“Got it. If you need anything though, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Rafe dropped his head back on the padded leather seat, stared at the ceiling, and spoke softly. “I know what I’m doing, Carlos. There’s no need for alarm. Two weeks, a month at the most, and life goes back to normal. I can almost guarantee it.”
“I’m simply offering my help. I’m not questioning you. You’re not a capricious man.”
“With a father like mine, I couldn’t be. Someone had to have their head screwed on straight.”
“Right. One last business matter before you start fucking. Ganz tried to call you. I intercepted and called him back. He’s coming in next week. He said another attack from the same state-sponsored hacker is looming.”
“Jesus, what’s that—the tenth, eleventh?”
“Ganz said the twelfth.”
Rafe sighed. “Okay, start bringing in the teams to my place here. Provided Ganz approves.”
“Already on it.”
“How about the police chief in Zurich? Is he doing his job?”
“So far. Ganz and his mother are safe. No activity at your farm. The chief has set up round-the-clock surveillance shifts and not a ripple of activity anywhere. But your property is off the grid. It makes it harder to find.”
“Thanks. You know how to get hold of me. Ah, here comes Miss Parrish,” Rafe said, pleased their business was more or less concluded, pleased as well that she’d put on a shirt that covered some of her nakedness. For some reason, he didn’t feel like sharing—the thought so shocking, he quickly dismissed it. It smacked of permanence, of something beyond the simple pleasures of this holiday, of feelings too intense, too inappropriate, for his life. “Has the house been cleared out?” he asked, returning to more ordinary considerations, watching Simon walk around the front of the car.
“As of ten minutes ago. Roddrick had to be carried out,” Carlos said drily. “No surprise. But everyone’s been transferred to a hotel of their choice.”
“Excellent. Ciao.” Rafe looked up as the door opened and smiled. “That was fast.”
“I was in a hurry.” Nicole handed him her backpack.
Taking it from her, he set it down and helped her into the car.
Dropping down beside Rafe, she waited for Simon to shut the door, then leaned over and ran her hand over his fly. “No pressure,” she said, glancing up with a saucy grin, “but I needed to come—like an hour ago.”
He laughed. “That’s the kind of pressure I like.” He touched her bottom lip with the pad of his finger. “Want one for the road? There’s time.”
She hesitated.
His erection surged higher.
Then she shook her head. “You said you wanted to take your time. I do too.” She gently stroked his hard, rigid length with a brush of her hand. “I want to feel you in me and over me, slowly, deeply, your naked skin on mine, your heat and strength, everything you’ve got making me crazy for a very, very long time.” She looked up at him from under the soft curl of her lashes, cupped the head of his dick, and softly squeezed. “I’m selfish. So I want that first”—she smiled a big-eyed, dead-ten, fuck-me smile—“before you push me over the edge.”
Chapter 6
Rafe’s house up in the hills was a gross misrepresentation of the Renaissance-style peach-colored palace that came into view as the car topped the steep gated drive. An enormous four-story facade lay squarely before them at the very end of a lengthy row of boxwood-framed parterres ablaze with colorful flowers.
“Seriously?” Nicole muttered, rolling her eyes at Rafe. “Your house?”
“At the moment. It’s been in the family a long time. Actually, I prefer the carriage house. Does it matter to you?” Women were invited to parties at the main house; he understood its cachet.
“So your friends hang out there?” She flicked a little wave in the direction of the palace.
“Did. They’re gone now. So.” He smiled. “Where would you like to stay? Take your pick.”
“Does the carriage house have a sea view?”
“Both places do.”
“Staff?”
“At the main house.”
“Do you cook?”
“Not much. Scrambled eggs if I’m desperate.”
“Can we get takeout?”
Since there was an industrial-size kitchen at the main house with a chef and his team, the answer was simple. “Sure.”
“Then I’m opting for the carriage house.” Nicole wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like people around.”
Rafe grinned. “When you’re fucking.”