‘Where were you last night?’ he said in a hoarse voice, cleared his throat.
‘Lou’s.’
‘Sorry?’
‘Louise O’Brien,’ she said, watching him with a wary eye.
Rafe determinedly ignored the flood of relief that she hadn’t been with a man.
‘Why didn’t you tell Samson?’
Silence.
He counted slowly to five before she shrugged a lean shoulder.
‘I’ve resigned from the company. I don’t need or want a babysitter.’
‘No choice, princess.’ Her mouth opened and he interrupted, ‘You know me. Am I a man who takes no for an answer?’
‘You know me. Am I a woman who gives a shit?’
‘Mouth. Wash. Soap.’
‘Get. A. Life.’
‘We could go on like this all day. But it’s boring.’
‘Yep. You said it, big boy, not me.’
Her chin bumped up again and those blue eyes went like ice.
The urge to toss her over his knee and paddle her ass until it burned warred with the need to kiss some fucking common sense into her.
In the end he did neither.
Instead he pulled up a chair, sat in front of her.
Their knees were almost touching and he felt the tension in the atmosphere between them grow too thick.
She swallowed and he wished to God she would look at him properly.
What had happened to the sweet teenager with the naughty grin and big eyes?
He told himself to be nice, to reason with her.
‘I know we’ve not exactly been friends. But you know the rules, Coco.’
He reached out and lifting her chin with a long finger he felt the familiar jolt of attraction.
By the dilation of the pupils on those fabulous eyes so did she.
Coco jerked away from his touch.
She rose.
Rafe mirrored the move.
They stood breast to chest.
He caught a flicker of fear in her eyes and frowned wondering what she was afraid of.
‘If anything were to happen to you, it would kill your father.’ Rafe placed his hands gently on her shoulders, felt her breath hitch. ‘You know that you can come to me at any time.’
Coco couldn’t believe it.
Was he for real?
Not in this lifetime.
And he was standing too close.
The scent of his cologne was turning her brain to a static mess; it mingled with something that was pure male testosterone.
God, he smelt fantastic.
She couldn’t think when he touched her.
Her nipples were so tight they actually hurt.
But that was nothing compared to the slick ache, the heat, between her thighs.
He needed to let her go before she made a complete fool of herself.
She reached up, patted his firm jaw and realised almost immediately she’d made a fatal mistake when her heart rate kicked.
‘I don’t know what’s got into you, Rafael.’ Her fingers felt magnetised to his smooth tanned skin. Coco wondered dimly if she imagined the tiny sparks of electricity between them. She cleared her throat, ordered herself to calm the hell down. ‘Don’t you worry your little head about me. I can take care of myself.’
The hiss of his exhale told her he felt it too, this attraction or whatever it was.
However, she also knew he would do absolutely nothing about it.
Her eyes met his and she read too much temper in his dark gaze.
Now this was more like it.
Nice Rafe was spooky.
Nasty Rafe she could handle.
He gripped her upper arms and pulled her to him.
Tension revealing itself by the tic next to his cheek.
She couldn’t take her eyes from his mouth.
It was a mouth made for kissing.
‘Kiss me,’ he demanded plucking the thought right out of her head. ‘Let’s see what might be between us.’ His deep voice went low, throaty, with arousal.
She wanted to kiss him so very badly and the siren call of temptation sang through her veins. But she knew instinctively that once they started it wouldn’t be enough. He’d destroyed her once. No way would she let it happen again.
She couldn’t do this.
‘Don’t,’ she whispered.
He didn’t let her go.
If anything he inched her closer.
‘But, what if it’s good?’
‘I don’t want it to be good.’
‘Who knows where it might lead?’
Her pulse beat too loud in her ears. ‘Exactly. I don’t want it to lead anywhere.’
The humorous twitch of his mouth told her he saw right through her.
‘Liar.’
‘It’s not a good idea to start something we can’t finish,’ she insisted desperately.
Ain’t that the truth.
Dark eyes held hers.
‘Hmm. I thought I’d have plenty of time to woo you. But after you spent a week in intensive care, I realised I was wrong.’
Coco had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
What did the fact she’d been critically ill have to do with anything?
Confused, she stared into those dark eyes.
‘Woo me?’
‘Romance you.’
What?
She didn’t want him to romance her.
But saw the truth in his eyes along with a desire that made her want to flee.
What the hell had got into him?
Coco forced herself to remain still, and concentrated on his strong jaw.
Mouth dry, she swallowed, and blinked up into his face.
His pupils dilated with arousal.
Coco took a breath.
Excitement skittered up her spine.
His scent whirled around her, hot spicy cologne, soap, and pure undiluted man.
Static electricity hummed in the atmosphere.
Coco trembled between his hands, tried desperately to pull free, but Rafe held her firm.
Chapter Five
Stunned by his brutal arousal, Rafe watched her face.
A tiny tremble of her bottom lip, full and pouty, attracted his attention.
Her breathing was shallow and too fast.
He bent his head towards her mouth.
The light floral perfume she wore mingled with a scent that was pure Coco. It spun around him, wonderful and hot.
Heat pulsed from the frantic beat under her ear.
He tried again to see through those damn bangs to her eyes.
A quick flick of a pink tongue on her top lip gave his cock a sharp jolt.
Body held utterly still, she studied his face.
Rafe laid the palm of his hand on her cheek.
God, her skin was so soft and smooth.
And all the time she watched him.
Not once did he ask himself what the hell he was doing.
Not once did he wonder what might the consequences of his actions be?
It didn’t matter.
Because he simply couldn’t stop himself.
The look in those wide violet eyes, wary, needy, did something to him.
His eyes never left hers as his head dipped and his mouth met hers.
He kept the kiss soft on her tremulous mouth as he enjoyed the warm, sweet flavour of her and slowly and gently pulled her closer, body to body.
Her hand lay flat on his chest, then it slid up to his shoulder, around the back of his neck, and those beautiful eyes went hazy.
The way she was trembling in his arms warned him to take it nice and easy.
She tasted fucking amazing.
His tongue traced her bottom lip, slid into her warm mouth and did the dance of love with hers.
For a first kiss it was incredible.
Her mouth was so exquisitely soft and adorably hesitant, lips that quivered under his in anticipation.
God knew he wanted her.
And he might not like having it thrust down his throat by gossip columnists, but he knew sex was nothing new to Coco.
But the way she kissed him, so intimately, so passionate in her response to him disguised nothing. She was kissing him as if she was pouring her heart, her soul into the act. Her physical need of him obvious by the way her breath shivered in and out of her lungs, by the way her pelvis tilted, pressing and rubbing her mound against his rock hard shaft.
Jesus.
Her fingers dug into his neck as she clung to him.
Then she sucked his tongue between her lips.
The long, low moan from her throat went straight to a titanic erection that was fast getting out of control.
Testing, his knuckles gently caressed the tip of her breast through the silk of her dress.
Her nipple went so tight so fast it had her gasping into his mouth.
Christ, she was so terribly responsive to him.
He did it again and she whimpered.
Sliding a hand under her skirt he lifted the expensive fabric, pressed his leg between hers and pulled her tight silk clad bottom into him.
And she rode his thigh in a way that rubbed his aching cock against the friction of her silk dress.
God, her moans were killing him.
One hand gripped the back of her neck to keep her still while he devoured her warm and willing mouth.
His other hand slid over her silk clad bottom then under the elastic to find her.
Christ.
This was wrong.
Coco knew it but simply couldn’t stop herself. One part of her brain was screaming, begging to know what the hell she was doing? Was she crazy? The other part simply gave in. His mouth devoured her. She’d been kissed before, too many times to count, but she’d never been kissed like this. He used his tongue like a weapon of pleasure. And she had no trouble imagining what that tongue would do to her secret places. The mere thought made her moan out loud and push her pelvis into his searching fingers as they slid into her wetness and she spread her legs wider surrendering herself completely to his clever caress. Oh, yes! Her clitoris swelled, rising erotically out of it’s silky sheath to meet him. How many times had she wondered, dreamed, what it would be like to have his clever hands touch her like this?
Tearing his mouth away, Rafe’s forehead rested on hers and he took a shuddering inhale.
‘Brazilian. Very nice. Very soft. Very hot,’ he muttered.
The way her breath was sawing in and out of her throat, the way her whole body shuddered with pleasure, had him close his eyes tight. With great care he slid his fingers through her tender flesh to find the tiny jewel of delight.
‘Look at me,’ he whispered. ‘Look at me when I touch you here.’ She did. And his fingertip skimmed over her delicate sex, so moist for him, and her eyes went wide. Her breath shivered in her throat. ‘You’re trembling. I need you to.’ Her brow creased as a low moan escaped. ‘I need you to come in my hand.’
‘Oh, God.’
‘I need you to take nice deep breaths, baby. That’s it. Jesus, you’re so wet.’
Her heart was pounding.
He could feel it beating in her clitoris against his thumb.
‘Rafe...’ His name was a plea for more even as her mouth went wide in the shape of an O.
And all the time his thumb slid rhythmically round and round as her clitoris swelled, went too hard and all the while he watched her.
He’d never seen anything so hot in his life as Coco crying out loud and coming apart in his arms.
‘Shh, deep breaths in and out. In and out. There you go.’
Her sensitive flesh was so smooth so soft and so terribly, terribly slick, for him.
And all the time he knew she was close, so very close, to losing it.
His thumb flicked the swollen cherry of her clitoris as one long finger entered her then another.
The stunned cry of her orgasm, the way her whole body went rigid in his arms, had his breath shudder into her mouth.
Jesus, he’d nearly come in his pants like some out of control pubescent boy.
Never had a woman shattered in his arms like this.
His need for her was a wild and wicked thing, as it burned low in his belly, clawing his loins.
At last common sense demanded to know what the hell he was doing?
Today was not the time or the place for this.
She was too delicate, too fragile under his hands.
When he took Coco, and by God he would have her, she wouldn’t be humping his leg. And he wouldn’t be behaving like a randy teenager with no control, no finesse.
By the time he eased back, she was shivering.
He stared into eyes dazed and dark with arousal and knew the feeling.
That didn’t mean he had to like it.
‘Well, well, well,’ he said in a soft voice. ‘Who’s got a little trigger happy girl boner?’
The flash in those violet eyes was the only warning he received and it coincided with the crack of her hand on his cheek.
Since she had the muscle tone of a tealeaf it didn’t hurt.
He could tell by the too wide eyes, the jerky inhale of breath, that she’d shocked herself.
And that was Coco all over.
No restraint.
All temper and tantrums.
Her hand fisted.
He gripped her slim wrist and he could feel the too hectic pulse under his fingers.
‘Lift your hand to me again I’ll have you over my knee and give you the thorough spanking you deserve.’
Heat flashed into her cheeks, and then slid away leaving her bone white.
She tried to jerk free but he held her delicate wrist tight, just in case.
But then that mouth went mutinous and her chin jerked up.
Little cat.
His lips were still glistening wet from hers.
Then he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, as if tasting her. A move so erotic it made her sex clench, and Coco knew she’d never been kissed like that, touched like that, before.
And the liquidly empty ache in her womb was a wild and wicked thing. A need that made her clench her jaw.
‘We,’ she said in a tone that would melt solid steel. ‘Are
not
having sex.’
Perfectly aware that the comment was a feeble attempt to take control of a situation fast running away with her, Coco couldn’t quite believe she’d fallen apart in his arms, just had the most amazing orgasm from a man she detested. And had those words really come out of her mouth?
But by the twitch of his lips, by the gleam in his amazing eyes apparently they had.
‘Well, God, there go my plans to strip you naked, toss you on the floor and fuck your brains out.’