with one thrust, making her gasp from the searing intensity of the way her body responded to him.
He bent his head to kiss her, and she whimpered, not able to get close enough to him as he moved within her. She dug her heels into his back as he drove deeper, harder, seemingly needing this as much as she did. The leather sofa soon grew slick with their sweat as they slid together in wild abandon, lost in each other and in the sensations. The way he touched her, moving his hands over her breasts, down the side of her rib cage, then gripping her hip as he rolled against her.
His tongue flicked against her earlobe.
“Me encanta estar dentro de ti.”
I love being inside you.
His whispered words sparked an orgasm so intense she nearly cried from the pure joy of it. But instead, she cried out his name and surged against him, shaking as her climax rolled on and on.
He thrust hard and came, his entire body vibrating with his orgasm, his fingers digging into her flesh as he pulled her tight against him, his face buried in her neck.
She panted, catching her breath, for the first time since she seemingly lost her mind with lust, suddenly aware that they were only a short distance from the front door. And she was totally naked and utterly stuck to the leather sofa.
“We need to get unstuck,” she said.
He lifted his head and looked down at her, smiling. “I don’t know. I kind of like being stuck to you.”
She splayed her palms on his chest. “I mean my ass is stuck to the sofa.”
“Okay.” He disengaged, then stood, helping her up.
She grabbed her clothes and dashed into the downstairs bathroom to clean up. She really needed a shower, but that wasn’t going to be possible right now. She grabbed a washcloth and went into the living room to wipe down the sofa. When she was done, Rafe was leaning against the doorway.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Wiping down the sweat from the sofa.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Want something to drink?”
“A tall glass of ice water would be amazing.”
“Sure.” He pushed off the wall, and she followed him into the kitchen, tossing the washcloth into the laundry room on her way.
He handed her a glass of ice water. They sat at the kitchen island together. She took several sips of the water. “Thank you,” she said.
“No, thank you.” He leaned over and kissed her. “For the talk, mainly, but the sex was pretty damn good, too.”
She laughed. “You’re welcome.”
Now everything was better. At least she hoped it was better for Rafe. She certainly felt like things had been somewhat resolved. She knew he wasn’t going to forget what he’d been through or what he’d seen right away. Or ever. But hopefully, he’d start to tuck the nightmare away and understand that he saved lives all the time, and look at the more positive aspects of his job now.
She cared about him. She loved him.
At some point, she was going to have to tell him that. But for now, those words could wait. It wasn’t like either of them was going anywhere.
CHAPTER 26
“HEY, WHO BOUGHT FLOWERS?”
Rafe was just coming down the stairs and glared at Kal. “Leave those alone. They’re mine.”
Kal cocked a brow at Rafe. “Someone sent you flowers?”
“No, dumbass. I bought the flowers. For Carmen.” He sat down at the kitchen table to put on his tennis shoes.
“Oooh. Things must be getting serious.”
He looked up at Kal and frowned. “Flowers aren’t serious.”
“Aren’t they?” Jackson asked as he came into the room and leaned down to sniff the bouquet Rafe had bought when he’d run out earlier. “I don’t remember you ever buying flowers for a woman before.”
“You don’t see everything I do.” But his brothers were right. He’d never bought flowers for a woman before, because he’d never been serious about any woman.
Was he serious now? He sure as hell had had a serious conversation with Carmen earlier today, had opened up to her in ways he hadn’t even with his brothers.
Jackson and Kal both had sat down and tried to talk with him about the fire. He hadn’t been ready, hadn’t wanted to talk about it. He’d been in his head, replaying that day over and over again, wondering what he could have done differently, how he might have saved that woman. And every time he’d come up a failure.
Talking it out with Carmen had been a balm to