Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
After handing the valet the keys to my rented convertible Aston Martin, my hand gravitates to the small of Raina’s back as though it was always meant to rest on that spot.
I guide her to the doors of the restaurant, still trying to calm my cock down from the salute it’s giving her, approving of how gorgeous she looks.
When she emerged from the hotel bathroom in a red silk cocktail dress with a back that dipped just above her waistline, I salivated at the sight. She paired it with strappy black heels that wind up her calves and left her hair in loose waves.
She is dressed to kill. I’m just not sure if her target is Javier or me.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asks for the third time in a fifteen minute span. “There’s still time for you to retreat.”
“We’re doing this,” I remind her again as I use the hand that ghosts her skin to lead her into the restaurant.
Sobrino de Botin is the oldest restaurant not only in Spain, but in the world, and as we enter the building, it’s like we’re transported back in time with the exposed stone walls and low lighting.
Candles top every table, and the place is packed, which is not only a testament to its history, but to the food.
Raina sucks in a sharp breath as her gaze falls upon who I presume is Javier, if his predatory smile and slow saunter over to us is any indication.
“Raina,” he greets through gritted teeth as he shifts his sight over to me. “I thought I mentioned our reservation was not large enough for your…guest.”
Guest my ass. You know exactly who I am.
Time to slip into my role of fiancé.
“You must be Javier,” I assert, removing my hand from Raina’s back to get closer to him before he can get close to her. Extending my hand, I pull him in with a cheerful clap on the back as he takes it. “So nice to finally meet you. I’m Luciano, Raina’s fi?—”
“Brother!” Raina exclaims as an older woman approaches with tears in her eyes.
I widen my smile. “Hello!” I overenthusiastically greet the woman who has just joined us.
“Hello, I am Javier’s mother, Alba. I am so pleased to meet you, Raina,” the woman says with perfect English, and I’m relieved I won’t have to pull out the Spanish I learned in high school to try to converse with the Moreno family. “And you brought your brother! So glad to meet you.”
“You as well, ma’am.” I charm her as I shake her hand. “I hope you don’t mind that I’ve accompanied my sister on this trip.” Releasing Alba’s hand, I subtly rest mine on Raina’s waist, and Javier’s gaze follows, just like I hoped it would.
“Not at all. I will just ask them to set another seat at the table,” Alba insists.
“That would be wonderful,” Raina interjects, taking a step forward so my hand falls away from her, landing at my side.
Taking her removal of my hand as an invitation, Javier reaches toward her and offers his arm so they can walk together to the table.
Her body language is reluctant, and the moment her hand touches his arm, he leans in for a kiss, which she dodges by turning her head at the last moment.
As his kiss lands on her cheek, she throws me a quick look and visibly deflates as they begin to walk, leaving me to trail behind.
When we arrive at our table in the back, the waitstaff is already reconfiguring it to include a space for me. The other dinner guests are introduced as Javier’s sister Isabella and her husband Raphael, as well as Javier’s uncle Elian and cousin Ruben.
I’m not surprised that the men look at me with scrutiny as I take my seat, pulling my napkin from the table and onto my lap as I do.
Raina sits beside me, and I waste no time sliding my hand under the table to squeeze her knee, reminding her I’m right by her side.
When I turned into this sap who actually gives a fuck, I have no idea. But all I know is I want to make sure this dinner goes off without a hitch and Raina is comfortable throughout it.
Just admit that you like her, you imbecile.
“So, Luciano, is it?” Elian asks with an air of arrogance. “What do you do?”
“I’m a lawyer,” I tell him with as much confidence as his ego leads him to believe he has. I don’t look away from Javier’s uncle, although I’m dying to see his reaction at learning my occupation.
“What type?”
“Defense attorney,” I lie easily. “And what do you do?”
“I own real estate.” He doesn’t continue his sentence; in fact, he then turns to his son beside him and engages him in conversation, closing the metaphorical door in my face, which is fine by me.
Through the rest of the dinner, I sit silently, taking in my surroundings while I eat and watch Raina interact with the people who, by all intents and purposes, are her in-laws.
She stays somewhere between playing a proper and borderline shy woman who I barely recognize and letting her true personality shine.
Mostly the latter comes out when she brings me into the conversation and we fall into friendly banter, but there are many times where she remembers mid-sentence that we’re supposed to be playing the role of brother and sister, and she fills her mouth with food instead of words.
“So, Javier,” I begin, taking a bite of my meal and chewing it politely before I continue. “How long have you known my sister?”
A snort compresses his lungs as a jolt of disbelief leaves his body.
Yes, I’m trying to make you look like an ass in front of your family.
“Mmm,” he hums, casually tilting his body toward Raina as he picks up the end of her hair with one hand, while wrapping his opposite arm around the back of her chair. “Around a year, am I correct, darling?”
Javier keeps his gaze on Raina as he lays on the doting husband charade thick. She looks uncomfortable, but still plays along.
Giving him a megawatt smile, she nods. “A little over.”
He looks at me from over her head, as though to tell me it’s my turn again, like we’re in a game of chess, both going after the queen. “A little over a lovely, blissful year.”
“Perhaps a bit of a lonely one, since she’s been at home for one hundred percent of it, no?” Lifting my iced water, I tip it in his direction.
Your move, Moreno.
Looking at her, his gaze softens as he drags his knuckles down her cheek and her neck until they reach her collarbone. “We’ve made it work, and every moment spent together has been serene. Isn’t that right, my love?”
Before Raina can answer, he leans down and kisses her gently.
Spots of white penetrate my vision as my anger level rises.
She stays in his embrace, but her body language screams that she’d rather be anywhere else. It takes an internal battle to remain calm and pretend to be her goddamn brother, but somehow I manage.
Seems as though he’s won this round.
The night continues effortlessly, but I can feel the tension between me and Raina grow. It’s charged and palpable, testing my patience.
Like magnets, we keep finding ways to touch each other. Slight brushes of the knees as one of us adjusts. A lingering squeeze on the leg. Glances that last for far too long.
During dessert, I finally crack.
Raina orders a chocolate mousse and watching her bring the delicate dessert to her mouth bite after bite has me stifling the world's largest groan. With every spoonful her blood-red lips close around, there’s a chance I might come in my pants.
My cock is painfully erect, pushing against my slacks as I white-knuckle grip the table beneath its tablecloth, to the point where I can’t stand not touching her any longer.
The exact opposite of the promise I made her in our hotel room.
Every ounce of self-control is gone, every sense of remaining professional around her is overtaken by the need to feel her skin.
Some promises are meant to be broken.
Scooting my chair closer to the table, I reach beneath it again and slide my hand up her leg, only stopping when I reach the valley between her thigh and her groin.
The heat from her core radiates in waves, and there’s a sharp intake of air as she practically chokes on a mouthful of mousse when my pinky brushes her thigh just below her panties.
It’s reckless and selfish, but as her head snaps to mine, I can see how much she craves my touch, too.
Ever so slightly, her leg widens in a silent display of permission, exposing more of herself to me beneath the table.
Her chest rises and falls as she tries to control herself from making any sort of noise or movement, her eyes threatening to flutter shut as my finger lightly caresses her center.
She chokes on a moan.
I don’t stop, not even when Javier’s mother engages me in conversation from across the table.
Maintaining eye contact with Alba, I keep her entertained and laughing with my made-up stories of times in the courtroom, while the back of my pinky finds Raina’s clit through the lace triangle that covers her.
Wetness seeps through, and I desperately wish I could plunge two fingers into her, just to feel her satiny arousal.
It isn’t until Raina’s body jolts that I stop, tearing my eyes away from Alba, to see what’s startled her.
She looks like she’s about to cry, and fury ignites within me when I see Javier’s hand pressed on the top of her thigh, caressing the silk of her dress. There’s a smirk on his face when I finally look up and see him looking every bit as angry as I feel.
But still, I maintain the upper hand and send my own smirk back, letting him watch as I pull my hand from between Raina’s thighs and rest my pinky on my lip—the same pinky smeared with her arousal—and rub it against it in a slow, drawn-out manner.
Thank God dinner is just about over, because all I want to do is rip him from his chair and pummel my fists into his face.
And I’m not a physical fighter. I prefer to kick someone’s ass with knowledge and the use of strong vocabulary.
With his eyes glued to mine, I dart my tongue out to consume the stickiness on my lips.
I’m hypnotized by the taste that blooms on my tongue and shut my eyes, once again straining to avoid coming on the spot.
She tastes like sin and salvation rolled into one, and I want nothing more than to spread her out on the bed later and eat her like she ate that dessert.
I reopen my eyes just in time to see Javier’s jaw flex in anger, steam practically pouring out from his ears as he realizes what I’m doing. My lips draw upward in a smile, and I know I just won this round.
Check fucking mate, asshole.
She’s mine.