26
Isa
Isat up in bed slowly, in spite of the urgency in my veins to try to keep from waking Rafael. As the moonlight shone through the windows, I turned to look at his sleeping face over my shoulder. With his face relaxed and peaceful, I could almost forget the cold cruelty he'd shown me the night before. I could almost forget the empty look in his eyes as he came into the room, and the suspicion in his gaze when he’d suspected me of leaving.
But the ache between my legs from his rough possession served as the reminder I needed, compelling me to stand and move into the closet as quickly and quietly as I could. I pulled a casual dress out of my suitcase, tugging underwear up my legs and slipping sandals on my feet as I quietly shoved everything else back in.
Maybe it was better this way. With our romance cut short by me slipping away in the night, there would be no heartfelt goodbye. He wouldn’t be subjected to my tears, because I needed to run away from a murderer.
I'd never have to wonder why he didn't ask me to stay and then berate myself for the foolish thought. I could just slip out and remain the mysterious woman who’d left him in the night. I scoffed as soon as I thought it, knowing that the only secretive thing about me wasn't a sexy secret, but one that had shattered everything I'd ever loved and destroyed my family.
Even if I'd been able to without fear of what he might do, I couldn't bear to say goodbye to him. I couldn't stand to face him when I walked out of the suite I'd called home for the best days of my life. I'd never expected to meet anyone when I came to Ibiza. I'd never thought that I would find a person who made me want to feel the things I'd been missing in my life.
Rafe had shown me passion. He'd taught me what it was to embrace who I was and be comfortable in my own skin. No matter what he'd done to drive me away, I didn't think I would change him for anything.
I didn't think I could erase him from my memory, even suspecting what he might have done.
Even if the idea of not waking up to him in the morning made my heart hurt.
I considered leaving my suitcase, worried about the noise it would make when I pulled it through the bedroom.
"Are you going somewhere, Princesa?" The deep rumble of his voice sent my pulse racing, echoing through the silence between us as I spun to stare at his flawless face in shock. The words were a direct reflection of what he'd said the night before, and I remembered my response as I swallowed. The fear I'd felt rose to the surface again, threatening to make me abandon my escape attempt altogether. Only the seriousness of Chloe's accusation kept me from coming up with some inane excuse.
I couldn't back away from the truth a second time.
His mismatched eyes bore down into mine, the deep forest green of his right eye seeming so dark as his narrowed gaze dropped to the zipped suitcase at my feet. The light blue of his left eye turned positively glacial as he drew his stare back up to my face.
He invaded my space as he stepped closer, pressing his nude front against me without care. He'd never shown restraint or discomfort in his nudity, but the obviousness of me sneaking out in the middle of the night should have been reason enough for him to put on some pants.
Evidently not.
I swallowed, ignoring the firm press of his length against my belly in favor of returning his stare. One of his hands reached out to stroke my cheek with the back of his knuckle as his thumb stroked the skin under my eye. He raised a brow at me, waiting for my answer as I fumbled to find an excuse. I couldn't bring myself to lie outright, to create a fabricated story about my family.
If Chloe was somehow wrong, I would feel terrible for the deception. For giving voice to any of the fears I had about leaving my family behind with a lie.
"Chloe needs me." My voice left me in a ragged whisper as the almost-lie caught in my throat. All the intensity he leveled me with did nothing to soothe my frayed nerves or the terror pulsing through my veins. His singular fixation had always been jarring, but in the aftermath of the night before, all that I saw when I looked up at him was darkness.
The darkness in his soul. The darkness in mine.
"And you weren't going to say goodbye?" he asked, something odd in his tone as he tilted his head at me. His lips tightened as they pressed into a firm line, his nostrils flaring briefly before he wiped all traces of anger from his face and smiled at me. It wasn't unkind, exactly.
It stung like disappointment.
"I didn't," I paused, fighting back the tears that threatened, spurred on by the onslaught of emotions wreaking havoc on my body. The fear. The loss.
The grief over losing my first love.
"I didn't want to cry," I admitted, tilting my face down. "But I guess that's unavoidable now." I huffed out a brittle laugh, eyeing the empty smile on his face in suspicion.
God, what if Chloe was wrong?
He bit his bottom lip, turning to stare in the direction of the door on the other side of the suite briefly before he glanced back at me with tormented eyes. "I'll give you a ride. Come back when Chloe is in a better place," he suggested.
My breath caught in my lungs as he offered me the chance to get the answers I needed from Chloe without saying goodbye to him. But the splitting of my soul in two that I felt as I prepared to leave him told me everything I needed to know.
I'd never be able to say goodbye twice.
"Thank you for being so good to me, but I think," I paused, sucking back a fortifying breath. "I think it's time for me to go. There's only a few days before I go home."