Page 20 of Protected from Malice (Blade and Arrow Shadow Team #1)
EDEN
I can’t stop thinking about our time in the bedroom together.
Not like that . Although if we were, I think I’d be okay with it.
Who am I kidding?
I know I would be.
Because, despite my niggling fears, I know Rafe would take care of me. He wouldn’t allow me to be scared. Though he may come across as gruff and intimidating to other people, even unfeeling, he doesn’t to me.
Rafe is kind. Sensitive, though he’d never admit it. Fiercely protective.
If we had sex, it wouldn’t be scary. Maybe a little nerve-racking at first—partly because of what happened two years ago, and partly because Rafe’s been the object of my fantasies for longer than I’d like to admit. But not scary.
Rafe would channel all that intensity into kissing me all over, taking his time with it. His touch would be gentle but sure. His kisses would be tender at first, and then, as our desire kindled into an inferno, they’d grow deeper. Hotter. Hungrier.
He would peel my clothes off slowly—every revealed inch sending sizzles of desire and anticipation through my body. His gorgeous eyes would be on me the whole time, checking on me, feasting on me, committing each breathless moment to memory.
Rafe would make me feel safe. Cherished. And when we finally joined, it would be perfect. The culmination of more than a decade of wanting.
At least, that’s how it happens in my imagination.
Because in the two days since our almost-kiss, it’s been hard to think of anything else.
Not that I’ve forgotten the danger I’m in.
It would be pretty hard to do that considering I’ve been hiding at the hotel with five extremely protective men surrounding me.
Not considering I can’t turn around without being reminded of the heightened security—all the motion sensors and alarms and a near-constant buzz of activity as the men investigate my case.
But my mind keeps going back to those moments when it sure as heck looked like Rafe wanted me just as much as I wanted him.
It may have been a while, but I still know what desire looks like.
And the way Rafe looked at me? With that dark, heated gaze lingering on my lips?
The way his jaw went tight and his posture went rigid, almost like he was fighting an internal battle with himself?
The way his heart was frantically pounding when he hugged me?
It felt like he wanted me.
But after that: nothing.
Well, that’s not entirely true. He still touches me, but it’s more careful.
Almost secretive. Not like how it was when it was just us at the first hotel, when he openly held my hand and hugged me.
Now it’s subtle, like the light pressure of his hand on my back as we leave a room or the graze of his thumb across my palm—but even then, it’s only if no one’s looking.
Is he holding back because of Indy? Does he think Indy won’t approve?
Or did I read things all wrong and the desire I thought I saw was all in my head?
Ugh . Why are men so hard to understand?
I huff out a frustrated sigh as I force my attention back to my work.
Working remotely definitely isn’t ideal, especially since my project is at a critical point.
The lab work is done, at least for now, but I’d still rather be there to oversee everything in person.
Instead, I’m stuck emailing and trying to hold conference calls without arousing suspicion that anything’s wrong.
The story I gave everyone is that I had a family emergency and I’m in DC right now, helping my brother.
The guys—the team, I guess I’d call them—decided it would be better that way.
So if the person behind my near-abduction is associated with my work, they won’t get tipped off that we’re looking for them.
It’s not great, that’s for sure. But given the alternative—working in the lab while trying to explain away why I suddenly have two menacing men lurking around me for my protection, plus the terrible possibility of danger following me there and putting my coworkers at risk—working from the hotel suite is the best option.
And there is the added bonus of getting to see Rafe all the time.
Even if he’s not responding to my interest the way I wish he would, he’s here .
Reassuring me with his presence. Making me smile with his silly trivia team name suggestions, like the Toasty Sandwiches and Scrambled Scientists.
Asking me about my research, not out of politeness, but real interest. Finding a seemingly endless run of crazy documentaries to watch.
Cooking for me, which I’ll never complain about—I’ve eaten better over the last two days than I have in years.
It’s nice having Indy here, too. Not like I haven’t seen him fairly recently; I flew out to spend the weekend with him just before all this craziness started. But actually having him around all the time, seeing that he’s really okay and his depression seems to be subsiding… It’s a relief.
Now that the secret’s out, it feels like an enormous weight has been lifted off me. And like Rafe said, once Indy came back from the gym, he was better. Not happy, but he didn’t look devastated, like he did when I first told him. He was comforting. Supportive. Protective.
It felt like I had my old big brother back.
Not that I wanted this to be the reason, but I’m glad.
So the situation isn’t all bad. I have Indy back. Rafe’s here. And I met Ace, Tyler, and Webb, who are quickly becoming friends.
If only Rafe would just kiss me…
“Hey, Brain. How’s it going?”
Almost as if I summoned him, Rafe appears beside me. He’s so good at moving silently, his sudden appearance startles me, and I let out a little yip of surprise.
“Shit.” His smile drops. Worry carves lines across his forehead and between his eyes. “Sorry, Eden. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine.” Resisting the urge to clap my hand across my thundering heart—why do people do that, since it doesn’t help anything?—I flash him a reassuring smile. “I was just… lost in my thoughts. No need to apologize.”
“Still.” He touches my shoulder, resting his hand there. “I don’t like scaring you.”
I place my hand over his. His skin is warm. Soft, but with a hint of rough. A frisson of something leaps between his hand and mine. “You didn’t. Being startled isn’t the same as being scared. And I should know by now that you and Indy both move like shadows.”
“It’s the training,” Rafe replies. “But I’ll try to make more noise when I’m walking around.”
“What, like stomping?” I turn away from my computer to face him. “That might be weird; you clomping around like an elephant.”
The corner of his mouth twitches. “I could whistle. Or scuff my feet.”
“That would be weird. Maybe you could announce yourself whenever you move.”
Rafe stares at me for a second. “You want me to announce myself? How?” He pauses. “Should I give myself a code name? Like the Secret Service does? And I could say, Eagle on the move. Repeat, Eagle on the move.”
Laughing, I reply, “That could be interesting. But wasn’t your nickname Wayne? Like the comic book hero?”
He chuckles. “It was.” A pause, and then thoughtfully, “You remembered.”
“Of course I did.”
I remember everything about Rafe. All the little snippets of his history he let drop whenever I saw him, like how his dad took off when he was five and he was raised by his mom until he enlisted in the Army at eighteen, and that she loved trivia, just like him.
I remember all the things he said about serving in the Army—his nickname and his broken nose and how being accepted to join the Special Forces was the proudest moment of his life.
Rafe’s thumb rubs across my shoulder. “So. How’s your work going? Do you have time for a break?”
“It’s okay. Just emailing my research team and filling out paperwork, mostly.” Glancing at the time on the screen, I realize it’s well past lunchtime. “But I could take a break. Did you want to make something to eat?”
“Not exactly.” He glances across the room, catching Webb’s attention from over on the couch. It’s just the three of us here right now—Tyler’s in the other suite, monitoring security, and Ace and Indy are canvassing my neighborhood, looking for any potential witnesses from the night of the break-in.
Webb gives Rafe a quick chin lift and stands.
“What were you thinking?” I ask as I close my laptop. “Another round of Trivial Pursuit? Although—” I look over at Webb. “I’m not sure if Webb wants to play again.”
“Against you two?” Webb asks with a laugh. “I think we discovered how unbalanced a game that was.”
“You did really well,” I offer. “Especially with the geography questions.”
Webb snorts. “That’s only because I had to learn that shit. All the other categories? Not so much.”
Rafe takes his hand from my shoulder and holds it out to me. “Not Trivial Pursuit this time. I have a different idea. A field trip of sorts.”
I get up from my chair and slip my hand in his. “A field trip? I thought I was supposed to stay at the hotel.”
“We are staying at the hotel.” A mischievous glint lights his eyes. “You’ll see. That is, if you don’t mind losing.”
“Losing?” I glance up at him as he leads me towards the door that leads to the hallway. “Losing what?”
At the door, he puts his arm around my waist, drawing me close to him. “You’ll see.”
From there, I’m escorted—no, bustled, is more like it—down the hallway and into the elevator. Flanked by Rafe on my right and Webb on my left, both of them in full protection mode, I feel a bit like I’m the president being guarded by the Secret Service.
It’s a bit surreal, but nice, nonetheless. Especially since Rafe doesn’t let go of me the entire time.
We take the elevator all the way down to the basement level. Once we get there, Rafe nods at Webb before the three of us head off down yet another long hallway. It’s quiet down here, almost eerily so, with our trio of footsteps echoing as we walk. “Where are we going?” I ask.
“You’ll see,” Rafe repeats. As he looks down at me, his gaze softens. “You’ll like it. At least, I hope you will.”