Love Heals

Chapter 3

Rachel’s eyes narrowed into a glare before she could stop herself and then snapped wide when Mark suddenly yelped and stumbled away from her in a flurry of movement, Emilio’s voice booming off the walls of the foyer.

“Who the fu*k are you?“

Mark was all but thrown into the opposite wall, Emilio looming over him, both hands balled into fists.

“What the–” Rachel stammered, winded. “Emilio?!“

Emilio whipped his head around then, dark eyes focusing on Rachel. It was not a look she’d ever seen on Emilio before and it hit like a physical weight, pinning her in place. Emilio’s gaze dropped slowly, dragging from Rachel’s face downward and Rachel swallowed a wave of embarrassment as she realized how she must look right now with her t-shirt rumpled and jeans undone.

Before Rachel could even think to zip up, Emilio’s attention was back on Mark.

“Fu*k it, I don’t care,” Emilio said, voice threatening as he grabbed the front of Mark’s shirt and hauled him toward the door.

“Hey!” Mark shouted in turn, one hand clamping around Emilio’s wrist as he dug his heels in. “Hey, who the fu*k are you, man? She ain’t yours. And she came out lookin’ for me.”

Rachel felt a flash of panic at the words, but she stayed right where she was, heart thudding in her chest. She watched as Emilio’s lips curled into a sneer, muscles rippling beneath his t-shirt. Rage brimmed dangerously close to the surface as he gracelessly opened the door with his free hand and kicked it open.

“Like hell,” he snarled before roughly shoving Mark out onto the porch and slamming the door in his face without another word.

*****

Rachel stood, wide-eyed and winded as Emilio locked and bolted the door. Mark pounded on the opposite side a few times, shouting Rachel’s name along with more than a few obscenities before seemingly giving up in a huff.

And Rachel thought she should probably be angry right now, pissed as all hell that Emilio was totally co*k-blocking her. Emilio wasn’t even supposed to be here right now; he was supposed to be in the valley with his girlfriend, spending the weekend fu*king or cuddling or whatever it was they did down there every other weekend. Rachel should be taking Mark’s side on this and demanding Emilio fu*k off and mind his own business. She should be shouting as loud as Mark and maybe throwing in a few slaps.

But instead she was stuck right where she was, breath caught in her throat and nip*les throbbing. Emilio’s shoulders were a hard, tense line and he looked even bigger than normal, intimidating in a way Rachel’d rarely seen. He turned slowly, gaze intent as he met Rachel’s eyes.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Rachel said then, the words rushed and defensive.

“Ruby had cramps. I offered to come for her hot water bottle,” Emilio replied, voice cold. “I left her curled up with a box of chocolate on my couch. Who the hell was that?”

Rachel forced a shrug as Emilio took a step toward her. “Just some guy. Met him at a club.”

“Some guy?” Emilio echoed, eyes narrowed and head cocked. “Some soccer player guy?” He took another step, slow and calculated, and Rachel pressed back against the wall even as her blood warmed with a slow burn of anger.

“Maybe,” she said, letting some of it seep through. “What the hell do you care?”

“You don’t go for soccer players.”

“Haven’t before,” Rachel replied, struggling to keep her voice even. “Doesn’t mean I can’t start.”

“You don’t go for ”dumb jocks”,” Emilio said again, darker this time as he stepped right up into Rachel’s personal space. “So what, was all that crap you’ve been telling me just bullsh*t? Since when do you bend over for a jock, Rach?”

Rachel had to tilt her head back to keep her eyes on Emilio’s, but he never broke the stare, jaw tensing as the anger coiled tighter. “Maybe I wanted to try it out,” she said. She could feel the heat of Emilio’s body and every fiber in her being ached to arch into it, to reach out and grab and pull Emilio into her in every single fu*king way possible. “It’s what I’m supposed to want, right? That’s what I’ve been hearing for years — just gotta find the right guy to make me beg for it.”

She jolted when Emilio’s hand slammed against the wall by her head, heart leaping into her throat as Emilio leaned in close enough for Rachel to feel the heat of Emilio’s breath against her cheek.

“That guy wasn’t it,” Emilio growled.

“YES, yes, yes YES.”