Chapter 21 – Rae
Snuggled in a blanket, I flipped the page of the car magazine. It was an older issue, since I didn’t have money to pay for the subscription.
That’s changing….
My first check was in my bank account. I pulled up the app to look at it again.
Four figures and a comma! I’d never had a check this big.
Cash, sure. I sold a car off the books and managed to keep the money in a hole in my mattress.
But never had my jobs waitressing, being a sales associate, or cashiering ever paid with a comma in one check.
Things were looking up for this poor country bumpkin.
A text bubbled at the top of the screen. I didn’t recognize the number, but I clicked on it when I saw the preview.
Unknown: Why are you still awake?
Chills prickled over my skin. My eyes shot to the window, where the curtains were pulled back so I could enjoy the steadily pouring rain.
Rolling out of bed, I pushed the too large sleeves up my arms and peeked outside. The glass was speckled with heaven’s tears. The night beyond was gloomy and filled with shadows.
I was about to text back that it was none of his business—because I was fairly certain I knew who the text was from—when the screen blinked again.
Unknown: I’ve been waiting for you to look at me.
My heart jumped. The cozy warm room was suddenly chilly. As if the howling wind ripped through the glass, invading this seemingly safe space.
I was vulnerable, standing here, staring into the dark, but I wanted to see where he was. An idea popped into my mind, and I typed out a text, hitting send. I peered into the dark, watching for the light of his screen.
There!
Under the dark cover of a blackened tree.
Now that I could see the shape of his body, I caught that midnight gaze—unwavering. Unblinking. Hungry.
It was how he’d watched me at dinner tonight. How he’d watched me the past few dinners. Breakfasts too! Because he’d been using his room at the big house, staying here so his grandmother wouldn’t be alone.
Was this the first time he’d been outside watching me? Why hadn’t I thought to check before now!
Me: Stalker.
Unknown: Don’t leave the curtain open if you don’t want me to watch.
I shivered.
His jaw was tight, shoulders rigid, posture predatory yet controlled. I brushed my fingers against the glass, wanting to reach out and touch him across the distance.
Unknown: Is that…my shirt?
Me: It’s comfortable.
I slid my hand over the opposite arm, pulling the material down along my skin.
I hadn’t meant to keep it when I found it in the laundry.
But it looked really good laying on my sheet every morning when I made my bed.
And at night? It wasn’t even a conscious thought at this point to slip it on before exhaustion consumed me.
So much for forgetting about the line we’d crossed the night of the ghost tour. I accused him of not forgetting, when I was equally as guilty.
But now, my stomach did a dangerous little flip. He knew my secret.
Fear and longing spiraled together in an intoxicating combination.
I set my phone down, tapping the flashlight to point up at me so he wouldn’t miss it. Inching the hem up my thighs, I drew the material over my body. When it was free, when I was vulnerable, I held it above my head as if to say, “Come and get it.”
Below, Nico jerked violently. He stepped forward before he stopped himself.
This was dangerous. While I was still technically safe because these four walls kept us apart, I was risking too much by showing him my hand.
He already suspects I want him.
The way he’d kissed me today. It was hungry. I almost showed my cards. Which was all for nothing, because I was revealing my hand right now.
I let the shirt fall to the floor.
I felt more than saw his gaze memorizing me.
He bit his lip in frustration. But the monster didn’t move closer. His control was perfect.
Leaning against the window, shivering from the effect this man had on me more so than the cold, I drew the tips of my fingers down my body. I ached. There was no denying it.
The distance, the shadows, made me bold.
I touched myself, hissing against the feel of my fingers sliding between my legs. In my mind, I let myself believe it was him. I wanted it to be him more than any good sense to stay away. Even a car chase and a gunfight weren’t bad enough to put a stop to this forbidden attraction.
There was no shutting the curtain, no closing him out. I moaned.
What he’d done that night—even in the days before—marked me with his focus.
He made me begin to believe him with his attention.
Which made me notice. It was now a battle between the little voice in my head that said he was different and the past I knew all too well.
But there was no denying my feelings, even if my trust was fragile.
I felt like as long as I was here, even when he wasn’t around, he was still here. Gone, but not gone. Always in my mind.
The fact that he watched me said he was thinking about me too.
If I was going to leave this madhouse, it had to be soon, before the insanity swept me away and I gave into the magnetic pull to this man.
But that was tomorrow’s problem.
Tonight, he wanted to watch, and I was going to let him.
My inner muscles clenched with anticipation. I was breathing hard, sliding my hands back and forth over my pussy.
Nico remained rigid. A pillar made of stone, standing guard in the night.
I leaned my shoulder against the window frame and reached with my other hand to squeeze my breast. The nipple ached with the need to feel his mouth again.
Remembering his mouth made me wetter than I realized. Would it be so bad if I crossed the line I was desperately trying to draw in the metaphorical sand between us? Bracing my foot on the sill, I pushed my fingers as far as they would go.
It was a poor comparison to his cock.
That gorgeous, thick rod of iron.
I squeezed around my touch, letting my other hand dip between my legs to circle my clit. Memory mixed with fantasy, and I clung to the idea of him. It made me gasp and grind into my hands.
Damn me, but I wanted to stroke and kiss, touch and feel every inch of his body, while he claimed mine in return. Pleasure built, until finally the release was in my grasp.
I flexed my hips. The monster’s name was a prayer on my lips. With another moan, I gave myself up to the release.
It took me high, and as I fell, I cracked my skull against the window.
The loud sound helped banish some of the haze.
“Good night! I must’ve lost my ever-lovin’ mind!” I hissed. My insides convulsed in the aftershock, sated—but only temporarily.
I looked out to the source of this madness.
Nico was so still that it almost seemed as though he wasn’t there. I couldn’t tell. Snatching the shirt off the floor, I threw it on the bed as if it burned me. I wrapped myself in the blanket, grabbed my phone, and shot off a text.
He responded a heartbeat later.
Unknown: I saw. Everything.
I sank onto the bed, unable to look out the window. I might have been a flirty girl, enjoying my partners, but I was always in a relationship when I got intimate. The thing between Nico and I was definitely not a relationship.
I’m turning into my mom.
That thought was a dash of cold water.
“No,” I ground out, fisting my hands in the blanket. Hot tears stung my eyes. “No, I’m not. That was different.”
Mom believed every man. Their lies, their promises. I made a point of never wanting anything more than fun from a guy. Even when we ‘dated,’ I kept things breezy.
So why are you keeping Nico away?
If it was only his body that he promised, why not treat it like every other relationship and take the good while avoiding the bad?
“Because, he’s different,” I muttered, dashing the fabric at my eyes.
It wasn’t the money, although that was part of the issue. Rich men were far more manipulative in my estimation. It was the way he looked at me.
Nico saw me.
And that scared the crap out of me.
“That’s probably why it feels so right to be with him,” I muttered.
Letting out a growl of frustration, I scored my nails through my hair. I had to get a grip on the situation.
“I want him. He wants me. We can’t possibly be together, so what’s the harm in a little casual fun?” I breathed, refusing to let my head talk my body out of what I wanted desperately to go do.
My heart stayed silent, never a valid opinion in these matters.
With the war of mind over matter raging in my skull, I flicked off the light, curled up in the bed, and laid down. Laid down on his shirt.
“Screw it.” I jumped out of bed, tripped into my holey jeans, and tugged on a sweatshirt. Tossing my hair back into a loose pony, I scrambled to the door.
Where I found my uncle, fist raised and ready to knock.
“Magnolia, what is all the commotion?” he snapped.
I blanched. Thankfully, he held a flashlight pointed at the ground. Otherwise he would have seen my flaming hot cheeks.
“I just need to get some fresh air,” I gasped. “I was trying to work out, since I can’t sleep.”
My uncle grumbled. “We have an early morning tomorrow, nipote. You should be sleeping.”
The smart thing to do would have been to go back to bed and scream into a pillow. Instead, my stupid mouth ran away with me.
“Yeah, and I will, but I have to go for a jog or something.” I was dancing with fright at this point.
“Yes, I see. You’re the energy bunny,” he grumped. “It’s wet outside, though.”
“Oh, I don’t mind a little rain.” I tried to laugh, but it came out all squeaky.
Uncle Theo set a heavy hand on my shoulder. “If you catch a cold, Mrs. Sanderson will still expect you to show up for work. You know that, right?”
I bristled. “I know.”
“I try with her, but she’s taken a severe disliking to you.” My uncle shook his head and dropped his hand. “I don’t understand it. Of the three maids, you work the hardest. Your efforts speak for themselves.”
What a compliment! The organ in my chest pattered to life, beating with a soft warmth that made me feel fuzzy.
“Thank you,” I whispered.