Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
Gisele carried her boxed salad to the front door of her shop and looked to see if Rafael had installed one of the little alarms on this one. It faced the street and had a streetlight directly in front of the door. Anyone who attempted to enter would risk being seen. She really didn’t need a screeching alarm on this door.
She unlocked the deadbolt, held her breath and pushed open the door, waiting for the alarm to shriek like a flight of banshees.
When it didn’t, she let go of the breath and walked inside. Good, he hadn’t installed an alarm on the front, just the back and the windows.
The shop was as neat, if not neater than when she’d left it. The mango she’d flung when she’d tripped was at the bottom of Johnny’s cage, almost completely consumed. The lettuce leaf had been shredded, and much of it had beeneaten .
Johnny whistled and moved from side to side on his upper perch, repeating Cheeky bastard several times before whistling again.
“Did he feed you the mango and lettuce?” she asked.
Johnny’s head bobbed up and down. He’s a keeper, he squawked. Cheeky bastard.
Gisele laughed. “Yes, to both, my good man.” Although Shelby wouldn’t agree. She leaned closer to the cage and whispered, “She’s worried he’ll break my heart.”
Johnny squawked loudly.
“I know, right?” Gisele lifted her chin. “She should be more worried about me breaking Rafael’s heart. I suspect someone has done it once for him to swear off women.”
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t had much to eat since the éclair Rafael had given her that morning.
The man had done more for her in the past twenty-four hours than any date had in the past.
So, he wasn’t into commitment. They could be friends, couldn’t they?
Friends with benefits?
Heat burned through her and coiled at her core at the thought of those benefits.
She looked down at the box of salad in her hand, an idea forming. Shelby’s warning about Rafael flew out the window .
Before she could talk herself out of it, she walked back through the front door, locked it and marched across the alley and up the stairs to Rafael’s apartment.
After she knocked on the door, regrets bubbled up to the surface.
She turned to run.
The door behind her opened. Rafael stood there wearing nothing but a pair of gym shorts and a towel draped over his shoulder. Droplets of water fell from his hair onto his bare chest, making Gisele’s mouth go dry.
“Gisele, I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
She held up her box of salad. “Is the offer of taco soup still open?”
He grinned. “Of course. Come in.”
“I brought a salad if you’re into rabbit food.”
His chuckle did crazy things to Gisele’s insides. “I eat an occasional salad. A body needs roughage, or so my doctor says.”
Gisele entered Rafael’s apartment, looking around at empty boxes, flattened and leaning against the wall. The small living room contained a black leather couch and a white marble coffee table with a stack of books on it.
Off the kitchenette was a dinette table with a bright red lacquered top and metal rim that could have been straight out of the nineteen fifties. It sported two metal chairs, the seats covered in equally bright red vinyl.
Rafael closed the door behind her and hurried past her. “My sofa and coffee table came today. The dining table was here. Between what you see and my bed, that’s all the furniture. Not that there’s room for much more.”
“What? No television?” She cocked an eyebrow.
He grinned. “It’s on order. I like to watch football.” He ducked into the only bedroom. “Are you a fan?”
Of him, yes. Of football? “I watch the occasional New Orleans Saints game at the Crawdad Hole with friends. I’m not what you’d consider a rabid fan, though I enjoy an exciting game. I’ve never participated in Fantasy Football, though I’d like to understand what the fuss is all about.” She peered into his bedroom, where a king-sized bed took up most of the room. He’d made it up with charcoal gray sheets and a black fuzzy blanket.
Gisele’s pulse spun up, sending hot blood throughout her body, culminating low in her belly.
Rafael rummaged in a duffel bag, finally pulling out a T-shirt. “We’ll have to indoctrinate you into the legions of foaming-at-the-mouth fandom.”
“I’d like that. I need a new hobby.”
“Isn’t dabbling in Voodoo interesting enough?”
She shrugged. “Everyone expects that of me. I grew up resisting their expectations. I wanted to be like everyone else. ”
Rafael tossed the towel in the corner and pulled the T-shirt over his head and down his broad chest and washboard abs.
Gisele’s breath lodged in her throat. She wanted him to take the T-shirt back off. No. She wanted to take the T-shirt off him and run her hands over all that sexy, taut skin with the hard muscles beneath.
Girl. Get a grip.
She tore her gaze away from Rafael and wandered into the kitchenette, putting distance between herself and all that gorgeous manhood before she made a pass at him.
Shelby’s warnings played like a recording on an infinite loop. “He will never commit. He has sex with a woman a coupleof times and moves on. Don’t lose your heart to a man like that.”
The man Shelby had warned her about strode toward her with a smile that could melt the sturdiest of knees. “I take it you came straight over since I don’t hear the sound of sirens screeching, unless you went through the front door of the shop.”
Gisele nodded, afraid to trust her voice to do more than squeak. She swallowed and said, “Front door only.”
“Good. I need to show you how to disarm the alarms should they be set off. I’ll do that after we have that taco soup I promised.”
Gisele’s move into the kitchenette to put distance between her and him backfired. He joined her in the small space and leaned around her to open the refrigerator door, effectively trapping her, his arm brushing across her breast.
An electric charge shot through her, making her gasp softly.
Rafael’s brow furrowed as he stared down at her, the refrigerator door open, pouring out cool air over Gisele’s hot skin. “Are you okay?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Yes.”
His chuckle made her body burn even hotter.
“You’re shaking head says no, but your mouth is saying yes. Which is it?”
She raised a hand to her chest in a futile attempt to slow her racing heartbeat. “Yes and no.”
He nodded, his brow puckering. “ Okaayy . That’s much clearer. Am I making you uncomfortable?”
She nodded.
Immediately, he tensed and stepped back. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
Her hand shot out to grab his arm. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”
His lips twitched. “I’m not sure what you’re saying. It sounds like double talk.”
She sighed. “What I mean to say is...yes, you make me uncomfortable, but in a good way.”
His dark pupils flared. For a long moment, he stared down into her eyes without moving. Then he reached into the refrigerator, pulled out a container and set it on the counter. Away from her .
With his back to her, he worked silently at spooning taco soup from the container into a bowl.
Wasn’t he going to say anything? She’d more or less admitted that she was sexually attracted to him. Hell, she’d shown him that she was when she’d groped him in her shop earlier.
He’d groped back. Her breast still tingled from where he’d cupped it beneath her shirt.
Why the hell was he pulling away?
She reached out and touched his back.
Rafael froze, the spoon hovering over the bowl of soup.
Anger bubbled up inside Gisele. “Why am I getting insanely mixed signals from you? Have I done something that you don’t like?”
He shook his head. “Just the opposite,” he murmured.
“You like it when I touch you?” She ran her hand down his back. “But you won’t turn and look me in the eye. I don’t get it.” Gisele stomped her foot. “Rafael, talk to me!”
Rafael spun to face Gisele.
Her eyes flashed fire, and her cheeks were a pretty flushed pink. She was so beautifulthathe had to clench his fists to keep from pulling her into his arms.
“Did you and Shelby talk?” he asked .
Her eyes narrowed. “Yes. That’s what friends do when they have dinner together.”
“Did my name come into the conversation?” He captured her gaze with his and held it.
Gisele was first to look away. “Yes.”
“She’s right, you know,” he said softly.
Her gaze swung back to his. “Right about what?”
“You shouldn’t get involved with me,” he said, Valentin’s words still stinging. “I’m not right for you.”
Gisele’s eyes widened. “Is that what she told you?”
“Not directly,” he admitted. “Through an elected representative of so-called teammates.”
Gisele clapped a hand over her mouth. “Seriously? Are all our friends ganging up on us to keep us apart?” She pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket. “I have a few things to say to them about that.”
Rafael covered her hand before she could call anyone. “They’re doing it out of love. They’re worried about you.”
“I can make up my own mind. I don’t need well-intentioned do-gooders telling me who I can or can’t have sex with.”
His lip slid up in a grin and then turned downward. “The thing is, you should listen to your friend. I’m not the kind of guy who’s looking for a happily-ever-after. I will never marry, settle down in a little house and have a handful of children.” He turned back to the bowl of soup, opened the microwave and placed it inside. “I’m not boyfriend, fiancé or husband material. If that’s what you’re looking for, run the other way.” He poked buttons on the control panel with more force than was necessary, holding his breath.
He fully expected Gisele to leave. A part of him hoped she would. It would be easier if she did. Another part of him wanted her to stay, get naked and make love with him until the sun came up and the gossips spread word through the little town that they’d spent the night together.
He stared at the bowl on the microwave turntable as it went around and around, like his thoughts. Should he pursue Gisele? Or should he do what half of Bayou Mambaloa wanted him to do and steer clear? “What do you want?” he asked, his voice raspy as he pushed words past his constricted vocal cords.
“I want people to quit making my decision for me. I want to have the choice of who I’m with without interference from well-meaning busybodies.”
A hand settled on his back; light fingers stroked from his shoulder down to his waist.
Fire spread from where she touched, burning through every cell in Rafael’s body. He tensed, ready to spin and take her into his arms.
“They might be right,” Gisele said softly. “It might be a mistake for us to be together. You might decide to walk away at any moment. But what I want right now...” Gisele paused .
Rafael held his breath, waiting for her next word, praying it was the one he wanted to hear.
Gisele leaned into him, pressing her breasts to his back, her arms circling his waist. “I want?—”
The microwave beeped, and the turntable came to a halt.
Gisele pressed her forehead against his back. “We can not catch a single break.” Her body shook gently, then harder.
Was she crying?
He disengaged her arms from around his waist and turned. When he tipped her chin up and stared down into her moist eyes, his heart pinched hard in his chest.
Then, the source of her body’s tremors emerged in a stifled chuckle. She laughed, tears spilling from her eyes.
Her chuckles and laughter were contagious.
Soon, Rafael was laughing with her.
“I almost busted a gut when Shelby told you your barn door was open.” Gisele wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Your sexy walk had me ready to tackle you,” he said, brushing her hair back behind her ear. “Until you crashed.”
“I can’t believe we almost made love on the floor of the shop.” Gisele shook her head. “In broad daylight.”
He tipped her chin up and stared down into her eyes. “And we would have if I hadn’t left the back door open.”
“I doubt a closed door would’ve stopped her,” Gisele’s lips twisted in a wry smile. “She was on a mission.”
“To warn you off me.” Rafael sighed and rested his forehead against hers. “You’re an independent woman with a smart and beautiful head on your shoulders. I can’t promise you anything but today. Now. The present. I won’t lie and tell you different, just to get you in my bed. You can choose to walk away or tell me to leave you alone. I don’t want to...but I’ll respect your wishes.” He lifted his head and met her gaze. “What do you want, Gisele?”
She smiled up at him. “I want you.”
His heart sang at her words. He hadn’t expected the rush of joy that filled him so completely. He tempered his elation with a warning. “If we’re together today, we might not be tomorrow.”
She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “So, tomorrow is not a given. You might decide being with me is not for you. It goes both ways. I might decide you’re not who I want. Either way, we walk away. No strings. No hard feelings.” She held out her hand. “Deal?”
Rafael’s brow wrinkled. He’d always been the one to walk awayever since his fiancée had walked away from him. How would he feel if Gisele was the one who ended it?
One of her eyebrows rose on her forehead, though her hand still hovered between them. “Do we have a deal, or have you decided to opt out of this before it starts?”
He wasn’t going to walk away now. But her comment about him not being right for her had him stymied.
Her face softened into a gentle smile. Gisele reached up to cup his face and rose onto her toes to brush her lips across his. “What do you want, Rafael?”
Every wall inside Rafael cracked, and the emotions he’d held back for so long rushed through like water pushing through cracks in a dam. He had no way to stop the flow, to plug the holes. If he kissed her now, there was no going back.
He crushed her to him and lowered his mouth to hers. “I want you,” he said and then kissed her.