He chuckled. “Hear that?”
She strained her ears, suddenly aware of noises emanating from outside the bedroom door. Low voices. Footsteps. The beep of a microwave. She inhaled the tantalizing aroma of coffee. “Your cousins?”
“They’re getting ready for work. So, unless you want to deal with a million questions, you’d better sit tight for now.” He sat up and stretched, putting his shirtless upper body on full display, then grabbed his phone from the nightstand. “It’s seven forty, so we have about forty-five minutes until they leave. Maybe an hour.”
“An hour?” She stared at him, trying to pull away from the lure of his sculpted body. Her gaze lingered on his broad chest and the rows of tattoos running down his muscular arms. “Couldn’t you put a shirt on?”
He smirked. “Why? Are you tempted?”
Even if she was tempted, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She wiped her hand across her forehead. “It’s roasting in here. Any chance you could turn down the heat?”
“The thermostat’s in the living room. Dario cranks it up too high, so I usually turn it down when I go to sleep, but I forgot last night.” He gave her a roguish smile. “It doesn’t help that you’re fully dressed.”
His mocking tone set her pulse racing. If this was a challenge, she wasn’t backing down. “You want me to take off my clothes? You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
He set down his phone, giving her his full attention. “You slept in my bed all night and I never touched you. I think I can control myself.”
She glared at him. If he was going to tempt her with those luscious muscles and sexy tattoos, then two could play at that game. She peeled off her cashmere sweater and gave a sigh of relief. Much better. Lifting up her hips, she removed her pants and tossed them on the floor. All that remained were a red lace bra and matching panties.
When he gaped at her, she raised her eyebrows. “What? You said you could control yourself.”
“You didn’t mention you were wearing Victoria’s Secret underwear.”
“These aren’t Victoria’s Secret. How gauche. They’re from La Perla. Much classier.” She loved this set. The bra made her breasts appear at least a cup size bigger.
His voice was a low growl. “You’re playing dirty.”
“No dirtier than you.You’rethe one who’s half-naked.” She pulled the blankets up to her waist but left her breasts on display. Then she wondered if she’d gone too far. Because even if her intent had been payback, she was having a hard time resisting him.
When their eyes met, it was all she could do not to throw herself at him and press her body against his. But a loud pounding on the door doused her lust.
“Yo, Rafael,” a voice called out. “You up yet?”
She recognized the speaker as Ernesto, whom she’d met at Araceli’s. Giving a squeak of terror, she dove under the covers and pulled them over her head.
Rafael answered calmly. “Barely. It’s my day off. What d’you need?”
“The maintenance guy called. He’s coming at ten to fix the dishwasher.”
“Sounds good.”
She waited under the covers, her heart skittering in fear. Had Rafael locked his bedroom door last night? If Ernesto opened it, she was screwed. For a terrifying moment, she worried he might extend the conversation further. When nothing happened, she let out her breath in a long, shaky exhale.
Rafael lifted the blanket and grinned at her. “All clear. You can come out.”
She made no attempt to move. “You think this is funny? What if he’d come in here?”
“Then we’d have a lot of explaining to do.” He pushed back the covers and lay down next to her, so close their bodies were almost touching. “Ernesto wouldn’t believe we’d be lying here, half-naked, doing absolutely nothing.”
The heat from his body acted like a drug, luring her in. She wanted to close the distance between them, pepper his skin with kisses, and make him groan with pleasure. A throbbing ache built up inside her.
To hell with it.
One time couldn’t hurt, could it?
She rested her hand on his bare chest. “What if we weren’t doing nothing? What then?”
“Then we’d be in deep trouble.”
