A Touch of Notoriety(44)
‘I just need you to be very sure—’
‘I’ve said that I am!’ Her eyes flashed darkly in warning.
He studied her intently for several long seconds before nodding abruptly. ‘Very well. I have finished eating, if you have.’ He ignored their half-eaten meals as he picked up the door key and stood up before moving round the table in preparation for pulling back Beth’s chair for her.
Beth’s heart was pounding so loudly in her chest, her hands shaking as she placed them on the table and rose determinedly to her feet, that she was sure Raphael must be able to hear, and see that trembling, as he waited for her to collect her bag. He took a light hold of her arm as he accompanied her out of the restaurant and through the bar area to the staircase leading up to the rooms above, Beth hoping he would attribute those things to arousal rather than the nervousness that now held her in its grip.
The nervousness was not of Raphael. Never of Raphael. Whatever dark and primal desires she might have released from beneath his usually coolly controlled façade, Beth knew that he would never hurt her. She knew instinctively that Raphael was a man who preferred—who enjoyed—giving pleasure to a woman rather than inflicting pain.
No, it was her own inexperience Beth felt nervous about, and as to whether or not she would be woman enough to sustain and keep the intensity of Raphael’s desire for her burning through the long hours of the night that lay ahead...
* * *
Raphael could feel Beth’s nervousness increasing as they began to ascend the staircase to the floor above, feeling the trembling of her stiffly tense body as his hand remained firmly about her arm, able to hear her shallowly drawn breaths, and see how those huge brown eyes dominated the pale delicacy of her face as she stared straight ahead rather than at him.
She might deny having any doubts about the night ahead, but her behaviour and appearance said otherwise.
Her nervousness continued as they paused in the hallway so that Raphael could unlock the door to their room. ‘I asked the landlord to give us the best room he has.’
Raphael glanced at her. ‘I believe a comfortable bed to be our only requirement...’
‘And an adjoining bathroom,’ she added tensely. ‘Which the landlord assures me this room has.’
‘Good,’ he clipped as he straightened before slowly turning the handle on the door to push it open, standing slightly to one side in the narrow hallway as he waited for Beth to precede him into a small bedroom. There was a low and dark-beamed ceiling overhead, the room like so many other hotel rooms, with its pink and cream chintz curtains and matching bedcover on the four-poster bed, the wallpaper and carpet in the same warm cream, several uninspiring paintings adorning the walls.
‘Would you like to use the bathroom first or shall I?’
Raphael looked across the room at Beth as she stood silhouetted in front of one of the two windows, the darkening night sky behind her making her hair appear more gold shades than ever, her face still ethereally pale, her fingers tortuously twisting the innocent shoulder strap of her bag the only other outward show of her inner nervousness. ‘You may go first,’ he replied smoothly. ‘I have several calls to make before I may call my time my own this evening.’
A frown appeared on her creamy brow. ‘Would one of those phone calls happen to be the one to Cesar?’
He quirked dark brows. ‘And if it is?’
Her breath hitched. ‘Is it a good idea for you to talk to Cesar now, in the knowledge that you intend to seduce his little sister immediately afterwards?’
Raphael’s mouth tightened. ‘I believe you stated earlier that it was your intention to seduce me?’
Yes, she had said that, hadn’t she? Beth acknowledged with an inner wince. And she hadn’t changed her mind about that. It was just that, now she was alone with Raphael in this small bedroom, with that four-poster bed only feet away, he seemed so—so physically immediate, his sheer masculinity seeming to suck all the air out of the room.
‘You’re going to tell Cesar about—about, the success, of our visit to Stopley today?’ She gave a pained frown.
Raphael gave a slight inclination of his head. ‘I have respected your wishes in regard to that so far, but I think it only fair that I now inform Cesar of what we have discovered today, yes.’
She breathed out deeply through her nose. ‘And no doubt he’ll then either turn up in London tomorrow, accompanied by Grace, or maybe just send the private jet over to pick us both up and take us back to Argentina?’