Beautifully Decadent (Beautifully Damaged Book 3) (29 page)

“I’m sorry you wasted your time, but like I said Melody, I’m not comfortable giving out that information.” The mature course of action would have been to leave it at that, but I was only human and couldn’t resist a subtle dig. “If Rafe wanted you to have them, he’d have given them to you.”

Her feigned sweetness dissolved; I’d pissed her off with that comment just as I had intended. She wasn’t subtle in her reply. “The mouth on that man. I thought nothing could top the way he tongues me to orgasm, but he’s got such a dirty mouth. I never came as hard as I did last night.”

I felt as the blood drained from my face, she noticed it too when her red lips curled up into a nasty smile. I trusted Rafe, especially after the day we shared, and still the visual she put in my head made my stomach turn. What was Melody’s end game? Coming here and trying to incite me? She had to know I’d be sharing this encounter with Rafe. What the hell was she after?

“He fucks like a god, doesn’t he? I can’t get enough of that cock. Love swallowing him down my throat, I’m wet now just thinking about it.” Surprise was quickly replaced with smugness, when she tilted her head and laughed. “Oh my God, he hasn’t fucked you.”

Her intention was to rile me up, but her words did just the opposite. Sex was all she got from him, she didn’t know him the way I did, and that made me feel smug—enough that I smiled at her wickedly, which baffled her when her own sneer faded into confusion.

Kyle appeared, his timing too perfect. He’d been out of sight, but he’d stayed close enough in case there was a problem. Clearly he knew enough about Melody to expect a problem. “I’ll show you to the door.”

What could she do, but follow after him. It didn’t prevent her from staring daggers at me though. After locking the door behind her, Kyle strolled over. “You okay?”

Putting aside her childish attempt to make me jealous, what the hell had that been about? “Yeah. Confused, but I’m fine.”

“That woman is whacked.”

He wasn’t wrong.

There was just enough time to meet Nat for a bite to eat before Clover opened for dinner. We were in a little café not far from my work; Tyler was joining us, but was running a bit late and told us not to wait for him. We placed our orders and then I filled Nat in on the odd visit from Melody.

“What a bitch!”

“Understatement. And get this, a couple weeks ago I forgot something on my way to work and when I backtracked to Rafe’s, Melody was there. Rafe wasn’t—his truck wasn’t in the drive—and yet she was trying to get in, showing obvious signs of frustration when she couldn’t. Puts an interesting spin on her visit today. Why is she so desperate to get into her ex’s house?”

“What did Rafe say?”

“I haven’t told him yet.”

“She has to know you’ll be sharing this with Rafe and that he’s going to be pissed. What’s she hoping to accomplish?”

“I really think she wants inside his house. Why? I don’t know. But her graphic imagery was done out of spite. I pissed her off; so she hit me where she knew it would hurt. It would seem her vindictiveness is greater than her fear of the consequences.”

“It’s fucked up and nasty.”

“True, but there’s so much more to Rafe and I’d bet money she’s never seen it. So yeah, thinking about them having sex isn’t pleasant, but knowing she never really knew the man behind the hot guy makes
me
feel smug.”

“There’s that optimist I love so much, but you need to tell Rafe about her visit today and that day at his house.”

“I agree.”

“Onto a more pleasant topic, I’m glad you and Rafe are finally coming to your senses because the air practically hums when you two are together. It would be a crime for you not to explore that chemistry. So tell me about yesterday.”

I was happy for the change of subject, it was infinitely more pleasant than talk of Melody. “We went to the nursery, he loves my plans for the gardens.”

“You’re doing the gardens?”

“Yeah, and I even haggled a really great price with the garden center.”

“Mom would be proud.”

“We spent the day at Coney Island and then he took me for pizza at his friend’s place.”

“And you finished the day with a movie. Based on that smile, I’m guessing it was a perfect day.”

“It really was.”

She reached for my hand, covering it with hers. “I’m happy for you, so tell me about this almost kiss.”

“It was more than that, Nat. It was as close to a perfect moment that I’ve ever had.”

Nat understood. “So why didn’t you kiss?”

“Melody called. I swear it’s like the chick has a camera on us.”

“She really sounds like an asshole.”

“She is.”

“Get her in my OR, I’ll take care of it.”

I couldn’t help the laugh because I could see it now, Nat looking much like Dr. Frankenstein, that deranged smile on her face as she played around with Melody’s brain. “I’d pay to see that.”

“When I met him, I liked the way he stared at you—like you were the most fascinating person on the planet. And, outside of me, you are.”

“You’re a clown.”

“But seriously, even then there was something that smoldered between the two of you. I’m glad you’re finally acting on it.”

“We haven’t, but we’re getting there.”

“When you do, I want details, spare nothing.” Her eyes moved from me to the door as a smile spread over her face. “There’s Tyler.” She waved and in the next minute a man appeared. Even in a suit, the man was sexy and he stared at my sister like she was a hot fudge sundae.

“Avery, this is Tyler, Tyler, my sister, Avery.”

He didn’t immediately take a seat; he waited until he was invited. What a gentleman. “Please join us.” I said.

He unbuttoned his suit jacket and as graceful as a large-muscled man could be, settled in the chair opposite Nat. The smile he gave her had my heart fluttering.

“Sorry I’m late. I got caught up at work.” He signaled the waitress and ordered a salad, grilled chicken and water. With the body he had, I understood the healthy pick though I had to say, I liked that Rafe ate whatever he wanted and kept his body up through manual labor.

“It’s nice to finally meet you Tyler.”

“And you.”

“As Nat’s sister, it’s my job to ask questions of the man who’s caught her eye.”

Nat glared at me. “You are having entirely too much fun with this.”

“And you wouldn’t do it to me if you had the chance?”

She didn’t answer; she didn’t have to because we both knew the answer.

“It’s okay, Nat. I’d be disappointed if Avery didn’t have questions.”

The immature part of me wanting to rub that in, but I didn’t and instead asked Tyler, “What do you do?”

“Personal trainer.”

“That explains your very healthy lunch. Why are you in a suit?”

“I own a gym and am meeting with potential investors.”

“So not just a trainer, but a businessman. I like that. What’s the one thing you like most about Nat?”

“Avery!”

“What? It’s a fair question.”

Tyler reached for Nat’s hand. “She’s right. It’s a fair question.” Meeting my gaze, he said, “I like everything about your sister—her humor, her brain, her body, her face, but I think what I like the most is when I’m with her there’s nowhere else I want to be.”

Nat turned to goo, I actually watched as she morphed into a sappy mess and I completely understood.

“I like you, Tyler. You have my approval.”

“And I’m happy to have it.” And then he only had eyes for Nat, studying her face like he was committing it to memory. I really liked the way he looked at her. “How was Mr. McNalley’s surgery?” he asked.

Nat’s expression was one I knew well, since I often found myself giving the same to Rafe. Not just happiness and contentment but connected. Nat was head over heels for this guy. “He pulled through with flying colors.”

The hand he held he brought to his lips and pressed a kiss in her palm. “I’m so happy to hear that.”

I settled back in my chair and grinned one of Nat’s grins because my sister was in love.

After work, I stepped outside and was greeted to the sight of Rafe leaning against his truck, his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. His head turned, those eyes caught mine as a smile curved his lips. Last night came back, every exquisite detail. I grew warm under my clothes as my blood heated. And as beautiful as the sight before me was and the memory it stirred, the ugly conversation with Melody came rushing back too. He needed to know about her visit and when he did, he wouldn’t be smiling.

Before I could open my mouth, he said, “I’ve been thinking about you all day, needed to see you. Ride with me. I’ll bring you back tomorrow. Your car is in no danger of being stolen.”

I felt like Nat did earlier, turning all sappy, because I was turning so now. To hide how much those words affected me I said, “Grief about my car, still?”

“You need to upgrade, if for no other reason than safety.”

It was a valid point and after my last confrontation with Dad, I was seriously considering it. “I’m thinking about it.”

“Really?”

“It’s time.”

He knew what I was admitting to, that I was finally accepting defeat. His features turned hard, but his voice was soft when he said, “I’ll take you whenever you’re ready.”

“Thanks.” I could totally relate to Tyler’s sentiment regarding Nat because when I was with Rafe there was nowhere else I wanted to be. “I fell asleep last night.”

“You did.”

“I’m sorry.”

An edge came into his voice, a hardness that surprised me. “Don’t be.”

“She stopped by today.”

I had never in my life seen someone lose it as quickly as Rafe did in response to that statement. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“She tried, at first, to be nice. Played on the fact that I was a ‘girlfriend’ to get me to help her out.”

“With what?”

“She wanted to surprise you with dinner, hoped you could talk out your differences. She asked me to give her the codes for the alarm, so she could put her plan into motion.”

The image of someone with steam coming from his ears popped into my head. If we were animated, that would be Rafe right now. I continued on. “I wouldn’t give them to her and then she turned ugly, said some really vile things before Kyle showed her to the door.”

“What things?”

“It isn’t nec—”

“What things, Avery?”

“She claimed you had phone sex last night, detailed for me how much she liked your tongue and your…”

My words dried up because Rafe was beyond angry, even furious. For as laid-back as he was, when in temper he was formidable and seriously scary.

Pushing off his truck, he started to pace. He was clearly working hard to pull his temper in and then he stopped suddenly, his gaze slicing to me. “You didn’t believe her.” He wasn’t asking.

“Of course not.”

His expression changed slightly, the hard lines around his eyes softened. And as much as I wanted that look to linger, he needed to hear the rest.

“Not to send you on a murdering rampage, but I saw her a few weeks back as well after you had changed the codes. She was trying to get into your house even though you weren’t home.”

It wasn’t so much anger as it was suspicion shifting his features. He was as curious as me about her motives.

I hadn’t meant to ask, even though I really wanted to know, but I found the words tumbling out anyway. “Knowing what I do about you, which I realize isn’t a lot, but I’m guessing she wasn’t always like...well, what she’s like now.”

“Maybe she was and was just better at hiding it, but I didn’t see it. If you asked Lucien and Darcy though, they’d likely tell you something different. They never liked her.”

“I never did either, but again my opinion is based on more than her personality.”

That earned me a grin, his temper not gone but he was moving past it. “I’ll take care of Melody, but thank you for not giving her the codes.”

“I figured if you wanted her to have them, she’d have them.”

“You figured right. Did you have a good night?”

And since I wanted him to move past his anger too, wanted to get back to the dynamic of when I first stepped outside, I happily shared about my evening. “It was an awesome night. My take on gooseberry cobbler was a hit. I really like my sister’s boyfriend and I ended work having you standing here offering me a ride home.”