Propositioning Mr. Raine (Riding the Raines Book 1) Read online

  Trina moved then, unable to stop herself, and walked right to Navarro where he sat and she placed her hands on his shoulders. She pushed him back and straddled his lap on the couch. His arms instantly wrapped around her waist as she hugged him around his neck and pressed her body tight to his. His arms tightened so they were both squeezing each other as he folded her tighter into his arms. She pulled back to stare into his beautiful face.

  “I’m not ready to have sex with you…but I want to hold you and I want you to hold me.”

  He nodded. “Having you back in my arms feels right. Doesn’t this feel right?”

  She nodded. “You terrify me too.”

  She took a deep breath, licking her dry lips. She knew it would be totally insane to do what she was thinking about. He’d hurt her, he’d thought she was a liar, but she had to admit he had reason to have trust issues. She wanted it back the way it had been too. The time machine he mentioned did sound good…

  She stared into his eyes and realized they were two people who desperately wanted the same thing, regardless of the level of pain either of them had suffered.

  She made a decision, because to her, he was worth that kind of risk. “I’ll be at your house at eight o’clock on Sunday. If it’s going to work, this week is erased and we agree to never talk about it again because it never happened.”

  Relief washed over Navarro’s features as he nodded. “Thank God. Can I take you to bed? Just come home with me.”

  She shook her head. “I need a few days. I’ll be at your house on Sunday though. I’ll be ready by then to take us back to where we were.”

  “Thank you.” Joy lit his face as he smiled tenderly at her. “We’re in this together then. You and me, babe.”

  “Yeah. If you hurt me again—”

  His eyes hardened. “I won’t.”

  “If you do, I’m going to bake you brownies with laxatives.” She buried her face in his neck, clinging to him.

  Navarro laughed. His large body shook both of them since they were tightly wrapped around each other. “I’ll eat every one if I do something as stupid as to not trust you again. I swear.”

  She inhaled his scent, just letting herself enjoy him holding her. She’d missed him so much it had physically hurt her, leaving an ache in her heart. She’d never thought she’d be in his arms again. She’d never let herself believe he might feel more for her than sexual desire, but he had admitted that he wanted more with her than either of them had bargained for.

  “Let’s try this again,” he said softly. “Here’s the new deal. We’ll both be totally honest with each other no matter how scared either one of us is. How about that?”

  She nodded against his neck. “Okay. This is your last chance, Navarro. If you hurt me again, nothing will get me back. Am I totally clear on that?”

  “I swear I won’t mess up ever again. I’m tearing up that loan statement that says we’re even. I still owe you seven weeks and that’s not up for debate. In exchange for those seven weeks, I want you to open yourself up to the idea of taking it a hell of a lot further, to a full-blown relationship.”

  She pulled away from him. His hold on her eased but he didn’t let her go. She met his gaze. “I don’t want to pay you for sex anymore.”

  “You aren’t. It’s a loan that I’ve always planned on paying back. Every dime. But I want the contract in place. That way I’ll know you’re mine for at least that much time.” He stared into her eyes. “I’m afraid you’re going to walk away from me before I can convince you that those weeks will never be enough between us.”

  Trina stared at his hopeful expression and her heart squeezed hard. She wasn’t falling in love with Navarro Raine. She already was in love with him. How could she not be? They were both wounded by their pasts. He’d believed she was married and using him. She’d believed he didn’t really want her. She didn’t think seven weeks would ever be enough between them either. She took a deep breath.

  “Will you sleep here with me tonight? I just want to hold you, and I want to be held by you.”

  “Show me to your bedroom.”

  She climbed off his lap and held out her hand. He rose from the couch, swallowing it as his larger one closed over hers tightly. Trina knew she’d made the right decision. She could get over the hurt that he’d caused her. What she couldn’t do was lose him.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was eight o’clock Sunday night when Trina walked up onto the Raine porch. The door opened before she even reached it and Navarro grinned at her. His hair was wet and free, brushing his bare shoulders. He was just wearing a pair of boxers. Her gaze raked down his body slowly. He was so sexy that just looking at him turned her on. She loved every muscle, every curve, and every scar that she could see.

  “Hi. Come on in. You’re just in time.”

  She smiled. “I try.” She walked into the house and turned around to watch him as he firmly closed the door and locked it. Her amused gaze met his. “So, what’s the plan?”

  He chuckled. “Well, since you left me on Saturday morning,” he paused, his eyes locking with hers as they both silently agreed to the lie, “the mail came. Remember those surprises I told you about? They arrived. Let’s go to my room.”

  Her heart pounded. “I’m not sure I like surprises.” She walked toward the stairs with Navarro behind her, sticking close. They went into his bedroom and she saw a box, about the size of a boot box, sitting on his dresser, the seal opened but the lid shut. She turned as he closed and locked the bedroom door. “Is anyone here besides us?”

  “I told you that Ryder is gone.” His mouth tensed and his eyes seemed to darken with anger. “We’re alone in the house.” His tense body relaxed and he smiled. “It’s just you and me again, and that’s the way it should be.” He paused. “Strip.”

  She laughed. “You know you order me to take off my clothes every time we get in your room, don’t you?” She started to unbutton the front of her dress.

  “And you listen so well.” He chuckled. “Thank you for that.”

  “You told me I have to listen to you in here and you’re in charge.”

  “Damn, I get hot as hell when you say something like that.” He walked to the dresser and opened the box.

  Trina was dying to know what was in it as she saw him reach inside the package. She paused and then let her dress drop to the floor, revealing she wore a matching bra and pink thong. She cleared her throat. Navarro turned his head and his eyelids narrowed as they slid slowly down her body, taking in every inch of her. She had his full attention as she slowly turned around, doing a full circle then putting her hands on her hips and pushed one out. She had kept the high heels on.

  “Are you sure you want me to take it all off, cowboy?”

  His gaze locked with hers, desire showing clearly on his features with the passionate look he gave her. “Just take off the thong. Leave on the push-up bra and keep the heels, babe. Fuck, I’m hard.”

  Her gaze lowered to his tented boxers. She grinned, hooking her thumbs on the thin thong straps at her hips, bending forward as she shoved them down. She stepped out of the scrap of fabric and dropped it on top of her discarded dress. She straightened to find Navarro still watching her. He pointed to the floor in front of him. She didn’t hesitate to walk to him.

  “You still trust me?”

  She stared up into his eyes. “What’s in the box?” She smiled.

  He grinned as he lifted a scarf. “A blindfold is the first surprise. This is about sensations. Remember when I told you I’d never do anything that would hurt you because I want to be able to do it to you again?” He chuckled.

  Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and turned her back to him. “Okay. Blindfold me.”

  He carefully tied the soft fabric around her head, testing it to make sure she couldn’t see and making sure it was comfortable. His hands touched her hips as he moved her. Her thighs touched the footboard of the bed when he had her stop walking. He released her hips, and then his