Rafe made his way across the balcony and smiled at Max’s, “Sorry, but telling Rafe what to do is above my pay grade.”
“Thanks a lot.” Aubrey pushed against Rafe’s back again and stiffened her body. “Can you please put me down now.” She wiggled and his palm itched to give her another swat. “I’m asking nicely. Besides, everyone can see everything I’ve got and I don’t like it.”
Rafe stopped. “Max, hand me your shirt.” Within seconds a shirt appeared in front of him and he threw it over her ass and upper thighs. “There.”
“You’re so generous.” He’d never known an eye-roll had an actual sound. “Look,” she said as a bare-chested Max hurried ahead of them and pushed open one of the doors. “I need my things… My purse.”
“Tiny,” Rafe said as they passed into the outer lobby. “Can someone show Max where to get Aubrey’s personal items?”
“Sure thing, Mr. Navarro.”
“Tiny! You too?” Aubrey slumped again. “I’m surrounded.”
“Max, after you get her things, meet us at my car,” he said over his free shoulder as he made it to the front entrance.
“See you tomorrow night, Miss Aubrey,” Tiny called out.
“No, you won’t,” Rafe called back as he pushed through the main club doors and out into the cool night air.
“I quit.”
4
Aubrey didn’t really want to quit counseling Dex, but she had to say something to get his attention.
She hung her head and clenched her fists in the back of his leather jacket when he didn’t respond and kept going. Laughing voices were growing nearer, so she quickly looked up when several club members and subs she recognized passed by them. She braced one hand on Rafe’s back and used the other to shove her hair out of her face.
“Excuse me,” she called out. “Hey. I’m being kidnapped here.” Surely that would raise some concern. But all she got was a broad smile and two thumbs up from one of the subs before she went back to her conversation and kept walking. It was almost as if it wasn’t unusual for them to see a man carrying a woman over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She then closed her eyes at her own idiocy.
Right, Aubrey. BDSM club.
So, on second thought it probably wasn’t so unusual for them after all.
But while Rafe’s actions weren’t out of the ordinary for anyone within the walls of The Covenant, for Aubrey they were. She’d never been more embarrassed in her life. How was she going to face everyone again?
“This is ridiculous,” she said on a huff. “I know you heard what I said. But since I assume you have selective hearing, I’ll say it again. I quit.”
“Of course you’re quitting The Covenant.” Now he was just being purposely obtuse. “And I’m not kidnapping you,” he said matter-of-factly as he gave her thigh another one of those squeezes she’d found unbelievably enjoyable.
She fought the urge to moan, saying instead in a tone she hoped conveyed a sufficient level of aggrievance, “When I said, I quit, I didn’t mean The Covenant and you know it.” The effect was almost ruined when she had to hold in a full body shiver as his rough hand rubbed over her flesh and heat filled her face that she couldn’t blame on her current upside-down position. His fingers were that close to where she needed some relief. Maybe it would take her mind off her throbbing clit if she argued with him some more, but then he might give her ass another smack…or two.
She frowned at the slight thrill that went through her.
Of all the times she’d passed by Doms spanking subs—something the spankees seemed to find great pleasure in—she’d been curious about the appeal.
Now she knew.
Her ass cheeks still held a slight tingling warmth she was loath to admit had made other parts of her body tingle and her pussy wet. And again, his fingers were right there, and all he’d have to do was inch them over…
Good grief. What was wrong with her? She was furious with him for manhandling her and daring to spank her because she didn’t enjoy it.
At all.
And I’ll just keep telling myself that as my panties continue to get wet.
Rafe’s sudden deep inhale and growl rumbled through her body.
“Fuck!” he said on a harsh intake of breath as his grip on her tightened. “You’re making me nuts. You know that?”
“I’m making you nuts?” She let out a slight laugh that didn’t hold all the derision she’d intended. “I’m doing nothing to you.” She was tempted to smack his back but was afraid she’d lose her balance. It didn’t help her situation she was getting damned uncomfortable where his hard shoulder dug into her soft belly with each step.
“You’re doing more than you know,” he growled as he passed by several parked cars.
“Well, whatever you think I’m doing doesn’t matter because after tonight you won’t see me again.” And she meant it too. She’d just have to ignore how her heart warred with her head as he came to an abrupt stop.
His low sigh accompanied his hands spanning her waist and his fingers digging in ever so slightly as he lifted her from his shoulder. He gently set her down in front of him and let her go. Max’s shirt fell to the ground as she stood near enough within Rafe’s arms he could easily gather her near. And though she’d been much closer the last few minutes as he’d carried her out of the club, seeing him face to face was somehow much more intimate.
“You know you don’t want to lose the progress you're making with Dex.”
“You’re right. I don’t,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest and briskly rubbed her hands over her cooling skin. Being draped over Rafe had had one benefit. She hadn’t noticed the night chill. But since she was now basically standing outside in her underwear, it was becoming more evident. The man radiated enough heat to keep her and several other people warm, but the only way she’d be able to benefit from any of that heat again would be to cuddle against him. And that wasn’t happening. “But do you honestly think I can continue coming to the ranch every day after what just happened?”
His jaw hardened as he took off his jacket. “Here,” he said, wrapping it around her shoulders.
“Thank you,” she said grudgingly as he pulled the sides closed and tugged her just that much nearer to him.
Blessed warmth enveloped her from her neck to well past the top of her thighs. But Rafe’s residual body heat wasn't the only pleasure she took in. The few times she’d been close to him, she’d noticed he had his own unique scent—one she was fairly certain didn’t come from a bottle. She cast her glance toward the door to see if Max was on his way out and took a covert whiff.
God, the man smells good.
Then she grimaced when the door opened and the man exiting wasn’t the one whose goofy grin had followed behind them in the club—a goofy grin that had been completely opposed to his previous glowering stance while Master Ian had dispersed the crowd. He’d been more than intimidating in those moments.
But after? Not so much.
So, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of him. She’d never seen him at the ranch before. And while she hadn’t heard much of the conversation between Rafe, Ian, and Max due to the blood rushing to her head and the level of noise in the club, she had been able to glean Rafe and Max had been there for something business-related. So maybe Max was somehow Rafe’s “Tiny,” although she was fairly certain Rafe could take care of himself.
Whoever the big guy was, he needed to hurry. She wanted to get back to her hotel room and shake the dust of the evening’s events off her heels.
The silence stretched between them as his stare burned a hole in her profile while she continued to refuse to look at him. But she’d never been any good at that whole staring down game and always, always, flinched first. This time was no different. She fisted her hands on her hips and turned her narrowed gaze up to his.
“Are you just going to keep staring at me?”
His features softened—a little. “I might.”
“We
ll, stop it.” She focused on the front of the club again. “It’s disconcerting.”
“I understand why you would think you need to leave me,” he said in a gentle tone.
She snorted. “Ya think?”
Wait…
Her gaze flew to his. Leave him?
“But I need you. We need you.” The same words from her dream, spoken in the same pleading tone, with the same…
No, that’s just crazy.
She shook her head to push the notion from her mind. The voice she’d heard in her dreams all these years couldn’t belong to Rafe. She’d just met the man.
So, she ignored that niggling little something trying to break through her defenses. Just as she had ignored the fact that each morning her dream lover’s face had remained somewhat clearer in her waking memory. But even more, she ignored how that clearer image had taken on the appearance of the man currently standing beside her.
She gave up looking for Max to give Rafe her full attention. “Do you think it’s easy for me to even consider not working with Dex anymore?” Just the idea had her heart aching. She’d come to care for the little boy in a very short time. And she wanted to see him whole again, or least on his way to being whole. “But what you did in there—jumping from the balcony…”
He had done that. Hadn’t he? She’d been so shocked at first and then angry she’d sort of forgotten that one little piece of information. “How did you—”
“Adrenaline,” he said in a rush as he rubbed his left leg and grimaced. “It probably wasn’t a smart thing to do. I could’ve broken something.”
She wasn’t buying it. He’d had not one complaint about his leg, hadn’t been limping, and he’d carried her on his shoulder on that side. Not to mention he had taken the stairs two at time when he’d left the pit with no problem. And she was no featherweight.
“Right.” And then something else occurred to her. “And what was that whole mine business before your Superman routine?” He’d also appeared to be much bigger in those moments than he did now and almost…
Feral.
“Aubrey.” Her name on his lips in that deep, rumbling way he had of talking set goosebumps running over her skin—even covered in his jacket. And then they went into overtime when he took her by the shoulders and stepped into her. “I don’t like to see a man taking advantage of a woman. So, I just reacted.”
“Rafe,” she whispered as his eyes held hers. “But what you’ve just done—taking control of me like this and not listening to my wishes—is just as bad.”
“Maybe so.” He pulled her closer until she was flush with his hard body—some parts harder than others—as touches of amber lit his heated gaze. “But I don’t see you cringing at my touch.” She closed her eyes as he nuzzled his way into the collar of his jacket and bent to her shoulder before running his nose up her neck. His heated breath scored her skin as he murmured in her ear, “And I scent no fear on you.” The light trail of his lips over her cheek to the side of her parted mouth had her forgetting to wonder about what he meant by that last statement as she pressed into him. “Just need. Need like my own.”
She wet her lips and then sighed as his mouth hovered over hers.
His groan skittered over her skin as they shared a breath. “And what I need is—”
“Did I miss anything?”
Aubrey quickly pulled away from him as Max barged in on whatever spell Rafe had cast over her.
“Not yet,” Rafe groused.
“Oh,” Max’s gaze went between them and then he grimaced. “Hmm… Sorry about that.” He shoved Aubrey’s purse and jacket out at her. “And here, I think I got everything.”
“Thanks,” she said, stepping farther away and shrugging out of Rafe’s leather jacket. She passed it over to him and ignored his scowl as she took her own jacket from Max and put it on before grabbing her purse from him. She wasn’t as warm now, but the cold was less dangerous to her libido. “I’m more than ready to leave.”
She opened her purse, rummaged through it, and then glanced up at a guilty-looking Max who had just pulled his shirt over his head. “Where are my keys?”
Max flushed under the bright lights in the parking lot as he stuck his arms through his sleeves, smoothed down his shirt, and then reached into his pocket. “I’ve got them,” he said, holding his hand up with the key ring dangling from his finger.
“What—”
“Good man,” Rafe said as Aubrey reached out to take them. “Keep them for right now.”
“No, not good man.” Aubrey kept her hand out and sent her version of a death glare at Max, whose eyes widened. “Give them to me,” she managed through clenched teeth and then turned a disbelieving look at Rafe when Max pocketed them. “Those are mine.”
“We’re not done talking. And we can do that while I take you home.”
“Oh. We definitely are done talking.”
“Are you sure? There’s still the matter of Dex and the fact you can’t just walk out on him.”
“I…” Guilt crept in on her because that’s exactly how it would feel to Dex—like she was abandoning him. “You really don’t play fair. You know that?” He just shrugged with a slight grin as she turned her aggravated stare at Max. “Just be gentle with Reba. She’s old.”
“Reba?” Max glanced around. “Who’s Reba?”
She pointed at her truck. “That’s Reba.”
“Your car?”
“The red S-10.”
“The red… Oh,” he said as he tilted his head back and forth while staring in the direction she had indicated. Then he turned back to Rafe with a furrowed brow. “I don’t think I’ll fit in that.”
“Do your best.”
Aubrey pulled in her lips to keep from smiling because none of this was funny. It really wasn’t. Not even Max’s pinched expression or his muttered, “Do your best,” as he walked away.
“I’ve got her address,” Rafe called after Max’s retreating form. “So just follow us.”
She frowned over her shoulder at Max as Rafe led her to the passenger door of his vehicle. “I hope he knows how to drive a manual transmission.”
“I’m sure he does,” he said as he opened the door and saw her in, even going so far as making sure she put on her seatbelt.
What, am I two?
She sat with her arms crossed as Rafe rounded the back of his vehicle and got into the driver’s side. Then she gave him a quick glance before he turned the ignition and pulled up the onboard navigation.
“Three fourteen—”
“That’s not my address.”
“It’s not?”
“No.” She cut her eyes over to him where he stared at her, obviously waiting for her to elaborate.
“Okay. So what is it?”
She did not want to have to tell him where she was staying. But it looked like at this point she didn’t have a choice. “The Marquee Hotel on—”
“I know where the Marquee is.” His gaze narrowed. “The question is why are you staying there?”
“It really isn’t any of your business.”
“You’re my De—Dex’s counselor and that makes it my business.”
“No. It doesn’t.” She tightened her hands on her crossed arms and glared at him. “Besides I no longer work for you.”
“I thought we were discussing that.”
“I’ve changed my mind.” This couldn’t happen. It was bad enough he’d broken in on her job life. She wasn’t having him prying into her personal life as well.
“We’ll sit here all night if we have—” Rafe’s phone rang and he dug it out of his pocket. “Yes,” he growled into the phone while holding her stare. “We will as soon as she tells me… Never mind. We’re going to the ranch.” He threw the phone in the console.
She sat up straight and turned full on him. “We most certainly are not,” she said as he put his car in reverse. “I will yell for help out the window if you try to drive off with me. And I promise it will be loud enough to hear insi
de the club.”
Rafe growled and threw the car back into park but left it running. “Fine.” He sat for a few moments before shifting in his seat toward her. “Please,” he said with a slight grimace. “Tell me why you’re staying in that kind of a hotel.”
She held his gaze and looked beyond the anger, the heat, and a myriad of other emotions she didn’t understand to something she couldn’t shy away from. Why did she have to recognize it? She could blow off all the He-Man crap. But against his sincere concern, she had no defense.
“It’s all I can afford at the moment.” She choked a little on the words and then cleared her throat. “Okay?” She stared out the windshield. She didn’t want to see his pity. And she refused to cry, even though the stinging sensation in her eyes told her tears were close. She’d thought she was beyond this, but saying the words out loud to Rafe had brought it all home again.
“I don’t understand.” And there he was being all kind and gentle—and still smelling so damned good in the small confines of the car she wanted to breathe all of him in.
You, Aubrey, are a hot mess.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, dashing away a stray tear. “This is only temporary until I can get a few bills paid down.”
“What kind of bills?”
She glared at him. “The kind that are none of your business.” And there he went aggravating her again. “Can we go now?”
“Is this why you’re working here?” He looked beyond her head to The Covenant and then back. “Why didn’t you say something. I would have paid you more money if you needed it.”
“You’re paying me exactly what my fees are for any client.” She wasn’t taking his charity. “And I don’t bring my personal problems on the job with me.”
“I don’t want you to think of Dex as a job, I—”
“That didn’t come out right,” she said in a rush as she faced him. “Dex—all the children I work with—are more than just a job to me. That’s why I…” She shook her head and then leaned it back against the headrest.
“Why what?”
“It’s part of the reason why I’m in the situation I am now.”
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