Page 31 of Rio

By the time I walked back into the restaurant, I was shaking all over.I couldn’t think straight.Dex and Dani returned from the garden, smiling like nothing had happened.They asked where Rio had gone.I lied and told them called it an early night.They didn’t press.

We had brunch the next morning before their flight.Part of me—the stupid part—half-expected Rio to show up again.He didn’t.

And now, here I am, back at the office.Pretending to work.Staring at a file I’ve already read ten times but can’t absorb because all I see is him.All I feel is him.All I want is him.

The Blue Star Eco Resort case.

The more I dig into it, the more it infuriates me because I’ve seen this before.The permits.The land acquisition.The way the local voices have been buried under layers of corporate silence.It stinks of money and power and unchecked arrogance.The kind of case that calls to my soul.No wonder I can’t let it go.

Pierce wanted me to skim through it, but the NGO, the non-governmental organization in Belize, known as EcoGuardians, are expecting someone to fly out and do a legal review of the situation.Skimming through a file isn’t enough.

I head into Pierce’s office, ready for a fight, my sharp heels clicking against the wooden floor.It’s only when I step in to his office that I realize, too late, that I took off my cropped blazer and left it dangling my chair.Now I’m standing in front of him in my navy-blue sleeveless sheath dress which hugs my figure more closely than I feel comfortable with.I hug the EcoGuardians folder to my chest, like a shield.

“I’ve skimmed through this.They want someone to do a legal review of the site.”

He doesn’t seem to be listening.His attention is on my appearance, his gaze roving over me slowly.“Then you should go and do a legal review,” he says, his eyes finally lifting to meet mine.

This was not the answer I expected.“You wantmeto go?”This is a dream case, but I’m already working on the Santos arbitration and it’s highly billable, complex, and time-sensitive.Panic grips me at the thought that he might be flying out with me, and that’s the only reason why he’s pushing for me to do this.I’ll resign if that’s the case.

“They mentioned your name.”

“Who?”

“EcoGuardians want you, so I’m sending you.”

“Just me?”I ask, my breath hitching.

“You’re more than capable of handling this..”He adjusts the cuffs of his shirts.“You’re one of the firm’s brightest stars.Is it so wrong for me to let you sink your teeth into the kind of case that lights you up?”

I can’t believe my ears.

“You’re okay to let me go to Belize?”

“Yes.”

I almost float on air as I leave his office.Getting out of the shadows of men like Pierce, even if it’s only temporary, feels like I’m won a dream prize.But I’m not just escaping from him.I also need to get away from memories ofhim.

Rio Knight.

And Belize suddenly feels like an escape.

***

RIO

I never should’ve gone to Miami.

I made a mistake thinking I could talk things over with Raquel.Thinking I could fix things.But I’ve made things worse since that night when we collided again.

This woman is fire and thorns in a sexy dress, and I walked right into the thick of it, thinking I could handle her as easily as I can most women.

But Raquel is not a like most women, and she can’t be handled.She just is.She’s wild, and free.And as sharp as a pin.

I kissed her, and she kissed me back.It was everything I knew it would be.Hot, and feverish, and all consuming.I could come from just kissing her.No sex involved.Sure, I had to fist myself to release so that I could fall asleep, but Raquel’s face, her scent, the feel of her, everything I should be trying to forget, is now stronger than ever in my thoughts.

She and I, we’re like boxers in a ring, circling one another with wary eyes, throwing insults, joking and teasing, but deep down inside, we hunger for one another.It felt like her entire body missed me, because she seemed as desperate for it as I was.And after?She shoved me away like I was nothing.

I thought I was going to Miami to find answers and maybe get some closure, but what I got was no respite, and my head filled with thoughts of her more potent than ever.