A Prize Beyond Jewels

‘Small rebellion over— Hey, it’s okay, Nina,’ he assured her gently as she instantly began to chew worriedly on her bottom lip. Lips that were still temptingly plumped from the kisses they had just shared. ‘It really isn’t a problem.’

‘No?’ Her eyes looked huge in the pallor of her face.

‘No.’ Rafe had already decided not to make life any more difficult for her than her father’s stranglehold of security already made it for her. It was enough for Rafe, for now, that she had agreed to go out to dinner with him tomorrow evening. ‘I’ll let you know at the gallery tomorrow where we’re going—I take it that Andy and Rich, or someone very like them, is going to check the place out before we arrive?’

‘You make it sound so cloak and dagger.’ She frowned.

Rafe shrugged. ‘It lacks a certain spontaneity,’ he acknowledged ruefully. ‘But don’t worry about it. We’ll make it workable.’

‘Thank you,’ she breathed.

He looked at her curiously. ‘For what?’

‘For not—well, for not being difficult. A lot of men would be.’

‘I’d hope I’m not like a lot of men, Nina—or even a random one,’ Rafe added teasingly, in an effort to lighten the subject for her.

‘Stop worrying.’ He reached up to smooth the frown from between her brows before bending his head and lightly brushing his lips across hers before straightening. ‘I’ll see you at the gallery tomorrow?’

‘Yes.’

‘Smile, Nina, it might never happen,’ he cajoled, as she still looked less than happy.

It was already happening as far as Nina was concerned; she was far too attracted to Rafe D’Angelo. Attracted enough that she had allowed him to make love to her.

Attracted enough that she was rebelling against some of the constraints imposed on her life by her father—something that had never happened before.

Attracted enough that she would have to keep reminding herself that no woman had ever succeeded in capturing and holding the long-term interest of the elusive Raphael D’Angelo. That there had only ever been a series of tall, leggy, blonde and sophisticated women, who apparently drifted in and out of his life—and his bed!—with sickening regularity.

And Nina knew herself to be only two of those things—tall and leggy!

Which didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy this for exactly what it was: a flirtation on Rafe’s part that might or might not eventually lead to them going to bed together.

She smiled as she straightened determinedly. ‘I’m really fine, Rafe. And yes, I’ll be at the gallery tomorrow.’

‘Good.’ He nodded his satisfaction with her answer. ‘And now I think it’s time I was going. There may be no bodyguards following you around tonight but I’m pretty sure the extensive security cameras in this building have already shown your father that I came into your apartment with you earlier but haven’t left yet!’ he added lightly as the two of them walked the short distance down the hallway to the door to her apartment.

Nina was pretty sure they had too.

Which wasn’t to say she liked it, only that this level of security had been in her life for so long she had mainly ceased to even notice it. Maybe it was time she did.

And maybe meeting Rafe, and this attraction she felt towards him, were exactly the wake-up call she had needed to do something about changing it.

* * *

Rafe considered telephoning Michael once he got back to his own apartment twenty minutes later, and then dismissed the idea. His brother would be arriving in New York on Friday evening anyway, in time for the invitation-only gala opening of the Palitov jewellery collection on Saturday evening. The brothers attended any new exhibition presented in one of their three galleries. Gabriel wouldn’t make it this time, but Michael would certainly be there.

And, amongst other things, Rafe was going to take the opportunity of Michael’s presence to discuss a new business venture he had in mind for the Archangel galleries. Not too many people were aware of it, but Rafe was the new ideas man for the Archangel galleries, and always had been. And the reason people weren’t aware of it was because Rafe was really quite modest. He didn’t mind that the media had him tagged as the playboy.

Only maybe it was now time for that to change.

Rafe brought his thoughts up with a start, having no idea why he’d had them in the first place. Or why now.

It couldn’t possibly be because of his attraction to Nina. Could it?

Damn it, he needed to concentrate on learning more about the enigmatic Dmitri Palitov, not his daughter.

Nina had said her father was in a wheelchair because he had been involved in an accident, which probably explained why he had become so reclusive. No doubt it was just as easy for Dmitri Palitov to run his business empire from his apartment on the fiftieth floor of a building he owned as it was to have an actual office in another part of the city.