by Maya Blake
Raven glanced down and, sure enough, a bead of sweat was making its way between her breasts. Heat slammed inside her, setting off trails of fire everywhere it touched as if seeking an outlet. This wasn’t good. Fires like this eventually escaped, sought the oxygen they needed to burn. Oxygen that looked temptingly, deliciously like the half-naked man in front of her. She could never let it escape, never let it burn because she had a feeling this particular conflagration would be nearly impossible to put out.
She’d more than learned her lesson. She’d been burned badly. Never again.
‘Rafael, unless you want to spend the rest of the morning sitting here burning to a crisp, I suggest you zip it and help me get you indoors.’
With a put-upon sigh, he opened his eyes. His low laugh bounced on the morning air before ricocheting through parts of her she didn’t want to think about or even acknowledge. ‘All right, sex pet. I’ll keep my lustful thoughts to myself. But if at any time you want a demonstration, don’t hesitate to ask.’
‘I won’t.’
His smile grew even more wicked, more dangerous than she felt able to cope with. ‘You won’t hesitate?’
‘I won’t ask,’ she stated firmly, dragging her eyes from the sweat-sheened torso that gleamed mere feet from her.
For several seconds he held her gaze, challenging her with the unabashed heat in his eyes, as if daring her to refuse him.
Raven stood before him, bracing herself and silently praying he would give up or move. Or something!
Finally, he dropped his gaze and reached for his walking stick. With the other hand he pulled her closer and braced his arm over her waist.
‘So, you’re concerned about my moral compass?’ he asked in a droll voice.
‘Don’t let it go to your head. Sergey seems like a decent man. Are you not concerned about how he’ll feel when he finds out you’re intending to call his wife for a tryst?’
His laugh was deep and long.
‘A tryst? That sounds so...decadent.’
She leaned forward, hoping her hair would hide the renewed flush of her cheeks. ‘Don’t mock me, Rafael. I can still ensure you never walk again.’
‘Spoilsport.’ He gave a dramatic sigh. ‘Before you unleash your many weapons on me, I have no intention of calling or trysting with Chantilly. It’s a little dance we do. She slips notes and numbers in my pocket. Sergey and I pretend we don’t notice.’
She stopped dead. ‘You mean he knows?’
His expression was world-weary and full of cynicism. ‘He’s old enough to be her grandfather, bonita. He knows she’s not with him for his virility and good looks. Sorry if that bursts your happy little moral bubble.’
The rest of the slow journey to his study was conducted in silence. Raven concentrated hard on ignoring the relief fizzing through her.
She succeeded only because with every step his body bumped against her, his warm, tensile body making her so hyper-aware of her own increased heartbeat. His scent washed over her. She swallowed, the knowledge that it was wrong to feel this way about her patient doing nothing to stop the arrows of lust shooting into her abdomen.
By the time the reached the long sofa that faced the large floor-to-ceiling window in his study, Raven wasn’t sure which one of them was breathing heavier.
Rafael slumped into the seat and rested his head on the back of the sofa. Lines of strain bracketed his mouth. Her heart lurched for him.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Nothing a new hip won’t sort out.’
‘I can get you some painkillers to ease the pain?’
His jaw clenched. ‘No.’ From day one, Rafael had refused pain relief, opting for physical therapy to heal his body.
‘You have three meetings tomorrow before we leave. I think you should cancel them. Your pelvis isn’t as fluid as it could be...and please, no double entendre. I mean it. I...I advise you to rethink and let Marco to take over.’
Every last trace of mirth left his face and eyes. His jaw clenched tight and he speared her with suddenly cold eyes. ‘I’m not cancelling anything. And my brother and Sasha will be staying exactly where they are.’
The sudden descent into iciness made her shiver. ‘Is it true you tried to break them up?’ she blurted before she could stop herself.
His gaze grew colder. ‘You’re straying into none-of-your-business territory, chiquita.’
‘I thought we were past that? After all, you seem to feel free to stray into my life whenever you feel like it. I’m merely returning the gesture.’
He locked gazes with her for endless seconds. Then he shrugged. ‘Okay. Yes, I tried to break them up.’
‘Why?’
‘Because it seemed like a great idea at the time. Obviously, it didn’t work.’
‘It wasn’t because you loved her?’
Why was she doing this? Asking questions she was fairly certain she didn’t want answers to.
‘Love? Yes, love. I did it out of love. Twisted, isn’t it? If you had a lover too, I’d probably try to separate you from him.’
She frowned. ‘Why would you do that?’
He laughed, a half bitter, half amused sound that chilled her nerves. ‘Haven’t you noticed yet, Raven? I like chaos. I like to cause as much damage as possible wherever I go. Haven’t you learned this of me by now? I’m trouble with a capital T.’
She tried for a shrug. ‘Some women go for that sort of thing, I hear.’
‘But not you, sí? You remind me of one of the girls I went to Sunday school with.’
Shock held her rigid. ‘You went to Sunday school?’
He nodded, the unholy gleam in his eyes lightening the blue depths. ‘Religiously. My mother was very keen I got into heaven.’
She laughed at the very idea. She knew no one more devilish in temperament and looks than Rafael de Cervantes.
His grin widened. ‘The idea of me in heaven is laughable?’
‘In the extreme. You’d corrupt all the other angels within seconds.’
‘And they’d love every minute of it.’
‘I bet.’
Laughter faded, slowly replaced by an incisive look that should’ve been her first warning. ‘You hide your pain underneath a veneer of blistering efficiency.’
‘While you hide yours under the cover of irreverent, sometimes callous charm.’
He reached out a hand for her, and Raven found herself moving towards him, his aura drawing her in like a moth to a flame.
When he patted the seat next to him, she sat down. ‘What a pair we are,’ he muttered.
She shrugged. ‘I guess we must do what we need to do to protect ourselves.’
‘From the outside world, yes. But we know what the other is. So there’s no need for pretence with us.’
His smile slowly faded to leave a serious, probing look that made her whole body tingle. Slowly he reached out and clasped his hand around her nape. Effortlessly, he drew her forward. She wet her lips before she could stop herself. His groan echoed the deep, dark one inside her.
‘What do you want from me, Rafael?’ she muttered, her tongue feeling thick in her mouth.
‘Nothing you aren’t prepared to give me.’
‘Don’t pretend you won’t take more than your fair share.’
His head dropped an inch closer. ‘What can I say, I’m a greedy, greedy bastard.’
‘What the hell am I doing?’
‘Letting go. Living a little. Just because you were hurt before doesn’t mean you have to stop living. Pleasure, in the right circumstances, with the right person, can be the most exhilarating experience in life.’
‘But you’re the exact opposite of the right person, I can’t even see how you can say that with a straight face.’
‘Sí, I’m the
devil. You would never be satisfied with a Normal Norman. You’d be bored rigid in three seconds flat.’
He kissed her before she could countermand his assertion. As first kisses with the devil went, it was soul-stealing and Raven was eternally grateful she was sitting down.
Because Rafael devoured her as if she were his favourite fruit. No millimetre of her mouth went unkissed. When he was done ravaging her lips, he delved between to boldly slide his tongue into her mouth. The toe-curling sensation made her fingers bite hard into his bicep. She needed something solid to hold on to. Unfortunately, Rafael—unyielding, warm—no, hot—heady, sexily irreverent Rafael—was the last anchor she should’ve been seeking. And yet she couldn’t pull away, couldn’t summon even the smallest protest as she let him devour her lips.
‘Dios, you taste even better than I imagined.’ He only gave her a chance to snatch a quick breath before he pounced again.
One hand caught her waist, his fingers digging into her flesh to hold her still as he angled his head to go even deeper. Her moan felt ripped from her very soul.
He started to lean her back on the sofa, then he stilled suddenly. Between their lips, the sound of his pained hiss was smothered but Raven recognised it all the same.
Reality came crashing down on her, her dulled brain clamouring to make sense of what she’d let happen. Slowly, painfully, he straightened until he was upright again.
Raven wanted to reach across and help but she was too weak with thwarted lust, too stunned from the realisation that she was still as hopelessly attracted to Rafael as she’d been the first time she was introduced to him as his physiotherapist.
‘Shut up,’ he ground out hoarsely.
‘I didn’t say anything.’
‘No, but I can hear you thinking. Loudly, noisily. I’ve never had to compete with a woman mentally working out the Fibonacci Sequence while I was trying to get her naked. And you know what? It’s not sexy. It’s quite deafeningly unsexy, actually.’
She slid agitated hands into her hair. ‘You’re being offensive.’
‘And you’re ruining this electric buzz with all that over-thinking. I would much prefer it if you’d shut up and strip for me.’
Her mouth dropped open. Actually dropped opened in a gob-smacked, un-pretty mess that she couldn’t stop. ‘I really don’t know how you managed to snag girlfriend after girlfriend with that insufferable attitude.’
‘It’s the same way I’ve snagged you, piqueña. It’s why you’re leaning towards me right now, unable to look away from me as you imagine what it would be like to have me inside you, buried deep, riding us both to ecstasy.’
She jumped back, and her breath whooshed out of her lungs.
‘And now you’re going to blush.’
As if on cue, heat rose and engulfed her face. ‘Crap.’
He laughed, actually laughed at her. Raven had never felt so humiliated. Or so...so hot as he grasped the bottom of his T-shirt.
‘Here, I’ll go first, shall I? One item of clothing each until we’re in flagrante. Deal?’
She wanted to walk out, wanted to tell him what to do with his tight, muscle-packed body and sheer masculine perfection. She wanted to have enough willpower to turn her back on all the things his glinting blue eyes promised. This wasn’t her. She wasn’t the type of girl who fell casually into sex as if she were choosing the latest hair accessory from a supermarket shelf. So why couldn’t she move? Why did every single instinct she had scream at her to move closer to Rafael, to touch, experience the seductive pleasure he promised, instead of running as far as her marathon-trained legs could carry her?
A long-suffering sigh filled with extreme impatience shattered her thoughts. Her gaze sharpened in time to see his hands drop.
‘Fine, I get the message. You’re about to fall on your puritanical sword, deny yourself pleasure just so you can crawl back into your cold bed and pat yourself on the back. Aren’t you?’
‘I wasn’t...’ But she had been thinking that, hadn’t she? ‘Maybe,’ she admitted. ‘Besides being totally unprofessional, I can’t very well advocate no sex for you and then be the one who...who makes you suffer a setback.’
He shook his head, a genuine baffled look on his face. Reaching over carefully, he took her face in his hand. ‘Sí, I get it. More restraint. More suffering for both of us. You’re twenty-four so I’m sure you’re not a virgin, but are you sure you weren’t an inquisitor in a past life?’
Since there was no way she wanted to confirm her virginity, she focused on the second part of his statement. ‘I know you don’t believe it, but I’m only looking out for you.’
‘By torturing me to death? Or is there something else at play here?’
‘By making sure you heal as quickly and efficiently as possible.’
He dropped his hand. ‘Where’s the fun in that?’
Raven kicked herself for immediately missing his touch. ‘God, you’re unbearable! And what do you mean, “there’s something else at play”?’
‘Ah. Finally, some fire. Do you have any idea how incredibly hot you look when you’re riled?’
Desire dragged low through her abdomen at his heated, husky words. ‘You’re getting off topic. And that compliment is so clichéd, even a three-year-old wouldn’t believe you.’
‘Cliché doesn’t make it any less true. But yes, I’ll get to the point. You like to hide behind a prickly exterior, holding the world at bay because you’re afraid.’
‘I’m not prickly and I’m most definitely not afraid.’
‘You over-think every single move you make.’
‘It’s called being sensible,’ she retorted.
‘You’re living half a life. Every bone in your body wants to be on the bed with me, yet you’re afraid to let yourself just be.’
‘Just because I don’t put myself about like you doesn’t mean I’m not living.’
His lips twisted. ‘I wouldn’t be this frustrated if I’d been putting it about like you suggest. And don’t forget, I was in a coma for several weeks. Have mercy on my poor, withered c—’
‘If you finish that sentence I’m walking out of here right now!’
‘The C-word offends you?’
‘No, your blatant lies do. There’s nothing withered or poor about you.’
‘Gracias...I think.’ He tilted his head. ‘Now you’re about to deflate my ego thoroughly, aren’t you?’
‘Your ego is Teflon-coated and self-inflating. It doesn’t need any help from me.’
He let out an impatient sigh. ‘Dios, Raven, are you going to talk me into another coma or are we going to have a conversation about what’s really going on here?’
She shoved her hands onto her hips. ‘There’s nothing going on. You want to get on with making up for lost time and I happen to be the willing body you’ve chosen.’
His hands dropped. ‘Would it make you feel better if I said yes? It would help you get through the morning-after hand-wringing if you feel righteous anger for being used?’
She gasped. ‘I didn’t say that.’
He moved further away. ‘You didn’t have to. Santa Maria! We haven’t been to bed yet, and already you’re seeking excuses to ease your guilt. How long are you going to let your father win?’
Her gasp was a hoarse sound that scraped her throat raw. ‘That’s low, Rafael.’
‘No lower than the way you treat yourself. Have a little pride. You’re a beautiful woman, with a powerfully sexual nature you choose to suppress underneath a staid exterior. But, underneath all that togetherness, your true nature is dying to leap out. To be set free.’
‘And you’re the man to do it? How convenient for you.’
His face remained sober. ‘For both of us. I’m willing to rise to the task. I’m very good at it, too. Trust me.’
> ‘Trust you. The self-proclaimed damaged man who is trouble with a capital T?’
‘Think of all the experience I’d bring to the task. You couldn’t find a better candidate to bed you if you tried.’
She shut her eyes. Despair wove through her because, deep down, she knew he was right. Her body hadn’t reacted to anyone this strongly since...heavens, since never! But that was no excuse to throw well-served caution to the wind. ‘No. It’s not going to happen.’
He was silent for so long her nerves were stretched to the max by the time he spoke. ‘What did your father do to you?’
‘What makes you think this is about my father, not about an ex?’
‘The first cut is the deepest, no?’
She looked around the too posh living room, at the priceless pieces of furniture that most people would give their eye teeth to own.
She didn’t belong here. Her presence in Rafael’s life was temporary, transient. Baring her soul to a man who didn’t possess one was out of the question. Regardless of what she’d told herself she’d seen in his eyes last night, they were nothing more than ships passing in the night.
In a few weeks she would be gone and Rafael would return, healed, to his regular life. ‘Yes, the first cut is the deepest, and yes, my father hurt me. Badly. But my scars don’t dictate who I am. I am free to choose who to be with, who I have sex with. And I don’t want to have it with you.’
CHAPTER SIX
RAFAEL TOOK HER rejection with more grace than she’d given him credit for, especially considering his reaction to her rejection the day of his last X1 race.
Later that day, after shrugging off her terse pronouncement, they strolled into an exclusive rooftop restaurant overlooking Casino Square. Although a whisper of tension flowed between them, Rafael was as charming as ever.
‘So, what are your plans after you’re done fixing me?’ he asked after the first course had been served.
A strange twinge attacked her insides. Pushing it away, she speared her fork through a plump shrimp. ‘I’ll either get the agency that allocated me the X1 contract to find me another driver to work with, or I’ll find one on my own. I could also try the army facility to see if they need a full-time physiotherapist. I have a few possibilities and I figure after you, every other patient would be a breeze to work with.’
