Maybe you should just erase it.
She bit the edge of her thumb as her mind flashed through alternatives. It was taking a risk to sneak back into his home and leave it for him. Hadn’t she taken enough risks lately? Diana sighed. Everything was so mixed up now, and there was no way to tell who was good, who was bad, and where she fit in. But despite everything, she still felt compelled to protect Rafe. He’d obviously kept these files secret for a reason. Maybe they were his insurance policy against the people he’d worked for. Whatever the reason, she knew he wouldn’t have kept them if they weren’t important. As illogical as it may be, she didn’t want these to fall into the wrong hands.
Erasing it wasn’t enough. She didn’t have a tech background, but even she knew there were ways to recover information that had been erased. Considering the kind of sensitive information on the drive, the safest place for it was back with Rafe.
Ten minutes later, she stiffened when she saw Rafe’s SUV pull out of the underground parking garage. This was what she’d been waiting for. He was on his way to work, so she could go drop this off and then be on her way. It was a scary thought, and Diana shivered. After this, she was on her own. There was no one that she could rely on. No one she could trust. Her only plan for survival was to run. Run! And never look back.
She took the elevator to the top floor and then crossed her fingers that her key would still work. It was her hope that Rafe hadn’t been able to get the locks changed so quickly. Another reason she had to move fast and do this now. If she didn’t do it now, she’d never have this opportunity again.
When the key slid in easily and turned, she let out an audible sigh of relief.
“Thank God!” Diana pushed the door open and then silenced the alarm. She had to move fast because knowing Rafe, his alarm system would notify him that it had been turned off. But she’d waited ten minutes before going in, so he was already across town. There was no way he could get back here and catch her in the next sixty seconds unless he sprouted wings and flew.
In shock, she looked around the apartment. It was a mess, which was so unlike Rafe. The books on the coffee table had been shoved to the floor, and when she reached the bedroom, her eyes took in the rumpled sheets and the clothes all over the floor. Rafe was usually so meticulous that he couldn’t stand to see anything that wasn’t in its place. He had a military-like love of order, and it made her sad to see what she’d driven him to.
This is what you’ve done to him. It’s better if you leave and never come back.
Although there was a selfish part of her that wanted to take her chances and confide in Rafe, seeing the tangible evidence of his rage made it clear just how unrealistic that hope was. She’d hurt him and betrayed him. Why would he care about what she had to say? Even if she explained everything and even if he believed her, there was no guarantee that he’d be willing to protect her. Why should he put his life on the line to protect a woman who’d lied to him from the start?
Diana dug in her pocket until her fingers hit the flash drive. She could put it back in the safe, and this would all be over. Just then she heard a noise behind her. Before she could even turn around, she was yanked backward and hit the wall.
“What—” Her scared squeak faded away when she saw Rafe towering over her, his face twisted into a mask of fury.
“You thought it would be that easy?” he growled.
Even as fear filtered through the shock, desire made itself known. Diana whimpered and clenched her thighs together as a tingle of awareness made her core clench. He looked furious, but somehow she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Her knowledge was confirmed when he leaned over her, caging her underneath him, and buried his face in her neck. Diana sighed and angled herself to give him better access. What was it about his touch that made her so hungry for more? Her skin was practically crying out for him, and she’d only been gone two days.
“Do you have any idea how worried I was?” he rasped against her throat in between hot kisses to the bared skin. He began kissing his way up her jawline until he buried his hand in her hair and turned her toward him so he could cover her mouth with his.
Diana didn’t fight it, just melted beneath him and allowed him to direct how she moved. Her thighs opened of their own accord, and he moved right in between them like he belonged there. When he settled against her, everything inside her woke up and flared to life. Nothing else mattered but this.
She could fool herself that she’d come back to protect him or to keep the information from falling into the wrong hands, but there was no denying that a part of her had come back because she was drawn to him. Everything inside her wanted to be where Rafe was. Always.
“What are you doing?” she choked out when his hands went to the button on her jeans. She gasped again when he practically ripped the zipper off while pulling it down.
“Reminding you.” Rafe yanked his own shirt over his head and dropped it to the ground behind them.
“Of what?”
She gasped as his hand slipped inside her jeans and between her legs, the heat of his fingers branding her as it lit her on fire. Diana let out a harsh groan as those talented fingers rubbed and manipulated the aching flesh that suddenly felt very empty.
“Of whom you belong to. Whom this belongs to.”
Before she could respond to that arrogant statement, Rafe kissed her again, their tongues tangling wildly as they each fought to take control. Even though she’d always been an aggressive kind of woman, there was just something about Rafe that made everything feminine and soft inside her wake up and melt under his hands. Maybe it was the way he always slid one hand into her hair, like he wanted to hold her everywhere that just did it for her. Diana couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but every single time they kissed, she turned into a puddle of mush. This time was no exception. Within minutes, she was whimpering and rubbing against him, desperate for what she knew he could give her.
Despite the internal warning blaring in her mind that this was not a good idea, Diana started pulling frantically at her own clothes, almost breaking a nail in her haste to get her jeans down her legs. He
r eyes took in his naked form greedily, trying to soak up all that sexiness just in case she didn’t get to see it again. Diana wasn’t fooling herself that this was anything other than a goodbye fling.
Even if Rafe didn’t know that yet.
Once they were both naked, he didn’t waste any time. He lifted her easily in a smooth move that made Diana want to sigh dramatically at the show of strength. But before she could focus on that, all her attention was pulled to where they were plastered together chest to thigh. With nothing between them now, she could feel everything. Every muscle, every twitch of his thigh.
Every twitch of that big, hard thing that was definitely not his thigh.
Diana was already getting lost in it, her whole being focused on touching her lips to every inch of the smooth skin presented to her. She ran her hands through his hair, loving the feel of the thick strands gliding through her fingers. As Rafe brought her higher, he bit her throat which caused her to arch her back slightly.
“So beautiful,” he whispered. “Don’t run away from me again. Need you.” He spoke so softly that Diana wasn’t sure if he’d intended her to hear that last part.