Rafe was confident that Naomi wouldn’t leave but when she got to her feet he had to admit he had a moment of fearing he had been wrong and that wasn’t something he enjoyed being. But when she stayed put and thanked him, he only gave the slightest of nods, one little dip of his chin, to acknowledge the words. Clarification wasn’t needed as to what she was grateful for and Rafe wasn’t the sort to make her say it again and tease her about it. Those two little words and her feet staying planted on his property were all that he needed.
Naomi’s intense gaze on him didn’t bother him and Rafe held it with his usual cool expression, not giving her anything. Emotions weren’t necessarily a sign of weakness but they could be used as such in the right hands; he should know given how many people he had manipulated over the centuries through them and with them. Rafe didn’t need to use such tactics on the feline, at least not that night.
He took another drink of wine and wondered in what other way they might have reconnected. If he hadn’t kept tabs on her then they very well would never have met again. There had been little need for him to visit the locations she was known to frequent even with knowing she was special. Perhaps Naomi simply meant with less pain in her heart. That seemed the most likely answer and while it would have been easy enough to prod her mind or even ask, Rafe didn’t need the confirmation and left it alone.
“Perhaps this is the reunion we were always meant to have, Kitten. One that was needed whether it was wanted or not.” Without taking his eyes from Naomi, Rafe finished his wine and set the glass down on a nearby ledge. “I welcome it and hope you do, or will, as well.”
Naomi’s intense gaze on him didn’t bother him and Rafe held it with his usual cool expression, not giving her anything. Emotions weren’t necessarily a sign of weakness but they could be used as such in the right hands; he should know given how many people he had manipulated over the centuries through them and with them. Rafe didn’t need to use such tactics on the feline, at least not that night.
He took another drink of wine and wondered in what other way they might have reconnected. If he hadn’t kept tabs on her then they very well would never have met again. There had been little need for him to visit the locations she was known to frequent even with knowing she was special. Perhaps Naomi simply meant with less pain in her heart. That seemed the most likely answer and while it would have been easy enough to prod her mind or even ask, Rafe didn’t need the confirmation and left it alone.
“Perhaps this is the reunion we were always meant to have, Kitten. One that was needed whether it was wanted or not.” Without taking his eyes from Naomi, Rafe finished his wine and set the glass down on a nearby ledge. “I welcome it and hope you do, or will, as well.”
