Page 29 of Culmination
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in close for a warm embrace. “You scared the shit out of me,” he whispers, smoothing my hair out.
My hands find his back and I clutch him tightly, reveling in his calming embrace and wanting to always have this source of comfort in my life.
Just like that, my heart is whole again. That’s how I know. This is right. This is true. I’ve made the right decision, and as of this moment on, I will never look back again.
I pull back and Rafe’s fiery expression catches me off-guard. “Rafe…” I whisper, unsure of what to say.
The anger in his eyes is palpable and I want to extinguish the flames.
Oh God. Did he see my embrace with Adrian? Did he hear my words? Has he read the situation all wrong?
The fear and the immediate need to explain everything are more than enough to know Rafe owns my heart. He’s the one I’m meant to be with, the one I want to be with, even if letting Adrian go was possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
“We need to talk,” he clips, placing his hands on my shoulders and pushing me back from his chest.
“Rafe, I need to explain. This was a good thing. Necessary, even.” When his expression doesn’t change, I continue quickly. “It’s done. With Adrian. He understands.”
His Adam’s apple bobs up and down as he swallows hard. “I know.”
“You know?”
He takes a deep breath and then exhales. “I had an unexpected visit at the hotel and was told where he’d been staying. I checked the Basilica first, but you were already gone.”
My eyes narrow, and he notices immediately.
He holds up my phone. “You knew I had a tracking device on it?”
My cheeks flush with sheepish embarrassment. “I suspected. I know I should apologize, but I’m not sorry, Rafe. While I’m sorry I worried you, I needed answers. I had to know.”
He runs a hand over his face, scratching the two-day-old beard that’s been forming since we landed in Chicago. “I have half a mind to take you over my knee and teach you what’ll happen next time you defy me.”
A shiver runs down my back. I shouldn’t be turned on at a time like this, but God, when he threatens me like that? I can’t help but be aroused.
His expression softens. “However, I understand the closure you sought. And did you find it?”
I cross the room and wrap my arms around his neck. “I did. I need to tell you everything.”
If I’ve learned anything—and, hell, I’ve learned enough to last me a lifetime—it’s that open communication, honesty, and trust are vital to having a successful relationship. And with Rafe, that’s what I want. He’s the man I plan on spending the rest of my life with. The man I’ll grow old with. The man who has my heart and will have my forever, so from here on out, I vow to be an open book with him.
“It’s okay, Brie. You don’t have to say anything. I already know. I heard everything.”
I’m taken aback by his words. Frowning, I ask, “How?”
It’s not that I’m upset that he heard everything somehow. It’s more than I’m shocked he could standby and listen without barging in, coming to what he thought was the rescue. And that’s why I love him so much. He always knows what I need, and regardless of his feelings on it, he gives it to me.
Okay, so maybe I have snuck out a time or two against his wishes, but I have a feeling that’s also behind us now.
Rafe takes my hands from around his neck and places them at my sides. I squirm under the intensity of his cobalt gaze. His lips part as if he’s about to say something. Instead, he clamps them shut and entwines our fingers. I stumble along as he pulls me down the hall and towards the door.
I can’t take his silence. I plant my feet on the carpet, my arm nearly yanking out of its socket as Rafe continues. When he notices I’m not budging, he turns back towards me, a storm brewing in his expression.
“Rafe, talk to me.”
I yelp when strong hands encircle my waist, twirl me around, and press me up against the wall. When my eyes peer up, I’m met with an indecipherable expression.
“Do you love me?” he growls, his voice low and scratchy, as if he’s a parched man in desperate need of hydration.
“More than life.”
