Chapter 6 Aurora #2
‘Wait!’ a deep voice booms.
I glance back and Rafael is descending the stairs, his face taut and red like he’s in danger of popping a vein any second.
‘Seriously? You’re chasing after her?’ Tanya yells, appearing at the top of the stairs.
Rafael halts a few steps from the bottom.
He doesn’t move closer, and I pause, wondering if he’s about to turn back and get what he came here for.
He sure looks ready to fuck. Chest expanding with deep breaths.
Fingers twitching by his sides like he needs to grab on to flesh and sink them into it. Eyes filled with a wild . . . heat.
Ready to pound the woman waiting for him into the mattress. Husband or not.
‘Come back here!’ Tanya screeches.
‘Give me a minute,’ he hisses at her, his eyes locked on mine.
‘You want to chase my cleaning girl out of here, be my guest,’ she says with an air of smugness, like she knows he won’t do it.
The corners of his eyes pinch at her tone, and I snort.
‘You’re being summoned,’ I tell him, before I step out of the door and slam it behind me.
Racing down the darkened driveway, the gravel crunches beneath my feet. My heart’s pounding, the sound of it like a deep bass in my ears. I want to get as far away from here as possible and pray that Tanya doesn’t tell all of her rich friends about me. That could ruin everything.
The door slams again, and the sound of heavy footfall beats down behind me.
‘Aurora!’
I ignore him, speeding up.
‘Aurora!’ he bellows again.
I pass a fancy-looking Bugatti car in inky black – his, I presume. I fully expect him to get in it and race past me, and that be the end of it. But instead, he continues his pursuit, following me out on to the main tree-lined street.
He reaches for my elbow, grabbing it so I have to stop and face him.
‘What are you doing working for Tanya?’ he demands, like he has any right to know anything about me.
I scoff, shaking out of his grip. ‘Excuse me? I should be the one asking you what you’re doing shagging married women.’
‘I’m not,’ he grits, jaw clenching.
I stare back into his blazing bronze irises. He would be an insanely good-looking man if it weren’t for his personality. And then there’s that beautiful monster of a dick . . . What a waste.
I roll my eyes in disgust. ‘What is it? The thought of being caught? Having something you shouldn’t? You need those extra risks, huh? Is age making it hard to get it up?’
He steps closer, towering over me and I’m assaulted by his rich, earthy cologne.
‘I don’t have any issues getting it up, Aurora. I assure you.’
The way he growls the words with such rich, husky conviction has an unwelcome tremor running up my spine and leaving a tingling heat in its wake. I don’t want to picture Rafael Fairfax fucking. Not now. Not ever.
‘Whatever,’ I huff, spinning away.
‘Where are you going?’ He catches my wrist this time, pulling me to a stop and whirling me to face him. I almost crash into his broad chest.
‘None of your goddamn business!’ I snap.
‘Where’s your car?’ he grumbles, scanning the street like one might magically appear.
‘Ever heard of a thing called “the Tube”?’ I throw him a condescending sneer and tug at my wrist, but he has it in a strong grip and doesn’t seem in a rush to let go.
‘You’re not getting the Tube at this time of night.’
He exerts a little pressure on my wrist, his thumb massaging my pulse point, which I don’t think he realises he’s doing. It forces me to take a step closer to him, so I don’t lose my balance. I look up at his set jaw and furrowed brow. He isn’t going to drop this.
‘Listen,’ I say, trying a different tactic and aiming for something resembling gratitude in my tone. ‘It’s admirable that you’re concerned over the safety of a woman whose wellbeing is none of your business. But this is a nice neighbourhood, and I’ve done it lots of times. I’ll be fine.’
His eyes slide from mine, and he assesses the large mansions set back from the street on their large plots, complete with manicured lawns and driveways overflowing with luxury cars.
‘Loaded people have loaded secrets,’ he says darkly, making no sense whatsoever.
I attempt to extract my wrist from his grip again. ‘Fine, whatever—’
‘I’ll take you home.’
‘What?’
His eyes return to mine. ‘I said, I’ll take you home.’
‘I heard you, I just . . . No! No, thank you.’
‘Aurora.’ He huffs, like I’m testing his patience. ‘It wasn’t a question.’
I hitch my brows. ‘Used to getting your own way, are you?’
‘When my way is the correct one, yes,’ he replies, manoeuvring us so his hand is no longer around my wrist but is on my lower back, and he’s steering me on to Tanya’s driveway.
He leads me to his car, then opens the passenger door for me.
I slide in wordlessly, glaring at him as he closes the door, then rounds the bonnet and sinks into the driver’s side.
I could spend all night arguing with him, but it’s not worth it.
Might as well just let him think he’s won and put up with being in his vicinity a little longer.
A rich hum surrounds us as he starts the engine, then drives out on to the road effortlessly, one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting on his broad thigh. I glance around the interior of his car. It’s immaculate and smells divine.
It only makes me hate him more.
I stare out of my window so I don’t have to look at him. My head is spinning with a million different comebacks I should have used in order to prevent myself from being stuck in his car with him.
‘It shouldn’t take long to get to Chelsea,’ he says.
I glance at him. ‘My boyfriend lives in Shoreditch.’
No way do I want Rafael Fairfax seeing where I live. The thought makes me shudder. Rafael’s eyes flick to mine, then he reaches for the heating controls and turns the temperature up.
‘You have a boyfriend?’ he asks, his tone weighted with something I can’t put my finger on. Almost like he can’t believe anyone would actually want to date me.
‘I do.’ I force a fake smile.
One that stops to fart mid-sex, but, hey, at least he’s not married like Tanya.
Technically, after tonight, Charlie might not be my boyfriend any more. Not if we have the chat I’m planning. But that information has nothing to do with the grisly hulk of a man sitting beside me. And I don’t feel like discussing the failures of my relationship with him.
Rafael steers around a junction one-handed. He’s such a smooth driver. So in control. It would be sexy if he weren’t such a prick.
‘Put his address in,’ Rafe commands, keeping his eyes glued to the road.
I watch him for a moment, then sigh as I tap Charlie’s address into the satnav. Rafael glances at the screen, then scrubs his hand around his jaw. He’s wearing a five o’clock shadow that suits him. Makes him appear less polished than usual.
Almost human.
‘Who the fuck is Alice?’ he asks after an awkward silence threatens to build between us.
I sink into the plush seat a little more and hum the tune of the hit song ‘Living Next Door to Alice’ by Smokie. Rafael gives me a sharp look and I roll my eyes.
No sense of humour.
‘I made her up. It’s not like I can give my real name. If people run a background check on me then they’ll never hire me when they find out my father’s in prison.’
‘Your father,’ Rafael hisses under his breath, as if the mere mention of Dad angers him.
The acid in his words come back to haunt me. How he thinks my father is scum and got what he deserved.
‘Yes, my father, who is innocent,’ I snap.
‘Says his daughter, who is deceiving her employers so she can unlawfully gain access to their homes,’ he fires back.
My mouth drops open, and I stop my disgusted scoff before it leaves my lips.
‘It’s a white lie. No one’s getting hurt. And needs must,’ I reply, quietly seething.
I spend the rest of the drive staring out of the window. Rafael seems more than happy to drive in silence too. Then again, he must be used to it. The man is a fortress. All real emotions kept inside.
It wouldn’t surprise me if outside of his family he has no friends at all. Except . . . the one Dove told me about.
I dig my nails into my palms, cursing myself over how stupid I am.
This would have been the perfect opportunity to ask Rafael about Dominic Ainsworth.
But now I’ve ruined my chance by getting into an argument with him, then ignoring him for the best part of twenty minutes.
There’s no way he’ll help me now. He’ll probably laugh in my face if I bring it up.
He pulls the car over in front of Charlie’s apartment building and turns the engine off. He unbuckles his seatbelt, and I whip my head towards him.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Getting out to open your door.’
Oh, hell no. I’m not letting Rafael Fairfax act like a gentleman and pretend he’s anything other than a snake in the grass, waiting to bite.
‘I can manage,’ I say, throwing my door open and climbing out. ‘Thank you for the lift,’ I add, before I close the door and round the car.
‘Aurora?’
Rafael’s rich, husky voice hits my back, and I turn. He’s resting his elbow on the open window frame, his attention glued to Charlie’s building as he cranes his neck to look out of the car and study it.
‘Are you sure you’d not rather go home?’ he asks, eyes narrowing on the broken light above the main entrance, then sliding over to some peeling paintwork on a sign. He grimaces like he’s concerned he could catch fleas just by looking.
Ugh, he’s such a snob.
‘I’m fine,’ I clip. ‘Thanks for the lift.’
I head inside the building, and it’s not until after Charlie buzzes me in and the front door closes behind me that I hear the angry roar of an engine outside, speeding away.