‘Tell me.’
‘Well, the most obvious is that you’re freeing me from debt.’ She felt his shoulders tense and hastened to add, ‘But that isn’t the most important freedom you’ve given me. You’ve made me see myself differently...you’ve made me think about my mother in a completely different light...and you’ve upended my whole view about sex in relationships.’
She protested to no avail as Ricardo levered himself up and swung his legs over the side of the table so he sat facing her. ‘Hey, I’m nowhere near finished with your back yet. Lie down!’
He ignored her order, took her hands and threaded his fingers between hers. ‘Because of the situation you’d grown up in, you thought sex was about delivering pleasure, but not about receiving it?’
‘Yes.’
‘You know differently now. There’s much more fulfilment in mutual satisfaction.’
‘You’ve introduced me to pleasure, Ricardo. You make love to me exquisitely. You make me feel so...special.’ She’d been about to use the word loved, but decided against it. She truly believed Ricardo was starting to fall for her. The stubborn man was just too blind to see it. She prayed he would come to realise it soon.
He released her hands and placed his hands on her shoulders. ‘Let’s go to bed.’
‘No!’ She shook her head, becoming frustrated at his persistence. ‘Lie back down and let me finish. I’m convinced you have more knots in your shoulders and back than a fisherman has in his nets, and I want them gone.’
His outward breath revealed his reluctance. ‘You’re very good at what you do, but I’d be even more relaxed if we’d already been to bed.’
In response she merely pointed to the head of the massage table.
‘You have a stubborn streak,’ he grumbled as he lay back down. But five minutes later she heard the long exhalation which told her he was fully relaxed. ‘I could get used to this,’ he admitted.
Good.
‘No wonder you’re so highly sought after professionally.’ The fatigue in his voice was unmistakable. Despite the stamina he had, nobody could keep up the pace he’d set himself.
Another ten minutes passed and the even tenor of his breathing told her he was asleep. She kept massaging, covering his upper body with a towel as her hands made their way lower.
Jess knew exactly where she was headed when it came to massage therapy — her hands worked on his taut buttocks, powerful thighs and calves and finally on his feet. She was less certain where their relationship was headed.
Ricardo had told her she was special. He’d admitted he’d never spent the entire night with any of his previous lovers, much less had one move into his apartment. Marguerite had told her he’d never taken anyone home for dinner.
Ricardo was just as attracted to her as she was to him — the fire in his eyes when he looked at her and his instant arousal whenever they were close, confirmed it with absolute certainty. Tonight he’d sounded surprised as he acknowledged she’d stirred jealousy within him.
Surely, he felt more for her than he admitted?
Although he’d been putting long days in at the office, he’d started phoning her through the day, finding out what she was doing, and involving her with the details of his day.
In some ways, Jess felt like they were an old married couple — completely comfortable with each other. On the other hand, the fizzing awareness that cracked and hummed between them made her feel like they were newlyweds, unable to keep their hands off each other.
The unsettling truth was they were neither. They were simply a couple who turned each other on like crazy, but who were living together on borrowed time. Ricardo had not welcomed her comments earlier about the pace he was living. His reaction reminded her that he didn’t see her as an equal partner who had a right to be concerned about his well-being.
He stirred from his sleep. A second later, he rolled over and took her hands in his. ‘You have wonderful hands, but now I get to put my hands on you.’
He stood in one fluid movement, swept her up into his arms, and all she could do was cling to him like a limpet.
‘You smell so good,’ he told her, rubbing his cheek over her hair and breathing in the scent of her as he carried her over to the bed.
Her breaths were fast and slight. The thought of another session of wild, passionate sex made her go into a tailspin of anticipation.
Depositing her on the bed, his hands travelled all over her, from the indentation of her spine to the curved roundness of her bottom. His mouth swooped on hers in full-on sensual assault. Explosive sensation was all she knew as their tongues tangled, teased and enticed each other to an increasingly fervent pitch of need.
‘I love your breasts,’ he told her as his hand slipped under the fabric of her blouse.
In no time flat, most of the barriers of her clothing were removed and all she wore were her panties. She revelled in the strength and weight of his muscled thigh over hers, of having her breasts cupped and stroked and her nipples stimulated by his fingers.
When she moved her hips restlessly and began to take off her knickers, his hands stayed hers.
‘Allow me,’ he husked.
He placed hot, firm, possessive kisses in a path from her breasts to her stomach. His tongue tip darted in and out of the sensitive hollow of her navel, then lathed the flatness of her stomach with small, flicking movements until he reached the band of silk that was the last curtain between him and the most private part of her.
Jess almost sobbed wantonly at the nirvana she knew was to follow.
The friction of the stubble on his chin rasping against silk drove her wild. It made her hips buck and her breath catch in her throat. The tease of his tongue through the fabric just about sent her into meltdown. His hands cupped her buttocks, lifting her so she was in closer, firmer contact.
‘Ricardo!’ His name was an impassioned plea.
Giving her exactly what she yearned for, Ricardo finally drew down the fabric and unveiled her, allowing uninhibited access to her swollen, throbbing flesh.
She quivered as his tongue thrust to taste the essence of her. Her thighs were rigid, her hips strained up and arched toward his hungry mouth, desperate to guide him to her most tender spot.
But, Ricardo refused to be rushed.
With a begging plea, Jess tugged at his head to urge him into place. Her legs went weak as his tongue finally hit the taut little pleasure bud of nerve endings which craved his attention.
‘Ricardo!’ she groaned.
Her body was seized by the most delicious, gripping orgasm. It drove her mindless with euphoria and seemed to go on endlessly.
When finally, she became too sensitive to withstand any more of his ministrations, his huge frame moved over her. ‘I love the taste of you on my tongue, but most of all, I love being inside you.’
His hand traced over her heated flesh to where he’d lathed and suckled only moments before. His fingers separated her, readying her for his possession.
She welcomed the nudge of his penis, rejoicing in their initial joining as he stretched her body to accommodate his length and width. Their eyes locked. Her short nails dug into the flesh of his shoulders. She met him thrust for thrust, urged him on and drove him further along on the quest for mutual, ultimate satisfaction.
The world blurred. There was only Ricardo and this sweet, piercing convulsion of her inner muscles around his length. The muscled cords of his neck stretched and he threw his head back. There was strain and ecstasy on his face as his body joined hers in climax, shuddering his release.
For the first time, he cried out her name as he came.
Chapter Thirteen
Monte Carlo teemed with tourists. Everyone was abuzz as they anticipated the Formula One Grand Prix race scheduled to take place in three days. Excited, yet nervous, Jess entered Monaco’s royal palace on Ricardo’s arm to attend a reception for past champions.
‘Relax, querida,’ Ricardo murmured. ‘They’re just royal, not alien life f
orms.’
‘Just royal? That’s easy for you to say. You’re used to schmoozing with the rich and famous.’
‘Rich and famous or poor and unknown — it doesn’t matter to me.’
She angled her head and sent him an admiring smile. ‘That’s just one of the reasons I...like you.’
He frowned.
Perhaps he realised her near slip as she’d come close to telling him she loved him?
If he did wonder, he brushed it off and told her, ‘You’ll be presented to the Crown prince and princess in the receiving line as we enter the main reception area, but the formality will be over before you know it.’
As it turned out, the introductions were over in less than thirty seconds as they moved down the line.
The evening passed extremely well. Ricardo’s presence at her side buoyed her confidence. As she was introduced to one celebrity after another, Jess started to relax in the glitzy reception room, and to feel less self-conscious among the world’s most fashionable people.
Everything changed when a message arrived for Ricardo just after midnight.
‘We must leave,’ he whispered to her as soon as he’d read the message. ‘Please excuse us,’ he told the group they’d been conversing with.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked as they made their way out of the palace and toward the waiting limo.
Ricardo looked grey beneath his tan as he said, ‘Eduardo Mancini’s been taken to hospital.’
‘The guy who’s driving the Garcia sports car?’
His lips were tight as he gave a nod of confirmation. ‘He was attacked not far from his hotel.’
‘Is he okay?’
‘He’s been stabbed in an unprovoked attack. His lung has been punctured and he’s in surgery right now as they try to stop internal bleeding from his liver.’
Jess felt herself gape in horror.
‘I’m meeting Manuel at the Princess Grace Hospital. I’ll get the driver to drop me off, then he can take you back to the hotel.’
‘I’ll go with you.’
‘I could be hours.’ Each of his muscles screamed his tension.
‘I want to be with you.’
‘Okay.’ He relented easily and she interpreted the slight squeeze he gave her hand as a signal he was grateful for her support.
Of course she’d be at his side. Where else would she be when he was clearly so strung out?
Eduardo’s well-being was paramount, but Ricardo must also be concerned about the effect this attack would have on the Garcia Corporation. Did the team have a reserve driver who could showcase the car? She had a vague recollection someone had mentioned the reserve driver had withdrawn. If that were the case, it would be catastrophic when the entire launch of the new sports car had been timed around this Grand Prix.
A couple of tense hours passed. Finally, having been told surgery was progressing well and Eduardo’s prognosis was good, Jessica excused herself to visit the bathroom before they left. She halted on her return as Manuel’s voice carried to her.
‘There’s nobody else, Ricardo. Only you can do this. You must do this for the good of the company!’
Dread made her blood run cold because she realised what Manuel demanded of Ricardo. Ears straining to hear Ricardo’s response, she prayed he would say no.
The silence was deafening.
‘Everything’s riding on this race, and you know it,’ Manuel implored.
‘I understand what’s at stake,’ Ricardo finally answered. Each word was clipped and impatient.
‘You still hold a super license and I can get a contract drawn up immediately to make you eligible to compete. You’ve raced here and you know the circuit. Mierda! You’ve won here twice!’
Jessica willed Ricardo to refuse. She’d learned tonight that this circuit was considered the most dangerous in Formula One racing. One former champion she’d spoken to had told her the Circuit de Monaco was the ultimate test of driving skills because of the narrow course, the elevation changes and tight corners. She’d been told it was a controversial circuit because of safety issues. According to the driver, many in the sport believed the event should be banned.
‘You know the car,’ Manuel pressed.
Ricardo gave a mirthless laugh. ‘Only on paper. You know very well I haven’t sat behind a steering wheel in over two years!’
‘Tomorrow is Thursday. You can join the practice session. The officials won’t deny you entry. They’ve been begging you to make a comeback ever since you retired.’
‘I retired for a bloody good reason!’
Jess had never heard Ricardo raise his voice. She willed her feet into action, determined to go to his side and support him in his decision not to race. Yet, she baulked. He was her lover but he may resent her if she charged in.
‘There’s never been a better reason to come out of retirement,’ Manuel said with more calm. ‘You’ve lived your whole adult life wanting to help make Garcia Corporation successful. This has been the only thing that has ever mattered to you. Now, the company’s on the brink of a takeover, you’re CEO and you carry a huge responsibility. You’re not going to turn away from your commitment now, are you?’
Indignation heated her blood.
‘That’s low, Manuel,’ Ricardo responded. ‘You know how damned hard I’ve worked to get the company out of the hole it’s been in.’
‘What about the hole you’ve been in?’ Silence stretched. ‘Your refusal to race...blaming yourself for Santiago’s death —’
‘Enough!’
‘You tried everything you could to deter him from racing, his accident was not your fault.’
‘That’s enough!’ Ricardo’s words were delivered in a scalding tone.
‘It’s not enough, and it’s time somebody shook you out of this vacuum you’ve been living in. It’s time to get on with your life.’
‘I am getting on with my life,’ Ricardo retaliated with raw emotion. ‘I’m not sitting around on my hands, Manuel. I’m doing all I can to rescue this company as CEO, but I’m through with racing.’
Accept his decision, Manuel, Jess willed.
Her attempt at mind power failed. After a moment, Manuel said, ‘We’ve reached a point where, despite all the work you’ve done, there’s only one thing now that will make or break us. Is there really anything in the world more important to you than saving the company?’
Silence dragged.
Jessica’s heart clenched as she awaited Ricardo’s response.
‘You’re right,’ he replied at last. ‘Saving the company is the most important thing to me.’
An invisible hand plunged a blunt knife deep into her chest, then twisted it. Excruciating pain clawed at her. The bottom dropped out of her world.
Evidently, despite all they’d shared, she didn’t rate as importantly in Ricardo’s world as his beloved company. Instead of returning to the hotel tonight, she’d stayed by his side at the hospital for hours to support him, yet he’d just made a monumental decision without considering or consulting her.
You’re his temporary lover. Just what did you expect?
Ricardo was not the sort of man who’d run to her side for advice. But, if he truly cared for her, wouldn’t he at least have discussed this with her?
Everything shrivelled inside her, leaving her a hollow shell. Like a wounded animal, she wanted to limp away and find somewhere to hide.
‘I promised Raoul I’d get the company back on its feet. I owe him far more than I can ever repay him, but this much I can do.’
Jessica opened her mouth to protest. He would put his life in jeopardy because he thought the company was so important to Raoul? Even though she’d only met his uncle once, Jess didn’t believe Raoul would want this. He’d already lost one son, he and Marguerite wouldn’t want to lose another. Wanting to make him see reason, Jess pushed herself into motion.
Ricardo’s eyes flew to hers as she rounded the corner. She stood still as she saw the conflict in them.
‘Je
ssica.’ Manuel broke the silence that stretched between them. ‘Ricardo’s just agreed to race the car in Eduardo’s place!’
She couldn’t pretend to share his excitement when she was so deflated.
‘Monsieur Garcia?’ A uniformed member of Monaco’s police force approached and presented his official identification. ‘Would you mind accompanying me to the station? One of our senior detectives would like to ask you some questions about the attack of your driver.’
Jess frowned. ‘Do you think Eduardo’s attack has something to do with the race?’
The officer nodded. ‘Monaco has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Unprovoked attacks in our principality are virtually unheard of, so we’re investigating a possible motive.’
‘Don’t worry, Jessica,’ Ricardo said, but made no move to close the distance between them.
‘Don’t worry? How do you expect me to do anything but worry when Eduardo’s been stabbed and you’re now entering this dangerous race?’
He ignored her question and she felt the barrier between them. ‘Manuel, would you take Jessica back to the hotel, please?’
Manuel agreed, and Jess felt terribly isolated as Ricardo went with the police officer.
‘Come, Jessica,’ Manuel urged. ‘There’s nothing more to be done here. Eduardo is a fit man, and his prognosis is good.’
‘Do you think this attack was deliberate?’ she demanded.
‘It’s highly suspicious.’
‘Someone would really want to sabotage Garcia’s success so much they’d try to kill the driver?’
Manuel shrugged. ‘We can’t know whether the aim was to murder or maim, but there’s a lot of money at stake. Money motivates people to do some very dangerous, desperate things.’ He scratched his chin. ‘The withdrawal of the reserve driver seems particularly strange in light of these events. He’d cited illness in the family, but now I’m beginning to wonder...’
Fury pumped through her. ‘You want Ricardo to put himself in jeopardy when there could be foul play? As I understand it, this is a circuit that’s a challenge to the best drivers in the world. Ricardo hasn’t even driven a billy cart in over two years!’
A Spanish Seduction Page 16