A Prize Beyond Jewels (14 page)

‘No, I did not,’ he conceded gruffly. ‘Because as I drove to the meeting point that night I realised that I could not do it. Because of you, Nina.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘Much as I wished to rid the world of such vermin as those men, I would then have had to pay for my crime, and so left you completely alone. And that I could not do,
maya doch
. I could not leave you without both your mother and your father.’

Tears blurred Nina’s vision as she wept silently.

Tears for the deep love her father felt for her, and which she returned.

Tears of joy because she now knew her suspicions all these years, regarding who had been responsible for her father’s accident, and the deaths of those three men, had been wrong.

Tears for the freedom that knowledge now gave her in her own life, allowing her to give her heart, her love, to the man she was already so deeply in love with.

It didn’t matter that Rafe would never return that love; it was enough that Nina could now allow herself, was finally free, to be with him for as long as he wanted her.

If he still wanted her?

Rafe felt a jolt in his chest as Nina turned to smile at him. A smile of such sweet, unadulterated joy that he had to blink as it made his own eyes sting with emotion.

But there was still one question Dmitri had left unanswered.

‘Why now, Dmitri?’ he prompted huskily as he turned to look at the other man. ‘Why did you decide now was the right time to tell Nina the truth about her mother?’

The older man smiled up at him sadly. ‘Why do you think, Rafe?’

Rafe looked at Dmitri searchingly, not sure, uncertain still—

But he could hope, couldn’t he?

Yes, he could certainly hope that this was Dmitri’s way of letting Nina go. Of allowing her to have her own life at last. Of allowing her to live. To love.

Because Dmitri had realised, already knew, that Rafe was in love with her.

‘I realise that you and Nina still have a lot to discuss, Dmitri.’ He spoke huskily to the older man while all the time turning to look at Nina. ‘But would you mind very much if I were to steal her away for a few hours? I very much doubt she’s bothered to eat very much the last two days, so I could feed her lunch at least,’ he added ruefully as he saw Nina’s puzzled glance.

‘I think that would be an excellent idea, Rafe.’ Dmitri nodded. ‘And Nina and I have the rest of our lives in which to talk more of all these things.’

‘Nina?’ Rafe prompted as he held his hand out to her, holding his breath as he waited for her response.

CHAPTER TWELVE

‘D
ID
YOU
NOTICE
that my father stopped Andy and Rich as they moved to follow us?’

Rafe glanced at Nina as she sat beside him in the passenger seat of his car, looking so vulnerable and young at that moment, her eyes slightly red from where she had cried earlier, her face completely bare of make-up.

‘I did, yes.’

‘It’s really going to be okay, isn’t it?’ she murmured shakily.

Rafe reached out to briefly squeeze her hand before returning his own hand to the steering wheel. ‘Yes, it’s really going to be okay.’

She relaxed back against the leather seat. ‘I’m sorry you had to listen to all of that.’

‘I didn’t have to do anything, Nina, I chose to do it,’ he corrected firmly. ‘And I think it’s time you stopped apologising. To me. To your father. Or to anyone else. Because you have absolutely nothing to apologise for.’ He glanced at her again, and saw the frown between those beautiful emerald-coloured eyes. ‘Do you have any idea how much I admire you right now?’

Rafe admired her?

It wasn’t exactly the return of her love that Nina longed for, she acknowledged ruefully, but it was high praise indeed coming from the enigmatic Rafe D’Angelo.

‘That’s nice,’ she accepted huskily.

‘Nice?’ he echoed dryly.

‘Very nice?’ She quirked a teasing brow, happier than she had ever been at this moment, just knowing there were no more misunderstandings, nothing left unsaid, between her and her father.

More importantly, she was with Rafe. The man she loved. A love that had grown deeper, even stronger, during this past hour as he gave her his strength to lean on.

Those chiselled lips twisted laughingly. ‘The first time I tell a woman I admire her, and all she can say is, “That’s nice,”’ he muttered disgustedly.

‘I did expand it to very nice,’ Nina reminded lightly, desperately trying not to read any more into his statement than Rafe actually meant. Because it would be all too easy for her to do exactly that, and the last thing Nina wanted to do was embarrass Rafe, or herself, by overreacting to his comment. ‘Isn’t admiration something you feel for talcum-powder-smelling maiden aunts?’

He frowned. ‘I don’t have any maiden aunts!’

‘That explains why you’ve never said it before, then.’ She nodded.

‘Exactly where are we going for lunch?’ She changed the subject to something less open to misunderstandings. Or hope, on her part, not Rafe’s.

Rafe bit back his feelings of impatience with Nina’s determination to keep their conversation lightly teasing.

He might have received Dmitri’s tacit approval just minutes ago, but it was too soon for Rafe to expect, to ask, for anything from Nina other than the physical attraction between them that she had never tried to deny. He sensed that was all Nina needed from him right now: to be able to lose herself in desire, passion and pleasure.

‘To the best restaurant in New York,’ he answered her lightly.

‘Am I dressed appropriately?’ She looked down uncertainly at the business suit she had worn to his office this morning. Like a suit of armour.

‘I thought we might go to my apartment. Do you think you’re dressed appropriately for there?’ Rafe prompted huskily.

Nina’s cheeks flushed a fiery red as she recalled that the last time she’d been in Rafe’s apartment she’d been completely naked! ‘I didn’t know you could cook?’

‘I can’t,’ he admitted unapologetically. ‘It will just be fruit and cheese, I’m afraid. It’s where we’re going to eat the food from that’s going to make it the best restaurant in town.’

The warmth deepened in her cheeks. ‘Would you care to enlighten me?’

‘Oh, I’d care to do a lot of things to and with you, Nina,’ Rafe assured huskily as he parked the car in the private underground parking beneath his apartment building, before turning in his seat to look at her. ‘First I want to strip you naked. Second I want to lay you down on my bed before arranging my lunch on selected parts of your delectable body. Thirdly I want to then taste, lick, nibble each tiny morsel of pleasure.’

‘Rafe!’ Nina gasped breathlessly, her heart leaping in her chest just thinking of the intimacies he’d described.

He reached up to release the clasp from her hair, allowing it to cascade loosely onto her shoulders and down her spine. ‘Too much?’ he prompted huskily.

Not enough! It would never be enough for her where Rafe was concerned.

But this, here and now, with Rafe, anticipating the lovemaking yet to come, was exactly what she needed after the last two emotionally traumatic days.

‘Do I get to eat my lunch in the same way?’

He quirked one dark brow. ‘Do you want to?’

‘Oh, yes,’ she breathed longingly.

Rafe nodded. ‘I’m starving for you,’ he murmured huskily, his golden gaze easily holding hers captive. ‘How about you?’

Nina moistened the softness of her lips before answering. ‘Ravenous.’

‘Thank God!’ he groaned his satisfaction with her answer before getting out of the car and moving quickly round to her side of the vehicle to open her door for her, taking a firm hold of her elbow as they crossed the car park to the lift.

The lift doors had barely closed behind them before Rafe took her in his arms and kissed her. Deeply, hungrily, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. As if it was her he wanted to eat and to hell with lunch!

They were still kissing greedily as they stepped out of the lift into Rafe’s apartment. Their lips locked together as they hurriedly threw off their clothes, moving erratically towards Rafe’s bedroom, clothes left scattered down the hallway, both of them completely naked by the time they fell on the bed together and they lost themselves in the pleasure of each other.

* * *

‘So much for lunch,’ Nina murmured a long time later, fingers toying with the damp vee of dark hair on Rafe’s muscled chest and abdomen as they lay entwined together between the silk sheets.

‘Oh, we’re still going to eat lunch, Nina,’ Rafe assured her huskily, his hair rakishly tousled as he moved up onto his elbow to look down at her, thoroughly enjoying seeing the satisfied glow in her eyes, the flush to her cheeks, her lips lush and full, and her hair a wild and silky red tangle. ‘I just—I needed you too much this first time to be able to take things slowly,’ he acknowledged gruffly.

Her eyes widened. ‘You did?’

‘I did,’ he admitted. ‘I wasn’t too rough with you, was I?’ He lightly caressed the dampness of her hair back from her temple.

‘Not at all.’ She smiled shyly. ‘Was I too rough with you?’

‘Not at all,’ Rafe echoed softly. ‘Nina—’ He broke off to chew uncertainly on his bottom lip.

‘Yes?’ she prompted curiously. The Rafe she knew and loved was never uncertain, always seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and why.

He drew in a deep and ragged breath. ‘I promised myself I wasn’t going to do this today, that you’ve had enough trauma for one day...’

Nina’s stomach tied up in tense knots as she looked up at him searchingly, as she wondered if the intensity of Rafe’s lovemaking just now hadn’t been because, for him, this was the end of their relationship.

If it was, then she would accept his decision, had no intention of making Rafe feel in the least guilty about ending their affair. He had been there for her this morning when she had needed him, so strong and so kind. He’d listened without judgement as her father talked of the past, and at the same time been totally supportive of her. So much so that the least Nina owed him was to make a dignified exit from his life, if that was what he wanted.

‘You don’t want to see me any more,’ she accepted lightly.

‘What?’ Rafe’s face tensed. His eyes had darkened to molten gold, his skin taut across the sharp blades of his cheekbones, nostrils flaring, his lips having compressed to a thin, uncompromising line.

‘It’s okay, Rafe.’ She touched his chest lightly, reassuringly, determined to remain strong. There would be plenty of time later for her to break down. As her heart was already breaking at the thought of not being with Rafe like this again. ‘I knew going into this that you don’t do long-term relationships. Or complications,’ she added ruefully. ‘And it seems that my life is just one shocking complication after another!’

Rafe scowled darkly. ‘You don’t want to be with me any more?’

‘You don’t want to be with me!’ she corrected emotionally.

‘I didn’t say that,’ he rasped harshly.

‘But...’ Nina frowned up at him. ‘It sounded as if you did.’

‘Absolutely not!’ Rafe threw back the bed sheet to climb restlessly out of bed, unconcerned by his nakedness as he began to pace the bedroom, at the same time as he ran an agitated hand through the unruly darkness of his hair. ‘The timing of this is all wrong,’ he muttered crossly.

‘The timing of what is all wrong?’ Nina looked completely baffled by his behaviour.

Rafe gave an impatient shake of his head. ‘You’re naturally upset, traumatised after learning your mother lived.’

‘Rafe, I’m fine,’ she cut in gently. ‘I really am,’ she assured huskily as Rafe stopped pacing long enough to look across the bedroom at her. ‘In fact, I’m better than I’ve ever been,’ she added ruefully as she also threw back the bed sheet and climbed out of bed. ‘I know the truth now, all of it. Don’t you see, Rafe, for the first time in years I feel free of the emotional baggage I’ve been carrying about with me for most of my life?’

‘Free to do what?’ Rafe prompted searchingly, trying his damnedest not to be distracted by the beauty of Nina’s nakedness. A battle he knew he was destined to lose as he became instantly aroused. For Nina. Only for Nina.

‘To live. To love,’ she added huskily as her gaze seemed drawn, as if by a magnet, to the physical evidence of Rafe’s rapidly lengthening arousal.

Rafe’s breath caught in his throat as he couldn’t look away from the provocation of seeing Nina’s little pink tongue sweep moistly across the plumpness of her bottom lip. As if in anticipation of licking him!

He wasn’t even aware of having stepped towards her until he realised he was now standing only inches away from her, not quite touching her, but wanting to. Dear God, how much he wanted to just take Nina in his arms and make love to her again, to keep her in his arms, in his bed, until she promised never to leave.

He swallowed before speaking. ‘I’m in love with you, Nina.’ He gruffly spoke the words he had never imagined he would ever say to any woman, but desperately needing to say them now, to Nina, more than he needed his next breath.

‘I love you.’ It was much easier saying it the second time, something seeming to lighten, to ease deep inside Rafe, a heaviness, a restraint, he hadn’t even known was there until it lifted.

‘I love you, Nina Palitov,’ he murmured again with satisfaction as he took her into his arms at last and curved the heat of his body against hers. ‘I love you, Nina. I love you. I love you!’ His voice rose joyfully as he announced his love for her over and over again, knowing he would never grow tired of saying it.

Nina stared up at Rafe wonderingly, almost afraid still to believe, to hope that he was saying these wonderful words to her when just seconds ago she had thought he was saying goodbye.

‘I love you too,’ she breathed softly. ‘I love you too, Rafe.’ She spoke more strongly now too as her hands moved up to rest on the warmth of his chest, allowing her to feel the wild beating of his heart beneath her fingertips.

Rafe’s arms tightened about her.

‘Marry me, Nina,’ he urged forcefully. ‘Marry me!’ His eyes blazed fiercely down into hers.

She stared up at him unblinkingly. ‘Raphael D’Angelo doesn’t do love and marriage.’

‘He didn’t do love and marriage,’ he corrected gruffly. ‘Until you. But you should know right now that I’m not going to settle for anything less when it comes to you.’ His arms tightened about her. ‘I want you for always, Nina. As my wife. As the mother of my babies. God, just thinking of you pregnant with our child makes me hard!’ he acknowledged huskily as his arousal surged against her. ‘I want a lifetime with you, Nina. Want to wake up beside you every morning, to have the freedom to be able to tell you how much I love you a dozen times a day!’

Nina gazed up at him wonderingly. ‘Yes, Rafe. Oh, yes, of course I’ll marry you!’ Her arms moved about his waist. ‘I love you so much. So very much, Rafe!’ She raised her face to meet the fierce possessiveness of his kiss.

The rest of the world drifted away, ceased to exist, as they revelled in the depth of the love they had found with and for each other.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from THE SHEIKH’S LAST SEDUCTION by Jennie Lucas.