'What was Axel saying to you?'
She waved him away. 'Nothing for you to worry about.' He remained in place, that infuriatingly well-defined eyebrow arched. 'Okay, if you must know, he told me that beneath all that lady-killer persona, you're really a Boy Scout. Oh, and he also offered to show me Monza.'
He glanced away but she saw his jaw tighten. 'I hope you told him no?'
'Maybe.' She started to move towards him in the hope that he'd get the hint and move. He remained, rock-still and immovable.
'Stay away from him,' he said, his voice low but no less forcefully lethal.
Her pulse spiked higher. 'Sexually, socially or just for the hell of it?'
With a swiftness she wouldn't have attributed to him considering his injuries, he reached forward, grabbed her arms, whirled her round and reversed their position. Her lungs expended their oxygen supply as she found herself trapped between the hard, polished wood and Rafael's equally hard, warm body.
One hand gripped her nape while the other settled firmly on her waist. Heat ratcheted several notches. Inhaling only made matters worse because Rafael's scent, potent and delicious, attacked her senses with rabid fervour.
'He was looking at you as if he wanted to serve you up on his sauerkraut.'
'And what, you're jealous?'
'Not if you tell me you're not thinking of falling into the clutches of an ex-racer more than twice your age.'
'Axel's only in his mid-forties. And I'm touched you're looking out for me.'
Blue eyes deepened by his blue long-sleeved shirt and navy jeans narrowed even further. 'And he also likes to think he's slick with the ladies.'
'Scared of the competition?'
'Scared I'm going to have to toss his ass out of the plane without a parachute if you don't tell me you'll stay away from him.' Without warning, one thigh wedged between hers. The heat emanating from him made her whole body feel as if it were on fire. Second by inexorable second, he pressed closer against her. His hard chest brushed against hers, stinging sensitive nipples to life. Raven fought a moan and tried to decide whether defiance or acquiescence was her best path.
'Is this what it means to be caught between a rock and a hard place?' she asked, unable to resist baiting him just a little.
His laugh sent a skitter of pleasure through her. 'You're making jokes, querida?'
'You're laughing, aren't you?'
'Sí,' he agreed. The hand on her waist moved a fraction higher, dug deeper in an almost possessive hold on her ribcage. 'But I'm still waiting for an answer.'
A small voice cautioned her against throwing more fuel onto the flames.
'I spoke to him for fifteen minutes, but I barely remember what he looks like,' she whispered against seriously tempting lips a hair's breadth from hers. 'But why do you care? Really?'
'You were the first person I told about my father outside my family. You haven't condemned me...yet. In my own small way, I'm trying to return the favour by saving you from a potentially unfortunate situation.'
'By trapping me here and threatening to toss a man out of the plane?'
'It's my Latin blood, piqueña. It takes me from zero to growly in less than five seconds.' He closed the gap between their lips and their bodies.
A fervid moan rose from her chest as sensation crashed over her head. Her knees turned liquid and she would've lost her balance had she not been trapped so powerfully against a towering pile of formidable maleness. As they were, with his thigh wedged so firmly between hers, she felt the heat from his leg caress her intimately. Friction, urgent and undeniable, made her pulse race faster. Even more when his tongue delved between her lips. Like the first time they'd kissed, Rafael seemed bent on devouring her. Although she'd been kissed, she'd never been kissed quite like this, with a dedication so intense she felt as if she were being consumed.
When he finally let her up for air, it was to allow her a single breath before he pounced again. Her hands, which had miraculously risen to glide over his shoulders, finally found the wherewithal to push him away.
'Rafael...'
'No, not yet.' His lips swooped, but she managed to turn her head just in time. He settled for nibbling the corner of her mouth, a caress so erotic she throbbed low down with the sensation.
'We need to stop. Everyone out there will think we're in here...doing...having...'
'Sex...saying it doesn't make you a dirty, dirty girl, Raven.' His thigh moved, inserting itself even more firmly between hers. Again friction caused sensation to explode in her belly.
She flushed. 'I know that.'
'Then say it,' he commanded, pulling back to stare into her eyes.
Defiance surged back on a wave of desperation. 'Sex. Sex, sex, sex-'
He kissed her silent, and damn, but did she enjoy it. When he finally raised his head she was thoroughly and dangerously breathless. 'It's okay, you've made your point. Although I can't say that'll dissuade our fellow travellers from thinking we've joined the Mile High Club.'
A growl of frustration rumbled out before she could stop it. 'Why couldn't you leave this alone until we landed?'
'The same reason you're still caressing my shoulders even though you're protesting my presence here with you.'
She dropped her hands and swore she could feel her skin tingling in protest.
'I...this is crazy,' she muttered under her breath.
'Sí, but we can't help ourselves where the other is concerned. Are you ready to go back?'
A shaky nod was all she could manage before he withdrew his thigh from between hers. The loss of his support and heat made her want to cry out in protest. She stopped herself in time and checked to see if her buttons had come undone.
With a sigh of relief, she stepped away from the door.
Rafael was very close behind her when they exited the bedroom. 'You didn't tell me what you thought of the story.'
She looked over her shoulder. 'I thought it was incredible.'
He stilled, an arrested look on his face. 'You enjoyed it?'
'Very much. The girl has an amazing spirit. I can't wait to find out more about her journey.' She glanced at him. 'That is if you intend to continue with it?'
A look passed over his face, gone too quickly before she could decipher it. 'With such a rousing endorsement, how could I not? As it happens, I have a few more chapters.'
Pleasure fizzed through her. 'Will you let me read it?'
He smiled. 'You mean you want to read more, despite the lack of X-rated material?'
She huffed in irritation. 'Why did I think a lovely conversation with you would last more than five seconds?'
His low laugh curled around her senses. She was so lost in it, she didn't realise he had led her away from Axel until he pushed her into the seat next to his.
* * *
The Monza circuit, perched on the outskirts of the small namesake town, was situated north of Milan. The view from above as Rafael's helicopter pilot flew over the racetrack was spectacular.
A riot of colour from the different sponsor logos and team colours defied the late winter greyness. She felt the palpable excitement from small teams readying the race cars before they landed.
Casting a glance at Rafael, she couldn't immediately see his reaction due to wraparound shades and noise-cancelling headphones, but his shoulders, the same ones she'd caressed barely ninety minutes ago, tensed the closer they got to the landing pad. If they'd been alone she would've placed her hand on his-an incredible development considering this time last week the thought of touching him set her teeth on edge-but she didn't want to attract undue attention. The paddock would supply enough gossip to fuel this event and the rest of the X1 season as it was.
Cameras flashed as soon as the helicopter touched down and demanding questions were lobbed towards them the moment the doors opened.
Are you returning to racing, Rafael?
Will you be officially announcing your retirement today or is this the start of your comeback?
Is it true you're suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder?
His jaw was set in concrete even though his lips were curved in a smile as he stepped out of the helicopter and waved a lazy hand at the cameras.
A luxurious four-by-four was parked a few feet away. He held the door open for Raven and slid in after her.
'I don't know how you can stand them without wanting to punch someone in the face,' Raven found herself murmuring as she watched a particularly ambitious paparazzo hop onto the back of a scooter and race after them.
'They help raise the profile of the sport. They're a necessary evil.'
'Even when they're intrusive to the point of personal violation?'
'When I engage them, I engage them on my terms. It's a skill I learned early.'
With a surprise, she realised that everything the press knew about Rafael was something he'd chosen to share with them, not some sleazy gossip they'd dug up. To the common spectator, Rafael lived his life in the public eye but in the past few weeks she'd discovered he had secrets...secrets he shared with no one, not even his family.
'You give them just enough to keep them interested and to keep them from prying deeper.'