Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
“ H ave you gotten a handle on all your work?” she asked once they were seated at a booth in It’s No Truffles. She’d heard of the bistro and Clementine had talked about their wonderful menu, so she was glad he brought her there.
Even if the man had almost rendered her useless for the evening.
They ordered a bottle of wine and a few things on the specials menu, but she had no idea what she’d really picked. All she could focus on was her date. On the drive to the restaurant and as she studied the menu, her fingers played with the necklace he’d gifted her. She’d never received jewelry from anyone other than her stepmother, and the fact that he’d bought her something with so much meaning made it that much better.
“I think so. I got very distracted halfway through my day.”
“What happened?”
“Well, for one, you texted and I spent a good long time thinking about tonight.” She rolled her eyes and poked him in the side. He captured her hand and continued, “Cal and Boots got dirty playing in the garden so I had to hose them down and clean the house.”
“Poor babies. No training today?”
He shook his head, staring at their hands as he played with her fingers. “Since Cal was at home, I opted not to go.”
“You can do that?”
“As a volunteer, I have my hours, right? And because of Cal, I have an extra exemption, so I can refuse certain calls,” he explained and she nodded.
While she respected and admired him for doing this job, Daisy still wasn’t sure why he did it. Outside of what he’d told her that night on his porch, she still had questions about his decision. But she wasn’t going to voice them again. Knowing Rafferty, he’d quit on the spot if he sensed her worry. Firefighting might scare her, but she could tell that it fulfilled him.
“I don’t know if I ever told you this, but I’m proud of you.” She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, not bothering to wipe away the lipstick stain. She wanted to mark him up in as many ways as possible, because he was hers and everyone needed to know.
Honestly, her lips still tingled from the earlier devouring and she was unhappy that her uterus chose that night to bleed profusely. Because if he kissed like that when he was so turned on, would he ravage her once he got her naked? She hadn’t thought that her outfit was anything special. It was comfortable and put all of her assets on display. Clearly it got him all riled up.
If anyone was dressed to impress it was him. He’d even worn a jacket over his light blue shirt. He’d taken it off when they got to the restaurant and spent a few minutes rolling up his sleeves while going through the drinks menu. The whole time, she watched and admired the flex of his muscles and the popping of his veins. She’d never paid attention to forearms before, but now she understood why the romances she read hyper-focused on that part of the heroes.
“Know what you want, sweetheart?” he asked.
She blinked away the thoughts of his hands undoing her pants and sliding into her underwear. Feeling slightly breathless, she shook her head. “Anything that has all the carbs.”
He chuckled, one hand landing on her thigh as he gave their orders. Biting her lip, her eyes followed the line of his jaw under that beard and down to his throat. He’d always been the kind of person who could make you do a double take. Now he made you stop and stare. In fact, she was sure there were a few guests at the restaurant who had done exactly that when they walked in.
“You’re distracted.”
She hummed in response, dragging her fingers over the back of his hand and wrist, then traced the flames inked around his wrists. “You see, I’m on a date with this man who kissed me like he wanted to eat me not too long ago.”
“Did you want to be eaten?”
“Oh yeah,” she breathed out, lifting her head to meet his gaze. “If I wasn’t bleeding extra heavily right now, I’d insist we ditch this dinner and make other plans.”
“Is it because of your PCOD?”
“You remembered.”
He nodded. “I did some more research to really understand what it was and everything said that it can sometimes be quite bad?”
“ Bad is an understatement. Some months, I skip my period entirely. Other months it’s like I’m bleeding to make up for what I missed.”
“Are you on any medication?”
She stared at him a moment, smiling at how thoughtful he was. It might not seem like much, but the fact that he had looked it up and understood what she might or might not need made her heart swell.
“I was. It would sometimes trigger migraines, so I stopped. There are all these methods to fight it, like a strict diet and exercise, but none of it works.”
Besides, diets were a gateway to the return of her eating disorder. She’d been eating and living healthy for fifteen years and there was absolutely no way she was going to throw it all away because some doctor told her it would cure her PCOD.
His lips brushed against her forehead. “Would you have preferred it if we stayed in tonight?”
“No!” She sat up with a firm shake of her head. “Going out with you is exactly what the doctor ordered.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
He nodded and nudged a glass of wine towards her. “How long have you had migraines?”
“Give or take about ten years? It’s not always connected to my period, but sometimes I’m blessed with both at once.”
“What do you do for them?”
“Meds and lots of sleep. Can we talk about something else?”
He smiled and squeezed her thigh. “What do you want to talk about?”
“You. Callahan. Anything.”
Mostly, she didn’t want to talk about her divorce and how the heartbreak was so painful it started giving her migraines that she had to live with them for the rest of her life.
They did talk about Callahan, everything from how his friendship with Indigo was growing to how he was now obsessed with flowers. She hadn’t expected to grow so attached to him, but he was the cutest kid ever. Sure, he was nine years old and would eventually grow up, but she wanted to keep him at that age for as long as possible. He reminded her so much of Rafferty, with sparkly nails and colorful clothes, of course. It was the Ames genetics—he was kind and gentle and oblivious of the effect he had on people. No wonder Indigo liked him; it was easy to see him as the best person in the world.
“Hey, what happened to that community garden project?” she asked when he talked about Ames Landscaping work.
“Which one?” He chuckled at her frown and said, “The new one is going according to plan. The city seems to have something against the older one, because they’re stalling on all approvals.”
She frowned. “You’d think they’d be excited about something like that, right?”
“I’m considering another trip to push things ahead.” She nodded, watching as the wrinkles on his forehead smoothed out. “Would you wanna go with me?”
“Uh…I don’t know?”
Truth was, the city was only special if he was in it. Now that she had him with her in Wildes, New York was just a city .
“Oh?”
She sighed as she thought of the best way to explain it. “The city meant something because of the people . You and your family, my dad. But everyone’s left and you’re here . I don’t need New York anymore, Raff. I just need you.”
“You’ve got me, Daze,” he whispered, one hand sliding up to cup her jaw.
She dragged her nails through his beard and dropped her eyes to his mouth. She kissed him and he melted against her, the hand on her thigh also coming up to hold her face. Moaning, she slipped her tongue into his mouth and tangled it with his. He groaned, the sound echoing between them. A quiver ran through her and she leaned into him some more. Only when someone cleared their throat did she pull away, the realization they were in public hitting her too late.
“Sorry about that,” Rafferty told the waitstaff, his voice scratchy as she buried her face in his chest. “Thank you,” he added and she snorted out a laugh.
“You’ve turned me into an animal too.”
He grinned, lipstick clinging to the corners of his mouth. “Good. I didn’t like being this feral on my own.”
Shaking her head, she turned to the food and her eyes widened at the sight of a stacked burger in front of her.
“Why did you pick a burger?”
“You said carbs and I’ve always enjoyed watching you eat burgers.”
He said it so simply, focused on his steak that he didn’t notice the way she blushed everywhere. That last summer together, they’d gone to a diner. She ordered the burger and inhaled it in record time and spent the rest of the meal licking sauce off her fingers. She’d gotten better at eating, but there were bad days every now and then. That had been one of her favorite days. And she didn’t realize what she was doing until she looked up to find him staring at her with this dumbstruck look on his face.
Now that she thought about it, maybe he was also turned on that day.
Pulling her hair back in a messy bun, she started on her burger. She didn’t even bother hiding the moan of pleasure as the food hit her tastebuds or care that others might have heard her. She was too busy enjoying her food. When she set the burger down, she leaned back with a happy sigh and ate some of the fries. She could feel his eyes on her and smirked.
“Is this turning you on? I haven’t even gotten to the dripping sauce yet.”
“Fuck’s sake,” he rumbled.
“I’m not even looking at you and I can tell that you want to eat me whole.”
“That’s how I always look at you. You’ve never paid attention.”
Turning to him, she arched an eyebrow and he nodded. His eyes were dark and hot, lips curved into a naughty smirk that she wanted to feel against her skin. For the millionth time that day, she cursed her body for subjecting her to this damn bleeding when she had better things to do.
“Put that away,” she whispered, gesturing to his face before switching their plates.
“What if I didn’t want to share?”
“I love that you think you had a choice.”
He laughed as she cut into the meat. Making sure to get broccoli and potatoes, she ate the food and groaned again, which made him grunt.
“Darlin’, you’re killing me.”
“Sorry, but this food is so fucking good.”
“I’m glad,” he said softly and kissed the side of her head.
It was the unsaid words— I’m glad you’re eating and enjoying your food again —that made her lean into him. Even now, she thought about the day he found her counting her calories and starving herself. The way he watched her carefully for years after to make sure she was taking care of herself. She might have relapsed in Greenville, but ever since she restarted therapy, she’d been better with her food. There were days when she’d look at herself in the mirror and not be happy with what she saw. But she no longer starved herself or measured her meals.
Food was important and it took her a long time to understand that.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bri?—”
“I know. Don’t apologize. You have no idea how grateful I am that you caught me that day and helped me in some small way. I wish we hadn’t fought, obviously, but you made me see things differently.”
His gaze burned into hers and she smiled, hoping he knew she had no ill feelings towards him about that day. She lifted a hand to cup and stroke his jaw, sighing softly as he pressed his forehead to hers. She understood it now; it had been love that drove him to get so mad and try to help her. It might have seemed cruel back then, but she got it. Rafferty was the only person who ever really saw her and his devastation that day was clear on his face.
Tilting her head, she kissed him softly and dragged her thumb across his bearded jaw. He sighed into the kiss, but kept it PG-13, which was a good thing, even if it frustrated her. Smiling against his mouth, she nipped his bottom lip before pulling back to look into his gorgeous golden eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Always.”
Standing in the ladies room thirty minutes later, she stared at her reflection in the mirror above the sink as she dried her hands. After devouring that burger and getting sauce everywhere, she had rushed to the restroom to clean herself up. As much as she wanted to torture him some more with licking her fingers, it was spreading all the way down to her elbows. Now she was clean again and she took a few more minutes to reapply her perfume and fluff up her hair.
She had to admit that she looked really good. While she hadn’t expected his reaction when he came to pick her up, Daisy was glad he appreciated what he saw. Not that she needed someone else to tell her she was beautiful, but when you grew up not loving your body it was hard to trust what your mind was telling you. It was far easier to believe someone else, even if her thoughts convinced her they were lying.
Her phone buzzed and after tossing the paper towel into the bin, she pulled the device out of her pocket.
Roe
Dinner this weekend?
Wyatt’s been looking up the perfect aprons.
Daisy
This is why your husband is my favorite. Can I bring someone?
Roe
!!!!!!!!!!!
I scared Wyatt with my pterodactyl screeching.
Is it who I think it is?!
Daisy
Yes. It’s exactly who you think it is. We’re…dating, I guess.
Roe
Bitch, what does that mean?
Daisy
Means I’m on a date. Well, in the bathroom right now. But ya know.
Roe
Usually when you text me from a restroom it means it’s bad.
Daisy
I got burger sauce all over my arms and had to wash up.
Roe
You should have made him lick it off you
Daisy
Trust me, the thought crossed my mind. And he would have done it in a heartbeat, but we’re taking things slow. Plus, I’m bleeding like a motherfucker right now and I don’t need either of us getting all flustered and being unable to do anything about it.
Roe
Look at you, so fucking polite.
But yes, bring him. Wyatt’s excited about making a friend
Daisy
The same Wyatt who is friends with literally every human he meets?
Roe
It’s a good thing he’s hot, or I’d be dumping his ass for being so fucking social all the time.
Daisy
Lucky Wyatt.
Roe
Remind him of that when you and your hunky man are here.
Daisy
Speaking of my hunky man, I’m gonna go. But we’ll see you on Saturday
They exchanged a set of standard GIFs back and forth before she put her phone away. With another look at herself in the mirror, she walked out to where her hunky man was holding his jaw as he read through the menu. Lipstick still lingered around his delicious mouth. That wasn’t even what made her knees wobble; his thumb was running back and forth across his bottom lip. She’d sunk her teeth into that softness and even sucked on it a few times. Now she wanted to do that again. As she neared the table, he looked up and his expression brightened.
“Glad you didn’t sneak out the bathroom window,” he teased and she slid in beside him.
“Thought about it, but my best friend reminded me of the hunky man waiting for me.” He sighed softly as she snuggled against him, looking at the menu. “She wants to meet you.”
“I thought I was your best friend.”
“I feel like you’ve graduated to something more, don’t you think?”
His hand curled against her hip and slowly moved up to brush against her breast. She trembled at the touch, arching into him slightly. Even though she didn’t take her eyes off the menu, she bit down on her lip to stifle the moan.
“Fucking hell, you’re not wearing a bra,” he groaned against her hair, his hand curving under her breast.
“Seemed pointless.” She was panting and her vision was going blurry from the pleasure coursing through her. This was the problem with being so turned on by this man, especially on her period, she was like a cat in heat.
“Seems to be making a lot of points tonight.” His fingers found her nipple and he tweaked it gently, making her gasp. Now he was playing dirty and as much as she wanted to level the playing field, period sex had never appealed to her. Because that’s where this would go if they kept it up.
She covered his hand and guided it away from her breast, her breathing steadying slowly. Keeping their hands on her side she found her voice and said, “Still a fan of apple pie?”
“As long as it comes with ice cream.”
When she got the waitstaff’s attention, she placed the order and turned to her date with a playful glower. “You cannot get me all turned on and horny in public.”
“Why not? It’s what you do to me all the time.”
“I do not!” she growled, poking him in the chest.
He had the audacity to laugh, but soothed her by gripping her chin and bringing her mouth to his. “Sorry, darlin’. Can’t believe I get to be with you.”
She softened under the kiss, dragging her fingers down the length of the arm holding her face. Breaking away, she shook her head. “You’re the kind of dangerous my dad warned me about.”
“Good news is he liked me, so I’m pretty sure I’m not that bad.”
“He might change his mind if I tell him you were manhandling me in public.”
He smirked and leaned in closer. “If you think that’s manhandling, sweetheart, I can’t wait to get you into bed.”
“Is that right, Daddy?”
He growled and the sound sent a shudder up her spine. She smiled and watched his eyes dilate and darken, heat in his expression. She released a shaky breath and turned away, her heart racing so fast she needed to calm down. The sexual tension between them was so thick, it was a miracle she’d survived dinner at all. He pulled her back against him and kissed her shoulder.
“I’m sorry for getting you all flustered in public, Hero.”
“Never apologize for that.”
“Now tell me about your best friend.”