Raul & Fay - Bonus scene (first kiss)
This scene happened off page in Ruthless Protector. Raul has just dropped Willa home from her shift at Stilettos right after an argument with Trent.
I'm done waiting
Raul
You’d think after working with twenty-plus women in any given week for the last forty years, I might have a clue or two about how they ticked.
I didn’t know shit.
Willa climbed out of my car and I made sure she was safely inside before making my way up the stairs to Fay’s brownstone next door. The woman wasn’t talking to me and I had no idea why.
I couldn’t fucking stand it.
Talking to Fay, being anywhere near her, was like sunshine after a cloudy day. Like the smooth intoxicating burn of a top shelf whisky…Christ, the buzz that followed.
She was a goddamn hurricane that blew me off my feel and spun the shit out of me until I didn’t know which way was up.
It had been love at first sight.
I’d fallen for her the day I laid eyes on her. She’d been seventeen and fresh from the country.
It’d been the same for her…only it had been my brother Mateo she’d fallen for.
At the time, hell, for a lot of years, I’d felt like shit about it. But I had no control over those feelings, that wasn’t the way love worked.
Having her in my life constantly had been torture, though, that still didn’t adequately describe how it felt like to watch the woman you loved build a life with someone else.
I loved my brother, but Mateo was gone now, had been for a long time, and I couldn’t say I hadn’t thought about acting on it, about telling Fay how I felt.
But I’d rather have this, this friendship or whatever it was between us, than lose her completely, and that’s what could happen if I made the wrong move with her.
Fay had loved Mateo with her whole heart and I didn’t think that would ever change. I wasn’t sure she had any room in there for anyone else.
I knocked on the door and waited.
It opened a minute later, and fuck me, I sucked in a breath at the sight of her. The woman never failed to render me speechless. Her black hair, that was now streaked with silver, was down and wild. Still as fucking beautiful now as it was when she was seventeen.
My gaze moved over her and I grinned, even as my heart raced faster. Her t-shirt was black, faded, with Lynyrd Skynyrd on the front and knotted at her hip, and her long skirt had two little bells hanging down the front that swayed and jingled when she moved. Her dainty feet were bare, her toes painted blue.
And vanilla, she always smelled like vanilla.
My mouth watered.
Her head tilted to the side, her beautiful face morphing into a scowl. Those lips, Jesus, those gorgeous pink lips pressing into a line. “What are you doing here, Raul?”
I slid my hands in my pockets, to stop from reaching for her. The impulse had always been strong, but lately, it had become a whole lot harder to ignore. “You’re pissed at me,” I said, stating the obvious.
She crossed her arms. “No shit.”
“You wanna tell me what’s up?” I said. “Cause as much as I wished I could, I can’t read fucking minds.”
Her gorgeous brown eyes flashed. “I think you know well and good what’s up.”
She spun and walked away. I followed her into the kitchen frowning, not sure what she was talking about. Music was playing softly in the living room. Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir.
She stormed to one of the drawers under the counter, pulled something out, and slammed it down on the table.
A check.
My gaze lifted from the piece of paper, back to her. “This? Thisis what you’re pissed at me about? Seriously?”
“I told you, I don’t want your goddamn money,” she said, with so much passion behind her words, I nearly stumbled back a step.
For some reason, I felt like my heart had been torn out. I couldn’t explain it, but fuck it hurt. “You get Mateo’s share, what he would have gotten as part owner of the club, you know that.” It was something we fought about every year, fuck knew how I forgot the accountant would be sending it to her this week.
She pushed away from the table, gaze sliding to the window, away from me. “Mateo’s not here, he hasn’t been for a long time. I’m not his wife anymore, I’m not…” she broke off, throat working.
I didn’t know what the hell was going on here, why she was so pissed off with me about this. I felt like I was missing something fucking huge. “You’re gonna need to spell this out to me, Fay, because I have to tell you, I have no goddamn clue why you’re so upset about this…”
She spun back to me. “Forget it. Just… forget it.”
I strode over to her. She had to know I couldn’t do that. I took her arms and looked down at her. “Talk to me, honey.”
She looked up at me, eyes full of determination, of fire. “You really want to know why I’m upset?”
“Yeah, please, clue me the fuck in,” I said, desperate to get inside that damned head of hers.
“I’m tired,” she said. “So damn tired. I’m tired of being a shell of myself, of just being…someone’s widow…and I’m tired of being lonely.”
My gut tightened.
She shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved Mateo, you know I did, but…”
My fingers flexed, holding her tighter. “Fay…”
“I’m done waiting, Raul.”
Silence filled the room.
I’m Gonna Crawl started playing, echoing down the hall. I brushed her soft, wild, beautiful hair back, tucking it behind her ear. “What are you done waiting for, sweetheart?”
She blinked rapidly, eyes glistening. “You, Raul. I’m done waiting for you.”
“What?” I rasped, heart thumping like hell in my chest.
“And I’m done pretending. You want me, and god knows I want you, too.” Then she lifted up on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips to mine.
I went rock solid, a sound coming from me that I’d never heard before.
It was the sound of a man tasting heaven for the first time. A man finally getting everything he’d ever fucking wanted.
All the history, all the pain and want and need, fucking exploded between us. I curled my arm around her waist and pulled her closer, finally kissing the woman of my dreams, the woman I would have waited another forty years for as long as it led me to this moment.
We started swaying to the music, holding onto each other so damn tight. Fay trembled against me and I took the kiss deeper, never wanting to stop, never wanting to let her go, drowning in her.
Finally, I lifted my head, still swaying with her. “I’m in love you, you know that, don’t you, sweetheart? That I’ve been in love with you from the beginning?”
She nodded, big tears rolling down her cheeks.
I brushed them away. “This is it, isn’t it? You’re finally mine?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “And you’re mine.” Then she rested her head on my shoulder and said softly, “I love you, too.”
You’d think after working with twenty-plus women in any given week for the last forty years, I might have a clue or two about how they ticked.
I didn’t know shit.
Willa climbed out of my car and I made sure she was safely inside before making my way up the stairs to Fay’s brownstone next door. The woman wasn’t talking to me and I had no idea why.
I couldn’t fucking stand it.
Talking to Fay, being anywhere near her, was like sunshine after a cloudy day. Like the smooth intoxicating burn of a top shelf whisky…Christ, the buzz that followed.
She was a goddamn hurricane that blew me off my feel and spun the shit out of me until I didn’t know which way was up.
It had been love at first sight.
I’d fallen for her the day I laid eyes on her. She’d been seventeen and fresh from the country.
It’d been the same for her…only it had been my brother Mateo she’d fallen for.
At the time, hell, for a lot of years, I’d felt like shit about it. But I had no control over those feelings, that wasn’t the way love worked.
Having her in my life constantly had been torture, though, that still didn’t adequately describe how it felt like to watch the woman you loved build a life with someone else.
I loved my brother, but Mateo was gone now, had been for a long time, and I couldn’t say I hadn’t thought about acting on it, about telling Fay how I felt.
But I’d rather have this, this friendship or whatever it was between us, than lose her completely, and that’s what could happen if I made the wrong move with her.
Fay had loved Mateo with her whole heart and I didn’t think that would ever change. I wasn’t sure she had any room in there for anyone else.
I knocked on the door and waited.
It opened a minute later, and fuck me, I sucked in a breath at the sight of her. The woman never failed to render me speechless. Her black hair, that was now streaked with silver, was down and wild. Still as fucking beautiful now as it was when she was seventeen.
My gaze moved over her and I grinned, even as my heart raced faster. Her t-shirt was black, faded, with Lynyrd Skynyrd on the front and knotted at her hip, and her long skirt had two little bells hanging down the front that swayed and jingled when she moved. Her dainty feet were bare, her toes painted blue.
And vanilla, she always smelled like vanilla.
My mouth watered.
Her head tilted to the side, her beautiful face morphing into a scowl. Those lips, Jesus, those gorgeous pink lips pressing into a line. “What are you doing here, Raul?”
I slid my hands in my pockets, to stop from reaching for her. The impulse had always been strong, but lately, it had become a whole lot harder to ignore. “You’re pissed at me,” I said, stating the obvious.
She crossed her arms. “No shit.”
“You wanna tell me what’s up?” I said. “Cause as much as I wished I could, I can’t read fucking minds.”
Her gorgeous brown eyes flashed. “I think you know well and good what’s up.”
She spun and walked away. I followed her into the kitchen frowning, not sure what she was talking about. Music was playing softly in the living room. Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir.
She stormed to one of the drawers under the counter, pulled something out, and slammed it down on the table.
A check.
My gaze lifted from the piece of paper, back to her. “This? Thisis what you’re pissed at me about? Seriously?”
“I told you, I don’t want your goddamn money,” she said, with so much passion behind her words, I nearly stumbled back a step.
For some reason, I felt like my heart had been torn out. I couldn’t explain it, but fuck it hurt. “You get Mateo’s share, what he would have gotten as part owner of the club, you know that.” It was something we fought about every year, fuck knew how I forgot the accountant would be sending it to her this week.
She pushed away from the table, gaze sliding to the window, away from me. “Mateo’s not here, he hasn’t been for a long time. I’m not his wife anymore, I’m not…” she broke off, throat working.
I didn’t know what the hell was going on here, why she was so pissed off with me about this. I felt like I was missing something fucking huge. “You’re gonna need to spell this out to me, Fay, because I have to tell you, I have no goddamn clue why you’re so upset about this…”
She spun back to me. “Forget it. Just… forget it.”
I strode over to her. She had to know I couldn’t do that. I took her arms and looked down at her. “Talk to me, honey.”
She looked up at me, eyes full of determination, of fire. “You really want to know why I’m upset?”
“Yeah, please, clue me the fuck in,” I said, desperate to get inside that damned head of hers.
“I’m tired,” she said. “So damn tired. I’m tired of being a shell of myself, of just being…someone’s widow…and I’m tired of being lonely.”
My gut tightened.
She shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved Mateo, you know I did, but…”
My fingers flexed, holding her tighter. “Fay…”
“I’m done waiting, Raul.”
Silence filled the room.
I’m Gonna Crawl started playing, echoing down the hall. I brushed her soft, wild, beautiful hair back, tucking it behind her ear. “What are you done waiting for, sweetheart?”
She blinked rapidly, eyes glistening. “You, Raul. I’m done waiting for you.”
“What?” I rasped, heart thumping like hell in my chest.
“And I’m done pretending. You want me, and god knows I want you, too.” Then she lifted up on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips to mine.
I went rock solid, a sound coming from me that I’d never heard before.
It was the sound of a man tasting heaven for the first time. A man finally getting everything he’d ever fucking wanted.
All the history, all the pain and want and need, fucking exploded between us. I curled my arm around her waist and pulled her closer, finally kissing the woman of my dreams, the woman I would have waited another forty years for as long as it led me to this moment.
We started swaying to the music, holding onto each other so damn tight. Fay trembled against me and I took the kiss deeper, never wanting to stop, never wanting to let her go, drowning in her.
Finally, I lifted my head, still swaying with her. “I’m in love you, you know that, don’t you, sweetheart? That I’ve been in love with you from the beginning?”
She nodded, big tears rolling down her cheeks.
I brushed them away. “This is it, isn’t it? You’re finally mine?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “And you’re mine.” Then she rested her head on my shoulder and said softly, “I love you, too.”