up, grabbed their clothes, took her hand, and lead her to his bedroom. He pulled back the sheets. She climbed in, and he got in behind her. She was already feeling tired. It had been a long day for both of them. "This bed feels even better than the one you had in Vegas." They both laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. He was on his back, and she had her arm over him with her head on his chest. Her fingers traced his muscles. "I feel so safe when we're together. You make me feel so cared for. Thank you so much for being there for me today. You'll never know how much that means to me. I will never do anything to hurt you, Cliff. I will take good care of your heart. Please take care of mine." "I will, baby. I will."
Chapter 12 Two Months Later Rachel and Cliff were so busy that summer was over before they knew it. They had taken care of everything with Jake. She had a restraining order in place and hadn't heard from him. Jen and Tina met her for lunch a few times. She knew they were checking up on her, and it felt good to know they cared. She went back and forth between her place and Cliff's. He wasn't comfortable with her being alone in her apartment while she slept, so she didn't argue when he showed up each night to stay with her. One thing she was learning was that he needed to know she was safe at all times. It helped that she felt so much better sleeping in his arms. Waking up to his mouth pleasuring her was just an added bonus. They had gotten into a comfortable flow together. She would surprise him a couple of times a week at the office with lunch. His staff had gotten to know her a bit at the golf outing. She was happy she ended up agreeing to be on his team. They lost of course, but neither of them cared. She would talk here and there with Carol on the days she took him lunch. It made it a little easier to deal with the thought of him having a secretary. Carol was happily married to a wonderful man. Cliff did everything he could to show Rachel how much he appreciated their lunch dates. He never hid her around his staff and took her with him when he went out of town. She felt proud to be his and made sure he knew. Rachel was getting ready to go back to her classroom. She thought about how much she was going to miss being able to surprise Cliff during the day. Her mind was more at ease about his work and his secretary. She couldn't remember a time she was ever as happy as she was then. He helped her take all of her school stuff back to school and made a comment about how empty her apartment looked without all the boxes. She laughed as she looked around. It really had taken up most of her space. He walked up behind her and wrapped her in his arms. "I have an idea," he said. "Oh yeah," she said in a flirty tone. "Not that," he laughed. "Well, that right after I tell you my idea." "What's that?" she asked. "Since we moved out all of those boxes," he began. "Yes," she said. "Why don't we just keep moving more boxes?" "What do you mean?" she asked. "Why don't we pack up the rest of this apartment and move the boxes over to the house," he said. Rachel spun around in his arms to face him. Her eyes were wide with surprise. "That wouldn't be good," she joked. "Then how would I get dressed each day?" Cliff's eyebrows arched and he smiled. "Now I have a dilemma. The thought of you being naked here all the time doesn't sound so bad but only if I'm here with you. No. I still like my other option better. I'll just hide your clothes when I want you naked. I want you to move in with me, Rachel." "I'm not sure about that, Cliff. That's a huge step." "When's the last time you slept without me at night?" he asked. "I haven't since that night with Jake," she answered. "So what's the big deal. This way we can stay in one place and don't have to go back and forth each night. If you wanted, I could move in here. I'm just not sure how Rose would manage without me around making a mess. I want to live with you.