His Ultimate Prize(22)

'Did you just do what I think you did?'

'That depends. Did you want him to come over here and slobber all over you?'

She shuddered. 'No, but I'm not sure I wanted a blatant territory-marking from you either.'

He wanted to tell her that he wished the whole paddock knew to keep away  from her. But he knew it wouldn't go down well. It would also point out  just how much he detested the idea of Raven with any other man. 'Point  taken.'

Her eyes widened. 'Wow, I'm not sure whether to feel suspicious or special that you've conceded a point to me.'

'You should feel special.' His gaze trapped and held hers. 'Very special.'

Raven returned his stare, trying to summon a tiny bit of ire beneath all  the high octane, breath-stealing emotions coursing through her. But the  excitement licking along her nerve endings put the effort to shame.

Something of her feelings must have shown on her face because his eyes  darkened dramatically. His gaze dropped to her lips, the heated pulse  beating a wild rhythm in her neck, then back to her face.

Calmly, he breathed out and gave her a slow, electrifying smile. Eyes  still locked on hers, he pulled out his phone and spoke in clear tones.  Unfortunately, Spanish wasn't her forte so she had no clue what he was  saying. But she made out the word avión, which made her even more  curious.

'What was that about?' she asked when he hung up.

'I've arranged for our things to be packed. I thought we might head to  Mexico a couple of days earlier than the rest of the racers.'

'Won't you be needed?'

'Possibly, but for the next two days I'm taking your advice and delegating. Does this make you happy?'

There was a deeper question beneath the stated one, a hungry gleam in  his eyes that boldly proclaimed his intention should she agree to what  he was proposing.

In a single heartbeat, Raven accepted it. 'Yes.'

It was almost a relief to let go of the angst and the rigid control. At  least for a while. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that it would  return a hundredfold soon enough.





 CHAPTER NINE

SHE WAS GOING to take a lover. She was going to lose her virginity to  the very man she'd run a mile from last year. The man who would most  likely break her heart into a tiny million pieces long before this thing  between them was over.

Nerves threatened to eat her up as their tiny seaplane banked and headed  towards the private beachfront of the stunning villa Rafael owned in  Los Cabos, Mexico. By now she knew all about the eighteen-bedroom villa,  the lower level sauna and steam room, the two swimming pools and the  names of every member of the construction crew who'd built the villa to  Rafael's exact specification three years ago.

Because she'd needed to babble, to fill her head with white noise to  distract her from the urge to spill the fact that she hadn't done this  before. The closer they drew to their destination, the higher panic had  flared beneath the surface of her outward calm.

Rafael's experience with women was world-renowned. What if she made a  spectacular fool of herself? What if he was so put off by her  inexperience he recoiled from her? To silence the voices, she babbled  some more, found out that he had a staff of five who managed the villa  and that he practised his handicap on the legendary golf course nearby  when the occasion suited him.

In direct contrast to her nervous chirping, Rafael had been circumspect,  his watchful silence unlike anything she'd ever known. Although he'd  answered her questions with inexhaustible patience, his eyes had  remained riveted on her the whole time, occasionally dropping to her  lips as if he couldn't wait to taste, to devour.

They touched down on the water and powered to a stop next to a large  wooden jetty. After alighting, they headed towards an open-topped jeep  for the short drive to the villa.

Even though she felt as if she knew the property inside and out, Raven  wasn't prepared for the sheer, jaw-dropping beauty of the adobe  white-washed walls, the highly polished exposed beams and almost  ever-present sea views from the windows of the mission-style villa.  Spanish-influenced paintings adorned the walls, lending a rich tapestry  to the luxurious interior.

In her bedroom, rich fabrics in earthy colours formed the backdrop to a  mostly white theme set against warm terracotta floors. But one item drew  her attention.

'What's this for?' She touched the black high-powered telescope that stood before one large window.

He came and stood behind her, bringing that warm, evocative scent that  she'd come to associate with him and only him. It took an insane amount  of willpower not to lean back into his hard-packed body.

'The waters around here are well-known grounds for sperm whales. They  tend to come closer to shore first thing in the morning. If you're lucky  you'll spot a few while we're here.'

Again the sombre, almost guarded response caught her off-guard. She  glanced at him over her shoulder. He returned her stare with an  intensity that made her breath catch. After a full minute, he lifted his  hand and drifted warm fingers down her cheek in a soothing,  belly-melting gesture.                       
       
           



       

'You're nervous, bonita. Don't be. I promise it will be good.'

Her laugh was aimed at herself as much as at him. 'That's easy for you to say.'

His finger touched and stayed on the pulse jumping in her throat. 'It  isn't. I haven't done this for a long time, too. Hell, I don't know if  the equipment works.'

He gave a wry smile when her brows shot up. 'You don't?'

'You will be the first since a while before the accident.'

'But I felt...I know you...'

'Can get a hard-on? Sí, but I'm yet to test the practical integrity of the machinery.'

'Oh, so I'm to be your guinea pig?' she teased, a little appeased that  she wasn't the only one climbing walls about the prospect of them  together.

'Guinea pigs don't have mouths like yours, or eyes the colour of a  desert oasis. Or breasts that cry out to be suckled. Or the most perfect  heart-shaped ass that makes me want to put you face down and straddle-'

'Okay, I get it. I'm hotter than a Greek furnace.' Her eyes strayed to  the perfectly made up bed, her imagination running wild. She swallowed.  'I...I'd like a tour of the outside now, if you don't mind.'

His finger drifted up to the corner of her mouth, pressed gently before he put his finger to his own lips and groaned.

'If that's what you want.'

She nodded.

He didn't heed her request right away. He leaned down, placed his lips  at the juncture between her neck and shoulder and ran his tongue over  her thundering pulse. He answered her groan with one of his own, then he  reluctantly stepped back. Raven was glad when he offered his arm  because her legs had grown decidedly shaky.

The heeled leather boots she'd worn with her jeans and black-edged white  shirt clicked alongside his heavier tread as they went outside.

On one side, an extensive stretch of grass led to a large thatched poolside bar surrounded by potted palm trees.

Beside it, an area clearly designated for relaxing featured a hot tub  under long bales of white linen that had been intertwined to form a  stunning canopy that offered shade. After the chill of Europe, it was a  balm to feel the sun on her face.

'Come, there's something I want to show you.' There was heated  anticipation in the low rumble that fluttered over her skin, feeding her  own sizzling emotions.

Rafael led her across the grass and down shallow steps to the private,  secluded beach. All through the tour, his hand had been drifting up and  down her back, stealing her thoughts and playing havoc with her pulse.

Which meant that she was totally unprepared for the sight that confronted her when he led her round a rock-sheltered cove.

The thick timber four-poster canopy had been erected right on the shore,  with a massive day bed suspended by thick intertwined ropes. The sight  was so vividly breathtaking, and so unexpectedly raw and pagan, she  stopped in her tracks.

There was only one reason for the bed.

Sex. Outdoor sex.

Heat engulfed her whole body as Rafael's gaze met and trapped hers.

'The high rocks shield even the most determined lenses. And see those?'  He indicated three discreetly placed floodlights pointing out towards  the water. 'They come on at night and send a glare out to sea so any  cunning paparazzi out there get nothing but glare when they try and get  pictures of the villa.'

She swallowed hard. 'Even so, I can't imagine doing...it so blatantly.'

He caught her hand in his and kissed her palm. 'Never say never. Now, I believe we have a therapy session to work through?'

The fact that she'd forgotten her main reason for being there made her uncomfortable.

She hastened to cover it up. 'Yes, and don't hate me, but we'll need to step things up a bit.'

'Do with me what you will, querida. I'm but putty in your hands.'

He led the way back into the villa and into his bedroom. The setting sun  threw orange shades across the king-size wooden-framed bed that seemed  to dominate the room. When he threw his walking stick on the exquisitely  designed recliner facing the double doors leading to a large balcony,  she was reminded again why she was here with Rafael in the first place.