A Prize Beyond Jewels (5 page)

Nina had contributed to the first three subjects, but American Football just made her want to yawn.

A reaction that made Rafe D’Angelo smile as he caught her in the obvious act of trying to stifle one of those yawns.

‘I believe we’re boring Nina, Dmitri,’ he drawled teasingly, obviously far more relaxed now than he had been when he’d first arrived.

‘
Doch
?’ Her father looked at her enquiringly.

‘I’m a little tired, that’s all,’ Nina assured with a smile.

‘It’s late.’ Rafe nodded. ‘Time I was leaving.’

‘Please don’t go on my account,’ Nina protested awkwardly. ‘It’s been a busy week, that’s all.’

‘No, I really should go now. I have work in the morning,’ he assured dismissively. ‘Perhaps I could escort you home, Nina?’ he added huskily.

She felt her heart beat faster, louder, at the thought of having the rakishly handsome Rafe D’Angelo escort her to her door, perhaps to even have him kiss her goodnight—

Obviously she had drunk far too much of her father’s excellent wine with her meal, because Rafe hadn’t so much as hinted this evening, by word or deed, that he was in the least interested in kissing her goodnight!

No, his offer to escort her home had obviously been made out of politeness, and possibly even as a sop to her father’s obviously old-fashioned manners.

‘That is very gentlemanly of you, Rafe.’ Surprisingly her father was the one to answer the other man before Nina had a chance to do so.

‘My daughter has become far too independent, after her years at university, for my liking.’

Rafe saw the flash of irritation in Nina’s eyes before it was quickly masked. As evidence that she didn’t particularly enjoy, or want, to have those bodyguards following her about day, and possibly night, too? He would well imagine it could feel extremely stifling, as well as being a complete downer on her personal life.

Which posed the question, did Nina have a man in that personal life? Rafe would imagine it would take a very determined man to date the daughter of Dmitri Palitov, let alone put up with the oppressive presence of those bodyguards every time the two of them went out together. And as for moving on to anything more intimate, well, it must be a logistical, and emotional, nightmare!

It also begged the question as to why Nina put up with it. She was a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties, obviously intelligent to have obtained a degree from Stanford, and her comments during the conversation this evening had been both learned and considered. She was also well qualified, and possessed a true talent for design, if those beautiful display cases in the east gallery at Archangel were an indication of her work, so why did she continue to allow her father to limit and watch her movements in the obsessive way that he did?

Another part of the unanswered mystery that Nina Palitov was fast becoming to him...

A mystery, the more time he spent in her company, Rafe found he wanted answers to.

‘Nina?’ he prompted huskily as he moved to stand behind her chair in preparation for leaving.

‘Fine,’ she bit out tensely. ‘I have no objection to your coming down to the next floor in the lift with me, and walking me to my apartment door, if that’s what you want to do.’

Rafe raised his brows. ‘You live in this building?’

‘Yes.’ Her eyes glittered bright with challenge as she looked up at him.

Well, that certainly explained her comment yesterday when Rafe had asked if she lived with her father.

‘I see,’ he said slowly.

Her mouth tightened. ‘Somehow I doubt that very much.’

‘Nina,’ her father put in reprovingly at the sharpness of her tone.

She closed her eyes briefly, drawing in two calming breaths before opening them again, her smile now one of stiff politeness. ‘Thank you, Rafe, I would appreciate your walking me to my door,’ she said tightly as he held her chair back for her to stand up, before she moved round the table to kiss her father warmly on the cheek. ‘I will see you tomorrow, Papa.’ Her voice softened noticeably.

‘As always,
maya doch
.’ He touched her cheek affectionately before turning to Rafe. ‘It has been a pleasure to meet and talk with you this evening, Rafe,’ he added formally.

‘You too, sir.’ Rafe nodded distractedly, his concerned gaze fixed on Nina as she swept from the dining room without so much as a second glance at either man.

‘My jewellery collection is very precious to me, Rafe.’ Dmitri Palitov spoke quietly beside him.

Rafe turned to look at the older man. ‘It’s very impressive,’ he acknowledged slowly, uncertain as to where this change of subject was going.

‘Each piece is priceless.’ Dmitri nodded. ‘But, beautiful as my collection is, valuable as it is, I value my daughter far above any rubies or diamonds.’

Ah...

‘As such,’ the older man continued hardly, ‘I will always do anything and everything within my power to ensure her health and happiness.’

‘Understandably,’ Rafe answered non-committally.

‘Yes?’ Dmitri Palitov spoke with that same hard challenge.

It was the first time that Rafe had ever been warned off a woman by her father, but, yes, he believed he understood this for exactly what it was.

‘Nina is a big girl now, Dmitri.’ He spoke evenly.

‘Yes, she is.’ The older man nodded. ‘But even so, perhaps you should know that I will not look kindly on any man who chooses to hurt my daughter. Whether it be intentionally or unintentionally.’ Those green eyes, so like his daughter’s, glittered in warning.

Pretty succinct and to the point—and unmistakably Dmitri Palitov’s way of warning him off.

‘Thank you for an enjoyable evening, sir.’ Rafe held his hand out formally to the other man.

‘D’Angelo.’ Dmitri Palitov shook that hand briefly, those green eyes pale and hard as some of the jewels in this man’s private collection.

* * *

Nina wondered if Rafe found the silence between the two of them as uncomfortable as she did as they stepped into the private lift together minutes later. Probably not. His offer to escort her to her apartment had been a politeness, nothing more, and one that she knew would soon be over as the lift halted on the lower floor just seconds later.

‘You don’t have your bodyguards with you this evening?’ he prompted coolly as he walked beside her to her apartment, the heels of her shoes clicking on the marble floor in the otherwise silent hallway.

She gave a tight, humourless smile. ‘Even my father accepts that I have no need for them here. He owns the whole building, controls all security, and no one is allowed in or out of the building without his approval,’ she explained dismissively as Rafe eyed her questioningly.

He frowned darkly. ‘Isn’t that taking the protective-father role a bit far?’

‘Possibly,’ she accepted tightly.

‘Why the hell do you put up with it?’ he bit out impatiently.

Her mouth tightened. ‘I don’t believe that’s any of your business.’

Rafe scowled his frustration with that reply. ‘How long has your father been in a wheelchair?’

Nina flicked him a surprised glance. ‘Almost twenty years.’

Rafe nodded. ‘And you don’t think it might have been a good idea to have told me that before I met him this evening?’

‘I don’t quite see... It didn’t even occur to me. Or your brother, obviously,’ she dismissed impatiently. ‘I grew up seeing my father in a wheelchair. I don’t even notice he’s in one now.’

No, of course she didn’t, Rafe acknowledged ruefully, and she was right, Michael hadn’t thought to pre-warn him either. Yet another thing about the Palitov family that his big brother had forgotten to mention.

‘How did it happen?’ Rafe prompted softly.

‘I— An accident,’ she answered stiffly.

Rafe’s eyes narrowed. ‘What sort of accident?’

‘A car accident.’ She frowned. ‘His spine was severed, and he’s been confined to a wheelchair ever since, end of story.’ She used her key card to open the door to her apartment. ‘Thank you for—’

‘Invite me in, Nina!’

Nina looked up quickly, her eyes wide as she saw the intensity of Rafe’s expression; those golden eyes glittered down at her, a nerve pulsing in his tightly clenched jaw. ‘I— No, I don’t think that would be a good idea.’

‘Because your father wouldn’t approve?’ he came back derisively.

She bristled. ‘My refusal has nothing to do with my father.’ And everything to do with the fact that Nina had been totally physically aware of this man all evening, in a way she could never remember being aware of any other man. Nina had no explanation for it, she just knew that she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame—and probably with the same results; she would get seriously burnt if she gave in to that attraction.

‘Oh, I think it has everything to do with him.’ Rafe eyed her mockingly.

Nina gave a pained frown. ‘You don’t understand.’

‘You’re right, I don’t.’ Rafe gave an impatient shake of his head. ‘I don’t understand why a vibrantly beautiful and talented young woman would allow her life to be dictated to by her overbearing father.’

‘My father is not—’ She broke off, breathing deeply. ‘As I said, you can’t possibly understand.’

‘Then invite me in for coffee and explain it to me.’ Rafe raised his hands and placed them either side of her on the doorframe as he leant into her.

She blinked at his sudden proximity, her heart pounding loudly in her chest as she looked up at him searchingly, shaking her head when she found herself unable to read anything from the intensity of his expression. ‘You already had coffee in my father’s apartment.’

‘For the love of—! Will you just invite me into your apartment, Nina?’ he ground out harshly.

Her mouth had gone dry, her throat moving as she attempted to swallow past that dryness before answering him. ‘I said I don’t think that’s a good idea.’ It was a very bad idea, when Nina was aware of everything about Rafe, from his overlong dark hair, muscled shoulders, flat abdomen, and long, long legs...

‘Probably not,’ he grated unapologetically. ‘But ask me in anyway.’

Nina gave him a puzzled look. ‘What’s this all about, Rafe?’

He gave a humourless smile. ‘One way or another, it’s been one hell of an evening. When I arrived I overheard my hostess saying she doesn’t like me.’

‘That I wasn’t sure I liked you,’ she corrected, colour warming her cheeks. ‘And my father explained the reason why.’

‘Partly, yes. An interesting man, your father,’ he added harshly. ‘The perfect host, so gracious and charming.’

She blinked. ‘Why do you sound so mocking when you say that?’

‘Probably because I was just very politely but unmistakably warned off by your father,’ he rasped exasperatedly.

‘I don’t understand.’ Nina gave a puzzled shake of her head; the two men had seemed to get on well enough during dinner. ‘Warned off from what?’

‘You.’ Rafe glowered down at her.

Her eyes widened. ‘Me?’

He nodded grimly. ‘Your father took the opportunity, after you had left the dining room just now, to oh-so-subtly warn me that he would prefer it if I stayed well away from his daughter in future.’

‘Oh, no.’ She felt her face pale, as she knew her father was perfectly capable of doing exactly that.

And for once in her life she resented her father’s overprotective attitude. For once in her life she wanted what she wanted. And tonight, watching Rafe surreptitiously all evening, becoming more and more attracted to him by the moment, had revealed to her that she wanted Rafe D’Angelo.

‘Yes,’ Rafe confirmed hardly. ‘Does he do that to every man you come into contact with, or did he just single me out for special attention?’

‘I have no idea.’ But she intended finding out, intended having a heart-to-heart conversation with her father first thing tomorrow morning. ‘I’ll speak to him— He really did that?’ She winced.

‘He really did, yes,’ Rafe confirmed harshly.

‘In that case I apologise.’ She frowned. ‘I have no idea why my father would even think that you— Why he would think there was any possibility of the two of us ever—’ She broke off, realising she was just making this situation worse than it already was. If that was possible.

How could her father have done such a thing? How could he have humiliated her in that way, and with a man she might possibly have reason to see on a daily basis for the next two weeks, at least? A man she felt drawn to as if by a magnet.

‘Invite me in, please, Nina,’ Rafe pressed huskily.

She looked up at him uncertainly, the pulse beating wildly in her throat as she heard the unmistakable husky intensity in his voice and saw the glitter had deepened in those golden eyes.

‘I— Why are you so determined I should be the one to invite you into my apartment?’ Her acquaintance with this man so far hadn’t given her the impression Rafe was a man who waited for an invitation before doing just as he pleased. ‘You aren’t a vampire, or something, are you?’ she added lightly, in an effort to alleviate some of the sexual tension that swirled and swelled around them.

‘Hardly.’ He gave a humourless smile. ‘Although I have been known to bite a neck or two!’

Nina instantly regretted her teasing. ‘Why are you so set on my inviting you into my apartment, Rafe?’ she repeated determinedly, tempted, oh-so-tempted, by both Rafe and the idea of, for once in her life, thwarting both her father and her bodyguards.

His mouth firmed. ‘Because I don’t think you need another bossy and dominating man telling you what to do.’

Her cheeks paled. ‘My father is— He has his reasons for behaving in the way that he— You don’t understand,’ she repeated softly.

‘You’re right, I don’t,’ Rafe rasped grimly. ‘I don’t understand why any beautiful and intelligent woman would allow her father to dictate the terms under which she conducts her life!’

How could he? How could anyone understand the fear her father had lived with on a daily basis for the past twenty years, the dread that Nina might one day be taken from him?

As his beloved wife had been so cruelly taken from him.

CHAPTER FOUR

‘I
NVITE
ME
IN
,
Nina,’ Rafe encouraged gruffly as he saw the indecision in her expression.

She looked up at him wordlessly for several long seconds, before nodding abruptly and turning on her heel to enter the shadowed hallway of her apartment, turning on the soft glow of the overhead light as she did so.

Rafe prowled in after Nina before closing the door gently behind him, his gaze intent on hers as he took her slowly into his arms to mould her curves against his. Her hands moved instinctively to his shoulders as she raised her startled gaze searchingly to his, obviously totally aware of the fullness of his arousal pressing against the softness of her abdomen—that same arousal that had been missing the evening before with Jennifer Nichols.

‘There’s just no way for a man to hide his reaction to a beautiful woman, is there?’ he murmured self-derisively.

Her silky throat moved as she swallowed before speaking. ‘I— No, I guess not.’

Rafe’s gaze was fixed on her lushly pouting lips. Those same lips that had been driving him insane all evening, when he had been unable to drag his gaze away from watching Nina part them as she sipped her wine, or put food in her mouth, almost groaning out loud when she flicked her tongue across those lips to capture the morsel of lemon mousse that had smeared her bottom lip as she’d eaten her dessert.

Perhaps he had deserved Dmitri Palitov’s earlier warning, after all, regarding Nina. No doubt the older man had made a note of every single occasion Rafe had been unable to stop imagining all the ways Nina’s lushly provocative lips might give a man pleasure.

She moistened those lips with the tip of her tongue now. ‘I— Do you want coffee?’

‘No.’

‘Oh.’

Rafe could sense Nina’s nervousness, just as he could feel the trembling of her body curved so intimately into and against his. He felt the warmth of her hands through the material of his jacket and shirt. Long and elegantly tapered hands that he had ached all evening to press against his bared and throbbing flesh.

Yes, maybe he had fully deserved Dmitri Palitov’s warning where Nina was concerned.

There was no way Nina could possibly miss the fierceness of the hunger that now lit Rafe’s eyes to a molten, heated gold before his gaze lowered to the swell of her breasts visible above the low neckline of her gown.

‘I want to kiss you, Nina,’ he groaned harshly.

‘Yes,’ she groaned, leaning weakly against him as her legs trembled and her hands tightened on his muscled shoulders.

‘And then I would like to bare and caress these pretty breasts.’ Both his hands moved up to cup beneath their fullness, the soft sweep of the pad of his thumb unerringly finding the swollen tip.

‘With my tongue and teeth as well as—’

‘Will you stop talking about it, Rafe, and just do it?’ Nina groaned softly, almost panting she was so aroused. Her teeth clenched as she felt that arousal sweep down and through her body, a rush of dampness moistening the already swollen and aching folds between her thighs.

‘You aren’t afraid to take what you want, after all.’ He gave a throaty and appreciative chuckle as he lifted one of his hands and entwined it in the fiery length of her hair, looking deeply into her eyes for several searching seconds before using that pressure to tilt her head back and sideways as he claimed her lips with his own.

Firm and yet softly sensual lips, that sipped and tasted hers for long torturous minutes, his tongue a fiery caress against that melting softness before his kiss hardened, deepened, as his tongue plunged into the heated warmth of her mouth, duelling before entwining sensuously with hers.

Nina’s hands moved across Rafe’s shoulders to allow her fingers to become entangled in the silky length of his ebony hair as she held him against her. He continued to kiss her deeply, hungrily, his hands moving restlessly down the length of her spine before cupping her bottom and pulling her into the hardness of his arousal, leaving Nina in no doubt as to the length and thickness of that arousal as his shaft throbbed and pulsed against her thighs.

That continued sensual assault, of Rafe’s lips and tongue, drove Nina’s arousal higher still, until her whole body felt on fire with the need for more. So much more.

She gasped for air, her throat arching as Rafe’s mouth released hers to seek out the hollows and dips of her neck. One of Rafe’s hand’s moved to slip the thin shoulder strap of her gown down onto her arm as the heat of his lips now seared across her exposed skin. The zip of Nina’s gown felt cold against her heated flesh as he slid the fastening slowly downwards and allowed both straps of her gown to fall the length of her arms and expose her naked breasts.

The heat of Rafe’s lips now followed the slope of her bared breasts, his tongue licking, tasting, tormenting her fevered flesh. Nina’s knees buckled, only the strength of Rafe’s arm about her waist continuing to hold her up as she felt the heat of his mouth close over the swollen aching tip of her breast before he suckled it deeply into that heat.

Oh, dear heaven!

And it was heaven, dear, sweet torturous heaven, as Rafe’s hand cupped, caressed that aching nipple as he turned his attention to her other breast, suckling that swollen nipple deeply and then softly, his fingers and tongue a never-ending torment against her roused and sensitive flesh, pleasuring her, and causing those folds to swell between her thighs as her juices first dampened and then completely wet her panties.

Nina gave a choked sob. She was on fire; she needed—oh, God—she
needed—

She gasped her disappointment as Rafe’s mouth released her and he raised his head slightly, eyes dark as he gazed down at the red and swollen tips of her breasts.

‘So pretty,’ he murmured gruffly as he touched each of her swollen nipples in turn with the softness of his fingertips.

Nina could barely breathe as she waited to see what Rafe intended to do next. Hoping it was what she wanted him to do.

Rafe gazed his fill of Nina’s beautiful breasts, tipped by pretty peach nipples that had become red and engorged from the attention of his hands and mouth. Nipples that still begged for those attentions.

Attention he was more than willing to give her. Just as he longed to explore the silken folds between her thighs. He could smell Nina’s arousal now, creamy and yet with an added enticing spice. And he longed to lap up that creaminess, to drink in her essence even as his lips and tongue explored those swollen folds, and then he wanted to swallow her down, to be able to taste her in his mouth and throat for hours afterwards.

That Nina wanted those things too he was in no doubt as she looked up at him, green eyes dark with her arousal, a flush to her creamy cheeks, and her lips parted invitingly as she breathed raggedly.

And he couldn’t do it.

Oh, Rafe knew what the newspapers printed about him—almost on a daily basis when he was in New York, it seemed! That he had a parade of beautiful women passing through his bedroom, women he changed as often as he did his silk bed sheets. And up to a point that was true. There had never been a shortage of women whose bed he might share, for a night or, indeed, several nights or weeks.

Even so, Rafe had his own set of rules when it came to the women who briefly entered his life. He never offered false promises. He never cheated on the woman he was currently sleeping with. And when it stopped being fun, for either of them, he gently brought that relationship to an end.

Nina wasn’t like any other woman Rafe had ever known. She was more. So much more. And emotionally complicated, in a way Rafe had always chosen to avoid in the past.

She was much younger than those other women for one thing, had spent all of her twenty-four years sheltered by her overprotective father, and so lacked both the sophistication and cynicism that had allowed those other women to accept the few weeks of a relationship Rafe had to offer them.

There was also the fact, ridiculous as it might seem in the current circumstances, that he was here this evening at the invitation of Nina’s father, a man as dangerous as he was powerful, and with whom Rafe’s gallery was currently doing business. Rafe had never mixed business with pleasure.

And lastly, even more ridiculously, he and Nina hadn’t so much as been out on a date together yet.

‘Rafe?’ Nina questioned uncertainly as he stood silent and unmoving in front of her, his face set in grim lines as he looked down at her. She felt totally exposed with her gown down about her waist, her breasts still bared, swollen and aching from the touch of his lips and hands.

His jaw was tightly clenched, dark lashes shielding the expression in his eyes as he reached down to pull the straps of her gown back up her arms and into place on her shoulders. Nina was too taken aback by his actions to offer the least resistance when Rafe turned her away from him slightly so that he could refasten the zip up the length of her spine.

Telling her more clearly than any words that this encounter was over.

‘Have dinner with me tomorrow evening, Nina?’

She turned sharply back to face him, looking up at him searchingly, but was unable to read anything from the grimness of his expression. ‘Why?’ she finally breathed.

His brows rose. ‘Do you usually ask why when a man invites you out to dinner with him?’

Nina’s chin tilted defensively. ‘Only when that same man went out to dinner with another woman the previous evening.’

His mouth tightened. ‘I have no intention of seeing Jennifer Nichols again.’

‘Does she know that?’

‘Oh, yes.’ His mouth twisted derisively.

She gave a shake of her head. ‘I— Our lovemaking just now was—it was...an aberration, Rafe, for both of us, probably.’ Although she wasn’t sure it could be called ‘our’ lovemaking, when she had been the one half undressed and Rafe had remained as immaculately clothed as he had been when he first arrived this evening.

Well, perhaps not quite so immaculately. His hair was more than a little tousled from having her fingers running through it, and there was a smear of her peach lip gloss at the corner of Rafe’s mouth.

‘Don’t feel you have to invite me out to dinner because things got a little out of hand just now,’ she added firmly.

‘An aberration?’ Rafe repeated ruefully as he fought back the urge to chuckle.

Which, considering the circumstances, was again more than a little unexpected!

Rafe had been rendered breathless by Nina’s appearance when he’d arrived for dinner earlier this evening. He had spent several hours over that dinner politely but nevertheless verbally fencing with her father while unable to take his eyes off Nina, only for Dmitri Palitov to take off the gloves completely at the end of the evening and issue him an outright warning in regard to Rafe staying away from his daughter.

The latter had annoyed Rafe intensely, so much so that he had intended to just walk Nina back to her apartment and then leave, before congratulating himself on being well rid of all of the Palitov family. Apart from their business connection, of course. An intent that had disappeared the moment they had arrived outside Nina’s apartment and Rafe had realised he wasn’t ready to say goodnight to her quite yet.

‘Yes, an aberration,’ she insisted firmly. ‘I want you to know I’m certainly not in the habit of allowing random men to make love to me.’

‘“Random men”?’ Rafe couldn’t hold back his amused chuckle this time. ‘Is that how you think of me, Nina, as just some random man you happened to make love with?’

She frowned her irritation at his humour. ‘I obviously drank far too much wine with my dinner.’

‘And I believe you’re being deliberately insulting now, Nina,’ Rafe drawled knowingly.

Yes, she was, Nina acknowledged heavily. Because there was no way she could explain her wanton behaviour just now to Rafe, of all people. To do so would be to admit that he had got under her skin, past her guard, and made her long for things, for the freedom to give in totally to this attraction.

‘Maybe,’ she allowed tightly. ‘But I would like you to leave now.’

‘And do you always get what you want?’

Hardly ever, Nina acknowledged ruefully.

Oh, materially she could have anything she wanted; her father’s wealth had always ensured that. But she’d had such dreams and plans for her future when she’d returned home from Stanford three years ago, clutching her degree proudly in her hands. Of starting up her own design business. Of making a success of that business. Of meeting a man she could love, and who would love her. Of marrying and one day having a family of her own.

And instead she had been sucked straight back into her father’s reclusive and overprotective lifestyle.

No, that was unfair to her father; she was the one who had allowed herself to be sucked straight back into her father’s life of bodyguards, who hadn’t fought hard enough for the things she wanted for herself.

Because her father had looked so much frailer than when she had left him three years earlier. Because he had obviously needed to have her close to him again and know she was safe. So Nina had put her own dreams and hopes on hold, so much so she had all but forgotten about them until now.

Until Rafe D’Angelo and this attraction she felt towards him had forced her to remember them.

‘Nina?’ Rafe prompted softly at her continued silence.

She gave a deep sigh. ‘Thank you for your dinner invitation, Rafe, but I would rather not.’

‘Why not?’

She eyed him irritably. ‘Do you usually ask a woman that when she says no to you?’

Those chiselled lips curved up into a smile as she turned his earlier remark back on him. ‘That’s a little difficult to say, when I can’t remember it ever having happened before.’

Nina frowned. ‘Well, it’s happening now.’

The smile slowly disappeared as he looked down at her searchingly. ‘But for all the wrong reasons,’ he finally murmured softly.

Her eyes flashed in warning. ‘Don’t pretend to know the first thing about me, Rafe!’

He shrugged. ‘Deny if you can that it’s just easier, because of your father, if you refuse to go out with me.’