Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (3 page)

“You
love me?” I asked breathlessly. “Like, more than a friend? You mean you’re
in
love
with me?”

Rafael
nodded. “I realized it the second I pulled you into that closet… that time
someone tried to break into Michael’s house. I knew then that I loved you… that
I’d rather die than see any harm come to you. But I couldn’t do a damn thing
about it. You were already in love with Michael.”

My
heart clenched. “I don’t know what to say.”

Rafael
stood and pulled me to my feet. “Say you’ll give me a chance to win your heart,
Kristine.”

“How?”
I whispered breathlessly.

A
smile spread slowly across his face. “Any way I can.” He tugged me against his
chest and lowered his head to kiss me, but he paused halfway. “There are a few
more things you should know…” he warned.

I
arched an eyebrow, afraid to ask.

“I
won’t play fair, Kristine. Once I’m in, I’m all in. You give me this chance,
and I won’t walk away... not ever.”

I
thought about Michael, how he had manipulated me when he threatened to bomb the
Pentagon and kill Kadyn. Michael, who worked so hard to seduce me in Paris,
then completely stole my heart. The man I agreed to marry. The father of my
unborn child. The same man who couldn’t bear to look at me, who couldn’t
comfort me, who pushed me away when Genevieve died. I kneeled at his feet and
begged to stay when he forced me out of his life. I still loved him despite all
the pain he had caused me, but I knew a relationship with him was impossible. It
would kill him to know I was considering a relationship with his brother; and as
hurt as I was, I didn’t want to cause Michael any more pain.

My
thoughts turned to Kadyn. I still loved Kadyn, and there was a part of me that
was still holding out hope that we could work things out. Kadyn was devastated
when Michael kidnapped me. But, the fact that I had fallen in love with
Michael, agreed to marry him, and had been pregnant with his child ruined all
chances of a relationship with Kadyn. He had made it clear that my choices had
destroyed his love for me. Friendship was as far as he was willing to go; and
he had been true to his word. He was still a very good friend.

Then
I thought about Rafael. Rafael was the one who comforted me when Genevieve
died. He was the one who dried my tears and wrapped me in his arms when I
mourned her loss. He was the one who slept in a chair by my bedside so he could
comfort me when the nightmares came. He was the man who picked up the broken
pieces when Michael ordered me to leave. He was there for me during some of the
lowest moments of my life… and now he’s asking me to give him a chance. He’s
promising never to turn his back on me.
How do you say no to that?

I
thought about Rafael’s promise… or was it a warning? The words echoed through
my mind…
I won’t play fair, Kristine. Once I’m in, I’m all in. I won’t walk
away… not ever
. How could those words both comfort and terrify me? I
searched Rafael’s eyes for the truth behind his words, and my heart stalled.
His eyes were determined and fierce. That’s when I knew. I wanted this dark
angel. I wanted him to love me, and I wanted to love him back. Slowly, I nodded.

Rafael
wasn’t about to let me change my mind. I gasped as he swung a well-muscled arm
under my legs and swept me off my feet. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he
strode from the sun room. He shifted me in his arms and began to undress me just
as we reached the base of the stairs. He was buried deep inside of me before we
even reached my room.

*
* * * * *

Rafael
watched me race half-naked across my room. He had an amused look on his face as
he stretched out his arm and made a half-hearted attempt to pull me back into
bed.

I
yelped as his fingers grazed my hip. “Stop! I’m going to be late for school. I
need to find my bra, and I still need to e-mail Shae my resume before I leave.”
Thankfully, my classes didn’t start until four o’clock on Mondays.

A
wicked grin danced across his face as he dangled my black lace bra from the end
of his finger.

I
stood with arms crossed. “If I come anywhere near that bed, you’ll pull me in.”
I slowly inched toward my bra. “We made love for over four hours this morning,
and that’s not counting last night. I can barely walk. How can you possibly be
up for more?”

Rafael’s
eyes widened. “Did you seriously just ask me that?”

I
eyed him nervously as I reached for my bra.

He
had me pinned on the bed before my next breath. “Maybe you need a demonstration
of just how much I am up for,” he suggested playfully.

I
tried to object, but he swallowed my words in a kiss. The kiss stoked a raging
fire, so I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to be late and surrendered
myself to Rafael once more.

*
* * * * *

I
was ten minutes late when I slunk into class. I was relieved to find Shae had
saved me a seat. I sank into the chair as quietly as I could.

“He’s
in a mood,” she whispered.

Dr.
Rubenstein’s eyes bore into mine. “Ms. Stone, I’m pleased to see you could join
us today.”

I
shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “I’m sorry I’m late, sir.”

His
eyes remained on me. “Two kids are fighting over a lemon. What do you do?”

“Me?”
I squeaked. My cheeks instantly flooded with heat.

“Yes,
Ms. Stone.
You
.”

I
glanced around the class nervously. “I would ask both children what they wanted
to use the lemon for.”

A
single eyebrow rose on his forehead. “Really? Jeff suggested we cut it in
half.”

I
shot Jeff an apologetic look. “Respectfully, sir, I disagree.”

Both
eyebrows rose. “Why would you ask the children this question?”

“Well,
sir, I need a better understanding of their interests and their need for the
lemon before I can help them generate a solution that will make them both
happy.”

A
hint of a smile tugged at Dr. Rubenstein’s lips. “One child wants the lemon
rind for a scone recipe. The other wants the juice for a glass of lemon-aid.”

I
nodded. “The obvious solution is to let one child grate the peel, then give the
lemon to the other child to squeeze for juice. If you cut the lemon in half,
it’s possible neither child will end up with enough peel or juice for his recipe.
But, I wouldn’t necessarily tell them that.”

Mock
confusion fell over my professor’s face. “You wouldn’t?”

I
looked down at my books so I wouldn’t laugh at the look on his face. “No. I
would ask them a series of questions about the lemon, have them propose some
solutions, and decide for themselves.”

I
peeked up at Dr. Rubenstein. He was beaming. “Why?”

“Because
it improves their ability to think through and resolve their disputes in the
future. It reduces the likelihood that I will have to intervene again.”

Dr.
Rubenstein nodded. “Well done, Ms. Stone.”

The
heat in my cheeks cooled as Dr. Rubenstein proceeded with his lecture on
mediation. I breathed a sigh of relief as I began taking notes.

*
* * * * *

Two
hours later Shae and I walked to a nearby Starbucks to grab a quick bite to eat
before our evening class with Dr. Sandstrom. His class was normally held on
Thursdays, but he moved our class to Monday due to some surgery he had scheduled
later in the week. I was going to need some serious caffeine to get through the
next three hours. I was exhausted and sore from my tryst with Rafael.

Shae
nudged me with her shoulder as we walked down the sidewalk. “How’d the
scavenger race go yesterday?”

I
pushed my sleeves up so she could see the angry red marks the handcuffs had
left behind. “It was crazy. I had to walk on glass, eat raw squid, drive some
random college boy around on a tandem bike, solve a cryptograph involving the
Gettysburg Address, belly dance at a Moroccan restaurant, do a wheel barrow
race in handcuffs, and run around DC in a Supergirl costume.”

Blackberry
flavored vitamin water sprayed from Shae’s mouth as she burst out laughing.
“That sounds awesome. Remind me to sign up for that next year.”

“You
should,” I agreed. I pulled open the door to Starbucks. For some reason
completely outside my understanding, Shae did not drink coffee. She only went to
Starbucks with me so I could feed my addiction. The angels practically sang as
I walked through the place. I hustled toward the counter. “I’d like a venti
caramel macchiato, skinny, with an extra shot, and extra hot.”

Shae
grabbed a bistro box filled with cheese, a hard-boiled egg, apple slices, and
grapes. I did the same. We paid for our food and settled in at a table near the
serving bar to wait for my coffee. Shae popped open her bistro box. “You
promised to give me the scoop on those two seriously hot guys we saw in the
park yesterday.”

My
eyes widened with comprehension. “Oh my God! I can’t believe how much has changed
since yesterday.”

Shae
looked at me expectantly. “Dish.”

My
body began to hum as my thoughts turned to Rafael. “Well, apparently I’m dating
the dark angel now.”

Shae
looked shocked. “The bodyguard? You’re dating the man your ex-fiancé used to
pay to watch over you?”

I
sank down into my seat. “We had sex... like eight times.”

“
Since
yesterday?
” she nearly screamed.

“
Shhhh!
”
I cringed. “Yes. He just sort of magically appeared in my house last night.” I
paused distractedly. I still didn’t know how he had gotten into my house. I
shook my head and continued. “He said he wants a chance to prove how much he
loves me. It’s a long story. He was there for me through some really difficult stuff.
He’s done working for Michael, and he’s determined to make me fall in love with
him.”

Shae
grabbed my arm. “You have got to be kidding me.”

I
winced. “I haven’t told you the worst part.”

A
wicked look danced across Shae’s face. “He’s really bad in bed?”

I
groaned. “No. He’s incredible… like
really
incredible in bed. No, the worst
part is that Rafael is Michael’s brother.”

Shae’s
jaw fell open. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her
chest as she sized me up. “So, let me get this straight. You’re having sex with
your ex-fiancé’s brother?”

“Yes,”
I confessed with a great deal of embarrassment. I buried my face in my hands. “What
the hell am I thinking?”

Shae
shook her head. “I don’t know, Kri, but I doubt there’s a woman alive who could
resist Rafael. That guy is seriously hot. So, what about Kadyn, the guy you went
to the scavenger race with? What’s he going to think about you dating Rafael?”

I
jumped up and grabbed my coffee from the serving station before responding. I scorched
the roof of my mouth as I took a long pull from the cup. “I don’t know. I doubt
Kadyn’s going to be happy about this. Kadyn and I were dating when Michael
kidnapped me. He spent six months trying to find me…”

Shae
cut me off. “
Holy shit, Kri!
You were engaged to a man who kidnapped
you? Why are you just now telling me this?”

The
barista gave us a dirty look, so I shoved Shae out the door. The last thing I needed
was to get banned from Starbucks. I tried to explain as we walked back toward
the campus. “It’s complicated. Michael and I dated once before. He proposed on
the fourth date. I turned him down, and he didn’t take it very well. I moved to
DC and started dating Kadyn. We dated for nine months before Michael forced me
to leave with him. You remember the car bombs at the Pentagon last year?”

Shae
stopped walking. “Yeah…”

“Michael
led me to believe he planted them. He said he would kill Kadyn if I didn’t go
to Paris with him.”

Her
eyes widened. “Was he the one who planted them?”

I
shook my head as we resumed walking. “No. He heard about it on the news and
took advantage of the situation so he could manipulate me into going with him.
I didn’t want to be there at first, but it didn’t take Michael long to seduce
me. I fell in love with him, and I agreed to marry him when he proposed. A few
days later, we discovered I was pregnant. We were supposed to be married last
December.”

Shae
stared at me. “What happened? Surely he didn’t just let you walk away after all
that.”

I
sighed dejectedly. “Michael once worked for an investment firm where he
discovered the general partners were investing and washing money for a
terrorist group. He turned them in. The funds were frozen, and a number of
people were prosecuted, but two of the partners escaped before they were
arrested. One of them came to Michael’s house in Paris, the day that Michael
and Rafael were being fitted for their wedding tuxes. The guy attacked Jean, the
bodyguard who was watching over me at the time. Then he tried to drown me.
Michael and Rafael arrived just in time. Rafael killed the guy when he pulled
him off of me. I lost the baby that same day, and Michael never recovered. He
ordered me to leave. He said he didn’t want me in his life anymore because he
couldn’t keep me safe.”