9
Rafael
"Qué?" I asked, my blood boiling as Javier, one of my men working security at the hotel, spoke on the other end of the line.
"One of our guys spotted Pavel’s errand boy lurking in the lobby and at the pool area. He appears to be waiting for something, presumably you, since you haven't come downstairs yet today," Javier said. "How would you like me to handle it?" he asked, rattling off the words in Spanish quickly.
"Don't. I'll handle this." I'd given explicit instructions that I was to be undisturbed during my time withmi princesa, and only the morning after procuring her, I had to deal with an overzealous Russian pig who needed to have been euthanized a decade prior.
"What ofmi reina?" he asked.
"She's to remain in the penthouse," I said. "Is he still in the lobby?"
"Yes," Javier answered. Not needing to know anything more, I accepted the unfortunate reality that I'd need to spend a little time away from Isa in order to clear up the rest of our day. Ending the call, I walked back into the suite with my phone in hand. Isa hadn't moved since I’d left her, deep in thought as she considered my proposition. The sudden urge to say fuck it all and drag her toEl Infiernokicking and screaming threatened my patience, brought to the surface by her indecision.
What was so horrible about spending nine days in paradise with me?
"I need to run downstairs to deal with some unexpected business," I said, trying to keep the bite from my tone. "Stay here until I get back." I turned, making my way for the bedroom, and she pushed her chair back suddenly to follow me. Her skin whispered in my shirt as it brushed against her bare thigh, that scar taunting me.
There was something I didn't know about my Isa, and the thought unsettled me far more than was normal. "Maybe I should go see my friends. Talk to them about your offer. I don't want them to worry," she said, toying with the end of the sleeve nervously.
"You'll stay here until I get back. I promise to be quick." I stripped my shorts off while she watched nervously, pulling trousers off a hanger and stepping into them with hurried movements. "If you still want to leave when I get back, then I'll take you home."
Her brow furrowed at the odd choice of words. Everyone knew that a hotel would never be home. She’d never know that I didn't mean her hotel. If she didn't want to spend more time with me, I wouldn't let her go.
I'd take her toEl Infiernoand never let her leave.
"I don't know that I'm comfortable being here alone," she said, glancing around the room. I sighed, understanding that she was largely put off by the luxury. Isa would have been far more comfortable in an average hotel room, not the penthouse of the finest hotel in Ibiza Town.
"I'll be back before you know it," I said, stepping into her space and cupping her cheeks in my hands. She melted beneath the touch, staring up at me like I could be her entire world.
I would be. If only she'd let me.
I leaned closer, kissing her slowly to remind her of everything she stood to walk away from if she left. My hands held her still, and I kept my lips soft as I worshiped her mouth.
It was the kind of kiss that could move mountains. The kind of kiss that changed futures. She sighed into me, her body going pliant as I stole the breath from her lungs and made it mine.
When I finally pulled back, she swayed on her feet. Reaching up a hand to touch her lips, she watched me finish dressing. "Stay here," I said firmly one last time after I'd finished dressing and made my way toward the door of the bedroom.
It killed me to leave her when all I wanted to do was hold her in my arms and show her why she was mine.
I had to settle for taking out my rage that it wasn't possible on the asshole who took me away from her.
I made my way into the elevator, jabbing the buttons with furious fingers to take me to the ground floor. Leaving Isa so soon made me wonder how I would ever tolerate being away from her again. Would it always make my skin pulse with the steady awareness that something was missing? Would the fact thatmi princesawasn’t in my arms where she belonged make everything else in my life but her a chore I merely had to complete so I could get back to her?
The elevator doors opened after it finished its descent. I stepped through them, scanning the lobby for the dead eyes that came with being a soul-sucking bastard loyal to a man like Pavel Kuznetsov. For the dead eyes that came with being a man like me.
A murderer. A dealer. A thief.
I found him sitting in a chair by the fireplace, flipping through a magazine absentmindedly as though he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to any of the hotel patrons going about their day in paradise. He sensed me when I stopped in the center of the lobby, his eyes looking up to meet mine. With my mask firmly in place, I gave nothing away as I nodded my head toward the doors that went to the staff areas and the kitchen at the back of the hotel.
I showed him the ultimate disrespect I could to a man in our position. I turned my back on the muscular fucker, pushing through the double doors and claiming the kitchen as my space. "¡Vete!" I ordered, keeping my voice low. Despite the clanking of pots, every eye in the kitchen turned to me, then they quickly made their way out of the kitchens.
The Russian followed, making his way through the crowd of staff escaping the confines of the kitchens. I turned to face him next to one of the stations where someone had been preparing to chop vegetables from the looks of things. He swallowed as he stepped into the empty room, his eyes meeting mine while the stony mask he wore faded in the face of a true opponent.
It was easy for men to pretend bravery when they had connections that gave them very little to fear. Pavel must not have cared for the man much to send him into my hotel against my wishes. "I believe I said I would meet with Pavel after I completed my business in Ibiza," I warned, tapping my fingers against the stainless steel work station thoughtfully.
He puffed up his chest, seeming to reinforce his pathetic attempt at being frightening at the mention of his boss's name. "Pavel is not happy to be put off so you can stick your dick in American pussy," he argued. My fury exploded into full-blown rage at the mention of Isa in such a manner. Even without her name, she was far too good to even exist in his world. "If you're so hard up for a sweet ass, I'm sure Pavel will be happy to sell you someone that suits."