like that. You can never be too careful.” Ray shrugs as if to suggest living like that is completely normal when, to Mia, it’s anything but.
“Right.” Her voice is flat, telling him she isn’t buying a word he’s saying, but it doesn’t seem to bother Ray.
He closes the distance between them, reaching out and cupping her face in his hands. Automatically she leans into him, his deft fingers finding the knots of tension in the back of her head and working them out. “Do you trust me, Mia?” Ray’s simple question rings right to the core of Mia’s thinking, as if he’d read what was in her eyes.
She remains silent, trying to figure out how long her trust in him will hold out against the knowledge that he is keeping so many secrets from her. How long can she trust someone who refused to trust her in return? “I do.” She nods, not giving voice to any of the fears circling around her brain.
“Then trust me that I’ll tell you everything you need to know when the time is right.” The sincerity shining in Ray’s eyes had won out over any doubts that she’d had. He had a habit of being able to break through any barriers to her better judgment. He was like a human battering ram.
“I should get started on dinner.” Mia pulls away from him, needing some space to think, outside of the reach of his arms. When she’s in his vicinity everything gets a little blurry, a little confused in her own head. It becomes hard to concentrate on anything but him and how easily her body responds to him.
“Hey.” Ray grabs hold of her hand before she can turn away from him and looks at her with that intense gaze of his. “We haven’t had a real date yet.” He smiles at her with those devastatingly sexy lips of his.
“You’ve pretty much moved into my house, Ray. I think we’re kind of past the dating phase.” She smiles ruefully, a shiver running down her spine as he strokes the back of her hand with his thumb.
“I don’t think our relationship exactly follows the dating rules according to Mia.” Ray flashes a grin at her that warms her between her thighs. “I want to take you out on a real date. I want to treat you like you deserve to be treated, Mia.” He fingers the curly hair that falls in waves around her face.
“What did you have in mind?” She edges closer to him, not being able to resist the pheromones that seem to block all rational thought from her normally logical brain.
“Dinner and a movie? Standard date night.” Ray shrugs and then smiles down at her, his gaze warm. “A scary movie that will make you jump so you won’t notice my hand creeping up around your shoulders. Then at the end of the night, I’ll lean in and try to kiss you.”
Mia feels her heart beating faster and her breath coming in short pants as he describes what had been their first date. “You still remember it.” She barely breathes the words out.
“How could I not? I was out of my mind with nerves the whole time!” Ray lets out a low, deep laugh and Mia wonders at how young and carefree he looks, not like the brooding man that came back to her after all those years.
“You were nervous?” She doesn’t even bother to try to contain her shock. “I thought you were the experienced one; it’s not like it was your first time dating!”
Ray levels her with a serious look. “It was my first time dating you and that was a whole different ball game.”
“Why?” Mia can’t resist asking the question.
Ray had been the rebel who every girl in high school lusted after. He’d done a pretty good job of working his way through the cheerleaders while they were still just friends. Mia had known Ray had been around the block more than a few times. Eli had jokingly referred to him as a man-whore, but he’d seemed more jealous of Ray’s luck with the ladies rather than disgusted. Eli hadn’t filled out yet; he was still a scrawny kid that hadn’t
“Right.” Her voice is flat, telling him she isn’t buying a word he’s saying, but it doesn’t seem to bother Ray.
He closes the distance between them, reaching out and cupping her face in his hands. Automatically she leans into him, his deft fingers finding the knots of tension in the back of her head and working them out. “Do you trust me, Mia?” Ray’s simple question rings right to the core of Mia’s thinking, as if he’d read what was in her eyes.
She remains silent, trying to figure out how long her trust in him will hold out against the knowledge that he is keeping so many secrets from her. How long can she trust someone who refused to trust her in return? “I do.” She nods, not giving voice to any of the fears circling around her brain.
“Then trust me that I’ll tell you everything you need to know when the time is right.” The sincerity shining in Ray’s eyes had won out over any doubts that she’d had. He had a habit of being able to break through any barriers to her better judgment. He was like a human battering ram.
“I should get started on dinner.” Mia pulls away from him, needing some space to think, outside of the reach of his arms. When she’s in his vicinity everything gets a little blurry, a little confused in her own head. It becomes hard to concentrate on anything but him and how easily her body responds to him.
“Hey.” Ray grabs hold of her hand before she can turn away from him and looks at her with that intense gaze of his. “We haven’t had a real date yet.” He smiles at her with those devastatingly sexy lips of his.
“You’ve pretty much moved into my house, Ray. I think we’re kind of past the dating phase.” She smiles ruefully, a shiver running down her spine as he strokes the back of her hand with his thumb.
“I don’t think our relationship exactly follows the dating rules according to Mia.” Ray flashes a grin at her that warms her between her thighs. “I want to take you out on a real date. I want to treat you like you deserve to be treated, Mia.” He fingers the curly hair that falls in waves around her face.
“What did you have in mind?” She edges closer to him, not being able to resist the pheromones that seem to block all rational thought from her normally logical brain.
“Dinner and a movie? Standard date night.” Ray shrugs and then smiles down at her, his gaze warm. “A scary movie that will make you jump so you won’t notice my hand creeping up around your shoulders. Then at the end of the night, I’ll lean in and try to kiss you.”
Mia feels her heart beating faster and her breath coming in short pants as he describes what had been their first date. “You still remember it.” She barely breathes the words out.
“How could I not? I was out of my mind with nerves the whole time!” Ray lets out a low, deep laugh and Mia wonders at how young and carefree he looks, not like the brooding man that came back to her after all those years.
“You were nervous?” She doesn’t even bother to try to contain her shock. “I thought you were the experienced one; it’s not like it was your first time dating!”
Ray levels her with a serious look. “It was my first time dating you and that was a whole different ball game.”
“Why?” Mia can’t resist asking the question.
Ray had been the rebel who every girl in high school lusted after. He’d done a pretty good job of working his way through the cheerleaders while they were still just friends. Mia had known Ray had been around the block more than a few times. Eli had jokingly referred to him as a man-whore, but he’d seemed more jealous of Ray’s luck with the ladies rather than disgusted. Eli hadn’t filled out yet; he was still a scrawny kid that hadn’t
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