His eyes very rarely left me, his stare probing and intense in a way I'd never experienced. If he was a businessman, I imagined it served him well as an intimidation tactic. With me, it convinced me to take my clothes off and give him things I had no right to give.
"Nine days. I fly home early on the twenty-fifth," I said, taking another bite of omelet.
"Your plans?" He didn't eat, too focused on watching me. It made me stop eating myself, feeling unnerved by the conversation for reasons I couldn't explain. It was innocent enough. Small talk, really. But something about his stare felt meaningful, like we stood at a precipice and there would be no going back.
"Some sightseeing. The beach. I'm sure my friends will drag me to some clubs," I said with a shrug.
He reached across the corner of the table, catching my chin between his fingers and leaning close as he rested his elbow on the surface. "Do you really want to spend your time in the typical tourist attractions and parties where you can't take a breath without someone bumping into you? Or do you want me to show you the real Ibiza? The Ibiza I love?"
"What, for nine days?" I asked with a laugh. "Why would you want to do that?"
There was a pause before his answer, his forehead creasing as he huffed a disbelieving breath. "I enjoy being with you. Is that so wrong?"
"You barely know me," I pointed out, ever the pessimist. He'd likely tire of my more reserved behavior and wish he'd chosen someone more adventurous to spend his time with than me.
"I'd like to remedy that," he said. I crossed my legs, leaning back from his touch while his fingers snapped together once I removed my chin. He scowled at the distance between us, leaning back in his chair. "It's your decision, Princesa," he said carefully with a soft voice. His cell vibrated on the table, and he turned a glare to it before heaving a sigh. "I need to take this. Make the right choice," he said, standing from the table and making his way out onto the balcony that wrapped around the suite as he answered and barked orders in Spanish. He pulled the glass panels closed behind him, cutting off his voice as I stared at him in shock.
Nine days with a man who tempted all the parts of me I should push back into the cage. Ten days with a man who could show me everything.
He could show me places I'd only ever dreamed of seeing, teach me things I'd never be brave enough to ask for back home.
I should have listened to the warning in my head. The nagging sense that I'd never want to leave when he finished with me.
I didn't.
9 Rafael
"Qué?" I asked, my blood boiling as Javier, one of my men working security at the hotel, spoke on the other end of the line.
"One of our guys spotted Pavel’s errand boy lurking in the lobby and at the pool area. He appears to be waiting for something, presumably you, since you haven't come downstairs yet today," Javier said. "How would you like me to handle it?" he asked, rattling off the words in Spanish quickly.
"Don't. I'll handle this." I'd given explicit instructions that I was to be undisturbed during my time with mi princesa, and only the morning after procuring her, I had to deal with an overzealous Russian pig who needed to have been euthanized a decade prior.
"What of mi reina?" he asked.
"She's to remain in the penthouse," I said. "Is he still in the lobby?"
"Yes," Javier answered. Not needing to know anything more, I accepted the unfortunate reality that I'd need to spend a little time away from Isa in order to clear up the rest of our day. Ending the call, I walked back into the suite with my phone in hand. Isa hadn't moved since I’d left her, deep in thought as she considered my proposition. The sudden urge to say fuck it all and drag her to El Infierno kicking and screaming threatened my patience, brought to the surface by her indecision.
What was so horrible about spending nine days in paradise with me?
"I need to run downstairs to deal with some unexpected business," I said, trying to keep the bite from my tone. "Stay here until I get back." I turned, making my way for the bedroom, and she pushed her chair back suddenly to follow me. Her skin whispered in my shirt as it brushed against her bare thigh, that scar taunting me.
There was something I didn't know about my Isa, and the thought unsettled me far more than was normal. "Maybe I should go see my friends. Talk to them about your offer. I don't want them to worry," she said, toying with the end of the sleeve nervously.
"You'll stay here until I get back. I promise to be quick." I stripped my shorts off while she watched nervously, pulling trousers off a hanger and stepping into them with hurried movements. "If you still want to leave when I get back, then I'll take you home."
Her brow furrowed at the odd choice of words. Everyone knew that a hotel would never be home. She’d never know that I didn't mean her hotel. If she didn't want to spend more time with me, I wouldn't let her go.
I'd take her to El Infierno and never let her leave.
"I don't know that I'm comfortable being here alone," she said, glancing around the room. I sighed, understanding that she was largely put off by the luxury. Isa would have been far more comfortable in an average hotel room, not the penthouse of the finest hotel in Ibiza Town.
"I'll be back before you know
