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‘Nah, I have a thing about private islands.’
His brow rose. ‘A thing?’
She nodded. ‘I saw a TV show once where a group of people crashed onto one and spent a hellishly long time trying to get off the damned rock.’ Her mock shudder made him grin. ‘A concrete jungle and the promise of a mocha latte every morning suits me just fine.’
He raised his glass. ‘To concrete jungles and the euphoria of wall-to-wall coffee shops.’
‘Indeed.’ She clinked glasses with him. Then it dawned on her how easy the atmosphere had become between them; how much more she wanted to stay where she was, getting to know this compelling man who spelled trouble for her. The thought forced her to push her chair back. ‘I think I’ll head to bed now. Goodnight, Rafael.’
If he noticed the sudden chill in her voice, he didn’t react to it. ‘Before you go, I have something for you,’ he said, pointing to the elegant console table that stood outside the suite’s study.
Seeing the neat stack of papers, Raven felt a leap of pleasure. Going to the table, she picked up the papers and, sure enough, it was the continuation of Ana’s story.
‘Did you write all of this last night?’ she asked him.
He shrugged. ‘The muse struck when I was awake. No big deal.’ But she could tell it was. His gaze was hooded and his smile a little tight. It was almost...almost as if he was nervous about her reading it.
‘Thanks for trusting me with this, Rafael.’
He looked startled for a moment, then he nodded. ‘De nada. Buenas noches, bonita,’ he replied simply.
The distinct lack of naughty left her floundering for a moment. Then she forced herself to walk towards her suite.
‘Raven?’ His voice stopped her beside the wide, elegant double doors leading into the hallway. When she turned, his gaze had dropped to assess the contents of his wine glass.
‘Yes?’
‘Don’t flirt with Jung.’
Her pulse raced. Later, when she was safely in her cool bed, she tried to convince herself it was the effects of the wine that made her say, ‘Quid pro quo, my friend. If I’m not allowed to flirt, then no more numbers on your walking stick. Agreed?’
Blue eyes lifted, regarded her steadily, their brilliance and intensity as unnerving as they’d been the very first time she’d looked into them. After a full minute, he nodded. ‘Agreed.’
CHAPTER EIGHT
SHE FOUND HIM in the penthouse pool the next morning. She stood, awestruck, as Rafael cleaved the water in rapid, powerful strokes, his sleek muscles moving in perfect symmetry. He turned his head just before he dived under and executed a turn and, for a split second, Raven became the focus of piercing blue eyes.
One length, two lengths...three.
After completing the fourth, he stopped at the far end, flipped onto this back and swam lazily towards her. ‘Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to join in? We leave for the racetrack in half an hour.’
‘I’m not coming in, thank you. We were supposed to have a full physio session this morning.’
‘I was up and raring to go, bonita. You were not.’
It was the first time ever that Raven had overslept or been late for an appointment. She couldn’t stem the heat that crawled up into her face as she recalled the reason why. When she’d found herself unable to sleep, she’d opened up Rafael’s manuscript and delved back between the pages. If anything, the story had been even better the second time round, renewed fascination with Ana, the heroine, keeping her awake.
‘I was only ten minutes late.’
He stopped on the step just beneath where she stood and sluiced a hand through his hair. ‘Ten throwaway minutes to you is a lifetime to me.’ He hauled himself out of the pool. Raven couldn’t stop herself from ogling extremely well-toned biceps and a tight, streamlined body. Even the scars he’d sustained on his legs and especially his hip were filled with character that made her want to trace her fingers over it, test his skin’s texture for herself.
She forced herself to look away before the fierce flames rising could totally engulf her. He grabbed the towel she tossed to him and rubbed it lazily over his body.
‘Well, since you had the full therapy session last night, I don’t see the harm in reversing the regime.’
He glanced over and winked. ‘My thoughts exactly.’
Suspicion skittered along her spine. ‘You’re surprisingly chipper this morning.’ Looking closer, she saw that his face had lost its strained edge, and when he turned to toss the towel aside, his movement had lost last night’s stiffness.
