His Ultimate Prize

Raven shied away from the probing thought and brought the car to a stop at the end of the driveway.

The wide solid glass door that led into the house swung open and Diego, one of the many staff Rafael employed to run his luxurious home, came down the steps to open her door. In silence, she handed him the car keys and turned to find Rafael rounding the bonnet. The sun glinting off the silver paint cast his face into sharp relief. Her breath snagged in her chest at the masculine, tortured beauty of him. She didn’t offer to assist him as he climbed the shallow steps into the house.

In the marble-floored hallway, he shrugged off his suit jacket, handed it to Diego and pulled his shirt tails impatiently from his trousers. At the glimpse of tanned golden flesh a pulse of heat shot through her belly. Sucking in a breath, she looked away, focusing on an abstract painting that took up one entire rectangular pillar in the hallway for an infinitesimal second before she glanced his away again, to find him shoving an agitated hand through his hair.

‘Do you need—?’ she started.

‘Unless I’m growing senile, today’s Sunday. Did we not agree we’d give the Florence Nightingale routine a rest on Sundays?’

Annoyance rose to mingle with her concern. ‘No, you came up with that decree. I never agreed to it.’

Handing his walking stick to a still-hovering Diego, he started to unbutton his shirt. ‘It’s a great thing I’m the boss then, isn’t it?’

Her mouth dried as several inches of stunning flesh assaulted her senses. When her brain started to short-circuit, she pulled her gaze away. ‘Undressing in the hallway, Rafael, really?’ She tried to inject as much indifference into her tone as possible but was aware her voice had become unhealthily screechy. ‘What do you think—that I’m going to run away in virginal outrage?’

His shameless grin didn’t hide the strain and tension beneath. ‘At twenty-four, I seriously doubt there’s anything virginal about you. No, mi dulzura, I’m hoping you’ll stay and cheer me on through my striptease.’

The sound that emerged from her throat made his grin widen. ‘Don’t you want to heal completely? That limp will not go away until you work hard to strengthen your core muscles and realign the bones that were damaged during the accident. If you’d just focus on that we can be rid of each other sooner rather than later.’

Although she thought she saw his shoulders stiffen as he turned to give his shirt to Diego, his grin was still in place when he faced her. ‘You’re under the impression that I want to be shot of you but you couldn’t be further from the truth. I want you right here with me every day.’

‘So I can be your whipping girl?’

‘I’ve never been a fan of whips, myself. Handcuffs, blindfolds, the odd paddle, certainly...but whips?’ He gave a mock shudder. ‘No, not my thing.’

His hand went to the top of his trousers. Deft fingers freed his button, followed by the loud, distinct sound of his zip lowering. She froze. Diego didn’t bat an eyelid. ‘For goodness’ sake, what are you doing, Rafael?’

He toed off his shoes and socks. ‘I thought it was obvious. I’m going for a swim. Care to join me?’

‘I...no, thank you.’ The way her temperature had shot up, she’d need a cold shower, not the sultry warmth of Rafael’s azure infinity pool. ‘But we’ll need to talk when you’re done. I’ll come and find you—’ She nearly choked when he dropped his trousers and stepped out of them. The way his designer cotton boxer shorts cupped his impressive man package made all oxygen flee from her lungs. Utterly captivated by the man whose sculpted body, even after the accident that had laid him flat for months, was still the best-looking she’d even seen or worked with, Raven could no more stop herself from staring than she could fly to the moon.

His thighs and legs bore scars from his accident, his calves solid powerful muscle that made the physio in her thrilled to be working with such a manly specimen. Dear Lord, even his feet were sexy, and she’d never been one to pay attention to feet unless they were directly related to her profession.

Helplessly, her gaze travelled back up, past his golden, sculpted chest and wide, athletic shoulders to collide with icy blue eyes.

‘My, my, if I didn’t enjoy it so much I’d be offended to be treated like a piece of meat.’

She snapped back to her senses to see Diego disappearing up the granite banister-less staircase leading to Rafael’s vast first floor suite. The click of his walking stick drew attention back to the man in question. One brow was raised in silent query.

‘What do you expect if you insist on making an exhibition of yourself?’

One step brought him within touching distance. ‘That’s the beauty of free will, querida. The ability to walk away when a situation displeases you.’

‘If I did that every time you attempted to rile me, I’d never get any work done and you’d still be in the pathetic shape I found you in five weeks ago.’

Another step. Raven breathed in and clenched her fists against the warm, wicked scent that assailed her senses.

‘You know what drew me to you when you first joined Team Esp?ritu?’ he breathed.

‘I’m sure you’re going to enlighten me.’

‘Your eyes flash with the deepest hypnotic fire when you’re all riled up but your body screams stay away. Even the most seductive woman can’t pull that off as easily as you can. I’m infinitely fascinated to know what happened to make you this way.’

‘Personal subjects are off the table. Besides, I thought you had me all worked out?’

His gaze dropped to her lips. She pressed them together to stop their insane tingling. ‘I know the general parameters of your inner angst. But I can’t help but feel there’s another layer, a deeper reason why you want me with every cell in your body but would chop off your hand before you would even bring yourself to touch me in any but a professional way.’

The ice that encased her soul came from so deep, so dark a place that she’d stopped trying to fathom the depths of it. ‘Enjoy your swim, Rafael. I’ll come by later to discuss the next steps of your regime.’

‘Of course, Mistress Raven. I look forward to the many and varied ways you intend to whip me into shape.’ With a step sideways that still managed to encroach on her body space and bring even more of his pulsing body heat slapping against her, he adjusted the walking stick and sauntered away in a slow, languid walk.

Hell, even a limping Rafael de Cervantes managed to move with a swagger that made her heart race. Tearing her traitorous gaze away from his tight butt, she hurried up the floating staircase to her room. Gritting her teeth against the firestorm of emotions that threatened to batter her to pieces, she changed into her workout gear. The simple act of donning the familiar attire calmed her jangling nerves.

But she couldn’t forget that, once again, Rafael had cut through the outer layer of her defences and almost struck bone, almost peeled back layers she didn’t want uncovered.

She pushed the niggling sensation away and shoved her feet into comfortable trainers. After a minute’s debate, she decided on the gym instead of her preferred outdoor regime. Even though the day was edging towards evening, the Spanish sun blazed far too hot for the gruelling exercise she needed to restore balance to her equilibrium.

She took the specially installed lift that divided her suite from Rafael’s to the sub-basement level where the state-of-the-art gym was located. It was the only room in the whole house that didn’t have an exhibitionist’s view to the outside.

Rafael’s house held no concrete walls, only thick glass interspersed with steel and chrome pillars. At first the feeling of exposure had preyed on her nerves, but now the beauty of the architecturally stunning design had won her over. Nevertheless, right this minute she was grateful for the enclosed space of the gym. Here she didn’t need to compose herself, didn’t need to hold back her punches as she slammed her gloved fist into the punching bag. Pain repeatedly shot up her arms, and gradually cleared her mind.

She was here to do her job. Which started and ended with helping Rafael heal properly and regain the utmost mobility. Once she achieved her aim and made peace with her part in his accident, she could walk away from the crazy, bone-deep, completely insane attraction she felt for the man who was in every shape and form the epitome of the man who’d fathered her.

The man whose playboy lifestyle had mattered to him on so deep a level he’d turned his back on his parental responsibilities until they’d been forced on him by the authorities. The same man who’d stood by and barely blinked while his friends had tried to put their hands on her.

Punch!

Her hand slipped. The bag continued its lethal trajectory towards her. Only her ingrained training made her sidestep the heavy-moving bag before it knocked her off her feet. Chest heaving, she tugged off the gloves and went to the climbing frame and chalked her hands.

Clamping her lids shut, she regulated her breathing and forced herself to focus.

Rafael would not derail her. She’d made a colossal mistake and vocalised her roiling disgust for his lifestyle at the most inappropriate moment. Whatever the papers had said, Raven knew deep down she was partly, if not wholly, responsible for putting Rafael in the dangerous frame of mind that had caused his accident. She also knew things could’ve turned out a million times worse than they had. This was her penance. She would help him get back on his feet. Then she would leave and get on with the rest of her life.

Reaching high, she grabbed the first handhold.

By the time she reached the top seven minutes later, her new course of action was clearly formulated.

* * *

‘I’ve laid out the itinerary for the next three months. If you cooperate, I’m confident I can get you back to full health and one hundred per cent mobility with little or no after-effects,’ she started crisply as she opened the door and entered Rafael’s study. She approached his desk, only to stop when she noticed his attention was caught on the papers strewn on his glass-topped desk.

‘I’m talking to you, Rafael.’

‘I heard you,’ he muttered, and held out his hand for the sheet without looking up. After a cursory glance, he started to shake his head. ‘This isn’t going to work.’ He slapped it down and picked up his own papers.

Raven waited a beat. When he didn’t look up, she fought a sharp retort. ‘May I ask why not?’

‘I have several events to host and meetings to attend between now and when the X1 season starts. Your itinerary requires that I stand still.’