Chapter 174: Travel Edition
- RAYA -
"Good right?" I ask Rory around the bite of strawberry croissant in my mouth, and I end up giggling at how muffled it is. I might have taken too large of a bite, and talking doesn’t really work with a mouth full of food.
Rory can’t hold back her laughter, and we both end up struggling to not spit out our food. Chewing and talking might be hard to do at the same time, but chewing and laughing is even harder.
When Rory is finally able to swallow, she nods. "It’s very good."
Her mood seems to have lifted, and I’m so grateful for it. Maybe it’s the food. Melon Pan is pretty magical, in my opinion.
"Have you ever written about Melon Pan?" Dex asks Rory conversationally.
I glance over to see him put his thumb in his mouth to suck off some errant cream, and god, he really shouldn’t do that in front of other people. It looks entirely erotic with those full masculine lips and handsome dark features. I want to hide him and keep him all for myself—grab his hand and drag him to the bedroom so that I can keep those lips busy doing other things that only I get to witness.
When I look back at Rory, she doesn’t seem to notice how alluring Dex is. Thankfully. If we were animals in the wild, I would totally fight her for him—sister or not. But she has her own male to deal with.
Luciano is watching her intently, leaned back in his chair to give the impression of complete relaxation while he awaits her answer like the rest of us. But his eyes tell a different story. They look like they never sleep—always ready, always watching. They obviously were keen enough to notice that Rory has lost weight, and now he is making sure she eats.
I wonder if Luciano is ever able to rest or sleep well. It’s not like Rory is all he has to worry about—she’s just his newest concern. Maybe he has men who guard him, too. Maybe he lives in a place fortified with layer after layer of security to ensure that he will never be taken by surprise. I can’t imagine the threats and paranoia Luciano must live with on a regular basis.
But right now, all of that intensity is directed at my sister like she is the only thing in the world that exists. Luci may be angled away from her like he is completely at ease, but I’m not fooled. Rory needs the space, though. He’s smart. I hope he’s also very patient, because he’s going to need it when it comes to my sister.
"No, I’ve never written about them," Rory says. "Everyone already loves them. They’re well-established and basically pillars in the community."
"Still, I bet people would love your take on it," I offer.
Rory writes so beautifully about food. Even if Melon Pan is well known, I bet people would appreciate her perspective.
"I’d just be telling them what they already know," she shrugs.
"Maybe you could do a food critic travel edition," Luciano suggests. "You can write about your experience in..."
He catches himself when Rory finally turns her attention his way. That’s when I realize just how much she must avoid looking at him, because he receives her expectant look like a bullet. Apparently it reminds him of what he almost forgot, too, which is that he knows our destination, but Rory and I don’t.
"Go on," Rory smiles coyly. "Where should I write about?"
"Shit," he says, glancing at Dex. "Sorry, man. I don’t know what I was thinking."
"Alright, I’m taking Raya in the other room before the surprise gets ruined," Dex chuckles, taking me by the hand.
"But..." I start to object, staring at the rest of my untouched food still sitting on the tray.
Dex picks up the tray and then grabs my hand again, pulling me behind him toward the bedroom.
"Sorry, Dex," Luciano calls behind us.
The bedroom has an anchored table and two chairs as well, so Dex sets the tray there and sits down. The morning sun filters in through the large window next to us, making his honey brown eyes appear golden.
"Thank you so much for all of this," I tell him, and instead of sitting down in the chair across from him, I stand between his legs and run my hands over the bristly hairs on his face.
His eyes close and he sighs heavily like there is a weight he’s been holding that my touch is finally releasing. There’s always a weight he’s holding, I’ve found—especially lately.
"Are you okay?" I ask, still with my fingers caressing his face.
"Of course." His hands grip my waist and then he lets his head drop so that his forehead rests against my chest.
"What is it?" I massage his shoulders—kneading the tight muscles and making him groan.
"I imagined we would be able to get away from everything, but we can’t. There’s no getting away from what happened with my brother. It’s always there. It haunts your sister, and it’s my fault."
My hands stop their work. "It’s not your fault."
"Raya," he says, his voice dropping. "I should have known..."
"There’s no way you could have known what he was going to do, Dex. You can’t take responsibility for just how psychotic Lawson turned out to be."
I sigh now too and sit across from him with the pastries between us. I stare at them absently before looking out at the sky.
"Rory had something happen in high school when she was young."
It’s a whisper, and since I’m watching the peaceful distant clouds, it’s almost like I’m not confessing this secret of my sister’s at all. But guilt twists my insides anyway. Rory wouldn’t want anyone to know that detail about her past, but Dex is going to keep beating himself up about what happened with Lawson since she is having such a difficult time dealing with it. He needs to know her difficulty stems from more than that. It’s not just Lawson.
Dex doesn’t respond. He’s waiting to hear the rest of what I have to say.
"My sister was..." I frown, brows pinching with empathy pain for something I didn’t even experience myself. I bite my lip and fidget with my hands as I’m poised at the precipice of saying that horrible word. I can’t do it. I’m such a coward. "She was uh... assaulted."
For some reason, I can’t even look at Dex when I say that much. It’s like the pain is too great even though it’s not mine. Or maybe it’s the guilt over the fact that I’m offering this hidden information to him when I swore I would never tell anyone.
"Shit," he growls, and I look over to see him scrubbing a hand over his face before glaring into the distance.
"Yeah," I whisper. What else is there to say?
"I went back and forth about whether it was a good idea to invite Luciano to this," he says, his glare now appearing to focus on the cabin where we left him and Rory alone.
"It was a good idea," I say quickly. "She’s been doing better since he brought lunch that day. I honestly think that whatever is going on with them, it’s helping her."
Dex looks at me, eyebrows raised incredulously.
"I mean it. It’s like Luciano understands her... at least a little bit. I know that sounds weird, but Rory has let him in, and that means something. Plus, you said he wouldn’t hurt her, right?"
Dex sighs again, nodding. "He won’t hurt her."
"And Gemma gave her permission to slap him around so," I shrug. "Not that Rory needs permission," I chuckle. "But now she has it. Everything is going to work out," I say more softly.
When Dex’s bright honey eyes lift to mine, I smile. He’s worried about my sister, and that’s so sweet. But I want to erase all those lines of worry and tension and help him finally relax. That’s what this trip is supposed to be about.
"Can we just forget about everything for a little bit?" I suggest. "Maybe open the skylight again?"
My gaze snags on the bed, and the food is now the furthest thing from my mind. There is no way this unique atmosphere is going to go to waste when I’m here with the sexiest, sweetest man alive.
"Come cuddle with me, grumbly wolf." I stand up again and grab his hand. "I seem to recall that you were going to let me persuade you to tell me where we’re going."
