“Even short-circuiting, you pegged me right in every way. I have no one, minha beleza. I’m totally free to worship you. As I will. From now on.”
Her eyes cleared at once. And she didn’t question his “from now on” statement the way she had when he’d proposed nightly meetings before. He was grateful because he no longer considered those enough. He now realized what it meant to want someone constantly in his life. It was how he wanted her.
He realized something else: What he saw in those enchanting eyes shouldn’t be there, according to logic and the too-limited time they’d had together. But it had been there from the start, was now a blaze that fired his blood, eradicated the cold in the recesses of his heart. Trust. Not limited to her belief in her safety with him, and not the kind he’d seen in his brothers’ eyes. This was unique. All hers. And all-out. In him.
Unable to wait to tell her how proud he felt to have it, he took her into the ballroom so they’d conclude this business with her boss and he could have her all to himself again.
A few feet in, it was as if he’d hit a force field head on. And...of course...what but that living storm he had for a partner would cause such a disruption?
Richard was striding toward them. He couldn’t wait to brag how right he’d been about Eliana. Not that he expected anything but castigation and scorn. With his brothers seemingly heartless, just like he’d thought he was before finding Eliana, Richard was the one who was truly merciless. As his friend zoomed closer, Rafael saw he wasn’t attempting to hide the demon believed to share his body. Not wanting Eliana to see him the first time with it manifested, he shot Richard a warning glance before turning to Eliana with a smile.
“Eliana, please meet my partner, Richard Graves.”
Temporarily distracted from searching for her boss, she graciously extended her hand toward Richard. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Graves.”
Richard didn’t take her hand, didn’t even look at her as he stepped toward Rafael and hissed, “I need a word—now.”
“Oh, please, go.” Eliana spooled away from him, flashing him an exquisite smile even when it was clear Richard’s incivility had rattled her. “I’ll go finish my own mission.”
Before he could stop her or tell Richard what he could do with his word, an erratic movement caught his eye. Ferreira. He was on a collision course with them.
Before any of them could move, Ferreira was pulling Eliana into his arms.
Aggression erupted, almost burst Rafael’s head.
He was her boss. And he was on hugging terms with her?
Then the words Ferreira kept saying as he clutched Eliana sank into his mind. Then exploded like depth charges.
“Ellie, a minha menina, você está bem.”
Ellie, my baby girl, you’re okay.
Rafael stared at the woman he’d lost his mind over, in the arms of the man he was here to destroy.
And everything crashed in place.
Eliana was Ferreira’s daughter.
Ellie wished it were true the ground split and swallowed people up. She could have used a vanishing act right now.
First, Rafael’s partner ignored her—after a split-second glance that had made her feel that if he ever got her alone, no one would ever find her again.
Then, just as she was trying to pretend to Rafael that his partner’s barely leashed aggression hadn’t knocked the breath out of her, her father pounced on her out of nowhere.
He was now squeezing her breath out. And swamping her in “baby girls,” something they’d agreed he’d never call her in public.
She’d taken the job with his agency over other positions only when he’d promised he’d never give her preferential treatment. But lately she’d been feeling she’d soon be forced to leave, even if she loved her job and was perfect for it. The moment they discovered her boss was her father, no one took her seriously. It was why she hadn’t told Rafael. She’d feared he’d reach the same conclusion everyone invariably did. She’d thought this particular bit of info could wait until he got to know her better.
Too late now. She’d been outed in the most embarrassing way. That taught her to get major stuff out of the way first. Not that she considered that major. Nothing about her was. It was Rafael who had the market cornered on humongous stuff.
Needing to see his reaction, she struggled to turn her head, but she was inescapably mashed into her father’s shoulder. All she could see in her compromised position was Richard Graves. He was striding out of the ballroom, without having that “word” he’d almost dragged Rafael away to have.
At least that reduced the awkwardness. He was one scary dude. She wouldn’t wish to meet him in a dark alley, with fewer than the three hundred people around. And Rafael at her side.
Then another thought hit her, pushing her dismay to the maximum.
What could Rafael possibly be thinking about what was happening right now?
“Daddy, oxygen alert.”
Her father lurched away at her choking protest, still holding her by the shoulders, his feverish eyes roving over her.
“Where have you been? I drove back to your apartment when I kept getting your voice mail, hoping you’d just fallen asleep. I went out of my mind with worry, banging on the door, knowing how lightly you sleep, thinking you’d fallen and injured yourself...until I remembered you gave me a key. I rushed in to find the place empty and your phone dead and hurried back here hoping you arrived but...”
“I’m so sorry you got so worried.” She raised her voice over the cacophony of the ball and his frantic reproach, feeling terrible. He’d done over four hours worth of driving. The whole time she’d been with Rafael. “I just got...uh...lost...”
Which was sort of true. She had for a while on the way, initially. Then she had, totally, in Rafael’s arms.
Before her father launched into another tirade, she turned him toward Rafael, who was looking at him as if he was some revolting life-form. Probably because he didn’t realize who he was. Or found his over-the-top agitation off-putting. Or both.
Wincing at the whole mess, she touched Rafael’s arm, feeling a pang at how absolutely vital he’d become to her, how even this simple touch, in this situation, sent her heart scattering its beats at his feet.
“Rafael, this is my father, Teobaldo Ferreira.”
Rafael’s gaze panned to her and her heart clapped so hard her breath snagged in her throat. There was something in his eyes, something...weird. As if he’d forgotten who she was. Which she had to be imagining. This must be how he looked as his formidable mind processed new situations and variables.
Seeming to gather his wits at last, and even clearly unsure who Rafael was, or unable to believe he was the same man he was desperate to do business with, her father extended his hand to him.
Rafael stared down at her father’s hand.
She winced. She knew he hadn’t wanted to make any contact with his candidates tonight, and her father was one. But right now, this wasn’t about business, but about a simple salute between her overprotective father, and Rafael—the man who’d just demolished the foundations of her existence.
She rose on tiptoe so her words were for his ears only. “Just say hi and leave. I’ll catch up with you.”
She tried to capture his gaze, to exchange the delight of anticipation of the night to come. Her heart fluttered at the heavy-lidded