Page 40 of One
“Oh, I can see that.” Rami points at Raph, who promptly growls at him.
“If you don’t tell me what the hell is going on, I’m going to kick both of you out,” I bark, having enough of all this. My fucking uneventful life has turned into a roller coaster this past week. And I don’t know if I can take more.
Raph is suddenly in front of me, nostrils flaring. His hands fall on my shoulders, holding me.
“I followed you. The last time you saw Meg, I followed you inside the convenience store.”
Holy shit! “You were worried about your mother and wanted to know who I was,” I murmur, my mind filled with twisting thoughts and doubts. Did he hit on me to get information? Did he pretend to like me? We always stayed in my apartment. Never went out. Well, I was injured, but I’ve never seen where he lives. Or met any of his friends. But Rami…
“Wrong!” he snaps, making my eyes focus on his grave expression again. “I knew who you were. Mine. From the first time I set my eyes on you.” The honesty in his eyes is undeniable. And although hearing him openly claim me for the first time is making my body tingle all over, I’m still feeling wary about his omission.
“Fuck,” I hear Rami whisper.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?” I choke out. My jumbling emotions are too close to the surface; doubt still tries to sink its hooks in me.
“I’m selfish and thoughtless.” His hands slide down to my hips, pulling me toward him. But as I push my palms on his chest to stop him, he grabs my hair and tilts my head back. I inhale sharply, but don’t pull away. “Wanted to just be with you for a while. My family is a lot to take in,” he growls.
“Hey!” Rami huffs.
Raph’s nose strokes the side of my neck and I whimper. Why does his reasoning sound crazily valid and so damn hot? His obsession with me isn’t healthy, but I fucking crave it. I want to be owned by him. To belong. And isn’t that unhealthy as well? My body doesn’t think so. My hands curl around his neck, and when I feel his teeth scraping my skin, I give him more access.
A throat clearing makes us both freeze. “Although live porn is on my bucket list, I’d prefer not to look at my bro’s junk.” Rami’s disgusted tone makes me take a step back.
“Rami, go. And close the door behind you,” Raph calmly says with his heated eyes firmly on me.
“No,” I hear myself saying. “I-I need to clear this mess.” And I feel too raw to fall into Raph’s arms again. I need to think, and his nearness always turns my brain into mush.
“And we need to be at Meg's later. Dinner time,” Raph exclaims like one of those happy-looking hosts on TV.
“Do I really need to go?” I feel Raph’s green eyes on me, but I decide to concentrate on the papers still littering the floor.
“Yes, the family wants to meet you.” Rami smiles at me.
“Why?”
“You're a special guest.” He unhelpfully tells me.
God, dealing with this family is exhausting. And I’ve only met three members.
I sigh. “Fine.”
For the next thirty minutes, we try to get everything back into place. Rami’s happy humming while he stays at my computer is the only sound in the room. Raph is giving me the space I need, and even though he’s just on the other side of the room, his unfaltering gaze following every move I make.
I hate it. He’s too far. He looks unfazed, but his eyes have darkened and there’s a coldness clinging to him.
Once we’re done, I leave the list of things that need to be replaced on my desk, and we walk toward the elevator. When we reach the parking lot, Raph grabs my hand and pulls me toward his bike without a word.
“Guess I’ll see you there!” Rami calls after us. I huff behind Raph.
We get to his bike and, before sliding the helmets on, Raph takes his time zipping up my jacket. He eyes me with those probing green orbs. In the sunlight, they have a sparkly sage hue.
I keep my mouth shut. He sits on the bike and holds his hand out to help me mount. As soon as I cling to his back, he tears out of the parking lot and down the black roads. It’s a gorgeous, start-of-summer evening. When we leave behind the noises and chaos of the downtown area, I wish I could smell all of nature’s different fragrances.
I can’t fully enjoy the ride this time anyway. I’m still in shock at the fact that Meg is Raph’s mother. I respect her even more now, knowing what she did for Raph and the others. I thought about texting her, but what would I say? ‘Thanks for the invitation and by the way I’m shacking up with one of yourkids.’
They are far from that.They are grown-ups—the ones I’ve met, anyways—so why the hell did she refer to themas kids?
The bubble Raph and I were living in has definitely popped. I still don’t know what to think about Raph lying to me about Meg. Or the fact that he stalked me and pretended to just bump into me.
