Page 7 of Rio (Knight Empire #3)

RAQUEL

It’s hard trying to concentrate on my work. It’s too complex. Requires too much of my focus, and that’s the last thing I have.

I glance over at my bed where Rio is lying. A fine figure of a man awaits me in my bed and a shiver runs through me just gaping at him like the horny teenager I become around him. He’s got his earbuds in. Said he’s listening to music while I work.

Eyes closed and shirtless, he’s wearing only his boxers. He didn’t need to take them off but, if only he had.

Heat coils low in my belly as my gaze inches over the hard, sculpted lines of his body, his wide chest, the mix of muscle, heat and pure masculinity on display. When I see his strained boxer briefs, my thighs clench, and my pulse races into overdrive.

Must be painful.

I could take care of that.

I would love to take care of that.

Pressing my thighs tighter together, I drag my gaze back to my desk and to the report in front of me. My body slumps with dismay. I need to finish this tonight but the kiss we shared, has left me feeling hot and sticky. I’m lit up like a firework ready to explode.

It’s still not too late and caution has flown out of the window. Rio is a Knight, and Dani just married a Knight. They can’t all be bad, can they?

I shake my head, losing this battle and get back to the report. The quicker I get this done... maybe, maybe we can continue from where we left off.

Although, glancing at my watch, I see that we don’t have much time.

***

I yawn. It’s only when I next look at my watch I realize hours have passed.

I stop typing, pinch the space between my brows where the tension builds.

I’ve had enough. Closing my laptop, I get up and have a good stretch, then walk over to the bed. Rio’s lying sprawled out, the tiny white AirPods case tossed on the nightstand beside him. My gaze naturally falls to his crotch and I can see that his boner has abated.

Pity . I was so tempted to see him. To see all of him.

To have him. To be with him. He looks so peaceful, and irresistible.

When he peeled off his shirt, I tried not to gawk.

Tried not to let my eyes linger too long.

Tried not to let him see the way he was affecting me.

But now, I take my sweet time, my gaze inching over every ridge and valley of him, the taut lines of his abs, the curve of his waist, the deep grooves where muscle meets bone.

Every inch of him is sculped and real, and mine for the taking.

I don’t want to wake him up, and yet I should, because the night is not quite over.

But it would be cruel. It was a long day, what with the wedding and reception, and I’m exhausted.

Rio must be as well.

I didn’t tell him I had an early morning flight and now I only have a few hours. I’m too tired to try anything. So I decide to let him sleep and take a shower. If he hears the water running and wakes up, well and good.

And if he doesn’t, I’ll catch some sleep, then slip away in the early hours and fly back to Miami without waking the sleeping prince.

***

RIO

My eyes snap open, and I stare at the ceiling. It’s a different ceiling. Then I remember where I am.

In S?o Paulo. Then I remember where I am. In Raquel’s hotel room. I bolt upright in bed and look around. My phone is beside me, and my earbuds in their case. The space next to me is untouched.

No sign of Raquel.

“Raquel?” I leap out of bed, and walk around.

The room looks tidy. Too tidy. The balcony doors are closed. There’s nothing on the desk. No laptop, no legal yellow pad, no pens. Just a few sheets of scrap. The clock blinks 12:00, and my stomach twists, not with dread, but with sharp, rising anger.

“Raquel?” I quickly check the bathroom.

Empty.

I open the closets.

Empty.

There’s not even her makeup, lotions and perfume on the countertop in the bathroom. I swipe a hand through my hair. So, she upped and left without waking me, huh? I check my phone, but there are no messages. She slipped away quietly, but how the hell did I not hear a thing?

Then I notice the time.

Fuck.

It’s noon. I’m supposed to be at Dani’s parents’ house for a breakfast brunch, but I’m already late. Maybe that’s where Raquel is? Surely she wouldn’t go without me? She would’ve woken me up.

I walk over to the desk again, and look at the papers scattered on it. It’s her itinerary. She’s already on a plane out of S?o Paulo. There’s a sheet ripped in two. I piece it together and read the letterhead. Tovey & Roth. A law company in Miami. I assume this is who she works for.

Oh, well.

I flop back onto the bed, a wave of disappointment washing over me. What a night it would have been. The sizzling chemistry, the strip poker game, the kiss we shared on the balcony. We were supposed to carry on from that but it’s over.

She missed out. Poor princesa.

She feels something for me. She knows I feel something for her. She’s different. Not shy. Not in awe of me. She’s defiant and headstrong, and special.

I don’t gush about women, and I don’t dwell on them either. Never have. But Raquel. Hell. She’s been in my head since that first drink we shared as strangers. One evening. One conversation, and she’s still there, taking up space I never meant to give.

Maybe I’m lonely and in need of company, and that’s why she’s consuming so much of my head space. I don’t do hookups like Dex. I don’t want just sex. I want something deeper. Something meaningful. Something real.

I’m not talking long-term, particularly, and while I don’t have one-night stands, I want something more. Something fulfilling. I’ve never yet gotten too close or too attached to form anything real.

Or lasting.

And lately, I’ve been more closed off than usual when it comes to relationships. I’m not the type of guy to flit from woman to woman. I prefer to take my time and I like to choose my partners carefully.

We need to fit. It’s not just about sex.

There has to be trust, honesty, and understanding.

The things that are important, for her, for me, for us , these things take time.

I wasn’t looking for anyone when Raquel swept into my life like the hurricane that she is, wild and free, ripping through my indifference and rearranging my carefully guarded persona.

Now she’s left me, all twisted up and standing in the wreckage, wondering how I ever lived in calmer weather.

Even Dex knows something is off, but I’ve not talked about Raquel before, and I sure as hell won’t be saying anything now.

What is there to say? That dude is busy with Dani.

Good luck to him and that marriage of convenience.

No idea how he’s going to pull that off.

He likes sex, loves his hookups, and I can’t see how he’s going to survive a month, let alone a year, living like a monk with Dani floating around his apartment.

Dani caught my eye that night the old man lured my brothers and I into a soiree. I’m ashamed of myself when I think back to how awe-struck I was. Even before that, when I sneaked Dani’s photograph out of the old man’s apartment, and had it in my place.

Only for Dex to find it.

I shake my head just thinking about how pathetic I was.

I quickly forgot about Dani when I realized there was no chase.

It’s Raquel who piques my interest in a way I don’t fully understand.

Her telling me about her childhood, and not knowing who her father was, and growing up in a favela—that’s all sorts of interesting.

I now have a better idea of who she is, and I want to know more about her than ever.

Me and her getting together? We’d set the bed on fire. But instead, I’m now lying here, pissed off by her sudden disappearance. That’s never happened to me before. If I’m in a room with a woman, sex is what happens.

Raquel’s worth chasing, for sure, and the horny devil I’m feeling right now, I’m in the mood to catch her. She can’t stay hidden for long. Her bestie has just married my brother and this gives me hope.

I reach down behind, me, and pull out the panties she’d taken off. Bringing the flimsy, teensy black strip of fabric to my nose, I take a deep inhale.

At once, she’s there, her heady strong perfume making every cell in my body dance in readiness. My cock stands thick, and dripping. With her panties wrapped around my hand, I reach down and give it a gentle tug.