Page 62 of Hidden Raphael
Her fingers twitched uncontrollably. He took off his gloves, pocketed them, and then took her hand in his to help warm her. "The tunnel was damp and this part of the castle hasn’t been updated. We'll hurry back to the part you live, where it's dry and clean."
Her fingers tingled from the strength of him. "How many secret entrances are there in this place?"
"All castles have secrets. As boys, my brother and I used to know them all."
She raised her eyebrows to encourage him and hoped he continued.
He held her hand and led her further into the dark tunnel. "We found this one when I was seven or so. Gabriel was so excited. He had thought he had discovered all the secrets."
She rubbed his arm. "And you followed your brother?"
His dimples appeared as he turned to her and smiled. "Everywhere. He always lived the charmed life. Whatever he wanted came to his life fast, as if his wishes were always granted. I walked in his shadow."
Questions about his brother, who was married to her sister, rose, and she chewed on her bottom lip. "So why did you hurt him? Jealousy?"
He picked up a smaller candelabrum and avoided eye contact. "No. Gabriel told me she used drugs. I still don't believe it, but I have no other answer. She tried to kill them both."
She pulled her hand away. Erica was fine. "What are you talking about?"
He clenched his jaw like the words he would say were foul. "She hid in the walls to gaslight both of them last winter."
Kimberly froze. "Is Tiffany dead?"
"Yeah." Raphael's expression confused her.
Kimberly clenched her hands. "Good. No one should threaten my sister. Unlike me, Erica is perfect and deserves the best."
"Gabriel is the best."
She unclenched her hands and smiled. "You're biased, but I'll let that go."
He shook his head.
There was a secret. Tiffany wasn't the issue. In time, she'd get Raphael's true secrets.
In the meantime, she had her own mystery to solve. She should read Eileen's diary. Perhaps she'd find out more about Harry. “Where is Roger buried, Raphael?”
“You don’t need more dead bodies to look at.”
Raphael's potential lies tainted the air they shared right now. Her gut had to be wrong about Raphael. She retook his hand and let his nearness warm her through her soaked clothes. Whatever had this stifling hold on him might be right here, in this castle. “Are you sure you killed the right man, Raphael?”
“The man I killed was a trained soldier who knew how to fight. He had the brainpower to storm the castle.”
“I don’t need to be protected.” Instead of saying anything more, though, she reached up and stroked his arm.
He stopped and turned around, and his dark eyes matched the darkness around him. “You deserve to be safe, Kimberly.”
She'd never felt safer. She stood on her tiptoes, leaned into him, and kissed him.
At first he held back, but then his arms circled hers and held her close. The scrape of his five o’clock shadow brushed against her raw skin. He smelled of a thick forest and she closed her eyes. The scrape of his teeth along her lower lip melted away her core, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
This kiss was unlike anything else on earth. She clutched his body toward hers.
He picked her up, and she grabbed hold of his neck. "What?"
"I'm taking you to my room unless you tell me to stop."
“Never.” She kissed his cheek and her wet jeans steamed. He took her down another dark hall she hadn't expected.
