by Sarah Morgan
Her heart banged crazily against her chest. ‘It didn’t occur to me that you’d want me to stay.’
‘How could you doubt it?’ With his customary decisiveness, he rose over her and lowered his mouth to hers, coaxing her lips apart with his. His kiss was demanding, hotly sexual and an explicit reminder of everything they’d shared the night before. And she kissed him back, her head spinning and her body bursting into flame in an instinctive and uncontrollable response to his touch.
The chemistry between them flared into something violent and powerful and he muttered something in Portuguese and parted her thighs with a firm and deliberate movement of his hands.
‘Fly home? I don’t think so. I want you,’ he breathed against her mouth, ‘isn’t it obvious? Can you feel what you do to me?’
She felt what she did to him—felt him, hard and ready, and she gave a soft moan of excitement as she felt the blunt tip of his erection touching her intimately. She lifted her hips and felt him slide full-length inside her, his body taking instant possession of hers in a smooth, confident movement.
‘Rafael …’ She moaned his name as he drove into her with bold, sure strokes that sent frantic waves of excitement pounding through her quivering body. She couldn’t think or breathe and she wrapped her legs around him and clutched the slick, hard muscle of his shoulders, trying to hold on. Trying to stop herself from falling.
He gave a low laugh and nipped at her neck with his teeth. ‘You would leave me, minha paixao? You want me to invite the helicopter to come?’ His voice was rough with his own arousal and he slid an arm beneath her hips and altered the rhythm.
Hard and fast became slow and sensual and her body trembled and throbbed under the demanding pressure of his.
‘No.’ She couldn’t think about that now. She couldn’t think about anything except the hard, insistent demands of his body inside hers. ‘No helicopter.’
He controlled her utterly, until she could no longer speak, until she wasn’t even sure who she was any more.
And then he changed the rhythm again, dragging her upwards to a place so shockingly high that the fall back to earth could only be terrifying. Stars flashed in her head, bright and distant, and she dug her nails into smooth male flesh, holding on. Afraid to let go.
But he drove her to the very edge of that precipitous drop with a series of demanding, masculine thrusts that rode over her feeble resistance until she was aware of nothing but sensation. It was fast, desperate and primal and for a moment she hovered on the edge of ecstasy, clinging to the last threads of sanity. And then he urged her past the point of safety and there was an explosion of bright lights as her body splintered into a million glorious pieces. She held him, feeling the violent shudders of his body that signalled his own release. And for endless moments they clung together, locked in a volatile intimacy that devoured both of them.
Finally the storm receded and she was aware of his weight, of the slick warmth of his flesh against hers. Of his masculine strength.
The frantic pounding of her heart slowed and she opened her eyes to find him looking down at her with those brooding dark eyes that always made her think of danger.
‘You’re mine,’ he said thickly, shifting slightly so that his mouth hovered just a breath away from hers. ‘Remember that.’
He dropped his forehead onto her shoulder and then rolled onto his back, taking her with him. His breathing was unsteady. ‘Not only are you not leaving the rainforest,’ he murmured, stroking her damp hair away from her face with a gentle hand, ‘but you’re not leaving my bed. I’m keeping you here. Naked.’
Dizzy with happiness, her body still humming from the skill of his seduction, she gave a weak smile. ‘You’re talking like a caveman.’ But she didn’t even care. It felt so good to be held. ‘I don’t have any clothes anyway. A suit that you hate, a dress that’s ruined and a pair of combat trousers that look as though they’ve been worn through the middle of the jungle. I can’t think why.’
‘You were amazing yesterday, have I told you that?’ He shifted his weight slightly. ‘I don’t know any other woman who would have done what you did without complaining. Even when you fell in the river you refused my help. In fact you glared at me.’
‘I didn’t dare complain when you were already so angry with me.’ The memory put a slight scratch in the perfection of the day and he frowned slightly, as if he, too, was resenting the reminder of their differences.
‘That’s behind us now.’
‘Well, not exactly. We can’t just forget it.’ Reality intruded along with the sun’s reminder that it was a new day. ‘Whether we like it or not, it’s morning. I have things to sort out. Important things. I feel very responsible.’
‘I will make some calls,’ Rafael assured her with his usual confidence. ‘The dealer who sold you the coffee won’t be in business after today. I’m sure you would never have agreed to this deception had he not pushed you.’
Grace lay still for a moment, digesting his words. ‘But I didn’t agree to it. You say that he’s overcharging and keeping the profit and I have no reason not to believe you, but if he’s splitting that profit with someone then it certainly isn’t me.’
Rafael hesitated and something close to anger flickered in his eyes. Then he gave a faint shrug and slid his hand down her body in a possessive gesture. ‘Let’s not have this conversation again, minha paixao. It isn’t relevant any more. It’s in the past. Over. As you said to me, everyone makes mistakes.’ He gave her what she presumed was supposed to be an understanding smile. ‘I’m sure you’ve learned your lesson. Don’t cheat unless you’re prepared to be caught.’
Grace felt as though she’d been showered with cold water.
He still thought she was guilty. He’d slept with her thinking she was a liar and a cheat.
‘I don’t believe this.’ She sat up in bed and pushed his hand away, her breathing suddenly rapid and her heart pounding against her chest as the implication of his words sank in. ‘You still think I’m guilty, don’t you?’
His gaze was wary. ‘Grace—’
‘You still think I stole money from the company.’
His driven sigh made it clear that this topic of conversation was not of his choosing. ‘You admitted your guilt.’
Had she? Had she ever said that? She rewound the conversations that they’d had on the topic. ‘I said I felt responsible and I do, but not because I took the money myself. Because it’s my company, so I’m ultimately responsible for everything that happens within it.’
He waved a hand in a dismissive gesture designed to silence her. ‘It really doesn’t matter.’
‘It does matter because I have to go home and sort it out.’ She tried to swing her legs out of the bed but he caught her in his arms and flattened her to the bed with his body. His weight and his powerful frame made sure that she had no option but to lie there.
‘You’re not leaving. I don’t care what you did or didn’t do. Can’t you understand that?’ His tone was harsh and impatient. ‘None of this makes any difference whatsoever to the way I feel about you. It has absolutely no impact on what we share.’
‘How can you say that?’ She stared up at him, appalled and just hating herself for the immediate flare of heat that erupted in her pelvis. ‘Are you seriously suggesting that you could just as soon sleep with a liar and a cheat as you could a decent, honest woman? Don’t you have any morals?’
One bronzed shoulder lifted in a careless dismissal of her question. ‘It is sex, minha paixao. Sex. I am only interested in what you do in my bed. What you do in your own time is really no concern of mine.’ He frowned slightly. ‘Providing, that is, you don’t defraud Carlos and Filomena. But we both know that won’t happen again.’
Appalled and horrified, she closed her eyes briefly, her fleeting happiness brutally punctured by his cynical attitude. ‘I thought you trusted me.’
‘Why would I need to trust you?’ He seemed genuinely astonished by the question, the incredul
ity in his dark eyes betraying the fact that trust was an entirely alien concept to him. ‘I was sharing hot sex with you, not giving you my investments to manage.’
She gave a soft gasp of pain and shook her head in disbelief. What insane magic had overtaken her in this enchanted forest? At what point had she lost her mind? What arrogance had led her to believe that she understood this man?
‘Who did this to you?’ Blinking back tears, she stared up at him, searching for some sign of softening or gentleness. But his face was all hard, strong lines. ‘Who made you feel this way about people? About women?’
The sudden tension in his powerful shoulders betrayed his less than enthusiastic response to her question. ‘Why do women always want to discuss the competition? You’re the one lying naked next to me at the moment. That should be enough for you.’
For some unfathomable reason she felt a lump lodge in her throat. ‘I feel sorry for you. You expect so little.’
‘I’m extremely realistic about women. I don’t expect more and I don’t want more.’
‘Well, I do.’ She pushed at him, her fingers tangling with the rough dark hair on his chest. ‘I do, Rafael. I need a great deal more than that.’
He didn’t budge. ‘What woman doesn’t? And you will have it,’ he promised, his voice low and seductive. ‘Everything you want. I think you’ll find me an incredibly generous lover.’
His words were like a caress but this time she tried to ignore the immediate response of her body. ‘Generous? Do you really think I’m talking about money?’
‘Not just money,’ he purred, his lingering kiss on her shoulder leaving her in no doubt as to what form his other expression of generosity was going to take.
Thoroughly agitated now, she wriggled away from him. ‘I don’t want your money! I want you to trust me. I want you to believe that I’m innocent. There must be some way of proving that I wasn’t involved—that the money wasn’t paid out to me. I want you to look at the figures again.’
Bored and visibly irritated, he gritted his teeth. ‘The only figure I’m interested in is yours, minha paixao, naked and underneath me.’ As if to emphasise his point, he slid a leisurely hand down her body from waist to thigh. ‘None of the rest of it matters.’
‘It matters to me.’
‘Forget your business,’ he ordered, leaning forward to drop a kiss on her mouth. ‘You don’t need it any more.’
‘Of course I need it.’ The business was her life. Her future. He had no idea what it meant to her. ‘How can you even say that? Why would I just give it up?’
Rafael gave a slow smile, his mouth tantalisingly close to hers. ‘Because you now have an alternative, and far more lucrative, source of wealth.’
She stared at him, her mouth falling open as she digested his words. ‘You think I’d take your money? Do you think I even care about your money? Do you think that’s the sort of person I am?’ Did he know so little about her? And then she closed her eyes, realising just how little he did know about her.
And was that really his fault?
Wasn’t that one of the risks you took when you allowed blind, furious passion to overwhelm rational thought? The truth was that common sense had been devoured by the pounding heat of the rainforest and an irresistible chemistry.
And yet for her it was more than chemistry. So much more.
She knew now that somehow, however improbable, she loved him—this hard, damaged, unsuitable man living in this remote jungle paradise. Unbelievable. And yet it had happened. She’d managed to fall in love with him.
Not with the cold, ruthless face he presented to the world. That face, no matter how handsome, didn’t appeal to her. No, she was interested in something much deeper. She was interested in the man she saw beneath the barriers he’d erected. She’d only been afforded glimpses but it had been enough.
And if he never revealed more of himself then that was fine. She accepted him as he was. Loved him as he was.
Perhaps because she herself hid so much inside, she’d sensed a pain deep within him.
She’d felt a connection.
And somehow, she’d tumbled deeply in love with a man who didn’t want her love.
He didn’t want anyone’s love.
Even when he’d been cold and ruthless, however, part of her had reached out to him.
His careless shrug betrayed his lack of insight into her feelings. ‘I may be a cynic about love but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand what women need. You’re amazing in bed. Last night really blew me away. For the foreseeable future I don’t want you focusing your attention on anything but me.’
Knowing what needed to be done, she shook her head. ‘That isn’t going to be possible.’ Last night was over and the magic of the rainforest was coming to an end. ‘I need to sort out this problem. I have to sort it out. I promised Filomena and Carlos.’
How could she have been so stupid?
How could she have been so naïve, so egotistical, as to think that she could change this man whose entire reputation was based on his inability to feel a single thing for anyone?
She’d thought that there was hope for him—that there was a chink of kindness.
She’d even been arrogant enough to believe that she’d made a connection with him that no other woman had ever made.
Which made her nothing short of stupid and because of that she probably deserved all the pain she was feeling now.
There was a frown in his eyes, as if he didn’t understand her. And he didn’t, she thought, biting back hysterical laughter. Despite what she’d thought last night, he didn’t even come close.
His eyes glittered dark with growing irritation. ‘I’m merely making the point that you won’t find yourself short of money.’
‘So you’re going to pay me for sleeping with you, is that what you’re saying?’
Sensing danger, he narrowed his eyes and finally rolled away from her. ‘No, that isn’t what I’m saying.’
‘Isn’t it?’ Dizzy from the speed with which the atmosphere had changed from loving to recriminatory, she sat up, trying to ignore the rising sickness in her stomach. ‘But aren’t you offering me an income? Gifts? More money than I can possibly spend in normal opening hours?’ Her sarcasm seemed lost on him. He lay sprawled on the bed, watching her through heavy-lidded eyes, a faintly derisive smile touching his mouth.
Gone was the warmth and the lazy atmosphere of seduction. He was cold with her. Remote. Even a little—bored?
‘Of course. Feel free to allow your most avaricious fantasies to envelop you.’
Anger shot through her, the emotion intensified by her own frustration with herself. ‘My fantasies at the moment involve dropping you naked into a pool of extremely hungry piranha!’ Flinging words like stones, she jumped out of bed and reached for her combat trousers. She dragged them on, ignoring the muddy stains in her haste to dress. Suddenly being naked and in the same room as him seemed completely inappropriate. ‘I really thought that there was hope for you! I thought that underneath that hard outer shell you present to the world there lay a decent human being. Damaged, maybe. But buried there somewhere. And now I discover that you’re just as cold and empty as you appear.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘You are behaving like a child in a tantrum and it’s unnecessary. I say again, I really don’t care that you took the money. It’s in the past and I never dwell on the past.’
‘Yes, you do! It’s dwelling on the past that makes you so cynical and suspicious.’ She reached for her shirt, which lay discarded over the back of a chair. ‘I did not take the money.’ She spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness and frustration. ‘Why am I even bothering saying that to you when it’s so obvious that you just can’t see good in anyone? Well, I’m sorry for you, Rafael. Really sorry for you. I don’t know what she did to you but she obviously did it well.’
The sudden flash of anger in his eyes made her freeze to the spot and for a moment they just stared at each other, the tension simmering
between them like a living, breathing force. And then she saw the now familiar glitter in his eyes and felt the colour touch her cheeks.
Heat mingled with pain and it was a physical effort not to step towards him.
‘How can you do that?’ Her voice was soft, but her hand shook as she quickly jammed her arms into the sleeves, concealing her body from his appreciative gaze. ‘How can you look at me like that when you think I’m guilty of stealing? Don’t you have any standards? If you truly believed that of me you should have thrown me out, not taken me to your bed.’
His gaze was hard. ‘Since I have no wish to live the life of a monk, my standards are realistic. As I said when you arrived, you’re a woman. All women practise deception of one form or another. It really doesn’t bother me,’ he assured her in a confident drawl. ‘I expect it.’
‘You expect women to deceive you?’
‘Women are greedy.’ He shrugged. ‘And manipulative. And very upset when things don’t go their way, as you obviously are now.’
‘You know what?’ Her voice was so clogged with tears that she could hardly form the words. ‘You’re right that I’m upset. I’m very upset. Because last night was special for me. Really special. And now I discover that I was nothing more than a convenient female body in a slinky dress.’
He lounged back against the pillow, watching her as though she were a floorshow laid on for his entertainment. ‘You’re stunning when you’re angry, minha paixao. ‘
‘Then prepare yourself to be knocked flat by my beauty—’ she jammed her feet into her shoes ‘—because I haven’t even started. And what does that mean, anyway? You keep calling me that—’
‘Minha paixao?’ He shrugged, looking every inch the arrogant Brazilian billionaire. ‘My passion.’
Great, she thought. Passion. Not ‘love’ or ‘darling’ or even ‘sweetheart'. Not even in the throes of abandoned sex did Rafael Cordeiro make a mistake about the nature of the relationship.
Evidently bored with the direction of the conversation, he ran a hand over his face and stifled a yawn. ‘I probably should have warned you,’ he said softly, ‘but I hate emotional scenes.’
