I glanced at my phone on the coffee table, overcome with the sudden desire to know more information about the man I was sleeping with. I hadn't thought I wanted to know, not when knowing less about him made it easier to walk away. But I took the fact that I couldn't force myself to zip my suitcase and walk out as a sign that I'd passed that point.
Walking away from him would break something inside me, but I'd do it anyway.
Because that was the responsible thing to do. The smart choice was to go home to my quiet and safe life in Chicago. Taking risks and trusting the wrong people only got you one place in life.
Drowned in the Chicago River.
Swallowing back my anxiety, I lunged forward and snatched my phone off the table. Bringing up the web browser, I'd only typed the first three letters of his name into the search bar when the knock at the door made me jump and drop my phone to the coffee table with a thump. "Who is it?" I asked nervously.
"It's me," Rafe's deep voice said from the other side. I brushed a hand through my hair, moving to the door to pull it open. He stepped into the suite, invading my space instantly as the door closed behind him.
He moved into the living room area, pouring himself a shot of tequila from the bar while I gawked at him. Aside from the occasional glass of wine, I hadn't seen him drink.
He stepped closer to me once he slammed the glass back down on the counter, his breath smelling like the sharp bite of alcohol as it touched my cheek. He glanced down at the coffee table, furrowing his brow briefly before his eyes came back to mine. "Have you been looking into me?"
My breath caught in my throat as I looked down to my phone, the open browser sitting there with the undeniable start of his name already typed out. I snatched it up in my hands, closing the app and locking the screen quickly as my cheeks burned with embarrassment. Googling a man like Rafael seemed so arbitrary, especially when I was having sex with him.
Grasping my chin, he tilted my head up to look at his eyes as he took the phone from my hands and tossed it onto the couch. Unease slithered up my spine as his eyes glittered with something dangerous. "You shouldn't do that, mi princesa," he murmured.
"Why not?" My voice cracked with the quiet words, barely a whisper in the air between us.
"Perhaps you'll find answers you're not ready for," he said, gliding his thumb up to stroke over my cheek as I swallowed.
I tugged away from his grip, wanting distance between us. The man who stared back at me wasn't the same man who'd shown me around Ibiza. "I think maybe I should go," I said.
His eyes darkened more, his jaw clenching subtly as he watched me. There was a warning in that gaze. A warning I didn't have the information I needed to make the right choice. "Is that what you want? To go?"
I glanced over at the door, eyeing it as I struggled with my sense of flight and the desire to stay.
I didn't want to go back to reality. I didn't want to go back to being the girl who didn't feel anything. Tears stung my eyes as I considered my options. "You're scaring me, Rafael."
"You don't need to be scared, Princesa. What happens out there," he said, gesturing to the windows, "has nothing to do with what happens between us. I don’t want to hurt you," he added, stressing the final word as he stepped closer to me in my indecision, "but that doesn't mean I'm a good man. What you may find could change everything, and sometimes ignorance is bliss."
I swallowed, looking up at him as his hands wrapped around me and tugged me into his chest. "I thought you worked in investments."
"All businesses have rivals, Isa. People determined to tear me down for their own benefit. For now, all you need to know is that my business is something entirely separate from our relationship. Everything else will fall into place when the time comes."
I swallowed, nodding with uncertainty. I knew, without a doubt, that I should be running for the hills and the door. But something warned me it would be a terrible mistake, and I couldn't force my legs to move to do it.
"Am I in danger? From him? You sent me up to the room in such a rush, I can't help but feel like something is very wrong."
"He's an overzealous business associate who lacks boundaries. I've agreed to meet with him tomorrow so he will stop bothering me and then we can resume our plans. So long as you intend to stay," he said. I nodded my assent, unable to find the words, but knowing that walking out would be a mistake.
"Good," he said, chasing away some of the shadows with a smile. His hand came up to grab the back of my neck in a firm hold, touching his forehead to mine as he walked me back toward the bar in the corner.
There was a single press of his lips against mine. His eyes watched me for a reaction while he sighed into my mouth and nipped my bottom lip erotically.
"Are you still afraid, mi princesa?" he asked, his fingers grasping the hem of my dress and lifting until the cool air struck the bottom of my stomach.
I admitted the truth with an honesty I didn't want to give. "Yes," I said on a gasp.
"And what does fear do?" he whispered, leaning his head in to touch his lips to my throat and drag his teeth over the skin.
"It makes us feel alive." I echoed the words he'd given me when he pushed me past my limits.
