by Olivia Gates
“Well, I’m not.” He pulled her back into the cradle of his arm. “Which is why I can have you. A regular man wouldn’t dream of coming near you.” Before she could scoff at the exaggeration he’d said with such conviction, he went on just as seriously, “But I don’t care that business interests are involved. I’m even thankful they are, since they brought you here. I’m in your boss’s eternal debt for being the reason I met you. So if he is any good, I’ll do business with him. And that will have nothing to do with us.”
She squirmed to put some distance between them. “How can you say that in the same breath you say you’d do business with my boss for me?”
“I did stipulate he be at least ‘any good’ at what he does. I won’t prove my interest in you by gambling on a losing proposition. I’m into winning and would go to any constructive lengths to win you.”
“Constructive lengths.” A giggle escaped her. “Now, that’s an innovative way of putting it. Though you didn’t have to go to any lengths, constructive or otherwise. You stood there and cast your spell, and I ran and flung myself into your arms.”
“You neither ran nor flung yourself. But you will.”
She sighed, acknowledging his confidence. “So will you always be the magnet, with me the helpless iron filings, or is there hope of you doing some running yourself?”
“Command me, and I’ll run as long and as hard as you wish.” His fervor felt so real. But why not, when she felt the same? “I would have run to you this time, too, but I had to draw you away from the crowd.”
Something slotted in her mind with a thud. “You didn’t intend to make an appearance tonight, did you?”
His shrug was dismissive. “Whatever my intentions, I saw you...and nothing else mattered after that.”
“Same here. But you were going to pull another no-show tonight, right? Do you keep gathering people so you can watch them when they think you’re not around? Is this your method of vetting prospective partners?”
“It’s currently a partner. In the singular.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize you’re looking for only one.”
“I am.” The flare in his eyes said he was no longer talking about a business partner.
A thrill darted through her, and she sighed as he gathered her closer, soaking up his warmth and desire. “You do know the moment you touch me you nullify my thought processes, don’t you?”
“Not touching you is like holding my breath. I can only do it for so many minutes at a time. So will you stop pulling away? We can discuss whatever you like, for as long as you like, just with you in my arms.”
Sighing again, she relaxed in his hold, resigned to the fact that she wasn’t strong enough to resist both her need and his.
His lips curved. “So you think I’d judge those I’m considering for such a vital partnership by spying on them in a party? Would I disqualify them for stepping on their partner’s feet or talking with their mouth full?”
“I bet you’d see everything you need to make an accurate judgment in observations like those. Just like you always do.”
His eyebrows rose. “How do you know what I always do?”
“Are you kidding? The past couple of hours are worth a year of intensive...exposure. And I’m connecting what I’ve just learned about you with what I’ve long known of you.”
“And what, pray tell, do you think you know about me?”
“Well, as a virtuoso in your field, you have such nonlinear, multidimensional analytic powers, you have the world begging for your Midas touch. You got where you are by judging every situation and person you’ve dealt with throughout your career perfectly. As perfectly as you judged me from a literal hundred paces.”
He wove his fingers into her hair, wrapped a handful around his wrist and inhaled it. “Get yourself out of any comparison. Nothing with you had anything to do with anything I’ve ever experienced before. There was no judgment involved on my part, not when you zapped me from a literal hundred paces, too. And you did that to me when I had my back to you.”
She blinked. “Really?”
“Really. I was at the mezzanine when your aura lashed me with a thousand volts of delight.” He bent and kissed the tops of her breasts that bulged above the now too-tight bodice. “We’ve already agreed there was magic at work.”
“Yes.” There was no contradicting him on that point. “So you’re not orchestrating events only to watch the attendees, at least to weed out those who prove to be blatantly unsuitable?”
“Don’t you think someone as exceptional as you advertise me to be would let résumés choose for me?”
Suddenly she realized what was going on. They’d moved from blinding passion, bypassing any expected awkwardness in the wake of its temporary sating, and plunged right into delightful banter. The seamlessness of it all had her heart soaring.
She cupped his jaw, luxuriating in the ruggedness that filled her palm. “I would have thought so, if you haven’t just promised to give my boss preferential treatment if he passes the lamentable level of ‘any good.’ Or maybe I just mess with your thought processes, too.”
Blistering intensity suddenly filled his eyes, making her heart falter. Then he covered her hand with his. “Do you realize this is the first time you’ve touched me?”
Her mouth dropped open. “I’ve been touching you nonstop since about a minute and a half after setting eyes on you.”
“No. You didn’t touch me once. You let me touch you. This is your first voluntary touch.”
She gaped at him, everything rewinding and replaying.
And he was right. She hadn’t touched him once!
She’d just stood or lain there and let him do whatever he wanted, inciting him only by total surrender.
“I was too overwhelmed to do anything but let you possess me. But let me compensate both of us.”
Her other hand reached for his face, gliding up his cheek, moaning at the wonder of his feel, before doing what she’d been aching to do. She slipped her fingers into the hair at his nape, and the thick mass slid like living silk between them, urging her to take more. His breath caught as she bunched a handful of his locks, then tugged.
Next second she was flat on her back, with him on top of her, hips driving between her spread thighs, his febrile, wrenching kisses no longer resembling his previous ones.
Her reaction was an even fuller submission. And a deeper madness. Now that she was aware of the risks, she wanted to release him from his promise, tell him to just take her now, come what may.
But to her dismay, Rafael only tore his lips from hers. Flinging himself off her, he sat up and pitched forward, both forearms resting on his knees, hair raining over his forehead to hide his eyes as he struggled to regulate his harsh breathing.
“I thought touching you was mind-altering...but you touching me is insanity inducing.” He slanted her a voracious glance as he took her hands and pulled her up. “Leave the touching to me tonight. Until I train myself to withstand your touch without pouncing on you and ravishing you.”
Trembling all over, she sat up, every cell in her body rioting against his decree. She now wanted nothing but to touch him, craved nothing but his ravishing. Even thinking of the consequences wasn’t deterring her. Which did prove that exposure to him was insanity inducing.
But it meant so much, that he’d applied brakes—for her—against the demands of his very...obvious desires. It meant even more that he confessed to a weakness. Something Rafael Moreno Salazar had never exhibited in the eight years of his meteoric rise to the top of a field he’d singlehandedly revolutionized.
The fact that that man and her man were one and the same was still too much to get her head around. She hadn’t even started to scratch the surface of the implications. No matter what he said, she knew being who he was would cause problems.
But for now she had him, in those moments of perfection when she was the world to him. As he was to her. And really, what was the point of looking ahead? She had no illusions there would be a continuation once they exited this magical interlude.
But they were still there now.
Feeling she’d be poking a dragon, yet unable to stop, she slid her hand across his shoulders, caressing her way down his back to his waist, delving beneath his open shirt and repeating the journey up, then down, then lower still. The exquisite pleasure of having this freedom, this privilege, was intoxicating.
He caught her against him, crushing her in his arms, his face set in stark lines of savage hunger. And she did another first. She brought his lips down to hers.
Initiating this kiss made it so different, enabling her to set its taste and temperature, sweet and scalding at once. He let her savor him—for about thirty seconds. Then he pushed out of her arms, exploded to his feet.
He scowled down at her. “If you don’t want to be on your back, naked and with me buried all the way inside you, you better not touch or kiss me again.”
She rubbed the heel of her hand against the itch behind her breastbone. “And you better find a shortcut in your training because now that I’ve touched and kissed you, I don’t want to do anything else.”
“You better stop saying things like that, too. They have the same effect on me.”
Her lids grew heavier as she slumped under the weight of craving. “Whatever you say.”
He took an explosive step toward her, before stopping, vibrating with control. Then he gritted, “Enchantress.”
She sighed, rubbing the itch harder. “Sorcerer.”
Suddenly his lips spread into a wide smile as he sat down, keeping a two-inch no-touching zone between them.
“I’m keeping score of your transgressions, and I’ll get satisfaction for each and every one. But first, I need the subject of business closed permanently.” Seriousness suddenly replaced his intimate teasing. “It won’t be preferential when I give your boss precedence over equally qualified candidates. Personal preference is an acceptable decisive factor when all things are equal. He might not land the partnership, but for you, I’ll give him something he’s worthy of. I bet he’s way above ‘any good.’ You wouldn’t work for someone inept.”
Giving in to wild impulse, she combed the raven satin away from his forehead, her breath catching as his eyes flared and his whole body tensed. “On what do you base such belief?” Suddenly a suspicion hit her. “You don’t think I rely on something other than my professional skills, do you?”
The darkening of pained arousal in his eyes abruptly became affront. “What? No. That’s something I’d feel at a thousand paces.” He took her by the shoulders, his face set in adamant lines. “A major part of the judgment you so laud is instinct, and that told me everything I need to know about you. And then, your effect on me transcends my judgment, not nullifies it. Now that I choose to employ it, I can see you’re acutely intelligent but burdened with unwavering integrity. You’d only rely on your personal merits no matter how many more lucrative paths were at your disposal.”
Her eyes glazed over his lips. Everything he said was so lyrical, it kept deepening his spell. And beyond that, and his hypnotic voice, there was that accent she couldn’t pinpoint. And it was the sexiest thing she’d ever heard.
And if that wasn’t enough, and he’d ignite her while reciting the ingredients of a salad dressing bottle, he’d gone and said all those incredible things about her. No one had ever held her in such high regard before. And for it to come from Rafael Moreno Salazar—a man whose analyses governments and giant multinational corporations paid millions for—that was beyond enormous.
She surged, clung to his lips in a kiss of gratitude.
By the time she swooned away and lay back, transported by his taste and testimony, he was growling like a starving lion.
“You’re treading nonexistent ice, Eliana.”
Hearing the name she’d never liked on his lips, enunciated with such elegance and command, she suddenly loved it. In fact, she couldn’t imagine him calling her anything else.
She sat up, pressed another kiss to his jaw. “You can’t say things like that and expect me not to pounce on you.”
Unlocking his gritted teeth, he shot her a warning glance. “I’d stake my history as an unerring analyst on every word’s accuracy. And if your agency warranted an invite...” He raised an eyebrow. “I assume your boss is invited?”
She giggled. “I assure you he’s not gate-crashing.”
“Then this validates my theory that he is way above the ‘any good’ level. And if he invited you, then you have a prominent position within his agency. And to have that so young, you must be superlative in your specialty.”
“I’m not that young.”
“I know you’re over eighteen. If not by much. I’m almost having dirty old man pangs here.”
“You’re only thirty-two!”
His lips twisted at her exclamation. “You’ve researched me well. But that still makes me ten or more years older than you are. You can’t be more than twenty-one.”
“I’ll be twenty-four in three months.”
His eyebrows rose, but he only said, “That’s less than three years older than my estimate.”
“Three years make a huge difference. Especially to me. I graduated high school two years early, earned my undergraduate degree almost four years ago and I’m on my second masters degree now. And because of my home environment, I’ve had hands-on experience in my current job since I was twelve.”
“See? My analysis was accurate. You follow no rules, and your prowess has nothing to do with your age.” He tugged her flush against him, spoke against her lips, singeing her with his breath and words. “And I’ve changed my mind. Forget your boss. I’ll steal you away from him. Name your terms. Whatever they are, I’ll meet them.”
That made her push him away. “Stop right there. For God’s sake, you don’t even know what my specialty is!”
His shrug was self-assurance incarnate as he stretched her back on the couch and came down full-length beside her. “Whatever it is, I always need unique minds and exceptional talents on my team. It’s how my conglomerate got so big so fast, by offering candidates everything they’d never get anywhere else in terms of freedom, resources and remuneration.”
She did know that. But never in a million years had she imagined she’d be headhunted by him under any circumstances. And for him to do that while they lay entwined like this...
She feebly pushed at him as he bent to nuzzle her neck. “I do know your methods, but...no, okay? This wouldn’t only complicate matters...it would mess them up beyond repair. People still think I got my current position because of nepotism. With you, they’d think I got it because...”
“Because you send me out of my mind with desire and it’s literally painful to keep my hands off you?” He gathered her tighter against him. “I can’t describe how profoundly indifferent I am to what people think. You’re exactly the kind of rare talent I aggressively pursue.”
“Rare...? Come on!”
“You said I got where I am by reading people perfectly. I read you better than I’ve ever read anyone. So you either don’t know how rare you are or are too modest or too held back by other’s opinions. I’m the one to free you from all that, the one to give you everything you need to fulfill your potential. You are exactly what I need. On all fronts.”
She stared into his eyes, head spinning. He had no reason to sweet-talk her. She’d already promised him the night. And as many nights as he’d want her. He meant all that.
A smile broke his intensity. “But as I’ll take it slow in courting you in pleasure, I will do the same as I court you in business.”
“Don’t. Please, Rafael...”
/> He shuddered against her, his fingers digging into her buttocks, grinding her into his hardness. “Yes, say my name. Say it, minha beleza.”
“Rafael.” That came out a long moan of protest. “Please...stop talking about business in any form. I want to keep things purely like this—between us, man to woman. This is all that matters to me.”
He eased his hold on her, rose on his elbow, brooding down at her. Then he exhaled. “As you wish. For now.”
Then in one impossible move, he was on his feet with her swept up in his powerful embrace. She wrapped her arms around his neck, not to secure herself or to help him, but because she loved it.
He smiled down at her. “You must be starving. Let’s dine while we wait the ball out, and then...”
She jackknifed, making him spill her to her feet.
“I have to get back to the ball!”
He detained her as she whirled away. “You certainly do not. You didn’t want to be there in the first place.”
As her gaze darted around, searching for her purse, his words sank in. “How do you know I didn’t want to come?”
His smile was all knowing, as she was really beginning to think he was. “I told you I can read you.”
Something hot and sweet expanded inside her. He did interpret her so accurately it was scary. Wonderfully so.
She caressed his hard cheek and he caught her hand, buried his lips in her palm. “I’ll never stop being thankful that I dragged myself here. But I do have to go find my...boss. He must think I’ve driven off a cliff by now.”
After a moment’s contemplation, he let go of her hand and walked away. He located the purse that had fallen from her what felt like days ago by the door.
He brought it back to her. “Call your boss. Give him some excuse for not attending the ball.”
Ellie blinked up at him. “Now that you mention calling, I can’t imagine how he hasn’t called me a million times.” She pounced on her purse...and groaned when she didn’t find her phone. “I must have left my phone in the car, or even back in the apartment. I was half-asleep at the time. Oh, God, he must be going out of his mind thinking something happened to me.”