Begin Again

| Chapter Thirty |

Grace came in the form of dark rivers of loopy coils and wispy black lashes against molten gold skin.

Divinity shaped itself in the curves of smooth flesh that radiated enough warmth to rival that of the sun. A roadmap could follow the intricate edges of each swell and rounded turn, and you'd still get lost because you were too caught up in the view.

Heaven rested on full, rosy lips that were only pried open mere hours ago as the sweetest sounds escaped from between them.

Ruth was like a blasphemous form of religion and Raffo was the fool that blindly followed his sacrilegious idolization of perfection. His fingers hadn't listened to his warning of keeping his hands to himself, as he drifted the tips of them over her back as she sleepily laid across his bare chest. Her floral scented curls were layered with a subtle hint of coconut, and he couldn't help but lie there longer, inhaling blessed whiffs of it every so often.

She stirred underneath him and he paused his absentminded coasting, his fingers stilling in between her shoulder blades. It took a few seconds, seconds Raffo was rather impatient waiting for, but finally, her long lashes fluttered open and she greeted him with the sweetest swirl of honey-brown. His favorite shade.

The color had been all wrong when he dated Diana from his office. She was pretty, sweet, and patient for him. Even keeping her opinions to herself when she saw his ex on his phone's lock screen or at his bedside table. And despite her kindness, she still wasn't Ruth to him; hence why he couldn't get past more than three dates and one extra night of sex with her. She was a little lighter than Ruth, smaller with less of an hourglass shape and smaller in the matching assets part, and her eyes teetered on the edge of being more hazel than brown. Beautiful, but hard to accept when Ruth was still who he wanted.

Even their sex felt bland. She was too willing to let him do whatever he wanted rather than taking control of any part of that night. Though Ruth didn't care about giving him the reins either, she wasn't at all shy about touching him, taking control when she wanted to, and letting him watch her come undone for him. Hell, she enjoyed that shit. There was nothing wrong with being timid, but when he and Ruth spent the entire night catching up, he realized now that he was really done for. Absolutely fucking ruined. And no one else was going to ever do it for him again.

Raffo moved his hand from her back and drifted his knuckles over her flushed cheek. She blinked the sleep from her eyes at first and took a minute to register who she was looking at and where she was. Eventually, her blush spread out like a fan and a tired little smile tilted the corners of her lips up. It was the most adorable sight Raffo had ever seen.

"Morning," he whispered. The only plus side to falling asleep a few hours before was the lack of morning breath, as they had cleaned up a little before falling asleep in the early hours after dawn.

"Good morning," Ruth whispered back. She went to shift her body to the side of him and winced, a sore groan pushing through her lips. Raffo stifled a smile as she rolled off of him with a tender gasp. "Fuck."

"What?" he asked innocently, sitting his own sore body up. He swiveled himself over the edge of the bed and planted his feet on the ground.

"You did this to me," she accused. He looked back at her like she'd just sprouted two heads.

"You have no one to blame but yourself. I told you what that "Raff baby" bullshit did to me after the second round, and you're the one who continued to fuck around," he scoffed playfully, completely unashamed. Not that he was complaining; that shit was sexy as hell. She fucked around, and she sure as hell found out.

Ruth's seductive little grin pulsed him back to life. "I didn't realize you liked it that much, Raff baby," she crooned, running her fingers between her exposed breasts. He dove for her and she squealed, launching herself to the other side of the bed to escape his greedy hands, but losing immensely. He grabbed her giggling body and she pushed at his shoulder half-heartedly.