Chapter 12: First Kiss

The following morning wasn't any different than the morning before. During the night Liz had moved closer to Ray in her sleep and was yet again half on top of him. Except this morning, Liz woke up first. She opened her eyes slowly.

She smiled when she noticed Ray's arm around her shoulder and she nuzzled his cheek softly. She only then realised what she was doing and that the lovely dream she had about her and Ray was just that. A dream.

She lifted her head a little bit so she could take a look at his face. He looked so gorgeous and sweet. And god, he smelled so good. She smiled an even bigger smile and contemplated whether to kiss his beautiful lips or not. She just couldn't stop staring at them.

Before she could make a decision, Ray was already waking up. Too late, Liz, good job waiting so long, she scolded herself, before placing her head back on his shoulder. She decided to pretend like she was just waking up herself and started to stretch out and tried to act naturally while she rolled on her back, off of Ray.

But Ray kept his arm around her shoulder and it stopped her from doing just that. She felt him holding his arm tight around her so she couldn't move. His other arm came up and he put his left hand on her right arm, which she had across his stomach.

"Morning" she heard him say, in his raspy, low, morning voice. Hearing that voice gave her goose bumps and she smiled "Good morning to you too, Captain"

She dared to look up at him and he was lying with his eyes closed and a smile on his gorgeous lips. He moved his head down slightly to look at her from beneath his long lashes. When he saw her looking up at him his smile grew bigger.

"I slept great in my new shirt" he confessed to her, grinning

Liz looked at his cute, sleepy face and couldn't help herself anymore. She was only mere inches from his face now. She placed her right hand on his cheek and moved in closer until she felt her lips touch his.

She felt his smile disappear and was afraid he was going to stop her. But when he didn't, she found the courage to go on. She softly pressed her lips to his, enjoying the feeling she had longed for. She kissed his lower lip first, then his upper lip and let the tip of her tongue run over both. Just when she thought he wasn't going to react at all, he opened his mouth slightly and she felt his tongue dart out to touch hers.

She tilted her head a little to kiss at a better angle and closed her mouth over Ray's. The kiss started slowly, tongues playing, exploring each other's mouths. Soon it deepened and Ray started to push Liz back, so she was lying on her back and his torso was on top of her. Liz's hands started to go from his face to his neck and slid down his back. She could feel the muscles through his shirt and loved the feeling. He was so strong.

Ray's hands were in her hair until one hand started to move down her side and came to rest on her flat stomach, his fingers kneading her side. Liz revelled in the feeling of his hands on her and wanted more.

But as suddenly as the kiss had started, it stopped. Ray drew away from her and looked at her intently.

"Lizzie… I'm sorry", he said as he rolled away from her, getting up from the bed.

"What? You're sorry? Why? I started it" she said, frustrated.

"And I should've stopped it" he said, avoiding eye contact, "Lizzie, I really like you… a lot. But this is so unprofessional. Your dad hired me to look after you. I doubt he meant it in this way"

"Don't you think I don't know that? Of course I've thought about that as well, but I can't help it that I like you so much"

Liz was sitting on her knees on her bed, while Ray was standing beside the bed, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I just… I need some time to think about this, okay?" Ray said, in a way that meant that it was the end of their discussion. He went to the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Liz sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest. Dammit, she thought, it felt so incredible to kiss him, she didn't want it to stop. She could see the point Ray was making about her dad hiring him, but she couldn't care less about that right now. All she knew was that she had feelings for Ray and that she felt ready to explore those feelings.

Ray leaned his forehead against the cold tiles of the bathroom wall. Oh my god, what the hell had just happened? He knew he was right about her flirting with him but he'd never expected her to actually take action like she just had. He couldn't deny the feelings he'd started to have for Liz anymore but it felt wrong to act upon them. Sam hired him to be her bodyguard, not to sleep with his daughter.

He dreaded coming out of the bathroom but when he did, Liz was gone. He went to his own room to get dressed and when he came downstairs, he found Liz in the kitchen having breakfast in her pyjamas. He decided he had to try to act normal.

"So, you were saying yesterday that Meera and Samar were coming over?"

Liz looked at him for a moment before she decided to play along in this game of 'act like nothing happened'.

"Yes, they're coming over later to do some sunbathing at the pool. Really need to catch up with them. I haven't seen them since my birthday party"

"That's good. It'll be nice to see them again", Ray said while he sat across from Liz with his plate of cereal.

"Yes it will be" Liz said as she got up, only seconds after Ray sat down, "I'm going to get dressed"

Ray looked after Liz as she was leaving and sighed. This was going to be tough.

A few hours later and Meera, Samar and Liz were splayed out on their sunbeds at the pool. They were chatting away as they really had a lot of catching up to do.

Ray observed the women from a top window and decided it would be best for him to keep himself busy as long as the guests were here. He was glad he didn't have to spend a whole day in Liz's company, now that things were a bit uncomfortable between them. He knew he and Liz needed to talk about this.

He decided to use the gym, something he'd only done once since he'd gotten here. He needed to stay in shape and had been lousy at doing so lately. So he changed into shorts and a tank top and headed for the gym.

"So, how's the situation with your stalker?" Meera inquired as they laid lazily on their sunbeds.

"We caught him on camera but we couldn't see his face properly" Liz said, the frustration clear in her voice, "Other than that, no news on that front. I do feel safe with Ray around though"

"Speaking of which, how is that going?" Samar asked Liz, looking over the rim of her sunglasses, wiggling her brows.

"How is what going?" Liz asked innocently.

"Oh, well, you know, with the two of you sleeping in the same room and all" Meera chimed in, "Did you really think we wouldn't notice the mattress on your floor?"

Dammit, Liz thought, how could I forget? I should've thought of that before letting them get changed in my room…

"Oh, that" Liz said casually, acting like it was no big deal, "Well, after he found a camera in my room we kind of decided that it would be better for him to stay close"

"Uhuh, but of course" Meera said teasingly.

"Girls, come on!" Liz exclaimed, secretly loving the attention they gave Ray.

"And what do you guys do all the time then?" Samar asked, "I mean, you spend every day with the guy"

"I got helicopter lessons and yesterday we went shopping and went to see his family. Oh, and I accompanied him to a funeral the other day" Liz said like they were everyday events.

"Right…. the things one does with a bodyguard" Samar teased, pinching Liz's arm playfully.

After some more chatting the girls decided to get into the pool for a bit.

"It's way too hot for sunbathing, let's get the volleyball out" Meera opted.

"Yes, let's play. Liz, can you ask Ray to come into the pool as well? We need a fourth player", Samar asked.

Feeling reluctant to ask him she said "Can't we just play in a triangle kind of way?"

Liz was afraid that if Ray joined them, Samar and Meera wouldn't be able to keep their antics at bay and the last thing she wanted was for Ray to hear them tease him and Liz.

"Come on, Liz. Just ask him. We swear we'll behave" Samar said, smiling sweetly, batting her eyes. Meera just laughed loudly.

"You two are unbelievable" Liz said before walking towards the house to see where Ray was hanging out.

Liz checked the living room, kitchen and upstairs but there was no Ray in sight. She decided to check her dad's study but still no luck. Where could he be? He wouldn't be in the cinema now, would he? Nope.

She was about to give him a call on his phone when she suddenly heard a sound coming from the gym. She walked towards the room and popped her head around the doorframe.

There he was, sitting on a bench, lifting weights. Liz couldn't take her eyes off him. He had beads of sweat on his face and neck and was wearing a tank top, showing his muscled arms perfectly. Liz jaw almost dropped to the floor. God, he looked hot.

She stood there for a moment, watching him lifting dumbbells. Ray then proceeded to the running machine and started walking, slowly picking up the pace. Now Liz's eyes were fixed on Ray's ass. It showed nicely in his shorts. If only she could put her hands on that tight, sweet butt of his, Liz thought, and she actually started blushing.

Dammit, Liz, get it together, she said to herself sternly.

She decided it was time to stop drooling and actually go in and talk to him, knowing that Samar and Meera were waiting.

"Ehm, Ray?" she started as she entered the room.

Ray looked at her as he kept running, "Hey, Liz. What's up? Everything okay?"

"Yes, there's no problem. We were just wondering whether you wanted to come to the pool as well and play some volleyball?"

Ray started to slow down until he was just walking. He was barely panting, which surprised Liz after seeing him running like that.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds like fun" Ray responded, giving Liz one of his radiant smiles, "Give me 5 minutes to get ready"

"Okay, we'll see you at the pool then" Liz said, smiling back and putting a hand on his forearm just before she walked out of the gym. She could feel Ray's eyes on her bikini clad body as she walked away and smiled to herself.

True to his word, Ray was at the pool within 5 minutes. He was holding a towel, which he threw on one of the sunbeds. He was wearing a shirt and Liz could see his hesitation when he took it off.

He joined them in the pool and Samar automatically went to Meera's side. "Okay, it's us against the two of you"

Liz rolled her eyes at them and swam towards Ray, "Let's beat them" she winked.

"Hell yes!" Ray laughed as, just in time, he managed to duck a ball that came straight at his face.

"Sorry!" Meera yelled.

"Didn't know we'd started already" Ray grabbed the ball and threw it back at Meera "Let's play to 25 points"

They played back and forth for a while until the score was 22-24, Liz and Ray in the lead.

Samar served and the ball went high between Liz and Ray, who were both going for it. "I got it" Ray said, smashing the ball back. Liz had been in motion already and couldn't stop herself from crashing into Ray. He saw it happening and grabbed her by her waist but couldn't stop them from falling over. They went under water, Liz on top of Ray, grabbing his shoulders.

When they came back up, they were standing together, still holding one another. Liz looked up at Ray and it was like time stood still. Ray stroked Liz's cheek with his thumb, while looking at her intently. How could he stay away from her when all he wanted was to be with her, he asked himself?

Samar and Meera stood there, watching the scene in front of them. They looked at each other and smiled. This was confirmation of what they'd already thought.

They ordered pizza that night and decided to watch a movie. When Samar and Meera were leaving later on, Ray went to talk to Sam while the girls said their goodbyes.

"Liz, all jokes aside, you look so happy. I can't remember the last time I've seen you like this" Samar said as she gave Liz a big hug.

"She's right, girl. And if you ask me, he totally likes you as well" Meera said when it was her turn to hug Liz.

Liz gave them a shy smile "You really think so?" she blushed.

"Well, yeah!" they said in unison. "Keep us up to date, Liz" Meera said before they left.

"I will" Liz giggled. She felt like a teenager with a crush.

After saying goodnight to her dad, she went upstairs. She felt weird because Ray and her usually went to sleep at the same time and now Ray was still talking to her dad. She wondered if he was delaying on purpose to avoid a possibly awkward situation.

She took her time to get ready for bed and had just crawled under the sheets when Ray knocked on her door "Can I come in?"

"Of course, I'm already in bed"

"Oh, okay. Just didn't want to walk in on you getting changed or something", he explained

He went to the bathroom to get ready and Liz contemplated what to do. She couldn't just go to sleep now. They had to talk about it or…. maybe resume that kiss from this morning, she thought and smiled at the memory of it. It had been such a great kiss that he had broken off so abruptly.

She sat cross-legged on her bed, waiting for Ray to return. When she heard he was about to come out, she got up and walked towards him. He didn't expect her to be on her feet when he got out of the bathroom and was taken aback.

"Lizzie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing" she said as she started to corner him. Ray slowly walked backwards.

"Lizzie…. sweetheart" he mumbled as she had him against the wall and she put her hands on his chest. He had put on his 'Captain America' shirt again and she loved him for doing so.

"Ray, please…. I've been wanting to do this all day", she said as she put one hand behind his head and gently pulled him down. She leaned in and softly kissed him.

He was reluctant at first, but soon she could feel him kissing her back. He nipped at her lower lip and she moaned into his mouth. Their tongues soon found each other again and this time there was no holding back. Ray's hands came up to cup Liz's face as he deepened the kiss. Liz's arms went around Ray and she pulled him closer.

They were both desperate for air when they broke the kiss, holding on to each other for dear life. Ray pressed his forehead against Liz's, trying to catch his breath.

"Lizzie…. we can't…." Ray started and Liz automatically wanted to pull away at hearing these words, but Ray held her close, "Listen to me, sweetheart. I can't tell you how much I want this, but I feel like we or at least I should talk to your father about this first"

Liz put her forehead against his chest, looking at her feet. She knew he was right but she craved his mouth on hers and his body close. She looked up, nodded and without saying another word she gave him one more kiss on his lips before turning and crawling back into bed.

Ray walked around to the other side of the bed and was about to get in when he stopped himself. He knew Liz wanted him close, but he didn't trust himself, or Liz for that matter, enough to be that close to each other right now.

"Ehm, do you mind if I sleep on the floor tonight?" he asked, hoping she would be okay with it. He had already felt his groin twitch when they were kissing and he knew that sleeping in the same bed wouldn't do him any good right now.

To Ray's surprise Liz agreed "Yeah, probably for the best. I don't know if I can control myself with you next to me" she said, giggling.

Ray let out a sigh of relief. Thank god she was taking it well.

"Goodnight Sweetheart" Ray said as he switched off the light.

"Goodnight Ray"