Page 62 of Rio

“You’re not the first person who’s said that.”He sighs.Swipes a hand across his neck again.“I can take you to my hotel, if it would help.I’ve got the Jeep, and we’ll be there in a few minutes.You’ll be able to get your work done.You’ll die here.”

“You’re worried about my health and safety all of a sudden?”

He opens his mouth, a strange expression in his eyes.I chuckle, more to fill the silence, than anything else.I’m starting to feel uneasy at what he might say.“I thought you might have orchestrated the generator failure,” I add.“Just like you did the surprise meeting at the restaurant in Miami.”

He gasps.Blinking furiously.“You think I’m that manipulative?You think me and my brothers control people and events for our benefit?”

“You said you like being in control.”

He looks away.“Ofmylife.I don’t want to control others.”

I feel like I’ve touched a sore point, so I stay silent, watching him.

“You still have no idea of who I am,” he murmurs.

A moment passes.

“I’m not here on a vacation—” I start to say.

“Neither am I.”

“I have to work.I have lots to do.”

“My suite is a lot nicer.It’s cool, and big, and I promise not to strip off and lie on the bed waiting for you.”His cocky charm is back, and that veil of sadness I just saw slips away.

Something about his words sets me on fire again.I’m melting in this heat.I’m sweating, exhausted, feeling gross and agitated.Having access to AC and working Wi-Fi is too good an opportunity to pass up, even if it’s the devil offering me those things.Before I know it, I’m gathering my belongings and my laptop and following him outside to his Jeep.

We drive in silence broken only by the sound of the cicadas chirping.The sun dips below the trees, and night falls fast.I hate that I’ve already wasted so much time and I’m going to be up all night.

A déjà vu moment of São Paulo suddenly flashes through my mind and I see Rio in his boxers.Histentedboxers.If I’d have joined him in bed, we would have ended up ...

I force myself to focus on something else.How ridiculous is it that soon I’ll be in his hotel room, prepping an injunction he doesn’t even know is coming?

When he opens the door to his suite, I step in then stop dead in my tracks, my mouth hanging open.“Meu Deus,” I whisper.“This place is enormous.It’sgorgeous.”

“Glad you like it.Make yourself at home.”

Chapter 18

RIO

I open the door wide and let Raquel pass through.She walks in, looking uncertain, her skin dewy, her vest sticking to her like a second skin, making it impossible to not think about what’s underneath.

She looks way too sexy and desirable in her frayed denim shorts.I already know that this evening is going to be trouble.It’s going to be torture and I’ll willingly endure it because there’s something about this woman that makes it impossible for me to walk away.

“I’ll only need an hour, if that.”She drops her laptop bag on the sofa as she surveys my suite.

She kicks off her sneakers, then starts untying her bun, and long, wavy hair cascades down her back like a waterfall.

“No need to strip on my behalf, princesa.You’re here to work, remember?”I can’t help but grin.She’s ice cold and professional in front of people, and she was in her element at the community hall, doing what she does best.But now, here, just me and her, she softens, like she did last night at the lagoon.That’s the real Raquel, without her high walls and armor wrapped around her like a defense shield.

“It’s hot,” she says.I turn the AC up to max.

“If you need to shower, knock yourself out.”I gesture in the direction of my glass-walled, slate-tiled and oversized walk-in shower.

She bunches her hair back into a bun.“This isn’t that night, Knight.”

“It can be anything you want, princesa.”I raise a brow, watching her.She’s perfection, she’s everything, and she’s here.I wish we could quit this pretence and admit how we feel, instead of dancing around one another, treading water like we did in the lagoon.I wish we could get down and dirty in the trenches.Fuck like feral animals.