Page 29 of Rio
All I want to do is put my mouth to hers and claim her.Then I want to take her back to my hotel room, and see where the night will lead us.But neither of these things are happening.It’s not why I’m here, but the idea fixes in my head and refuses to leave, probably because my cock is getting harder by the minute.
“I wanted to talk to you.I woke up and you were gone.Vanished into the night.”
“I had an early morning flight back to Miami.I was working a case.”
“You told me to wait up.I did.”
Silence falls thick and heavy.I place a hand on the wall above her head, moving into her space.She can push me away if she wants, but she doesn’t.
“It was a mistake to let you in.”
“Into your heart, or into your room?”I’m not letting her wriggle out of this.
She makes a disapproving noise with her lips.“You wish.”
I’m not giving up.“We spent a night together, playing a game where we have to remove items of clothing, and then you had me waiting for you in your bed.And now you expect me to believe that it was a mistake.”
“I was working.”
“I was ready to leave.Do the gentlemanly thing, but you told me to stay.”
“You were wearing boxers.”
“That’s a poor argument, and you know it.”
She folds her arms even more tightly.I lower my head, can see her guardrails softening.
I whisper into her ear.“You liked what you saw of me in my boxers.”I inhale her scent.It’s not strong, or sweet, not soft or flowery.It’s sharp, like spice paired with heat.I want to tickle her earlobe with my tongue, drop tiny kisses along her neck, make my way to her lips and kiss her deeply.
She lets out a sound, and I can’t decipher it.But it wasn’t a denial.“You and I have so much in common.I find you intriguing, the most interesting woman I’ve ever met.Tell me you don’t want me, princesa.”
She exhales slowly, her chest rising and falling, like she’s trying to get control of her breathing.
“You can’t say it, can you?”I feel like I’ve done an interrogation of my own, and won the case.
She stares at me through thick lashes.“You think you’re untouchable, and invincible.That the world should just bend to please you.People like you always want more than you’re willing to give.”
“Try me,” I urge.Our faces are inches apart.
“I’ve been burned by your kind before.”
“I’m not your past.”
“No,” she snaps.“But unlike Dani, I’m not willing to pay the price to find out.”
My hand fists in my pocket.
“I think you want me, Raquel, because I sure as hell want you.I can’t stop thinking about you and …” I pause, because I’ve said way too much.
“You want me?”she asks, the tease that she is.
“Damn right.I want you to let me in.I want you to give me the chance to get to know you, and if you don’t want that, tell me to give up.”
She looks at me, but her gaze falls to my lips.
She wants me.
She absolutely does.
