Page 14 of Raff
I should have known.
God, I should have.
Raff was nothing if not relentless.
Especially when it came to me.
There was no way he was going to let it drop that he’d obviously seen me… and I’d been lying about it not being me.
Damn him.
He could ruin everything for me.
His head tipped to the side as he looked at me.
“So, you gorgeous thing, you,” he said, shooting me that panty-melting smile of his. “Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on now?”
CHAPTER FIVE
Lula
Shit.
How the hell was I going to handle this?
Continue to lie? Let them keep compiling?
To what end?
And, God, wouldn’t it feel good for someone to know? Someone to understand? To empathize? To maybe offer some advice?
“Lula,” Raff said, his voice velvet-soft. So soft that I felt immediate tears flood my eyes. “Hey,” he said, getting to his feet and crossing the room in two strides. “Whatever it is, it’s not worth your tears,” he assured me, even as his hands framed my face and his thumbs wiped the first ones away.
Unfortunately for me, the worst thing someone could do when I was already feeling fragile was be nice to me.
The floodgates opened.
And I started to pour over.
Raff made a sad sound, then reached to pull me against him.
It just felt so good to be held.
I wasn’t sure the last time I felt someone’s arms around me. Let alone a man’s.
What can I say? I was a bit of a hard woman at times. Especially around men. I rarely found ones I felt safe enough to be soft with.
Maybe it was because I was just so overwhelmed. Or maybe it was because some part of me innately knew that Raff could be trusted. But I was putty with him right then.
Weeks of uncertainty, betrayal, shock, sadness, fear, and anger spilled out onto his shirt, soaking it through, as he held me close, his hand gently sliding up and down my spine.
Only when I was dried out and sniffling did he let me pull away to turn and walk into the bathroom.
I closed the door to pull myself together: blowing my nose, wiping off my ruined makeup.
There was no going back now.
I sucked in a deep breath and moved back into the room.
