Preferably somewhere close to the door, so I can run if necessary.
He blows out a breath and scrubs his jaw. “Come here.”
I flick my gaze to him and the blood in my veins ices over at the look on his face. It barely conceals the aggravation simmering just underneath. He’s not yelling, but his relaxed posture and the lazy smirk have disappeared. I freeze in place, torn as to what I should do. The greatest risk is I could end up having sex with him, and the reward…
Or is that the reward?
Mentally berating myself for that line of thinking, I shake my head at my thoughts.
“Come. Here,” he says, each word clipped.
I bite the inside of my cheek, unable to move. Rafael obviously thinks I just told him no and that’s still my response to his command, but now I’m less confident in my resolve to stand up to him. So I give in.
My mind whirls as I follow him inside his bedroom. The black and gold color threads strung about are in good taste, the onyx hue predominant in the furniture, bedding, and floors. The four poster bed is a behemoth which leaves plenty of space for the two of us. That’s assuming Rafael keeps to himself.
He waves a hand. “Make yourself comfortable.”
I doubt I could, even if he wasn’t here. Sleeping is not an activity I look forward to. Repose is a state in which my mind roams free, allowing dark images to rise and torment me. Not always.
But usually.
I settle on the edge of the bed and keep my gaze locked on Rafael, uncertainty still crawling along my skin. He’s in his home, in his territory and there’s nothing except confidence radiating off him. I am anything but secure at this moment.
His clothes disappear, one article at a time, and when he removes his pants I turn my head. “Can’t you just understand how…difficult this is for me, without adding to it?” I ask.
The urge to rail at him rises, but so does the idea of confessing my fear and misgivings to him, to seek comfort in him since I have no one else. I repress it because I can’t afford to appear weak and vulnerable in front of him.
“You’ve already seen my cock,” he says, his voice an allure all on its own. “So I don’t understand this ever-present embarrassment from you. Perhaps, the two of you need to be better acquainted?”
I push off the mattress and spin to face him with a pinched expression. “I need to play the part of a fiancée, not a whore. This agreement is supposed to be nothing except business and so far it hasn’t been professional in the least. You may not respect women, but I’m asking you to respect me.”
He tilts his head and crosses his arms. The bunched muscles of his chest snag my attention and I stand there momentarily at a loss for words. My tongue may not be functioning, but my eyes are just fine. Without thought, I trail my gaze over his biceps and then let my eyes drift lower, down his taut abdomen, to stop at his cock.
That’s hard.
“See something you like, Carina?”
I yank my gaze away and ignore the heat spreading underneath my cheeks. “I’m just assessing the situation.”
Rafael barks out a laugh that catches us both by surprise. He continues laughing and his chest expands and contracts with his mirth, drawing my gaze once again. Damn him for being so attractive. What I wouldn’t give to take a picture of him right now. I suspect this genuine show of happiness is rare and I’d love to capture it, immortalizing the moment.
“You can assess all you want,” he says, a smirk still on his face. “And if you’re good, I might let you touch it as well.”
The scathing retort that rises up my throat almost chokes me when I swallow it. I’ve seen what provoking him does and I have no desire to go through that, if possible.
I approach the bed with caution. “According to you, we have a lot of things to accomplish tomorrow, so maybe we should go to sleep now?”
After tossing back the duvet, he climbs onto the mattress and then crawls along the top as though a panther. And like that wild animal, his body is sleek and beautiful. He reclines against a mountain of pillows and sprawls out, his long limbs taking up more space than I originally thought they would. That’s disconcerting, to say the least.
He crooks a finger at me and my spine goes rigid. I haven’t been at the beck and call of a man my entire life, gone through hardships, and left behind my sister, all to blindly obey Rafael. So I stay rooted where I am and fold my arms.
“I want you to promise not to touch me,” I say with a no-nonsense tone.
“Fuck no.” He snorts and then shakes his head. “Unlike you, I’m not a liar. And since I have no intention of leaving you alone I’m not going to say shit I don’t mean. Even if it would make you more comfortable.”
“Rafael, why—”
“You deserve to have your ass spanked, but if I do that, I’ll fuck it and your cunt. Even so, I give you my word that I won’t fuck you tonight.” He shrugs in a noncommittal gesture. “Take it or leave it, but you have ten seconds to decide. Ten…nine…eight…”
