Power and Possession(41)

Maybe he was a mind reader because he didn’t wait for an answer; he stood with her in his arms and nodded at Henny. “Thanks for supper.”

Powering through her LA traffic jam, Nicole said in an explosive rush, “Everything was wonderful, the company too.”

“Anytime.” Henny grinned. “Sweet dreams, children.”

“See you in the morning,” Basil added with a shy smile.

Once they were alone, Henny poured Basil and himself champagne, then raised his glass. “Mark your calendar,” he drawled. “Rafe’s gone over the fucking edge.”

“I’m not so sure.” Basil studied the bubbles in his glass for a second, then looked up. “She’s a novelty. By definition novelties are fleeting.”

Henny shrugged one massive shoulder. “You never know. Hell, I never thought I’d marry. And then Mireille walked into my kitchen in Paris with—what’s her name… the woman you were fucking?”

“Claudine.”

“What happened to her?”

“She went back to her husband and family.”

Henny made a face. “Sorry. Are you heartbroken?”

Basil smiled faintly. “She called last week.”

“And?”

“And I told her I’d think about it. I don’t give a shit about her husband, but she has two young children. And you and I both know how unsettling divorce can be.”

Henny laughed. “Especially the second and third.”

“Keep it up,” Basil muttered. “And I’ll never call Claudine back.”

Recognizing his friend’s grim, self-absorbed stare, Henny quickly veered back to their original conversation. “Want to give me odds on when Rafe gets tired of Miss Novelty? My call is he’ll last the entire thirty days. According to Carlos that’s when she leaves.”

Basil looked up with a small flicker of surprise, as though reentering the world. “Thirty days is a lifetime for Rafe,” he finally said, having rallied his senses. “I’d say, ten—at the most. Actually, five is more realistic.”

“How much?” Both men were wealthy in their own right. Friendship rather than necessity brought them all to Monaco each summer.

“Five K. And I’m going to modify five days to an even more realistic three. Once Monday comes, Rafe’s going to check in with Geneva and get back to business.”

“I’m not so sure. He’s in deep. Make it ten K and we’re on.”

“Fine. But the odds are against you.” Basil’s form of crazy was personal; in all else, he was eminently rational.

“I like a long shot. And you have to admit,” Henny said with a big grin, “just seeing Rafe play Romeo is worth the goddamn price of admission.”





Chapter 13


Kicking the carriage house door shut behind him, Rafe set Nicole on her feet. “I’m a couple hours past taking it slow,” he said, his fingers quickly undoing the tie on her robe. “I apologize if it matters.”

“And if it does?”

His gaze came up but he didn’t stop pushing her robe off her shoulders. “Then add some jewelry of your choosing to this apology.”

She laughed. “Really? Has that worked for you?”

Always. “Could we have this conversation later?” He arched one brow. “Seeing how you’re naked”—he tossed her robe aside—“and my dick isn’t in the mood for chitchat.”

Her libido zeroed in the overtaxed fabric of his shorts stretched taut over a truly impressive erection that was about to be hers in all its au naturel glory. “Fine,” she said¸ giving him a brilliant smile and reaching for his zipper. “We’ll talk later.”

He lifted her hands aside. “Let me. I’m faster.”

Fuck—like the speed of sound. A second later, Nicole watched him step over his shorts on the floor. “Great skill set.” She frowned.

Catching her chin with his forefinger and thumb, he forced her head up. “Don’t pout. You’re everything beautiful and surprising in my life.” He hid an involuntary wince at his earnestness. “It would be easier if you weren’t.”

“You and I both know the reason I’m here is because it isn’t easy.” Arching her throat, she pulled away from his hand. “It’s volatile. You like that.”

He suddenly laughed, leaned in, and smiled, a wide, fabulous flash of white teeth and golden-eyed warmth. “What I like is fucking you. And you talk too much,” he added, grinning into her audacious blue gaze, shoving her gently backward until she was pinned against the cool stone wall.

Bracing his hands on either side of her shoulders, he smoothly eased forward until his powerful body was lightly resting against hers. As if he were politely offering himself and his considerable physical assets. As if he awaited her approval.