Chapter 13 #2
He lifted his head away. “You’ll get a crick in your neck.”
“I’m too relaxed to have any muscle spasms,” she said, but she laid her cheek back on his outstretched arm.
He loved the sex, but he also loved these moments when they were satiated but still tangled together. When they were just two people who wanted to keep touching without expectation of more.
Who was he kidding? There was much more. He loved her courage and her competence. Her intelligence and independence. The trust she inspired. The way she dragged his ugly feelings into the light and made them seem less shameful.
Tomorrow was the last day of his enforced vacation, and he intended to spend as much of it with her as possible.
On Monday, he would be back at work with a full schedule of meetings and other events.
He found himself resentful that he would have no free time to see Erica, because his commitments extended through dinner.
Maybe there was something he could cancel. He would check that with Yvette later.
He frowned. Since when did he want to renege on his commitments?
“Okay, I need to get out of here.” Erica wriggled under his arm. “Your family could arrive at any minute.”
“We have another hour at least,” he said, glancing at the clock on his bedside table.
“What about the staff getting ready for the dinner?”
He cupped her breast, rubbing his palm against her nipple and feeling it harden. He put his mouth beside her ear to let his breath brush her skin as he spoke. “They won’t come in here.”
She moaned as he shifted his hand to her other breast before she grabbed his wrist and pulled it away. “I am not going to take the chance that someone shows up early. Remember, Gabriel is my boss.”
“That doesn’t give him a say in how you spend your free time,” Raul said as she slid out from under his arm.
“No, but I need to be able to look him in the eye without blushing,” she said, giving him a light smack on his biceps.
“Would you really blush?” He ran a fingertip down her spine as she sat on the edge of the bed, savoring the way she arched under his touch.
“Beet-red,” she said, flashing a smile at him over her shoulder before she stood. “Besides, I left half my clothes in your office, and I definitely don’t want to run into anyone when I’m half-naked.”
He threw off the covers. “I’ll get your clothes… mierda! My stupid ankle.” By the time he retrieved his crutches, she would be halfway to the office.
“Stay here.” She gave his bare thigh a squeeze, which sent a zing of arousal to his cock. “I promise to come back.”
And she was out the door, leaving an emptiness behind her. He hopped over to his dresser to pull on a pair of sweatpants before he picked up his crutches and headed for the living room to meet her.
“ Ay, I was afraid of that,” he said when she came out of the office fully clothed. “I was hoping you would leave the jeans off a little longer.”
Her lips curved into that Mona Lisa smile of hers that made him feel like she could see into his brain. “You were just hoping to tempt me back into bed.” She feathered her fingertips over his tattoo, leaving a trail of heat.
“Your jeans are not an obstacle to that, you know.” He leaned down to flick his tongue at the base of her throat.
She gave a little hiss of pleasure, and he pulled her hips against his hardening cock.
“No.” She stepped back to break his grip, but her eyes were lit with desire. “Got. To. Go. I’m not going to kiss you because… Well, you know why.”
“Wait! Will you spend tomorrow with me after meeting with Bertucci?” He gave her his most persuasive smile. “It’s my last day of vacation.”
Instead of smiling back, her eyes held shadows. “I… What would we do?”
“Get away from the palace,” he said because he needed a change of scenery, and she might relax more in a less formal environment. “I have a house of my own at the beach. We’ll go there.”
“The beach?” She looked away for a moment before turning back to him with a strained smile. “All right.”
“ Mi corazón, we can go somewhere else.” Did the beach remind her of her father’s death and her fear of the ocean? “Gabriel has a beautiful estate…”
“No, I’d like to see your house.” Her smile brightened as she swept her hand around his apartment. “I need to find out which style of décor is the real you.”
“All of it.” He wanted her to know this. “The ancient and the modern. I embrace them equally.”
He heard her suck in a sharp breath before she nodded. “Because you are the prince.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and bolted for the door.
Right. She didn’t like being reminded that he was the prince. But he couldn’t change who he was. Tomorrow, though, he would keep everything as low-key as possible. As little security as possible. As few staff as possible at the house. A simple menu. Just a day at the beach.
He slumped on his crutches, letting them dig into his armpits as emptiness echoed around him now that she was really, truly gone.
It worried him that she could affect him that way. He had known her for less than a week, and yet, he craved the sense of ease her presence gave him.
He pivoted and dropped into the nearest chair, calculating how many hours it would be before he saw her again. His family would distract him for part of that time, but the night would stretch long and desolate without her in his bed.