Chapter 14- Kiss It Better

BREATHS HITCHING, hearts thumping and pulse racing ten miles per hour.

That was how Tami's body felt as she leant into the kiss. Their lips moved slowly and in sync like a perfect song as she slowly relaxed more and more in his arms.

The world seemed like it had stopped for Raphael, and he found himself running his hand down her arms to hold her waist, instinctively pulling her closer to him. It was all he imagined and more. He couldn’t believe Tami was actually kissing him.

Her lips were perfect. They were soft and sweet and had a lingering taste of her dinner, but the taste of her was indescribable. The way her hand rested on his chest as she slowly returned the kiss was heartwarming, and he could see himself doing this forever and never getting tired of her.

On numerous occasions he had dreamt of how she would taste on his lips, and how her body would feel flushed against his. Now that it was happening, it was safe to say that it was nothing like his dreams. It was better. Far better.

She sighed contently as she tilted her head to deepen the kiss, and Raphael openly welcomed her request without a hint of hesitation. But then the ring of the door snapped them back to reality, and the very sound had Tami jumping back as if someone had pushed her.

Raphael's eyes were dark with desire as he gazed at her, both their chest heaving up and down after the moment they both shared. It would be hard for them to believe that it had only been ten seconds. Still, it was the most magical ten seconds Raphael had ever had, and he would do it again if she'd let him.

However, Tami wasn’t thinking the same though. The now opened elevator doors and perfectly lit hallway was slowly bringing her back to reality. The tingles in her lips and the heat in her whole body told her that the moment wasn’t just a figment of her imagination. It was real.

She met his impassioned gaze at the other end of the elevator, and it was enough to tell her that he was feeling exactly what she was feeling. He took a step towards her, and as much as her body was against the act, she stepped back.

Hurt.

An emotion Raphael knew too well whenever it came to her. He didn’t want to get used to the feeling, but not a day went by when he didn’t feel hurt by something she would say or do.

Now, it was her reaction to him. She had responded to the kiss. He didn’t force her. So why was she looking at him as if he did something horrible now? Did he?

His thoughts were confirmed when she bolted from the elevator and made for their suite. She avoided him as he called out to her, running straight to her room where she slammed the door right before he could catch her.

"Tami" He pounded on the door with his heart and voice pleading with her. "Let's talk about this"

'Talk about what exactly?' She wanted to ask, but she couldn’t find her voice. She sat on her huge bed and pulled her knees to her chest as her mind raced with thoughts.

The pounding on her door didn’t stop, but eventually she toned it all out. The familiar feeling of warm tears stung her eyes as she relived the whole day.

She had been so friendly with Raphael. She laughed with him, she talked to him as if they were best friends, she got upset when she saw him with another woman, and now she kissed him.

She didn’t want to, but she knew the wall that she had built around her heart was breaking away. In all honesty, the feeling wasn’t new to her. But after he kidnapped her, she had buried them far, far away, vowing to never let them out again.

Was this her heart's way of accepting what he did? Was the time away from her home and family becoming familiar to her, and so she only sought companionship in the very man that hurt her in the first place?

She hated it. She hated that she couldn’t stay mad at him. But oh how she wanted to. She wanted to stay mad at him forever, and she vowed that she would until he set her free.

Still, the kiss kept replaying over and over in her mind, and no matter how she tried or how she refused the feelings, her heart would flutter every single time.

"No" she cried, and it was then that she realized the knocking on her door had stopped. "This can't be happening" She mumbled as she dragged herself from the bed and rushed to the bathroom.

She hurled her whole lunch and dinner in the toilet, feeling sick of it all. She wanted to believe that it was the fact that she kissed Raphael that had her heaving up her food, but it was far from that. It was the simple fact that she wanted more. She wanted him and it unnerved her.

She stood at the sink to rinse her mouth from the horrid taste, and her eyes lifted to gaze at her reflection in the mirror.

It was then that she decided that no matter what, no matter what it takes, she will not bend to the will of Raphael.

***

Raphael couldn’t concentrate throughout his whole meeting. His mind was set on a certain woman with the sweetest lips and most beautiful eyes.

After thirty whole minutes of knocking on her door, he had finally decided to leave her be last night. He hated that he had upset her so much, that she saw the need to avoid him even more than she did when they were back at his house.

If he had known that she would've been so upset about it, he wouldn’t have done it. But she was giving him mixed signals about the Esperanza incident, and he'd be lying if he said they didn’t share a moment.

He knew she felt it too, and deep down, he knew that was what really upset her. All he wanted to do was set things straight with her. He didn’t want her to believe that he was rushing her or rushing into things. That was far from what he was doing or intended.

Today was the day they went back home, and he dreaded the awkward silence that he knew would fall between them on their way back, in contrast to the blast they had while they were coming to the Spanish island.

He even got so worried and unnerved that she would somehow find a way to escape, that he called the hotel and requested to have one of the maids stay with her.

He had just gotten an update that she still hadn’t come from the room to eat anything, making it over twelve hours since she ate anything.

He sighed deeply as he sped through town. That woman would be the death of him, yet he was willing to take a chance.

He at least hoped that she was ready to leave, since the jet was already waiting at the airport. All he had to do was pick her up and leave.

Hopefully, she won't try and put up a fight.

He arrived at the hotel room only thirty minutes after he left his meeting, and his heart raced in his chest as he made his way to their suite.

Inside the lounge sat the maid with a very uncomfortable look on her face as they met eyes. The middle aged woman immediately stood with a sad look on her face, as both their gazes traveled to the tray of food still very much filled and untouched.

He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt annoyed by it all. Why does she keep doing this? He didn’t take advantage of her or force her to kiss him. He admitted to himself that he was the first one to make the move, but he remembered clearly that she accepted and returned the kiss. She wasn’t reluctant, nor was she opposed to it.

He was sorry that he upset her, but he grew sick of her refusal to eat when something happened. Her action of refusing to take something as necessary as food from him was petty, and he couldn’t have her getting sick on him watch. He dreaded the thought.

"Thank you. You may leave now" He stated surprisingly calmly to the maid, as he fished a stack of notes from his jacket to tip her. She nodded once at him before hurriedly leaving the room to Raphael and his stubborn Tamika.

His jaws clicked as he grabbed the tray. Even if she hadn’t repacked her duffle bag, he was determined to get her to eat before they should leave.

He knocked on her door a few times before calling out her name. There was no answer, but he didn’t stop knocking. He twisted the knob a few times, but he soon learnt that it was locked.

Feeling utterly frustrated, he used all his might to twist the knob once again, and he felt satisfied when it crumbled from its stiff hold. He'll surely pay to fix it, but he needed to do this.

As he stepped into the room, the rage he formerly felt disappeared when his gaze met the woman he had been falling for. There she sat, curled up on her bed with her head between her knees and her shoulders slumped. She wore the same clothes she had been in yesterday, and from the looks of it, it seemed like she hadn’t left her bed since.

"Tami" Raphael sighed in defeat as he rested the tray on a desk as he sat beside her. "Tami please look at me"

Surprisingly, she lifted her head to meet his intense gaze, and his body melted when her beautiful brown eyes met his. "What?"

"What did I do?" He really wanted to know. He was confused by her behaviour. One minute she was acting jealous of him and another woman, then the next she was treating him like the villain again.

"You did a lot Raphael. You need to be more specific."

He sighed as he ran his hand over his face. "Was it-was it because of the kiss?"

She knew it was, yet she wouldn’t admit it. "It's a lot of things"

"Why aren’t you eating Tami? I'm more than sure that you're starving" Her eyes flickered to the tray of food on her desk, and she couldn’t avoid how much hungrier the sight made her feel.

"I-I..."

"You nothing. Now will you stop being difficult and eat the food? We leave in an hour. Please" He didn’t care that she hadn’t packed, or that she hadn’t showered or anything. He just needed her to have substance in her body for the trip.

"Okay" She obliged reluctantly, but she couldn’t avoid the pain in her tummy and the throbbing in her head. "Give it to me"

He watched silently as she ate the food, and a sense of satisfaction that he had gotten her to eat was almost too great to avoid. He knew it was nothing to brag about, but it was progress in his mind. He left the tray on her bed as he mindfully grabbed fresh clothes for her. She allowed him to groom her messy curls in a hairband, and he granted her twenty minutes to shower and change into the dress he had chosen for her.

She spitefully took twenty-five minutes instead, and she soon joined Raphael in the lounge all ready and set to go.

Little did Raphael know that the only reason why Tami had been so secluded and silent, allowing him to 'care' for her, was because she was anticipating and testing her new plan. She knew now after a long night of thinking that Raphael was breaking away the wall around her heart, and she refused to let that happen.

The plan only came to her this morning when the maid stood outside her door and relayed the message that they would be going 'home' today, and Mr. Léon requested her to eat and pack. Raphael was oblivious that it was being put well into motion successfully by the cunning woman.

She straightened her floral dress and perched a small smile on her lips as she cleared her throat to get his attention. She avoided the plummeting of her heart when he smiled wholeheartedly at her. She held the duffle bag that she decided to pack in her hands as she stood at the door.

"Ready to go Raphael?"

He closed the distance between them with a smile, relieved that she was finally feeling better as he took the duffle bag from her.

"After you" He led her through the hotel door and into the hallway, and Tami knew that in only a few hours, she'll be free of him.

It's either now or never.