‘No.’ She angled her head to study him. ‘I like it when you take your time.’
‘Be careful what you wish for.’
‘Oh, I am,’ she assured him in a tone that led him to wonder at what point Sofia had decided that moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue might be a good idea.
‘Are you deliberately trying to distract me?’
‘What makes you say that?’ Her eyes widened in an expression of pure innocence. When she closed them again, perhaps to hide her amusement, he noticed how a fringe of black lashes cast a crescent shadow on the perfectly carved line of her cheekbone. Dragging his gaze away, he focused on the game. Too late, as it happened.
‘Check,’ she said crisply.
Leaving his seat, he turned away from the board to rub a hand across the back of his neck in an attitude of abject defeat. He allowed Sofia to bask in her triumph for all of two seconds and then, smiling faintly, he turned back.
Confident of triumph, Sofia was studying him when she should have been continuing to study the pieces. Leaning over, he moved his queen. ‘Checkmate,’ he said softly.
Sofia made a sound of disgust. ‘Who’s the fool now?’ she exclaimed. ‘Well played,’ she offered sportingly.
‘Do you want to play another game?’
‘Best of three?’ she suggested.
‘I suggest we play something else.’
Electricity flashed between them. No words were needed. Linking their fingers, he led her through the silent house. They mounted the stairs to his bedroom—or, more accurately, they almost reached the first landing. Pausing to kiss her was his downfall—their downfall. One kiss led to another and then they were fighting to rid themselves of clothes.
‘I promise myself that one day I’m going to have you in bed,’ he growled as she reached for him.
‘Pillows? Covers? The whole nine yards?’ she suggested.
‘Depend on it.’
He took her to the hilt in a single thrust. There was no finesse about this mating. It was wild and fierce, and deliciously intense. As if the more they gorged on each other, the more they needed. One question remained. Would they regain reason in time to continue with everyday life? It didn’t seem likely right now. Their lives were complex. His was eaten up by duty and responsibility, while hers was eaten up by concern for others.
Did she ever lavish time on herself?
‘Again!’ she insisted.
‘Hey,’ he soothed. ‘Remember what I said? Next time in bed.’
This was true intimacy, Sofia mused contentedly as she lay replete in Cesar’s arms on his enormous bed. Had there ever been a more unselfish lover? She doubted it. Cesar was sleeping. She should be too. They had training in the morning. Or, rather, he did.
Slipping out of bed, she ran to the shower, freshened up, and then dressed while she was still half-damp. Speed was of the essence. But she couldn’t leave without imprinting every moonlit inch of Cesar on her mind. Naked he was glorious. Clothed he was glorious. Sleeping he was beautiful and strong. There was no tension on his face now, no weight of the world resting on his shoulders. She felt a quite ridiculous urge to go back over to the bed to pull the covers over him and give him one last kiss. Until the next time, she promised herself. This wasn’t goodbye, it was just a temporary break. She wouldn’t risk waking him. She’d do anything to protect him. And she would.
Stopping by Cesar’s study, she quickly scribbled a note. She’d be back in time for the match and would spend every spare minute she had in training. She didn’t expect to have many spare minutes, but she didn’t want Jess or the team worrying about her fitness level.
Turning at the front door, she gazed around the hall and up the staircase, then back into Cesar’s study, all the different places where they’d made love and grown closer.
They had grown closer. Cesar was slowly changing from the cold individual she’d first met into a man who gave her everything she needed. Cold was no longer a word she could associate with him. Cesar was hot and funny and caring. They hadn’t exactly shared words of love, but silent communication could be more effective than words. Actions certainly were, and action was in her immediate future.
Closing the front door noiselessly behind her, she drew on the closeness that had grown between them to buoy her up and convince her that this was the right thing to do. There had been many moments of trust between them and, whatever happened next, she would never forget this time with Cesar.
She’d called a cab to take her to the airport so she could fly home to Spain. When she arrived back at her retreat, she’d root out the truth. Someone had to be liaising with Howard Blake. If she couldn’t uncover the truth in Spain, she’d fly to London and confront Blake at his office.
Tears stung her eyes at the thought of parting from Cesar, but she had a mission to complete before they’d meet again.
The cab she’d requested was waiting at the gate. She turned to look at the sleeping house one last time before climbing into the back of it. A few lights were beginning to show in the windows of the ranch house as people woke up, though the sun had only now crept over the horizon. Dawn was breaking on a new day. Cesar would wake to find her gone. ‘Forgive me,’ she whispered.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
