“OK Raife, I’m fine so you can get out!”

  “Jules I really need to see you to know you’re alright, you had a pretty nasty head injury, can we discuss this without a door in between us, please”.

  I cracked the door an inch and saw Raife standing just inside the door to the bedroom looking right at me, his brilliant blue eyes boring straight into mine, his lips tilted into a half smile.

  “Stay right there and don’t move”, I ordered as I shuffled sideways to my closet, never taking my eyes off him. I grabbed sweats and a clean T shirt while grasping my towel closed with my other hand and made my way back into the bathroom. Shutting and bolting the door I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and sat on the toilet lid. As I pulled the sweat pants up my injured skin sent pain through me and I groaned. “Jules, are you alright?” Raife asked with what sounded like concern.

  “Yeah”, I answered, still wondering who is this guy? Maybe he’s a doctor, that would explain the concern, but what the hell kind of doctors made house calls? I pulled my arms into the t-shirt and slid it over my head, wincing from the pain in my arms and stood to unlock the door.

  “I’m coming out so stay where you are”.

  “I won’t move” came his answer as I opened the door and walked, ok maybe more of a shuffle, into the bedroom. I raised my chin and nodded in the direction of the hall.

  “Let’s go into the kitchen”, I directed and followed from a distance as he made his way into the small kitchen at the front of my apartment.

  “Sit down”, I commanded as I entered the kitchen, giving myself a clear shot to the door if I had to run for it.

  “Who the hell are you and how do you know me?”

  Raife looked at me, his gaze traveling along my bruised jaw and stopping at the angry red marks on my throat, his jaw clenched tight. “My name is Raife as I said and I learned your name and address from your license after the incident in the bar parking lot last night”. Oh crap, it was coming back to me now, the stranger in the suit from the bar jumped me before I could get in my truck. There was some kind of a fight and I guess that’s where my injuries came from. Images spun through my head of two men fighting then murmured voices as I felt myself being put into my truck and I vaguely remembered being lowered into my bed. Voices, why do I remember two voices speaking?

  “Did you bring me here by yourself, or was someone else with you?” Raife looked directly into my eyes, his sky blue eyes boring into mine as if he was hoping to see some kind of answer there. “I drove you here in your truck and Dallas followed so I had a ride back to the parking lot to pick up my car”, he replied, never letting his gaze drift from mine. A lock of black hair dipped onto his forehead from the rest of his waves that were pulled back from his face. That face…. flawless ivory skin, a very light skim of darker stubble across his strong jaw, leading up to lips that were currently drawn into a firm line. My hand itched to cup his beautiful cheek in my palm and draw my thumb across those lips! Huh, why the hell was I thinking that about a guy that I hardly know!

  “Who’s Dallas?” Raife pulled his eyes from mine and briefly scanned my small kitchen before answering.

  “He’s the bartender from The Den, the bar you were at last night”.

  “Okay, I’m still at a loss here and this is not making much sense to me. I remember being attacked in the parking lot, and a fight but not much after that. Did the Police come and catch the guy who attacked me, and why wasn’t I taken to a hospital? None of this is making any sense!” I could feel my heart rate increasing and my breaths quickening as I remembered the feeling of being accosted by the guy in the suit! I clenched my fists and unclenched them quickly before jumping up from my seat, adrenaline spiking in my bloodstream telling me to run! Unfortunately jumping up too quickly combined with the head injury I’d sustained caused me to stumble, but before I could hit the floor Raife was there, his arms wrapped around me, holding me up. He eased me back onto the kitchen chair.

  “Hey, you need to slow down, you took a nasty bruise to your head and are probably dehydrated and starving too if I’m guessing right. Why don’t you just sit there, I’ll get you a drink and see what you have here to eat.”

  Raife stuck his head into the frig and came out with a container of orange juice. He grabbed a glass from the cabinet beside the sink and placed the glass of juice in front of me. My hand trembled slightly as I went to lift the glass, probably the adrenaline leaving my system I thought as I took a sip. The sweet tart juice was perfect and I quickly drained the glass. Raife looked at me with a loaf of white bread in his hand and one perfectly arched brow lifted above those impossibly blue eyes.

  “Toast?” he inquired.

  “Perfect, thank you” I responded, not quite sure why I was allowing myself to be waited on by a total stranger in my own kitchen.

  Raife dropped two slices into the toaster, stuck his head back in the frig and came out with a jar of raspberry jam. He then refilled my glass with orange juice and placed the bottle of ibuprofen I kept in the cabinet next to it. I quickly swallowed two tablets with another half a glass of juice and watched as Raife slathered the toast with jam and placed it in front of me before taking his seat.

  I took a bite then looked at him, those amazing blue eyes locked on mine and realized how stunningly good looking he was. His dark charcoal suit hugged his shoulders and caressed his biceps, ending at the brilliant white shirt cuffs held together with simple but elegant gold cufflinks. His lips twitched up at the corners and a gleam in his eye showed he hadn’t missed my perusal.

  I glanced away and swallowed the toast, “Why are you taking care of me? Are you a doctor or something?”

  “I guess you could say something, and I’m caring for you because you were in need”.

  “Is that something you do frequently, just go around rescuing people and taking care of them? If that was the case, then I was thinking that maybe he was crazy, because that was definitely not something people did!

  “Not as a rule, No”.

  I slowly chewed my toast, trying to make sense of this situation and coming up with nothing, so I kept eating the toast and staring at the gorgeous man sitting across from me. I finished eating, drank the rest of the juice and opened my mouth to speak when Raife looked directly into my eyes, “You need more sleep”.

  The next time I peeled my eyes open, I saw faint light coming through the edges of the blinds in my bedroom. I reached for my phone on the bedside table, six forty five A.M. I stretched both arms over my head and arched my back, feeling like I’d slept for days, then opened the email on my phone. Sunday! What the fuck happened to Saturday? No matter how hard I tried, I could not think of what I had done on Saturday at fucking all! Shit, had I drank so much Friday night that I lost Saturday in a boozy hangover? Come to think of it, I did feel kind of achy and tired. Godammit, I will never drink that much again!

  Chapter two

  Jules

  The piles of work on my desk made me wish I had stayed in bed another half hour this morning, at least I had my thirty ounce travel mug filled with super hot coffee, black just the way I liked it. I fired up my computer and dug into the first pile of loan applications, verifying information and looking into references. Five hours later I pushed away from my desk and stretched my back, grabbed my purse from the bottom desk drawer and walked to the elevator.

  Three blocks down, the deli was doing its normally brisk business so I got into line behind about five people waiting to place their orders. This place had really great salads. I always loaded up with nuts and cranberries, goat cheese and pears or apple slices. As I thought about it my stomach let out a deep grumble and the guy in front of me turned and looked at me with a smirk on his face.

  “Hungry?”, he chuckled. “Long morning” I answered quickly, looking down at my phone to try and avoid any further conversation. “Well, this place does have the best lunch”. “Uh hmmm”, I muttered, still looking down at my phone and hoping he would get the hint, but no.

  “I’m Jay. I think I saw you at The Den the other night after work, nice to see you again”. I stared, my mind whirled as panic began to set in. What did he mean by that, was he connected to the guy who had attacked me? I could feel the blood draining from my face, my heart hammering and my breath coming quicker. I glanced up at the guy’s back and noticed the brown hair that curled over his shirt collar and remembered the pale skin and hair of the guy who’d attacked me. So, not him.

  The line moved forward and he had to step up to the counter to order, allowing me a moment to take deep breaths and try to calm my racing heart. He turned and looked back at me, “Are you okay?” I sucked in a lungful of air and said, “Must be low blood sugar, I’ll be fine”, as I stepped to the counter and placed my order, handing the cashier the money with a hand that was only trembling slightly.

  I grabbed the bag with my salad and water, turned quickly to get out of the deli and hurried the three blocks back to my office. Once I sat at my desk and pulled my lunch from the bag the shaking finally stopped and I drank half the bottle of water. My appetite had vanished. I picked at some apple slices then boxed my salad back up to take home for dinner. The events of the other night ran through my head on a loop until I immersed myself in work. I had worked almost an hour later than anyone else, and realized all the other desks were empty and the sun was setting, casting deep shadows into the room. Grabbing my bag, jacket and uneaten salad I made my way to the elevator.

  The doors opened in the lobby which felt eerily quiet, it was normally bustling with people. The glass doors to the rear parking lot opened automatically and I stepped out into the quiet night, a shiver racing up my back. As I made my way to my truck I couldn’t help but glance around the deserted lot trying not to feel the apprehension working its way up the back of my neck. “You’re fine”, I muttered to myself, trying to instill some confidence into my shaky legs. A gust of wind blew past, lifting my hair off my shoulders and rustling leaves in the trees lining the parking lot. The sound of a twig snapping had me bolting for the door of my truck, wrenching it open, leaping into the seat and slamming the door shut. I fumbled with getting the key into the ignition, turned the engine over and slammed it into drive, my foot pressing down on the gas and heading for the exit alongside the building. Just before I got to the street a man stepped off the walkway and I slammed on the brakes before hitting him. My white knuckle grip on the steering wheel relaxed slightly as the man crossed in front of me and I let out a big breath. “Holy shit, I’ve go to calm the fuck down”.

  A tap on my driver's door window wrenched a scream from my throat as I frantically looked at the face in the window. Raife took a step away from the truck and raised both hands palms forward in a placating motion. “Sorry I scared you Jules, I just recognized your truck and wanted to see how you are. Did not mean to scare you”.

  I slowly peeled my right hand off the steering wheel and put the truck in park and hit the button to lower my window. “You scared the crap out of me!” “Jules, I apologize. The last thing I want to do is scare you. Please let me make it up to you and take you to dinner. You look a bit shaken up to drive right now, please allow me to do this.” “I, I don’t know. I really should go home”. “There’s a little Italian place about a mile down the road, and I’ll have you home in an hour. I will feel better if I know you’ve eaten a good dinner. If you slide over I’ll drive us since it’s my fault that you’re shaken up”. “I don’t know why I’m agreeing but okay”.

  Just like Raife said, the small restaurant was a two minute drive and we were seated at a small table by the window right away. Raife ordered a bottle of red wine I’d never heard of and I stuck with water. When the waiter returned with the wine, Raife poured a small amount into my glass and asked me to try it. “You’ll like it Jules and it will help to calm your nerves”. I took a sip and the slightly fruity light wine was nice. “Mmm, it’s good”. Raife smiled and I was struck again by just how good looking he was. Today he was wearing a dark blue suit with a crisp white shirt and a gray tie. His dark brown hair was casually mussed, the waves at the back of his head reaching below the collar of his shirt. “I’m confused about all this help you’re giving me, I don’t get it”. “Jules, the other night I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I would be a sad excuse for a man if I hadn’t helped you and now I’m lucky to share your company since I find you very intriguing. You’re an incredibly beautiful, strong, woman. I would be crazy not to be interested in you.” “Huh, now I know you’re putting me on, no way would you be interested in me. That’s what’s got me so confused.”

  The waiter returned and Raife turned an inquiring gaze to me, “May I order for you?” I shrugged and he turned back to the waiter, “the vegetarian pasta fagioli and the gnocchi in mushrooms and cream”, he instructed the waiter, handing him back the menus. When the waiter returned with a large soup bowl, Raife waved his hand toward me indicating the soup was for me. “None for you?” I asked. “I have a business function that I must attend later this evening”. Raife motioned to me and I picked up the spoon blowing across the hot soup before putting it in my mouth. I moaned softly in the back of my throat, “that’s delicious!”. Raife’s intense stare watched me with a different kind of hunger in his eyes before he abruptly tore his gaze away and looked out the window. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it”.

  Surprised I had finished my dinner having eaten every bite of the creamy gnocchi along with a glass of the delicious wine I glanced at my dinner companion.

  Raife looked at my plate with a grin crossing his handsome face, “you enjoyed it?” I had to swallow down the fluttering in my belly when he looked at me like that. “It was delicious, thank you” I all but stammered, cursing myself for sounding like some idiotic blushing teenager. I was twenty four years old for fucks sake and even if I didn’t have a lot of experience with men, I shouldn’t let Raife get to me so, even if he was the hottest guy I’d ever met.

  He glanced at his wrist and looked up, “I regret that I must be leaving. I would much rather stay here with you than attend the sure to be boring business event, I’m afraid I must.” I tried not to let my disappointment show on my face and said, “Thanks again for the dinner and the help. I really appreciate it.” “Allow me to walk you to your truck Jules, I’ll feel better knowing you’re safely on your way home”.

  We walked together to the parking lot, Raife resting his hand gently on my lower back, causing another flutter that I knew I shouldn’t enjoy so much. He was way out of my league and I really couldn’t figure out why he was paying attention to me at all. I fumbled in my bag for keys when Raife produced them from his pocket and handed the keys to me. That’s right, he’d driven us over after I almost committed vehicular homicide on an innocent pedestrian! I hit the door unlock and before I could open the door, Raife’s hand on my back pushed on my hip and turned me so I stood facing him. He inched closer into my space as his other hand lifted and he ran his index finger along my jaw and his thumb lightly grazed my lower lip. My breath stilled and I gazed into his brilliant blue eyes.

  “Jules, may I kiss you?” Raife’s touch left a trail of heat along my jaw and onto my lips, the deep rumble of his voice set off sparks that started in my belly and moved quickly between my legs and pooled there, causing a fiery heat. “I”, I barely nodded and leaned in just as Raife lowered his head, his eyes sparkling as they held mine and he brushed his lips across mine. My hands moved of their own volition up towards the back of his neck and grasped those silken waves in my fingers. I parted my lips as his hand on my back pulled me in closer and his lips molded to mine, his tongue sweeping across my lips looking for entrance. A moan escaped my lips and our tongues tangled, his sweeping and gliding across mine as my grip on his hair tightened and my breasts pressed firmly against his hard chest. Raife groaned and his hand pulled me impossibly closer, his hard body pressed against every inch of me as his tongue continued to sweep across mine.

  Gasping for breath I had to force my mouth from his, panting with the lack of air as I stared into his eyes that seemed to glow with a heat from within. I couldn’t look away, his eyes held me entranced for what felt like minutes but probably wasn’t. Raife broke his gaze from mine and straightened slightly without loosening his hold on me. He gently brushed my lips with his then lifted his hand and brushed the hair back from my face where it had fallen, tucking it lightly behind my ear. His forehead lowered to mine as he exhaled slowly breathing my name, “Jules”. A shudder ran through me as all the heat in my body seemed to pool between my legs leaving me feeling slightly light headed. Raife kissed my neck just below my ear and took a deep breath, “Mmm”, he whispered into my ear. I shivered slightly and lowered my hands from behind his head, grasping his arms to steady myself. I moved to take a step back, “I should go”. It came out as a breathy whisper.

  Raife clasped my hand in his and opened the drivers door to my truck. I slid in and turned to look at him. “Jules, I need to see you tomorrow, can I pick you up after work?”. I took a deep breath feeling like my heart rate was finally calming down to a more normal speed. I still didn’t know why he was interested in me but I wasn’t going to argue about it either. I glanced down, unable to hold his intense gaze, “Okay, I”m usually done at five”. “I will wait for you then”, Raife stated, then he watched as I put my truck in drive and made my way out of the parking lot.

  Chapter three

  Raife

  I strode into The Den and made my way to the small door at the rear, an employee's only sign hanging on it. I stepped inside where Dallas sat behind his large oak desk, his eyes darting to me, his body quickly straightening, ready to move.

  “Oh, it's you. What do you want?” he questioned, relaxing slightly back into his chair.

  “We need to talk about Jules”. I moved to sit in the one chair in front of the desk, lowering myself into it as I undid the button of my suit jacket.