His Ultimate Prize

‘Axel’s only in his mid-forties. And I’m touched you’re looking out for me.’

Blue eyes deepened by his blue long-sleeved shirt and navy jeans narrowed even further. ‘And he also likes to think he’s slick with the ladies.’

‘Scared of the competition?’

‘Scared I’m going to have to toss his ass out of the plane without a parachute if you don’t tell me you’ll stay away from him.’ Without warning, one thigh wedged between hers. The heat emanating from him made her whole body feel as if it were on fire. Second by inexorable second, he pressed closer against her. His hard chest brushed against hers, stinging sensitive nipples to life. Raven fought a moan and tried to decide whether defiance or acquiescence was her best path.

‘Is this what it means to be caught between a rock and a hard place?’ she asked, unable to resist baiting him just a little.

His laugh sent a skitter of pleasure through her. ‘You’re making jokes, querida?’

‘You’re laughing, aren’t you?’

‘Sí,’ he agreed. The hand on her waist moved a fraction higher, dug deeper in an almost possessive hold on her ribcage. ‘But I’m still waiting for an answer.’

A small voice cautioned her against throwing more fuel onto the flames.

‘I spoke to him for fifteen minutes, but I barely remember what he looks like,’ she whispered against seriously tempting lips a hair’s breadth from hers. ‘But why do you care? Really?’

‘You were the first person I told about my father outside my family. You haven’t condemned me...yet. In my own small way, I’m trying to return the favour by saving you from a potentially unfortunate situation.’

‘By trapping me here and threatening to toss a man out of the plane?’

‘It’s my Latin blood, piqueña. It takes me from zero to growly in less than five seconds.’ He closed the gap between their lips and their bodies.

A fervid moan rose from her chest as sensation crashed over her head. Her knees turned liquid and she would’ve lost her balance had she not been trapped so powerfully against a towering pile of formidable maleness. As they were, with his thigh wedged so firmly between hers, she felt the heat from his leg caress her intimately. Friction, urgent and undeniable, made her pulse race faster. Even more when his tongue delved between her lips. Like the first time they’d kissed, Rafael seemed bent on devouring her. Although she’d been kissed, she’d never been kissed quite like this, with a dedication so intense she felt as if she were being consumed.

When he finally let her up for air, it was to allow her a single breath before he pounced again. Her hands, which had miraculously risen to glide over his shoulders, finally found the wherewithal to push him away.

‘Rafael...’

‘No, not yet.’ His lips swooped, but she managed to turn her head just in time. He settled for nibbling the corner of her mouth, a caress so erotic she throbbed low down with the sensation.

‘We need to stop. Everyone out there will think we’re in here...doing...having...’

‘Sex...saying it doesn’t make you a dirty, dirty girl, Raven.’ His thigh moved, inserting itself even more firmly between hers. Again friction caused sensation to explode in her belly.

She flushed. ‘I know that.’

‘Then say it,’ he commanded, pulling back to stare into her eyes.

Defiance surged back on a wave of desperation. ‘Sex. Sex, sex, sex—’

He kissed her silent, and damn, but did she enjoy it. When he finally raised his head she was thoroughly and dangerously breathless. ‘It’s okay, you’ve made your point. Although I can’t say that’ll dissuade our fellow travellers from thinking we’ve joined the Mile High Club.’

A growl of frustration rumbled out before she could stop it. ‘Why couldn’t you leave this alone until we landed?’

‘The same reason you’re still caressing my shoulders even though you’re protesting my presence here with you.’

She dropped her hands and swore she could feel her skin tingling in protest.

‘I...this is crazy,’ she muttered under her breath.

‘Sí, but we can’t help ourselves where the other is concerned. Are you ready to go back?’

A shaky nod was all she could manage before he withdrew his thigh from between hers. The loss of his support and heat made her want to cry out in protest. She stopped herself in time and checked to see if her buttons had come undone.

With a sigh of relief, she stepped away from the door.

Rafael was very close behind her when they exited the bedroom. ‘You didn’t tell me what you thought of the story.’