His Ultimate Prize

As she watched he laughed in response to a joke. Looking at him, it was hard to believe he was the same man who, for a minuscule moment in time, had bared a part of his soul to her at the villa three days ago. The moment had been fleeting—as most of those moments were with Rafael. Hell, he hadn’t even bothered to elaborate after that one cryptic statement about the ball of flames. But his pain had been unmistakable, visceral in a way that had cut through her defences.

Far from recoiling from the man he’d revealed, she’d wanted to draw closer, ease his pain.

I’m going loopy.

He glanced over suddenly and held up three fingers. Her fingers flew up her face to touch her forehead before she could stop herself. Feeling a wave of heat creep up at his knowing smile, she flung a vaguely rude sign his way and turned her back on him.

He found her minutes later. ‘Are you avoiding me?’

‘Nope. You seem to be in your element. How’s your hip?’

‘Not well enough to attempt a paso doble but I’m holding my own.’

‘You never told me what all of this is in aid of.’

‘Have you never been to an All-Star event?’ he asked.

She shook her head. ‘I don’t tend to involve myself in out of season activities. I’ve heard of it, but only in vague terms.’

‘So what do you do when the season ends?’ He latched onto the revelation.

Raven bit the inside of her lip, then decided she had nothing to lose by revealing just a little bit more about her personal life. ‘I work with injured soldiers, mostly from Afghanistan and Iraq.’

His eyes narrowed slightly, a solemn look descending over his face. ‘This must seem so very pointless and horribly ostentatious to you in comparison.’

‘Since I don’t know exactly what this is, I’m prepared to reserve judgement.’

‘This is nothing but a huge elaborate scheme to get rich people to preen and back-slap while reaching into their pockets to fund a few charities.’

‘Good heavens, in that case I condemn you all to Hades,’ she said around the smile she couldn’t seem to stop.

‘Some of us would feel at home there,’ he murmured. The bleakness in his voice made her glance up at him but his features gave nothing away.

Deciding to let it go, she glanced around the glittering ballroom. ‘It must be nice to click your fingers and have everything fall into place for you like this.’

‘Not quite...everything.’ His gaze dropped to her lips before returning to capture hers.

Her pulse kicked hard. She fought to pull her gaze away from his but it only went as far as his mouth. ‘Well...consider yourself fortunate, gluttony being a sin and all that.’ She attempted another smile. When Rafael’s own mouth curved into a smile, her heart did a hugely silly dance then proceeded to bash itself against her ribcage.

He beckoned a waiter, took Raven’s champagne and exchanged it for a fresher-looking glass. He stopped her with a restraining hand on her arm when she went to sip it.

‘Take it easy. It may look like champagne but it’s not.’

She eyed the drink warily. ‘What is it?’

‘It’s called Delirium. Don’t worry, it’s not as sinister or as sleazy as it sounds. Sip it slowly, tell me what you think.’

She did and nearly choked on the tart, potent taste. Almost immediately, the tartness disappeared to leave her tongue tingling with a thousand sensations that made her eyes widen. ‘Oh my goodness, it’s incredible. What’s in it?’

‘Edible gold dust and the tiniest drop of adrenaline.’

‘You’re kidding!’

‘About the adrenaline, sí, but not the gold dust. Although, in my opinion, it’s wasted in the drink. I can think of much better uses for it.’ Again his words held a note quite different from his usual innuendo-laden tone.

The ground didn’t quite shift but Raven felt a distinct rumble and decided to proceed with caution. ‘You were about to tell me about the All-Star event.’

‘It’s an event I hold every year to get all the racing drivers across various racing formulas together before the season starts. Here we can be just friends, instead of championship competitors, while raising money. It’s also an opportunity for retired motor racers to still feel part of the sport for as long as they want to.’

‘How many events are there in total?’

‘Six races in six countries.’ He waved to a grey-haired man who stood with a towering brunette with the hugest diamond ring Raven had ever seen adorning her finger. When the couple beckoned them over, Rafael sighed and took her elbow.

Raven’s irritation at having to share Rafael was absurd considering he was the host. But, short of being rude, she had no choice but to let herself be led to the couple.