12
Isa
Rafe's hand warmed my spine through the gauzy fabric of my sundress as he guided me down the street.
My feet hurt. The consequence of hours of walking through the streets of Dalt Vila. Exploring the citadel had been everything I’d dreamed it could be as my hands touched stones that had seen centuries of history.
Entire generations of people had touched those walls, the essence of their souls captured in the porous rock. It made me want to contribute my spirit to the collection, to be a part of something bigger than me for once.
But all good things came to an end, and Rafael guided me away from the citadel when the sun started to set and the growl of my stomach echoed through the space. We made our way back down the paths to the lower part of the walled-in city, and Rafe guided me over to the edge. Leaning over the wall, I looked down at the cliff side where the blue water darkened as the sun went down. His lips touched the side of my neck as I bit my lip, suppressing the urge to moan.
Despite my exhaustion, my body came to life with even the slightest touch from him.
"Thank you for today. It was..." I paused, spinning to look up at his breathtaking face. It scared me to realize that I'd rather spend all my remaining time in Ibiza looking at him than looking at the ocean or watching the sunset. "Everything," I finished with a tiny shake of my head as emotion formed a lump in my throat.
He rested a single hand on my waist, the other cupping my cheek as he surrounded me. Was it so normal for men to bethisphysically affectionate? It seemed like he was always touching me, always claiming my body as his through a caress or staring into my soul through his remarkable eyes.
"You deserve everything," Rafe murmured, touching his lips to mine in the soft sweep of a caress. The hand at my waist slid down, grasping me around the back of the thigh and lifting while I squealed into his mouth. He deposited me on top of the edge of the wall, where I clung to him desperately as fear settled over me, and I pulled my lips from his.
I looked over the edge, panicking when I saw the water below me and the distance I would fall.
"I want to get down." I pushed closer to his body, trying to find a way down as he spread my legs and slid between them quickly. The terror was so strong that I never even noticed the people walking by and staring at the inappropriate position.
"I won't ever let you fall,mi princesa," he said, holding me firmly. "Fear can bring you to life." I shook my head, glancing back at the water once more as my lungs heaved with the rising panic attack.
I couldn't.
Anythingbut the water.
He yanked me tighter against him, bending his head to capture my lips with his as he held me still. I melted into him despite myself, desire mounting alongside my terror as I opened my mouth to his and our tongues met in a fierce tangle of passion. I hated him at that moment, wanted nothing more than to punish him for using my fear against me. Even though there was no way for him to know about the accident or the fact that I was terrified of water, my rage drove me higher and higher.
His hand slipped between our bodies, shoving my dress out of his way so he could slide it inside my white lace underwear and touch me. "Not here," I gasped into his mouth, but I couldn't stop him. Trapped between him and the water at my back, there was no escape from the onslaught of sensation he built inside of me. He worked in tandem with the adrenaline coursing through my veins, working my clit with his thumb as he pressed a finger inside and stroked that spot within me that made my legs twitch around him. "Rafe," I warned. His wicked touch distracted me from the worst of my fear, the harshness of my breath shifting from terror to desire while he finished me.
He yanked my head closer, swallowing the cry of my orgasm with the pressure of his lips on mine as I convulsed around him in my strongest orgasm yet. When I finally crumbled down from the white hot high, I slapped his chest in reprimand and pinched him until he stepped back and slid me down carefully.
"You asshole! I could have died!" I looked back over my shoulder, glaring at the offending water as I resisted the urge to cry. Even my fear hadn't prevented me from coming undone with his touch. It had driven me higher and higher.
He grabbed my face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs under my eyes as he stared at me as if he could will me to understand one simple truth.
"Never."
My heart pounded. The aggression in his stare as he watched me took me off guard, and I softened in his grip.
There was something dancing in his eyes, and I didn't think I'd ever understand it as he held me still and leaned in and captured my lips with his. The brand of his touch echoed through me, lighting me on fire despite the heat of desire only a moment before.
When he pulled away and took my hand to guide me down the street, I realized something particularly strange that hadn't been true when he’d sat me on the ledge.
There wasn't another person in sight.
* * *
My steps were wobbly as he guided me toward a little restaurant with outdoor dining roped off in the middle of the street. The sun had set fully while we had our moment overlooking the ocean, and stars lit the sky, and the shops kept the outdoor lights to a minimum to help reduce light pollution.
Never in my life had I seen so many stars or a moon so bright before coming to Ibiza.
He spoke in Spanish to the hostess at the restaurant, and she guided us to a table at the edge of the roped-off section. Moving to pull out my chair for me, he pushed me in as soon as my butt hit the chair. Tucking me up to the table while the hostess hurried off, he took his own seat across from me. Our server was with us as soon as he did, pouring ice water into glasses and setting them on the table while I reached over and snatched up my own to suck back greedy gulps. I'd been thirsty even before Rafe tormented me, so after he'd finished with me, I felt like a desert.
Rafe rattled off a list in Spanish without even glancing at the menu, shocking me as he ordered for me. It seemed presumptuous when he'd met me the night before, but I also didn't feel like dealing with the complications of choosing my meal with him. Knowing he'd be continuing to pay for everything we did together shouldn't have bothered me in the slightest, considering he couldclearlyafford it and I couldn't.