Page 62 of Raul
“Disculpe.”He eased his grip slightly. “I was worried.”
“Thank you for being so protective, but I had you, Mikel, and several of his team there watching over me.”
“I know.” He rested his forehead against hers. “But these situations can go to shit very fast.”
Of course. He was still traumatized by Gabriel’s kidnapping. She wedged her arms between them to give herself some space.“I’m glad I could help with the search for the missing eggs in some small way.”
He shifted to give her a sweet kiss before he let his arms fall to his sides.“Gracias, cariño mío.”
A knock sounded on the door. Her suspicion that Mikel had deliberately left them alone was confirmed when there was a long pause before Mikel entered after Raul said, “Come in.” That gave her time to move away from Raul and put her professional face on.
“Our expert from the Dragon Center has confirmed that the eggshells are authentic,” Mikel said. “Quinn is digging deep into Bertucci’s background, and I have twenty-four-hour surveillance on him. We’ll figure out if he’s involved in the poaching.”
“Muy bien,”Raul said. “You will let me know the moment you have further information.”
Mikel gave a half bow of agreement.
“I have a question,” Erica said. “You heard what Ricardo…Bertucci said at the end. If it’s legal to sell the shell fragments, why does he want to keep his involvement a secret?”
“It would depend on how he procures them,” Raul said. “Taking them from the Dragon Center would be theft, of course. Destroying intact eggs to get the fragments would subject him to even worse punishment. Perhaps he worries about being suspected of that.” Raul made a wry face. “Right now, though, no law prevents him from picking up fragments around nests in the wild. That was due to sloppiness in writing the original law protecting the dragons. I’ve already spoken with the Ministro de Conservacion about closing up that loophole. Soon, Bertucci’s little side business will be against the law.”
“Glad to hear that,” she said.
Raul smiled for the first time since she had returned before he asked Mikel, “Do you need us for anything further?”
Mikel’s lips curved into the hint of a smile. “I assure you that I will not need you for the rest of the day.”
Chapter 15
“Whereisyour beach house?” Erica asked as Pascal drove the SUV along the highway heading out of San Ignacio. When they had exited Mikel’s parking lot, a second SUV had pulled out in front of them, and another had fallen in behind them, reminding her of who she was traveling with and what a different world he lived in. She nestled into him and focused on the way his thigh felt as it pressed against hers, the physical, entirely human side of him that belonged to her for now.
“Not too far from your neck of the woods at Ciudad Militar.” Raul feathered his fingers down her arm. “Actually, it’s the guesthouse on an estate my father bought from a cryptocurrency billionaire. When his crypto went south, he had to sell it quickly.”
“I know where you mean. I’ve seen the gate to the private road.” It was on a finger of land that jutted into the ocean. “I didn’t know it belonged to the king.”
“He prefers to keep it as secret as possible. It’s his sanctuary. And mine.” He leaned down to kiss her, and she lost track of time until the car stopped and voices broke through the haze of arousal Raul had wrapped around her.
“Are we there?” she asked, pushing herself out of his embrace to peer out the window.
“Close.” He had his hand under her shirt already and ran his thumb over her tight nipple, sending a streak of electric delight down between her legs.
“Stop…for a minute.” She grabbed his wrist to pull it away and sat up straight. “I want to see this entrance.”
They faced two tall steel gates set into a high stone wall. A guard was speaking with the driver of the first SUV. Then the massive gates began to swing open. She looked behind theirvehicle to see Castillo Draconago rising from its cliff in the far distance. To the left, she glimpsed the sea. To the right stretched flat land covered with low-growing, pale green grass like that on the Acantilado Alto. A few wind-sculpted evergreen trees scrabbled for a hold in the rocky soil. After a brief pause while Pascal spoke to the guard, they were through the gates.
“Very intimidating entrance,” she said while Raul lounged back in the corner, watching her, a wicked smile curling his lips.
“The crypto billionaire was quite security conscious,” he said. “Even Mikel was impressed, although he added a few bells and whistles. Not that I know what they are.”
She leaned across him to look out his window as the road wound through more of the flatlands. “How far is your house?”
“About fifteen minutes’ drive from the gate.” He skimmed the back of his hand over the curve of her breast. “I’d say we have time to finish what we started, but I think you want to sightsee.”
“Darn right I do! Everyone gets to see the palace, but I’ll bet not many people get to see King Luis’s private sanctuary. I’m starstruck.”
He chuckled and shifted to give her a clearer view. “We’ll go right past Pater’s house, so you’ll get at least a glimpse.”
There were more flashes of sea as they progressed, and then Raul said, “Look left. That is La Casa en las Nubes.”
