She shook her head. ‘As much as I want it to be easy, I’ve never taken a decision lightly. And I don’t think you should either. It’s not just me I’m thinking about here, Rafael. What if all this turns around on you? What if we do this and you get even more damaged?’
‘Then I’ll learn to live with it. Come here,’ he said, holding out his hand. Although his mouth was smiling, his eyes held a very firm command.
She had to dig her toes in to stay put. ‘You’ll live with it because you think you deserve all the bad things that happen to you?’
His smile slowly eroded until only a trace remained. ‘Raven, it’s time to stop being my therapist and just be my lover.’
‘Rafael...’
‘Come. Here.’
He held still, hands outstretched. Almost against her will, she found herself moving forward. He waited until she was within touching distance. Then he lunged for her, sliding his fingers between hers to entrap her.
With his other hand he pulled her close, his fingers spreading over her bottom. Moving forward, he backed her against the wall, enclosing her thighs between his. ‘I’ve got you now. No escape. Now, are you going to undress or do you need help?’
She gnawed on her lower lip, rioting emotions tearing her apart. ‘I was so sure I wanted this, Rafael, but I’ll never forgive myself if I make things worse for you—’
He growled, ‘Damn it, just get naked, will you?’
When she remained still, he took the task into his own hands. For a man who hadn’t slept with a woman for almost a year, he didn’t seem to lack the skill needed to undress her.
She was down to her bra and knickers within seconds. One deft flick of his fingers disposed of her bra. Slowly he took one step back, then another.
‘Dios, I knew you would be worth it,’ he rasped, his fiercely intent gaze making her skin heat up and pucker in all the right places. Grabbing her by the waist, he reversed their positions and walked her back towards the bed. At the back of her mind she knew she needed to tell him about her lack of experience. But words were in short supply when confronted with the perfection that was Rafael’s muscled torso.
With one firm push, she lay sprawled on the bed. He placed one knee on the bed, pushed forward, then winced as he positioned himself over her.
Her concerned gasp drowned beneath his kiss. The kiss that rocked her to her very soul. His tongue pushed inside, warm, insistent and pulse-melting as he showed her the extent of his mastery. Unable to bear the torrent of sensation, she jerked, her hands flailing as she tried to find purchase. He moved over her, pinned her more firmly to the bed with his hips flush against her. When he winced again, she wrenched her mouth from his.
‘Before you say it, I’m fine. Dampen the mood with another virtuous monologue and I will spank you. Hard.’
She flushed deep and fierce, but it didn’t keep her silent. ‘I can’t...I can’t stop caring about your well-being just because it’s inconvenient for you. Just tell me if you’re okay.’
‘I’m okay. But if I had to, I’d cut off my arm just to be inside you, to feel you close around me like you’d never let me go.’
‘Bloody hell, do you practice those lines or do they really just fall off your lips?’
‘If I plan to relaunch myself as a multimillion euro best-selling writer, bonita, then a way with words is a must.’ He sobered. ‘But that doesn’t mean I don’t mean them. I mean every single word I say to you.’
Her heart stuttered, then thundered wildly. ‘Rafael...’ Her eyes drifted shut.
‘I’m lethal. I know.’ He settled himself more firmly until she felt his rigid size against the fabric of her knickers. He rocked forward and the relentless pressure on her clitoris made a few dozen stars explode behind her closed eyelids.
‘You’re beyond lethal,’ she breathed shakily. ‘You’re everything I should be running away from.’
His mouth drifted down her cheek to her jaw and back again. He pressed another kiss to the corner of her mouth, then she felt him move away. ‘Hey, open your eyes.’
Reluctantly, she obeyed, already missing his mouth on her.
His gaze was solemn. ‘Don’t run, Raven. I’m broken and cannot chase after you. Not just yet.’
Her breath caught. ‘Would you really? Chase after me?’
‘Most definitely. Because I get extremely grumpy when I’m cheated out of an orgasm.’
The slap she aimed at his arm was half-hearted because his mouth was descending to wreak havoc on hers once more. When he finally allowed her to breathe, she was mindless with pleasure.