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Rebel laughed, but her cheeks flared with adorable colour as she hooked her arm though Javier’s. ‘Come on, Maria,’ she invited her future sister-in-law.
Carla sensed Draco’s presence beside her as they watched Javier lead the ladies to the far side of the room where the bar had been set up.
‘Are you not interested in the tequila party?’ she asked the tall, dark man.
‘No. I’ve already had a preview of Javier’s tequila. It’s the best of the best, as usual. I’ve also seen the new bottle.’ His gaze reluctantly left his fiancée’s laughing figure to connect with Carla’s. ‘It’s an...interesting change from the original design. Anything I should know about?’
She shook her head, and saw Draco’s gaze swing to her new loose, layered hairstyle. His raised eyebrow caused her colour to heighten. ‘I’m fine, Draco.’
He watched her for several seconds, then nodded. ‘Santino tells me the situation with your father isn’t resolved yet.’
Carla felt a touch of irritation. ‘You’ve been discussing me?’
‘His interest seems genuine, and I’m not about to argue with that. So, your father?’
Pain lanced her heart. ‘It’s not resolved yet, but I’m handling it.’
‘Good.’
She managed a wobbly smile before voices filled the hallway.
Catering to the never-ending stream of guests meant Carla didn’t have time to dwell on Javier or whatever his interests were where she was concerned.
She caught a brief reprieve when the DJ cranked up the music and the guests flooded to the dance floor. She skimmed the room and caught sight of Javier engaged in conversation with two guests. About to glance away, she froze when his head snapped suddenly up and his gaze captured hers. Carla wasn’t sure how long she stayed in place, a prisoner to his imposing regard.
She jumped as a hand clamped on her arm. ‘Jeez, you two need to get a room. Or a whole resort. Whatever. Do me a favour and make eyes at each other later, okay?’ Rebel laughed. ‘I need to use the ladies’ room and I don’t trust anyone else with my fiancé. Dance with him until I get back?’
‘Um...’
‘Thanks! And tune him out if he starts with the overprotective big brother thing.’ She grinned at Draco’s narrow-eyed stare, then disappeared in the direction of the powder room.
Carla stepped into his arms, her cast-bound hand on his shoulder as he led her around the floor. ‘I promise not to tune you out again,’ she stated.
‘You probably won’t need me for anything other than business matters from now on.’ He looked down at her, his imposing frame commanding her attention. ‘You’ve come a long way, you and Maria, and I’m proud of you. But I’m still a phone call away if you need me.’ His gaze swung over her head, to the side of the room where she could feel another set of intense eyes boring into her back as she danced with Draco. ‘For anything. Understand?’
Tears prickled her eyes and clogged her throat. She managed a murmured ‘grazie’ before a firm hand seized her waist.
‘Mind if I cut in?’ came a hard voice.
Another speculative expression crossed Draco’s face. ‘Not at all,’ he drawled before he relinquished her and struck off in search of his fiancée.
‘Once again I find you dancing with a man who is not me,’ Javier stated through gritted teeth. Dark eyes scoured her face, then his mouth flattened in a harsh line before she was jerked against him. ‘And you’re on the verge of tears.’ His snarl held a touch of bewilderment. ‘Know this now, querida, my progressive attitude has its limits.’
Carla sighed, the need to throw her hands up in surrender weighing her down. With each moment that she’d acted as his hostess, each moment his gaze had met hers across the room tonight, she’d known she was fighting a battle she was doomed to lose. Whatever feelings she was developing for Javier, they wouldn’t be easily discarded once he was done with her. Which meant that even as she gloried at being in his arms right now her foundations were fracturing, the tsunami of pain gathering strength somewhere beyond her sight and reach.
‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think you invited him here to test me.’
His nostrils flared. ‘I didn’t. But those tears aren’t very reassuring, and I find myself in dire need of reassurance.’
Her breath hitched. Swaying close until their torsos met, she spiked her fingers through the silky hair at his nape and gripped tight enough to get his attention. Dark eyes clashed with hers and, throwing caution to the wind, she let her naked emotion show. ‘What do I need to do to prove that I want you? Only you?’
His pupils dilated, his chest rising in a shuddering breath. ‘I’m sure you can think of something.’
In the end there was only one way to prove herself, one language they both understood. In the early hours of the morning, when every last guest had been wined and dined and sent on their way, she kissed her way down Javier’s lean, powerful body and revelled in the shudders that shook his frame.
Mounting him, she took him deep inside her, watched him fight his control for an age before he finally roared his release. Catching her to him, he murmured thick, incoherent words in Spanish. And she...barely stopped herself from saying words that had no place in what was happening between them. Clasping her arms around him, she held him tight till he drifted off to sleep.
Only then did she reach for her phone to read the message she’d returned upstairs to find waiting for her.
