“Rafe, what is Nero going to do with me?” I whisper through my tightening throat.
“I don’t know.” He strokes his fingers down my cheek, the gentleness so at odds with everything else about him. “Tell me, sweet Anna, what would you do if you were to have your freedom?”
My mind hits a wall, and my mouth snaps shut. “I don’t know.”
“You never thought about it?”
“I survived because I refused to hope. So no, I never thought about it.”
He takes a piece of my hair, twirling it around his finger until the gold strands are wrapped tightly around his tanned skin. “Well, maybe you should start thinking about it.”
“What if I don’t want to?” I breathe. Being free would mean leaving him, leaving my safe harbor to walk into a world of danger and enemies.
I take his face in both hands and stare into his eyes, my lips hovering barely an inch away from his. I find myself dancing with this sense of curiosity, remembering the way his lips felt on mine. Soft and yet hard. Demanding but never forceful. That kind of kiss is something I’ve never experienced, and…I liked it. I liked it with him.
“Take it, Anna,” he breathes. I swallow heavily and swipe my tongue over my suddenly dry lips. Rafael lets out a tiny groan, his hand cupping my cheek as he swipes a thumb over the corner of my lip. “Take what you want, avecita.” He somehow manages to make it sound like a threat. I slowly close the gap between us until my lips brush his. He doesn’t move, waiting for me to kiss him. As I press my lips fully to his, I feel a sense of empowerment. To have a man like Rafael willingly submissive to my exploration… My hand slides around his neck and my tongue brushes his bottom lip, making him tense.
Taking my face, he holds me away from him as his warm breaths wash over my lips. I feel the blush creep over my cheeks. “Did I do something wrong?”
He groans again. “No. Fuck, no.” He throws his head back against the chair. “Anna, you have no idea how tempting you are.” I freeze, my pulse leaping in my throat. “No. Don’t do that. I’m not them, avecita. I will never touch you unless you want it.”
“Promise?”
“I’d promise you the world if I could, little warrior.”
“And what if I can’t offer you a single thing in return?”
He leans in, placing the softest kiss against my throat. “From you, sweet Anna, I would ask only for a smile.”
Rafael’s weight shifts beneath me as I rise to consciousness. My leg is thrown over his, my arm wrapped tightly around his thick waist. My face heats, and I try to shift away from him.
He pulls me closer, imprisoning me against his hard body. Rough fingers glide through my hair, stroking it away from my face.
“Morning,” he rumbles.
“Hey.”
His phone starts ringing, vibrating over the bedside table. He picks it up and presses it to his ear as he sits up against the headboard.
“Yeah?” There’s a pause, and he sighs heavily. “Yeah, I’ll handle it. I’ll be there in an hour.” He hangs up, and glances down at me. “Get dressed. We’re going out.”
“Where?”
“To handle some business.” He gets out of the bed and stretches his arms above his head. I blush when I realize he’s wearing just his boxers. How is it that he does that to me? I’ve fucked more men than I could ever count and had things done to me that I’m so ashamed of, and yet, this man’s tanned, tattooed skin can make me blush like a virgin. The muscles in his stomach flex with his movement, and when I glance at his face, he’s smirking. I snatch my gaze away, my face burning.
“You can look all you like, avecita.” He leans over the bed and presses a kiss to my flaming cheek, before he walks off into the bathroom.
What the hell am I even doing? This almost feels normal. Comfortable. If this is some kind of trap or trick, I’m so very screwed because I’ve fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. I should know better. My heart pitter-patters when he walks back into the room, still in his boxers. Stupid heart.
An hour later, and I’m sitting in the front of one of Rafael’s Range Rovers, the wheels bumping down a rough track until we pull up in front of what looks like a warehouse. A guard opens a gate, and my gaze tracks the length of the fence that surrounds the property. We drove across miles of abandoned desert road to get here, and it seems to be the only building for miles around. Armed men patrol the fence looking alert and lethal. They are the only clue that this isn’t just some abandoned old building. We drive around the back, and he parks under an overhang.