Page 13 of Falling for Raine
We chuckled, carefully disengaging our bodies. I went to the bathroom to dispose of the condom and clean up, returning with a warm wet cloth for Raine. He lay with his arms and legs open like a starfish while I wiped the mess of sweat and cum away.
“This is the life,” he hummed, rolling sideways. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I kissed him and pulled the sheet over us.
He couldn’t stay, but I wasn’t ready for good-bye yet either. Five more minutes.
Maybe ten.
“If you’re an eight on the bad-boy scale, I need details. What do you do for a living?” He held a hand up. “Wait. Let me guess. You’re a lawyer or a doctor.”
“No.”
“Hmm. You’re a stockbroker.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Oh, no. Are you in the British mafia?”
I snorted, tracing a lazy circle along his forearm. “No. I’m in finance and I work an ungodly amount of hours. That’s all I haveto say on the topic. Work is extremely stressful at the moment, and it will keep till tomorrow.”
Raine nodded. “You’re right. I don’t want to think about it either. I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into.”
“You’re not excited about your new job?”
“No, not really.”
“Then why do it? There must be dozens of opportunities for you here.” I pushed a lock of hair from his eyes.
He shrugged and let the silence drift over us like a blanket. “Maybe, but I need a new start and this will be good for me. The thing is…I might be in over my head, and I’m pretty sure I’m totally unqualified.”
“I doubt they’d have hired you if that was the case.”
“My friend helped me get this gig with an overly pumped-up résumé. That’s not as bad as it sounds. I might suck at first, but I’m a quick study. I’m also…a little freaked out about living in another country.”
“Understandable. It’s hard to leave home.” This was my cue to check the time and wordlessly remind my guest that this was not an extended stay visit. Unbelievably, I opened my mouth instead and asked, “Where are you from?”
“I’ve lived in LA for ten years, but I’m originally from a teeny tiny town called Truth or Consequences. It’s so small you need a magnifying glass to find it on a map,” he joked.
“Truth or Consequences,” I repeated, furrowing my brow. “Is that a real place or a symbolic state of mind?”
Raine snickered. “It’s real. It’s in New Mexico.”
“Ah. I’ve never been.” And I didn’t care to change that. I also didn’t care about his friends, his family, his aspirations, health, or well-being. He didn’t matter to me. He was a pretty diversion, an accidental acquaintance…not a friend. But something must have been wrong with me because inexplicably, I couldn’t shut up. “What’s it like?”
He shrugged. “Hot and dusty in summer, cold and barren in winter. But the sky is so incredible—big and blue and…it goes on forever. It can be beautiful. It’s not home anymore, though. Other than my mom, there’s nothing for me there. It’s too quiet and honestly, I couldn’t wait to get the hell out. I moved to San Francisco after high school, went to college, and made my way to LA a few years later.”
“And now London.” I narrowed my eyes slightly. “How old are you?”
“Thirty-two.”Fourteen years younger…Christ.
And on that note, I pulled the duvet aside and sat up.
“You’ll enjoy yourself,” I commented woodenly as I padded naked toward the pile of clothing scattered on the floor. “You should go to Paris and Rome while you’re in Europe.”
Raine took the hint and joined me, looking sexier than he should have wiggling into a pair of briefs. “I definitely want to do some exploring. I’d love to go to Greece, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands. I want to see it all, but…I’ll only be there for a year. See, my goal is to save some money, experience a new part of the world, then come home. Ideally, life will feel more…settled when I return.”
“I sense a story, but I’m far too polite to ask.”