Rafael couldn't believe what he was reading. He knew - God knows, he knew - she was a romance writer. But he wasn't expecting this.
Jane was writing BDSM. And he hated to admit it, but she was writing it...badly. Really badly.
Then it occurred to him: Michael had been her first, and they had been married only a few months when he had died. Jane had never actually tried any of the things she was trying to write. Like the first version of her book, she didn't lack the skill, she lacked the...experience.
He read on:
I had him remove his shirt, lean over the desk. His jeans were tight on his hips, I couldn't believe how sexy Raul's legs looked when he leaned over. I pulled back the leather strap, looking forward to watching him jump...
"What are you reading?!" Rafael looked up to see Jane staring at him, trying not to give away her fear that he'd found her 50 Shades story.
"A very...interesting story," Rafael sayed, greeting Jane with a soft kiss. "Juanita."
"Oh God, Raf. I was just trying to sell a second novel to my publisher, I..."
"Jane, Jane, relax." Raf pulled Jane into his chest and kissed her gently on the forehead. "I'm certainly not going to think any less of you for the contents of that document."
"Yeah, I know, Petra told me." Rafael could feel Jane's face heat a little against his chest. He felt a glow in his heart thinking about how she always managed to retain the innocence she had when they'd first met.
"Oh, good. I was hoping my ex-wife had told you about that." Rafael sighed against Jane's hair. "Besides, I didn't say I wasn't going to judge you for the quality of the contents of that particular story."
"Excuse me? I will have you know that I had to read the entire 50 Shades of Grey trilogy to get that scene right."
"Oh, Jane, tell me you didn't." Rafael couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"What? I read a kinky book to write a kinky book." Jane's eyes narrowed. She had never enjoyed criticism of her work.
"Jane." Rafael caught her chin and tilted it toward him. "Jane, you read a book about abuse to write a kinky book. None of that was even remotely close to what it's like to be in a relationship like that."
"It's the most popular romance book in the world," she pointed out.
"Because people who don't know what they're looking at are reading it, love," he sighed.
"People like me, you mean?" she demanded.
Rafael knew he was treading on dangerous ground, but he felt he had to explain his - substantially more experienced -perspective to the angry writer in front of him. "No, Jane, people who have unoriginal sex lives. People who think you can have a sexual NDA. People who think you can be...rough with your partner without offering them any emotional support and it's a healthy relationship."
"Right, Raf, I have a famously original sex life." Raphael could see the fire in Jane's eyes now, but he kept going.
"Jane, I'm not saying you would have experienced what you're trying to write. I'm just saying that I would have expected you to...research more. Especially when you have such a readily available teacher." He turned a smouldering look at the woman he loved.
"Oh? And what are you suggesting?" There it was. Jane's endless curiosity. He had her.
"I'm suggesting that maybe this weekend Mateo stays with your parents and you and I offer you a little...tutoring." Jane cocked her eyebrow at Rafael. He'd piqued more than her curiosity, and she could tell that he knew it.
"Agreed. I'll call Mom now." Rafael couldn't tell if he'd imagined a little extra swing in her hips when she walked off to arrange their weekend.
It was going to be a long wait until Friday.