush and paste. And brushing her teeth.
Faith took down her hair and finger-combed it through. It still looked messy, but she figured it would get tousled while she slept.
After cleaning up after herself, she left the light on in the bathroom and the door wide open so she could see everything and then fell, exhausted, into bed. Faith wanted to stay awake, so she turned to her side, faced the door, and waited. She wanted to be able to talk some more before they went to sleep.
Sometime later, she was startled and gasped out loud when she felt the bed dip. She almost screamed before she recognized Rafael.
“Easy, Baby. It’s just me.”
She clutched the blanket to her chest and nodded.
Faith ignored his smirk before he rolled her onto her side with her back to his chest, wrapped an arm around her waist, and sighed.
Her body had stiffened at the contact that was so foreign to her. She’d never slept with anyone besides her sisters, so to feel a hot, hard male body surrounding her, she was close to hyperventilating.