Royal Games (The Royals of Monterra) (8 page)

I got ready for my date. I heard Rafe and Aunt Sylvia having dinner together downstairs, and I didn’t join them for two reasons—first, I didn’t know if Tommy Davis planned on us going out to eat, and second, I wasn’t quite ready to face Rafe yet.

Not knowing his plans or how fancy this date would be, I put on jeans and a nice blouse. I decided not to wear heels or my cowgirl boots as they would make me taller than him. I sort of had a complex about being taller than the guy I was going out with.
They don’t make you taller than Rafe
, that voice taunted.

I took a picture of myself and sent it to Whitney to get her opinion.

Thumbs up!

I thanked her and was going to put my phone in my purse when it buzzed again. Another message from Whitney.

Have fun. Not too much fun. You can say no. And no again. And more no.

Tommy Davis was an adult now, not a teenage boy. His reputation in high school shouldn’t follow him around his entire life. Shaking my head, I responded.

I got it. You’re making me feel like I’m back in Pastor Dave’s “health education” class.

She sent me some smiley face emojis, and I heard Tommy’s car pull up. Hurrying downstairs, I came to a halt on the bottom step. Rafe stood in the front room, looking out the window. He had his back to me, his broad shoulders blocking any possible view of the yard.

I didn’t want any more confrontations. Not between me and him, and not between him and Tommy Davis.

Tommy Davis opted out of any potential fight by blaring his horn. Shock slammed into me. Did he really just honk his horn at me?

“You don’t have to respond. You’re not one of Pavlov’s dogs.” Rafe’s low voice filled the room.

“They responded to a bell, not a horn.”

His regal profile was lit up by a nearby table lamp. I wondered if Tommy could see us through the window. “Regardless, it was disrespectful.”

Rafe and his respect and honor and chivalry. I put my hand on the knob to leave when he suddenly reached out for me. He tugged at my wrist, pulling me close against him. My blood heated and raced as he put his hands on the side of my face, like he was afraid I might pull away. But the look in his eyes did the trick. I couldn’t have moved even if I wanted to.

Then he kissed me. And there was nothing gentle or tender about it. It was all heat and desire and want. The passion shut down my ability to think, leaving me with only the ability to respond.

And oh boy, did I respond.

Chapter 8

I had to stop this. I couldn’t let Rafe just kiss me whenever he wanted. I was in control, right?

One of his hands moved to the back of my head, his fingers kneading my scalp. I fell toward him, my knees giving out. He held me up with his other arm around my waist. I had been fooling myself. I had zero control. That whole I-am-the-boss-of-myself philosophy didn’t seem to be working too well. Instead I curled my fingers into his sweater, holding on like I was falling off the side of a mountain.

This. I remembered this. I’d missed it. The blazing wildfire, the overwhelming sensations, how everything else stopped and we were the only two people in the entire world. That kissing him felt like the only thing that mattered and how I wanted it to go on forever.

Just when it got really interesting, he broke off the kiss. My chest was heaving as short little breaths compressed my lungs much too quickly. I leaned against the wall for support.

He seemed totally fine. “Have a good evening.”

Then he walked out of the room, like he hadn’t just laid the greatest kiss on me since Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in the rain in
The Notebook
.

Dazed, I walked outside. Tommy Davis sat in his truck waiting. He waved and smiled at me, which let me know he hadn’t seen the glandular combat I had just engaged in. He did lean over and open the door from the inside, which I supposed was something.

I climbed up, closing the door behind me, and buckled my seatbelt. My lips still tingled, the skin around my mouth sensitive from where Rafe’s scruff had rubbed against it. I still hadn’t gotten my breathing back to normal. I could smell Rafe’s cologne on my skin. I wondered if Tommy Davis could, too. I touched my fingers to my lips, because I couldn’t believe that had really just happened.

Tommy Davis was talking, and it sounded really far away. Like I was standing in a tunnel and he was at the opposite end. I closed my eyes, exhaled a deep breath, and forced myself to pay attention. “I’m sorry, what?”

He didn’t seem to notice my Rafe-induced temporary insanity. “I said, where to?”

“Where to?” I repeated.

“Yeah. Where did you want to go?”

“Oh.” He’d asked me out. I had at least expected him to plan something. Not that I had dated a ton, but I’d gone out on enough dates to know that the person who asked was in charge of that part.

We were extremely limited on options. There wasn’t much to do here—going to the diner was about it. All the outdoor choices like the lake or hiking were out of the question given the weather. Iowa City had much more variety, but that was an hour away, and I didn’t like to be that far from Aunt Sylvia without letting her know first. Not to mention that it might be expensive. I didn’t know what Tommy’s financial situation was, but I guessed that if he’d wanted to drive into the city he would have already decided on it.

“I don’t have a preference. Whatever is fine with me.” I was glad I hadn’t dressed up more.

“Want to hang at my place?” I knew he lived in an apartment in the center of town.

“S-sure,” I said. I didn’t know if that meant something more, but I had to hope it didn’t. That he really did just want to hang out. Because I hadn’t ever been inducted into that particular club, and I didn’t know what all the code words were for various activities.

“Hey, I heard this really cool song today. Want to hear it?”

I nodded, rubbing my arms. I had left without a coat. He didn’t seem to notice, and then the sound of metal filled the cab of his car, making me wince. It didn’t sound much like music—more like multiple cats being tortured by electric guitars. “Isn’t this awesome?” he yelled over the sound.

Trying to smile, I nodded back. I was already miserable, and I blamed Rafe. First, for kissing and confusing me. Then for being a much better date than Tommy. Whenever we’d gone out, he always planned something amazing. Not that we hadn’t had our quiet nights in, watching movies or playing video games, but he always thought of me and what I might like. And when he took me out, he took me out. On real actual dates. Like the kind you read about or used to see on old television shows.

But that was during a dating reality show, which made it unfair. Rafe had had unlimited resources and a staff. Tommy Davis didn’t. I decided to try to make the best of this and give him a chance, and not think about how Rafe had spoiled me.

Unfortunately, things did not get better from there. Mistaking my fake smile for enthusiasm, Tommy Davis took me into his apartment to show me his “music” collection. He played song after song very loudly, yelling to make himself heard as he explained songs and what he liked about them.

He had a very old couch, a coffee table made out of cinder blocks, and an actual beanbag, along with expensive visual and audio electronics. He had graduated a while ago, and it wasn’t like he had just gotten divorced. That was years ago. Maybe he didn’t care about how his apartment looked. Some guys didn’t. Technically, I was still in college, but apparently I didn’t want to date guys who decorated their homes like they lived in a frat house. I didn’t care if he was poor. I was poor. But our home didn’t look like a flea market had thrown up in it.

He offered me a beer, but I declined. So our date consisted of me sitting on his couch while he played records and drank.

Yes, it was just as thrilling as it sounded.

Things were not going to get better unless I did something about it. “Hey!” I shouted, right as one of his songs ended. Modulating my voice back to normal level, I said, “Maybe we could just talk.”

Tommy, who at some point had lost the right to the “Davis” part of his name, stood up and then came to sit next to me on the couch. He put his arm along the back. He had on a smarmy smirk. “I like talking.”

He said “talking” like it was in quotes. Code word?

“I don’t even know what you do,” I responded, as his fingers reached out to play with the ends of my hair. Would it be totally obvious if I scooted back out of his reach?

“I’m sort of in between things right now. I have my alimony checks.”

Wait, he lived off of alimony checks from Brooke? Maybe I’d misheard. I wasn’t sure I could respect someone who was physically able to support himself and chose not to. “Brooke pays you alimony?”

He moved closer to me. “Yeah. But don’t worry about her. She’s past tense.”

My throat was starting to close up. I hoped he didn’t see me trying to move away from him. “As in you two have a past and now it’s tense?”

My attempt at humor fell flat. “No,” he said. “It means we’re not together anymore, so you don’t have to worry about her.”

I wasn’t at all worried about Brooke right then. I was, however, more than a little worried about myself.

“Maybe we could watch a movie?” I suggested, still backing away while he kept advancing.

“Or maybe we could move this into my bedroom,” Tommy said. Acid burned at the back of my throat as I hit the arm of the couch. Limbs shaking, I stood up and moved myself to the opposite side of the room. How had I ever thought he was cute? Or imagined that I was attracted to him? Right now he just disgusted me.

I was about to tell him that he needed to drive me home when there was a hard knocking at the door. Tommy answered it, and my entire body sagged in relief when I saw Rafe over his shoulder.

Tommy straightened up, but he was nowhere near as tall or as imposing as Rafe. Maybe Nicole’s theory did have some merit. “Can I help you with something?”

Rafe didn’t even look at him and pushed into the room, walking toward me. “Hey!” Tommy called after him.

Handing me my purse, Rafe said, “You left this at home. Your phone’s been ringing nonstop. Dr. Pavich needs your help at the Montgomery ranch. They have a mare about to give birth, and he’s busy with another delivery.”

His kisses had so addled my brain that I’d left my purse behind. Along with my phone and my keys. I had come out tonight totally unprotected, and that disturbed me more than I would have cared to admit. I took my purse, checking the contents. My phone had several missed calls and texts from Dr. Pavich.

“I’ll let you say good night, and I’ll be waiting outside to drive you to the ranch.” Normally I might have protested about him driving me, but I was so thankful for his interruption that I didn’t care. He could have informed me he was going to throw me over his shoulder and walk all the way to the Montgomery place, and I probably would have been okay with that too.

Rafe showing up reminded me of the time on
Marry Me
when another contestant, Abigail, had crashed one of my dates with Rafe. He had been very nice to her and tried to put her off, while she went on and on about how they belonged together and that all of America was rooting for them. I’d been so impressed by how much of a gentleman he was, though I had wanted to maim Abigail for attempting to sabotage our date.

If Tommy felt the same way right now about Rafe, I didn’t care. There was a foal that needed me, and I was glad for the excuse to get away from Tommy.

Rafe let himself out without saying a single word to Tommy. I followed behind him, but Tommy grabbed my shoulder as I walked outside. “Hey, weren’t you even going to say good night?”

I was being terribly rude. Rafe walked down the steps and headed for the street. I should have apologized to Tommy for having to leave early, or thanked him for the date. If I did either one of those things, though, I would be lying. I didn’t feel sorry or thankful. Just glad I’d be able to get away. “You’re right. Good night, Tommy.”

But before I could finish my sentence, his cold, wet fish lips were on mine. I immediately reared back, putting distance between us. I came this close to slapping him. The kiss had felt wrong and gross. Like he had been trying to eat my mouth. “I’ll call you,” he said.

Please don’t,
was my unspoken reply.

As I went down the stairs, I wiped my mouth off with the back of my hand. It felt wrong to leave any remnants of Tommy’s disaster there after the artistry of Rafe’s kisses.

Kiss felt like such an inadequate word. Rafe hadn’t just kissed me. He had . . . ravished my mouth. Like some kind of invading Viking horde bent on total domination.

And it had been fantastic.

He stood by the passenger door of his SUV. He held it open for me when I approached, and closed it shut after I’d gotten inside. Not because I couldn’t do it myself, but because his mother had raised him to be polite.

He got in and started the car, adjusting the heater and showing me where the seat warmer controls were for my seat. “Do you need my coat?” he asked. He was in the process of removing it, but I held a hand up. “I’m fine. Thanks.” His SUV had heated up so quickly it wasn’t necessary.

I asked him if he needed directions, but he showed me his GPS. He pulled out onto the road, and we sat in silence for a few minutes before he said, “How did your date end? Because it sounded like—”

“Like it wasn’t your business?” I could only imagine how the end of that nightmare might have sounded to him. At least he seemed like himself again. Calm, levelheaded. He was back to being my Rafe. Which made me feel the way I used to feel when we were together. Like we were missing pieces of a matched set. And that left me torn between wanting to thank him for rescuing me, admonishing him for interfering, and throwing myself at him with reckless abandon.

“You’re right. It’s not my business.” I saw his jaw clench. “And I need to apologize for my behavior earlier.”

My heart skipped so many beats I worried for my health. His kisses were behavior problems now?

“I didn’t mean to seem angry. I’m not mad. I’m just frustrated.”

Were we thinking of the same thing? I probably should have responded, but I didn’t. What could I say? That some part of me was glad he’d gone all Neanderthal? I shouldn’t be encouraging him if I didn’t see this going anywhere. I wanted to forgive, but I wasn’t sure I was capable of forgetting.

“I get it,” I finally said. I was frustrated too, but for other reasons.

He glanced at me. “I shouldn’t have kissed you either.”

That sent a jolt straight through me, putting me into one of those thought-free stupors. My gaze was drawn to his lips. “Oh.”

“That was about frustration of a different kind. I won’t do that again.”

Masterful wordsmith that I was, I said, “Oh” again. I waited for those twin and disparate feelings of gladness and disappointment, but was surprised to discover that I only felt disappointment. I wasn’t going to think about what that meant.

“Not unless you ask me to.” He was teasing, but because of his seductive tone I was too busy imagining how I could get him to kiss me without seeming like I had given in. Mistletoe? A bet? A dare?

What was wrong with me? He had reduced me to my sixteen-year-old self. And she was more than a little boy crazy and would have put out a hit on me for not wanting to start things back up with him.

She had terrible judgment, though. She was the one excited to go out with Tommy.

I had to redirect my thoughts and feelings to safer territory. “You could have just called Tommy to let me know what was going on. Aunt Sylvia could have tracked down his number.”

“I could have,” he agreed. But he didn’t say anything else.

He left me to wonder what that meant while we pulled into the long driveway of the Montgomery ranch. If this were some romantic comedy, I’d be scheming ways to chase him off, but I was currently too busy and too conflicted. I would have to tolerate the situation until I didn’t have to tolerate it anymore.

Because at some point he had to get tired of just waiting around, didn’t he?

I directed him to the right barn, and he came to a stop. “I’ll get a ride home,” I told him as I hopped out. “Thanks for bringing me.”

I was met by Zeke, the lead wrangler at the ranch. He was in charge of handling the horses. Dr. Pavich was watching two other mares who were foaling, so he wanted me to keep an eye on Autumn Rain. Adrenaline pulsed through me as we entered the barn. Usually I was just assisting. Tonight I would be on my own.