Chapter 29
Rafe
This woman.
Oh, this bloody infuriating, beautiful, astounding woman.
The Healers section of The Chronicle once told me the only muscle never to tire is the heart. They’re wrong. Mine is tired.
So. Very. Fucking. Tired.
She’s one more jump away from giving me a fucking heart attack. I’m too young and handsome to die right now.
She sleeps. Her facial features no longer twisted in agony as she lays peacefully beneath the blanket, but it does nothing to settle the thumping organ in my chest. I thought I’d lost her.
When she faded before my eyes, I lunged, threw myself across the kitchen to grab her hand, only to slam straight onto the floor and Lina gone.
It may have only been five minutes, tops, but it felt like she’d been gone five fucking centuries.
I’m convinced she was put on this earth to kill me. Slowly.
Her jumps are erratic. This is three times now she hasn’t been able to control them, and I guess she’s leading her jumps with anything but her head.
What woman did she speak of? I haven’t touched another woman in many moons.
Many, many moons.
There’s only one woman I want to touch.
The woman lying semi-naked in my bed, sleeping beautifully, leaving me here, on the outside, cold… and fucking terrified.
And the blood. So much fucking blood. The Healers’ section stated females lose, on average, 1-2 tablespoons of blood during their cycle. Lies. Godsdamn lies. I’m furious, so much so I’m going to fucking write to them requesting their immediate dismissal from medicine!
The wooden floor creaks beneath my weight as I pace.
I wouldn’t be surprised if sparks fly and I set the wood on fire with how long I’ve spent going back and forth.
I need her to wake, and soon, to put me out my fucking misery.
Where did she go? What did she see? Did she speak to anyone… change anything?
She… wait, I remember.
Oh, Gods I remember. She jumped to me.
The memory flickers like a small ember but it’s there.
My hearty laugh bounces of the walls.
Lina, standing in front of my desk, naked.
Her eyes as wide as saucers. And that fucking peace sign.
I laugh again, remembering how shocked I was to be reading the grizzly details of some store robberies and then boom—the most beautiful woman appears in front of me, in all her glory, telling me ‘Peace out.’
I had a good day that day, who wouldn’t.
But it had me slightly worried seeing another traveller, it wasn’t until I went to the café and happened to see that beautiful woman sat down with a strawberry tart and a book in her hand.
Even though her hair was braided back, and fully clothed, I knew it was her.
She didn’t bat an eye at me, her gaze vacant when we did lock eyes.
So, I kept our union to myself. I think that’s when I began watching her every morning.
Shit.
This gods-cursed ability is a mind fuck.
Whimpers pull my attention back to my bed. Lina stirs. I stalk over, perching next to her, stroking away the hair damp with sweat.
Her eyes drift open, eyes full of pain as she twists her mouth, another whimper escapes her throat. Hate seeing her in pain. Everything in me begs to do what I can to take it away.
“Shhh, easy. I can’t give you any more pain relief, but someone told me something else may work.”
I keep my voice low and calm, my insides anything but, and I reach for the bottle of heat oil, pouring a good helping on my hands.
Lina throws back the covers, blowing a breath up her face to cool down, not giving a shit she’s naked bar a pair of black panties.
Well, if she doesn’t care, then I certainly don’t. Seeing her form is second nature now, but I certainly don’t stare.
“I’m going to rub your stomach, this oil heats with friction and should help. May I?”
‘Please.’
It comes through so weak and pitiful I don’t fucking hesitate. My oiled palm meets her soft skin and my body erupts in goosebumps.
Now is not the time to grow stiff in my trousers.
Down boy.
Focus.
She groans. My hand rubs firm circles on her lower stomach. The act so sensual it takes all my strength to not lean over and kiss her belly. I keep rubbing instead, my fingers gliding around her pelvic region.
She groans again, pleasure and relief in her tone, and my cock jerks.
Fuck’s sakes.
Down boy.
‘Rafe,’ Her call of my name is breathless; it sucks my lungs dry. I lean over, stroking back some hair on her forehead, keeping my other hand moving across her skin.
“I’m here,” I whisper. “Tell me what you need. What can I do?”
‘This. Just be here.’
“I’m here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
I couldn’t help the kiss I plant on the side of her mouth even if I wanted to. The salty taste of her skin lingers on my tongue after I lick my lips.
There is, I guess, one more thing I could offer, that apparently, eases pain.
No, I can’t ask her. She’ll think I’m a creep, but I remember Sam telling me once it did wonders for his lover at the time.
Fuck, no, I can’t, I don’t want to freak her out.
Her throat tightens, and her breathy moans have me saying fuck it.
“Lina, baby…”
“Hmm?”
“Someone once told me something that might be good to ease the pain.”
‘I need it!’
“Well, it’s an intimate thing, you see.”
‘Give it to me, Rafe.’
Fuck, she isn’t making this easy.
“It requires… touching you, Lina.” Her eyes drift open, and she exhales shallow breaths across my cheek. I ache to lean in to kiss the side of her mouth again. “Pleasuring you,” I finish, the silence in the small gap between us heavy, filling with lust.
Lust that flickers across her eyes, eyes that sparkle like shards of ice.
She moans when I press my fingers into her lower stomach, drifting beneath the waistband of her panties, fanning the embers in my gut to fiery flames.
“Do you want me to stop?”
‘No, don’t stop. Please don’t stop, Rafe.’
Fuck, she really does want to kill me.
More husky moans slip past her lips and float right into my ear as I keep my face close to hers. A hint of blush infuses her cheeks. Her eyes flutter open again, they seem to scream at me to do more, but her mouth remains shut.
“Lower?”
No words resonate in my head, just a slight, albeit nervous, nod from Lina.
My fingers drift down, rubbing wide, firm circles to soft flesh of her pubic bone. The smooth curve of her has my mouth watering. My cock twitches as blood rushes forward.
Down boy.
Her lips part as she sucks in a gasp and bares her delicate neck.
Envy swims through my veins at the thought of her husband doing this for her every month. Fuck him. Makes me want to cut the bastard down for having what should have been mine from the beginning. And instead of nurturing her, he abuses her instead.
Her eyes blaze into me, setting my soul on fire, my body hums with an urgency to take her, consume her—pleasure her. Relieve her pain.
“Lower?”
‘I’m bleeding, Rafe.’
She’s breathless, but I don’t miss how her legs fall open and her hips lift, trying to find friction for the pleasure I build between her thighs.
“You think some blood is enough to keep my hands off you?”
She whimpers again, lifting her hips, the oil slipping my fingers down a little bit further.
“Do you want me to stop? I can stop,’ I whisper, laying my head on her forehead. She grips my thigh, her nails digging in.
‘Please don’t stop… I need you.’
My mouth parts and my fingers naturally sink down, her slit now becoming slick with oil. She’s so smooth, so soft, so plump, and it’s so fucking infuriating with how much I want to strip these panties off her, bounce her on me and have her bleed all over my cock as I fill her up.
Fuck. Me.
My middle finger presses into her, above her clit.
She arches, a low groan coming from the back of her throat.
My breathing is heavy, I’m borderline panting for her now and it’s not even me receiving the pleasure, but fuck me, watching her like this, her facial expression, the way her pink, hard nipple of her right breast grazes my arm, the dusting of freckles on her shoulders, her sounds… it’s going to be my undoing.
How will she expect me to see her as platonic travel companions after this?
‘Rafe,’ she moans into my head, my mouth so close to hers. ‘You shouldn’t… we should st… this… fuck… this shouldn’t be...’
I press down on her clit, rubbing back and forth to quiet her chaotic thoughts.
Because darling future wife, this absolutely should be happening. This is where my hand belongs. Right here between these delicious thighs, cupping your pretty and fucking perfect pussy.
The urge to plunge my tongue in her mouth is strong.
Kiss me, Lina. Fucking kiss me.
‘Your woman, Rafe… we can’t…’
“There’s no woman, Lina. Not before you,” I add another finger, pressing down on her clit… “Most certainly not after you.” …and lightly bounce them up and down, creating the sensations of vibration.
She cries out, her body arching and hips lifting. I increase my tempo, though not the pressure. She grips my thigh harder, her hand grazing my stiffening cock.
‘Rafe!’
“Come for me, Lina. It’ll make you feel good.”
Her body shakes, her lips pout, blowing out a long-drawn-out breath as she bobs her head from side to side.
“Come on, baby, you can do it.”
‘I can’t.’
She can, she’s almost there, I feel it in the way her clit swells and her pussy grows hotter.
“Get out of your head, Lina. Hey…” I nudge her cheek with my nose. “…look at me. It’s just me and you, say it.”
I nudge her further along by pressing my other hand into her lower stomach. She moans for me again. Her mouth parts, but she holds her breath, grows tense and her eyes, fuck, her beautiful eyes glisten with such desire, such relief… so much fucking trust.
‘It’s just me and you.’
“Good, now come for me.” My lips graze hers and I speak against her mouth. “I know this pretty pussy is just aching to explode.”
Her hoarse cries hit me like a punch in the groin.
She arches her back—fuck, those beautiful bouncing breasts—I don’t have it in me to look away this time.
Heat rolls off her, and her thighs snap shut, clamping my hand, keeping me in place as she rides the wave. My name rips from her throat, wrecked and broken, rough and mumbled, but so damn beautiful it hits deep in my chest.
“Ah, there it is. Good girl.” I continue to rub her through her orgasm. “That a fucking good girl.”
Gods, this woman.
I keep rubbing, easing her through the quake, my other hand now cradling the back of her neck with my forehead pressed to hers.
“That’s it, baby,” I murmur, my voice unrecognisable to my own ears. “You did so good.”
We both pant into each other’s mouth. Her body shudders the moment a final gasp spills from her lips. And then I see it.
One stray tear falling from the corner of her eye, sliding across the curve of her temple. Fuck. My throat tightens. I brush it away with my thumb, careful and reverent, in case I make her break.
“Look at me.”
I stroke another tear away, her eyes now on me.
“These tears of regret… or neglect?” I whisper, and my chest tightens like a steel vice.
She blinks up at me, another tear falls, and I catch that one too.
‘Definitely not the first one.’ Her lips tremble, and her voice comes so softly in my head it’s barely there. ‘It’s just… it’s been… a long while since I’ve been cared for like this. If at all.’
I lean down, forehead to forehead, nose to nose, my hand splayed protectively against her stomach. And I just lay with her, and be with her, allowing her to process her feelings, staying close for when she needs me next.