Page 16 of Rafferty's Rules
‘No? Maybe it should be.’
‘Care to elaborate?’
‘It’s totally a compliment.’ She straightens as though hit by a sudden and horrifying thought. ‘I’m not hitting on you or anything, not that you aren’t a fox, because you totally are.’ I send her a teasing, sceptical look, which just adds to the redness in her cheeks, tightening the knot she seems to be tying herself up in. ‘No, really, a smoking hot—’ She takes a deep breath before smoothing her hair with one hand. ‘As I was saying, I might not be able to pay you back—’
‘Never mind that. Let’s get back to this fox business.’
‘I’m pretty sure you don’t need me to flatter you.’
‘Need is such a strong word. Want, on the other hand...’
‘I just meant, well, you’re sort of cheeky, and I suspect,’ she adds, playfully narrowing her eyes while scrunching up her little nose in an oh, so endearing fashion, ‘you’re a little bit naughty.’
In response, I point a thumb at my chest while assuming an innocentmoi?expression. Then I take a massive bite of my lunch as though doing so refutes any and all suggestions.
‘And then there’s the red cast you have to your hair...’ She reaches out as though to touch me, the expectation of her hands on me sending a thrumming need through my veins. ‘Yes, well,’ she adds, her hand reaching for her coffee instead. ‘I owe you more than one.’
And I’d like to give you one.
In fact, I’d like to give you more than one.
‘No worries,’ I respond instead. ‘It’s just lunch, and you’re not leavin’ the country anytime soon.’
‘That may actually be true. But getting back to my previous point, what do you mean, you’re not surprised about my cruise?’
‘What? Ah, I meant a holiday on a cruise liner isn’t anyone’s idea of fun. Well, not anyone between the ages of twelve and sixty-five, that is.’
‘And you know that from experience?’ she challenges saucily, right before taking a bite of her bagel and getting avocado on my shirt—the one she’s wearing. It would be some feat if she’d gotten avo on the shirtI’mwearing. It also would’ve been an excuse to take it off because I kinda liked the way she stared this morning in the hallway, all wide-eyed wow. I’m not an attention whore generally, but her attention felt pretty damn good.
‘Oh, sh-sugar. Her brown eyes rise from the green smudge on my shirt, her expression a mixture of resignation and mock contrition. ‘Oh, what the heck. Add it to my bill.’
‘I’m taking note,’ I reply, bringing an invisible pencil from behind my ear, jotting the non-existent charge down on my palm.
‘Be sure to do that. You’re obviously far too nice for your own good.’ Lissa tears at her bagel with her fingers this time.
I pause, my eyebrow raised over the rim of my coffee. Nice isn’t exactly what I’m thinking, especially as I remember watching her strip out of her jeans last night. She’s got an arse that would make an angel weep and excellent taste in underwear.Unlike the women in the establishment we visited last night. And now that I think about it and now that she has time, I reckon that’s a little excursion that should definitely be on herneed-to-knowlist. If only because I want to know the backstory. I mean, what the hell was she doing there?
‘What?’ Her tongue darts out, her index finger simultaneously brushing her lip. ‘Do I have it on my mouth?’
I rouse myself from staring, playing back her words until they no longer resemble an invitation, then mutter the first thing to come into my head, ‘This heart of gold is pretty heavy to carry around.’ And if I don’t stop thinking about her G-string, I’ll also have a cock of steel to add to this metal medley. I place the takeaway cup down and lean back on my elbows. ‘But I’m still not nice enough to go on a cruise with someone.’
‘Who says I was going with someone?’ Her tone is void of inflection, but she shouldn’t play poker. Her tell? She can’t hold my gaze.
‘A girl like you wouldn’t be going on holiday alone.’
‘Yeah, I should be chaperoned,’ she mumbles, missing my point entirely.
‘If you were my girlfriend, you would be.’ My answer is a little darker than I’d intended, my cock twitching as she bites her lip. But she still doesn’t meet my gaze.
‘There wasn’t anyone waiting for me last night when I missed my boarding time.’ Putting the remains of her bagel back in the paper bag, she places it on the kitchen table and begins dusting her fingers.
There’s a juicy backstory here, for sure, and my money is on a break-up.So he’s not waiting for her on the ship, which means they split before the holiday began.Either way, he hasn’t left her feeling broken. Just hungover. And as she’s proved she’s not afraid of a little flirting with the whole, all-over-you-like-a-rash thing, I don’t feel bad for digging. And I won’t feel bad when we tumble into bed.
Oops. I wasn’t supposed to think that. It’s not gonna happen.
‘Thing is,’ I say evenly. ‘I don’t think you were meant to be alone.’ Her head comes up fast, her gaze hitting mine a little startled. Yep, she was supposed to be on holiday with a man. A friend cancelling on her wouldn’t make her this reticent.
‘I thought we were working on a need-to-know basis.’ Check out Miss Snippy all of a sudden.
