Page 78 of Rafferty's Rules
‘Meaning?’ I drag a pillow from the top of the bed, shoving it under my head, then do the same for Lissa. When she lifts her head, I slip it underneath.
‘You are a prince among men, Rafferty Phillips.’ She smiles beatifically as she wiggles her head, pulling on the pillow’s edges to make herself more comfortable.I wonder if I can make her comfortable enough to stay.
Jesus, see what I mean? I’m turning into a fucking girl.
‘Andmeaning,’ she adds, unaware of my internal whinging and brain whirring, ‘you’ve been staring at that ceiling for an awfully long time. I was just checking... ’ I can see she’s struggling to keep her smile in place.
‘To see if I’d died. To see if you’d killed me?’
‘Me? More like the other way around!’ A swat to my chest complements her faux indignation. ‘I’m the one who’s new to this pastime.’
‘Pastime?’ I roll on my side to face her, resisting the urge to pull her to my chest. For one, I don’t generally do needy after sex. For two, I’d miss watching her incredible face.Those lips.Someone should kiss her always.‘Is that what I am to you? A hobby?’
‘You’re more like an addiction.’ I was gonna say vocation, but that works, too. I’m glad to see it’s not just me. ‘Help me, Jesus. I’m addicted to fake boyfriend.’
Right back at you, I don’t say in return. ‘I’ve got a question for you.’
‘You have a one-track mind,’ she replies sultrily yet somehow censoriously. There’s my naughty librarian ...
‘You’re a mind reader now, are you?’
‘Maybe not, but I can tell when you’re thinking naughty thoughts.’
‘ ’Course you can. Because I’m looking at you.’
‘What?’ she trills.
‘If I’m looking at you, I’m thinking of the things I want to do to you. And those thoughts, by and large, are filthy. And that’s a fact.’ Except when I’m mooning over you like a love-sick boyfriend. Fake love-sick boyfriend, really mooning.And not the arse-flashing kind.
‘How on earth have we gotten onto this topic?’ she asks, pink and flustered. ‘You tell me you have a question for me then you bombard me with... with...’
‘The darkness in my head?’
‘I wouldn’t call it darkness, and it’s definitely not unwelcome. In fact, I feel quite the opposite—I feel lightened spending time with you. Seriously, Rafferty,’ she insists as I pull a face, her next words exhaled in a rush. ‘You make me feel good. And when we’re together, you know, in bed or whatever.’
‘Well, that’s the aim.’ My reply is languid and teasing, even if inside, I’m preening like a fucking peacock.
‘No, I know I’m no expert, but it’s more. When we’re together, I feel like a being of pure sensation. Conscious of nothing but the way you look at me, the way you touch me. Your hands on me, your mouth. The feel of you hot and hard and eager for me, the way you throb in my hand, your pulse beating in time with my own need.’
‘Fuck...’ Is my mouth open? Am I drooling? ‘Asked and answered, as they say.’
‘Are we talking in riddles now?’
‘The question; I was gonna ask you about talking dirty but what you just said? That wasthe hottestthing I’ve ever heard.’
The colour in her cheeks deepens. ‘I don’t know about dirty. I just said what I thought. You’re the expert in hot words.’
‘You like it.’ I quirk a brow, but she doesn’t deny it, instead of looking up at me from underneath her lashes.
‘I’ve never felt this sexy in my entire life. Do—do you want me to repeat what I said earlier?’ she asks softly, her eyes dark and sparkling. ‘Was that your question?’
‘When earlier?’
‘You know when,’ she accuses softly.
‘You mean when we were fucking. When I tied your hands.’ I run my thumbs over her wrists, the marks of the belt now just a memory. ‘When I bent you over the dresser so you could see how beautiful you are when you come.’
‘Oh, Rafferty,’ she whispers, reaching out to touch her index finger to my bottom lip. ‘You have the best filthiest mouth.’
