AFEW DAYS LATER, on the morning of his flight to New York, Xavi quickly showered, shaved his neck, brushed his teeth, dressed and styled his hair. Incredibly early though it was, he should have left the apartment thirty minutes ago, and he left the dressing room fastening his cufflinks…
‘Don’t tell me you were planning to leave without saying goodbye.’
He stopped short and turned his head.
Beth was sitting on one of the window ledges, the last of the moonlight pouring on her. She was wearing her silk kimono dressing gown, her glorious hair mussed from their night of lovemaking. It was all that lovemaking that had made him oversleep.
‘I thought we said goodbye last night.’
She smiled seductively and beckoned him with a finger.
He closed his eyes briefly as he prayed for strength. ‘Mi vida, I’m already running late.’ If they had to take a later flight slot, he would be lucky to make it to the meeting with the Grimaldi executives on time. There had been last-minute hitches to the deal he needed to personally fix.
‘Too late to give your wife a final kiss goodbye?’ she said in such an innocent voice that he knew before he looked back at her that he was making a mistake.
The smile still playing on her lips, she slowly peeled her kimono open and exposed her naked body to him. Batting her eyelashes, she cupped a weighty breast. ‘Sure you won’t give me a kiss goodbye?’
He groaned, part with frustration, part with desire.Dios, she was irresistible, but he was already late…
She spread her legs and raised her thighs.
Arousal, already fighting his willpower, punched its way through his resistance.
His trousers were undone and he was with her in three strides.
He was freeing himself as their hungry mouths came together, his tongue diving into her mouth as he pressed the tip of his erection between her legs. In moments, he was inside her slick heat, thrusting hard, her wanton moans of pleasure and encouragement feeding him, lost in the exquisite sensation of Beth. He sensed her climax building and drove harder and faster into her, barely holding on to the thick contractions that pulled him deeper into her ecstasy. With a loud shout, he let go, bucking his release furiously into her in one long, drawn-out climax so powerful, white light flickered behind his eyes.
She laughed softly into his neck before her mouth found his again. ‘Now you can go.’
Xavi did his best to hold on to his temper. It was rare for him to lose it. Rare for him to even come close to losing it.
It was also rare for him to make such a colossal error. Okay, so the mistake hadn’t been directly his, but it was a mistake in the Grimaldi contract he should have picked up on much earlier, not on the day they were due to finally sign it. Heads would have to metaphorically roll, but the responsibility was ultimately his.
Taking a deep breath, he called Beth.
‘Hello, you,’ she said, her voice filled with joyful surprise. ‘To what do I owe this pleasure?’
‘I need to stay in New York an extra day. Maybe two.’
Her tone immediately flattened. ‘Oh.’
‘There’s an error in the contract that needs to be rectified.’
‘What kind of error?’
‘One that, if not fixed, will cost us millions.’ An error that would have seen the Rosbel Group forking out tens of millions extra to the Grimaldi brand’s founders. Xavi had spotted it an hour earlier when he’d been poised to sign it, but had decided to give the contract one last skim read first. ‘It will be simple to rectify the contract itself, but we’re all going to work through the night reading and rereading it to ensure nothing else has slipped through the net.’
‘Shall I fly out to you?’
‘No. You’ll only be a distraction. Stay in Madrid with Diego.’ Raul’s dog had officially moved in with them. Knowing Beth had him for company held back the unnecessary guilt at leaving her behind. ‘I’ll be back tomorrow or Saturday.’
‘Okay.’ He could hear the upset she tried to disguise, and tried not to feel resentful of it. If he hadn’t been so distracted by his new wife, he’d have spotted the error on his first read of the contract.
For all the vows he’d made to himself and the stakes he’d set out when making his proposal to her, Beth had woven him into her spell all over again, and he, lust-filled fool that he was, despite knowing all the dangers, had allowed it to happen.
Time to reset their marriage to how it should have been from the beginning with immediate effect.
‘Do you want me to cancel Gustav’s party?’ she asked quietly.
