Breaking the Limits: Rafe & Nicole Book 2 (13 page)

Nicole’s scream exploded as her orgasm blasted off.

His climax exploded more quietly but with equal fierceness.

And they both came and came and came in a high-voltage, pulsating, breath-stealing synchronicity.

No surprise – the plane ride back to Split turned into an unapologetic interlude of hot sex and hotter orgasms. Nicole had what Rafe wanted and vice versa, even if at times, the subtleties differed. But when it came to obsession, they were in perfect accord.

And for a few brief hours, as Rafe had hoped, he forgot the outside world.

Chapter 14

They didn’t go back to the castle tower on their return to the island, but took up residence in the palazzo.

Henny and Basil were expected soon, Carlos said. And Webster wanted Rafe to call him. ‘Good news, I think,’ Carlos added, standing in the doorway leading out to the terrace.

‘We could use some,’ Rafe said. ‘If you could shift some of the operations into the east wing while we’re here, it would be more convenient. I’ll come over with Henny and Basil after they arrive. And let’s all do dinner tonight. Just give me a head count of those coming in time for Teresa to put a menu together. I’m going to give Nicole a quick tour of the house, then I’ll call Webster.’

‘Hugo?’ Carlos asked, cryptically.

‘It went well.’

Carlos noticed Nicole’s sharp glance at Rafe and wondered how much he’d told her. But he just said, ‘Good. Glad that’s done. I’ll see you in a few hours.’

Rafe took Nicole on a brief walkthrough of the two-storey palazzo. ‘So you can find me if you wake up and I’m not around,’ he said. ‘Our schedule is getting busy.’

Getting busy?
But she only smiled and said, ‘Thanks. I’ll try not to bother you.’

‘That would be a problem.’ A slow smile curved his lips. ‘Since I’m shacked up with you for a reason.’

There was a warmth in his eyes that wasn’t teasing alone, that made her heart do a little butterfly flutter. ‘Okay then, I’ll bother the hell out of you.’

‘There you go, gettin’ with the programme.’ He gave a slow nod, the teasing gone from his gaze, a moody seriousness in his canted brows. Then he seemed to catch himself and a quick grin flashed across his face. ‘So we good now? Find me whenever you want?’

‘Yup.’ Only one answer was allowed; she knew that. But seriously, love sucked. If Rafe wasn’t in the midst of some major battle, skirmish, whatever it was, she would have ignored all the complications of his playboy life and told him how she felt.
I love you. I’ve never loved anyone before. Now what are you going to do about it?
Instead, she zipped her lip and followed him with a modicum of awe through his island home.

The airy, sumptuous palazzo was a variation on a Palladian design with two large wings, a central rotunda and several large reception rooms on the main floor. The first floor east wing contained a dozen rooms, while Rafe’s suite in the west wing consisted of a palatial salon, modest-sized sitting room, two large bedrooms, a study, office, two small bathrooms and one in malachite sumptuous enough for Cleopatra.

‘I am, as always,’ she said, smiling at him as the tour came to an end in his light-filled sitting room, ‘impressed with your princely lifestyle.’

He shrugged. ‘I just like the island. The rest came with it.’

‘I’ll warn you now – if you come surfing, don’t expect any palaces.’

‘
When
I come surfing, Pussycat, I won’t be looking for anything but you in a nice big bed.’

‘I’ll see what I can do.’ But she felt a moment of giddiness that he’d said
when
so emphatically.

‘You don’t have to do anything but give me your address. I’ll take care of all the rest.’ He grinned. ‘I might even find a palace with a big bed for you.’

‘Now for a moment of sanity in this dream scenario,’ she said with a little twitch of her nose. ‘You might have to meet my parents. My dad, especially, has a thing about über-rich people.’

‘Does that include your uncle?’

She did a little sideways waggle of her hand. ‘He likes Dominic, but he likes him more cause my mom adores her baby brother.’

‘Why don’t I pick you up in a Prius? Jeans, T-shirt, something off the rack.’

‘There you go.’ She grinned. ‘Rich
and
smart.’

His cell phone rang, saving him from a conversation that would only prove more difficult if it continued. Because he didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, let alone a future that included surfing with Nicole. Pulling out his phone from his shorts pocket, he glanced at the display and grimaced. ‘Sorry, business. Okay if I leave you on your own for an hour or so?’

Nicole nodded. ‘Course.’ She winked. ‘I acquiesce to you in all things.’

He did a soft growl deep in his throat. ‘Fucking tempting.’ Then he sucked in a breath and walked away.

‘Getting close?’ he said into the phone, his voice all business as he made for the main staircase.

‘At the landing pad,’ Basil answered. ‘I brought one of my cousins to help out. And Henny’s already complaining that Teresa won’t take orders from him. You can referee
that
fight.’

‘Happy to. I’ll be right down.’

Punching in Webster’s number, he went down the wide marble staircase in running leaps and was crossing the entrance hall when Webster answered. ‘Hey,’ Rafe said. ‘Carlos said you called.’

‘Yeah. Bao Yu’s here. With the child.’

‘Great. And?’ Rafe shoved the door open.

‘We have to find her. She showed up on face-recognition software at the mall. The city has twenty thousand surveillance cameras in public spaces. Makes my job easier.’

‘She’s not hiding?’ Turning left, Rafe moved down the shaded loggia.

‘Doesn’t look like it.’

‘That’s strange, right?’

‘Unexpected certainly. Either she’s naïve to the point of stupidity or she wants to be found. I’ve seen some of her artwork. I wouldn’t bet on stupid.’

‘She has to know Zou’s enemies are dangerous,’ Rafe pointed out. ‘Not us particularly, but she doesn’t know that.’

‘Gina and I’ll figure it out. We have to find her first. I’m going over CCTV surveillance feeds now in all the most likely areas; the mall, of course, downtown, especially in the gallery sector. Gina and I are checking out the galleries tomorrow. There’s a possibility Bao Yu’s here because she’s familiar with the city’s art scene, not because Zou sent her. Gina just crashed but I’ll be up all night in case you have any questions.’

‘Not a question, but a heads-up,’ Rafe noted, walking out of the shade into the sunny garden. ‘Gina can be outspoken.’

‘I know. Everything’s fine though. She’s good at what she does – the kind of partner who won’t get me killed.’

‘Just don’t cross her. Seriously.’ Gina had killed her former partner/lover when he’d tried to set her up to take a fall for him. A shot in the head at close range.

‘I heard. Not a problem. We already decided this was strictly business.’

Rafe laughed, waved at his guests waiting on the palm-lined landing pad at the border of the garden. ‘So she checked you out even after I’d warned her off?’

‘I’m guessing that’s her style.’

‘True. Look, tell Gina thanks from me. And thank
you
for finding Bao Yu again. Keep me posted on your progress. The sooner we get to Zou’s mistress, the sooner we can put this problem of ours to rest.’

‘Got it. Once I know something, I’ll be in touch.’

When Rafe reached the landing pad, Davey was already lifting off to ferry another group of men from Split to the island. Gora was sending reinforcements, more of Dominic and Max’s security men were waiting for Davey at the Split airport. Carlos’ colleagues from around the world had been arriving for the past few days.

Basil introduced his cousin Sasha; their mothers were sisters, he explained. Rafe knew Basil spent summer holidays at his mother’s dacha near St Petersburg so he’d heard of the myriad cousins. ‘Sasha’s offered to help,’ Basil said. ‘He has a doctorate in IT from the Gorkovskij Institute. He’s does tech searches without a warrant.’

‘Perfect. Appreciate you coming,’ Rafe said, shaking Sasha’s hand. If he wasn’t from such a wealthy, well-connected family, in that line of work, the man might have ended up with a body covered in prison tats. Big and solid, Sasha was muscled to the max, his blond hair cut so short his skull gleamed, his face hard-featured and austere. The two cousins couldn’t have been more disparate in appearance. Basil favoured his father’s tall, lean frame and aristocratic profile.

‘Just so you know, Rafie, baby,’ Henny drawled, punching Rafe’s arm, his smile the familiar one he had after a shitload of Jägermeister. ‘Mireille says if I’m killed she’s coming after you.’

‘Yeah, well, tell her she can take it up with Zou, ’cause if you’re gone, I’ll be gone.’

Henny groaned theatrically. ‘Damn, then my father’s estate goes to my younger brother and he has no fucking brains. He takes after father’s second wife.’ The old Prussian Junker estates were inherited by the eldest son, and even while titles of nobility no longer existed as legal entities in Germany, they were still inherited and carried. As in, Heinrich Graf von und zu Steindorff-Lehn. Henny was a count.

‘Speaking of dying,’ Basil interposed, ‘Claudine and I are talking again, so I’d prefer surviving this shit storm. Let’s think positive. Fill us in on what’s going on now, next and whatever the hell explodes after that.’

‘Come to the house. I’ll bring you up to speed.’

Wanting to keep his distance from Nicole in the west wing, Rafe showed the men into what had been the steward’s office. He ordered drinks, and once they were delivered, shut the double doors, walked over to his friends who were seated at a table near the windows and dropped into a chair. ‘Here’s what we know.’ He explained Zou’s seclusion, Gina’s diverted flight to Brisbane, Bao Yu’s sighting, the surveillance and snipers in Shanghai. He mentioned the various men who’d arrived on the island, those in current deployments or waiting to be assigned, the numbers contributing to the island security. He described the plans for targeting Zou, the teams on surveillance of Zou’s wife and children, his sister, and an elderly mentor who’d retired near Shanghai.

‘We’ve cut off most of Zou’s funds,’ Rafe pointed out. ‘Gora found us Zou’s secret bank accounts. Gora’s shutting down some, we’re taking care of others, and thanks to your photos, Basil, Balthus proved amenable.’

‘Hugo amenable? Do tell,’ Henny drawled. ‘Hugo with his nuts in a vice.’ He kissed his fingertips. ‘Don’t leave out a single heart-warming detail.’

Rafe smiled. ‘I definitely wrecked his smug little world. At first though, he was all righteous outrage and bluster, but once he saw the photos, panic and fear hit him like a ton of bricks and he caved.’ Rafe raised an eyebrow in Basil’s direction. ‘How long have you been sitting on those pictures?’

‘A few months. I didn’t take them. They arrived anonymously. Hugo has more enemies than just us. With my current film project on bullying well known in the small, incestuous world of documentary film, I was the logical recipient for someone bent on revenge. Who knew the prick was a bully even in the bedroom.’

‘Score, score
and
score!’ Henny crowed. ‘Did he cry? Tell me he cried.’

‘He probably would have, but I was in a hurry. I couldn’t wait. Although, I’m guessing Hugo’s performance is gonna be compromised if he tries fucking his little piece his usual way again. He’ll be wondering who’s watching.’ Rafe glanced at Basil.

Basil shrugged. ‘Don’t look at me. I haven’t a clue who set up the cameras. Could be staff he’d pissed off.’

‘Just out of curiosity,’ Rafe said. ‘Would you have used Hugo’s pictures?’

‘Of course. With some identities obscured.’

‘His?’

Basil shrugged again. ‘Maybe. I doubt he’d sue. I’m glad they were useful to you.’

‘Useful, oh yeah. Balthus turned white, sweat broke out on his forehead, he fucking whimpered. It was beautiful.’

‘And they say justice is blind,’ Henny murmured, raising his glass of Jägermeister.

‘Not with photos that damning.’ Rafe lifted his whiskey drink to his circle of friends. ‘Now, some justice for Ganz’s father and we can all go home and tend our gardens.’

A sudden silence fell. Each man understood the extent of the dangers they faced.

‘We’ve done it before – survived,’ Henny said, his voice quiet now. ‘We’ll do it again.’

Rafe half smiled. ‘We’re older and smarter.’

‘And fucking bigger,’ Basil said with a grin, his tall, lean form whip-cord tough.

‘And well armed,’ Basil’s cousin Sasha said, his voice velvet soft.

Chapter 15

Feeling the need to touch base with the real world, and mildly bored as well, Nicole called Fiona.

‘Still in love?’ Fiona answered in a bantering tone. ‘Or have you come to your senses?’

Nicole sighed. ‘I’m still confused, if that’s what you’re asking. Who knew love was such a mind fuck – intense, wonderful, tearful. You get the picture. Add to the mix the fact that I’m beginning to feel like a kept woman. I’m in a grand palace on a private island, lying on a huge bed just waiting around while Rafe works and works and works some more. He says feel free to come and find him whenever I want, but I’m not sure he means it. So I just lie here and wait.’

‘Lie there in luxury. Don’t forget that.’

‘Like you could forget in a place this size. He lives like Dominic – although even more extravagantly ’cause back home, Dominic and Kate live like anyone else on our street – no servants, just Patty. Rafe’s lifestyle, in contrast, is completely jet set. We just returned from Geneva. Flew there this morning for a ten-minute meeting he’d scheduled, then back here two hours later. He has planes, pilots, drivers and staff everywhere; Dominic does too, but everything’s more low key since he married Kate.’

‘Yeah, I’ve seen their house in Cliffside. It’s nice, but definitely not palatial.’

‘That would be Rafe’s Monte Carlo or Geneva house – palatial to the max. We stopped at the one in Geneva today so he could change into a suit to go see some banker. A truly majestic butler like you’d see in the movies greeted him as if he were royalty. Christ, going back to school would be like stepping off some magic cloud into the everyday, nitty-gritty world of take-out and studying all night.’

‘Hey, don’t break my bubble yet, okay? We still have a few more weeks of vacation. And speaking of magic clouds,’ Fiona said, a smile in her voice, ‘Jack’s taking me to Paris.’

‘Great. You’re having fun. I’m glad.’

‘It’s super really. Not a complaint in the world. But then I’m not deep in love like you with all the will-he-or-won’t-he angst that’s messing with your head.’

Jarred by Fiona’s deep-in-love comment or maybe just more doleful and moody in her solitude, Nicole had a sudden, unsettling thought. ‘Oh, fuck, now I’m wondering how many other women have waited for Rafe on this bed?’

‘You don’t really want me to answer that, do you?’

Nicole sighed. ‘No.’ Another deeper sigh. ‘I’m taking this way too seriously, aren’t I?’

‘Considering the man and his reputation . . .’ Fiona’s voice trailed off. ‘Hey, what does Isabelle say about your love problems? She’s always more sensible than you and me.’

‘I can’t get hold of her. She’s at one of those meditation retreats where no one talks, there’s no phones, nothing. She and my mother are into yoga and shit like that, so I have to figure this out without my usual voice of reason.’ There was a brief moment of silence, then Nicole spoke in a voice that one would use to convince yourself of something unpleasant. ‘It’s been a while since I was a fourteen-year-old teeny-bopper swooning over an untouchable celebrity. I’m a relatively intelligent, well-grounded adult now. So fuck it, I might as well be sensible and register while I’m lying around twiddling my thumbs. It’s too late to get any good classes, but ask me if I care.’

‘If you’re talking Chem, you haven’t cared for a while.’ Fiona smoothly picked up on the sudden change of topic, thinking
finally –
the Nicole she knew and loved was back.

‘Shit. I suppose it’s too late to change my major.’

‘Just a fucking little bit. Look, register, make your parents happy, you can still work for Yash on the side.’

Nicole groaned. ‘I don’t think happiness research is going to cut it for me right now.’

‘Jesus, babe, is it really true. Love hurts?’

‘Like a son-of-a-bitch.’ Nicole blew out a breath. ‘Hey, don’t be stupid like me. Go have fun. I’m just in a blue funk. I’ll get over it. I always do.’

Fiona hesitated, not sure how to respond; she’d never seen Nicole in a funk, blue or otherwise. And she was sure as hell waffling. ‘If Rafe doesn’t come back for a while, call me again. You can whine and I’ll listen. You’ve done it often enough for me.’

‘Sure, okay.’ Another sigh. ‘Maybe I’ll just sleep for a while, then register.’

Holy shit. Didn’t sleeping during the day equal depression? Was this like intervention time? ‘You sure you’re okay?’ Although Fiona didn’t know what she’d do if Nicole said, no, because Jack had just come into the bedroom, glanced at her unpacked suitcase on the bed and was giving her a what-the-fuck-have-you-been-doing look.

‘Yeah, yeah, I’m good.’ Nicole exhaled. ‘I think it’s just that I’m not used to being alone. Like ever. I’m fine, really.’

‘Okay, I’ll call you when I get to Paris,’ Fiona promised. ‘Bye.’ Dropping her phone on the bed, she felt like the world’s worst friend.

‘The plane’s waiting.’ Since Fiona was frowning, Jack’s voice was super-polite. ‘We can buy you what you need in Paris if you don’t feel like packing.’

‘Nicole’s in love,’ Fiona said, more tersely than she intended.

Jack took a small breath. ‘Sorry about that.’

‘That’s it. Sorry?’ A hard flash in her eyes.

‘I wish I could help you out,’ he said, kindly. ‘But it happens all the time. Women like Rafe.’

‘Like or love?’

She was sitting up straight now, staring at him. ‘Both,’ Jack said, figuring there was no point in lying about Rafe’s lifestyle. It wasn’t a mystery. ‘Actually, Rafe inspires all kinds of feelings – love, lust, like and everything in between. Since he doesn’t give out his email or phone number, he keeps the postal service in business. He gets love notes, invitations to intimate dinners, invites to less-exclusive orgies, or pick-your-pleasure opportunities of every kind. You name it, he’s offered it. Rafe’s good with women.’

‘Like a lion tamer or horse whisperer.’ Each word was softly astringent.

Jack put up his hands. ‘Don’t get pissed at me. I have no control over his life. No one does. No one ever has. His father tried his damnedest and failed. Rafe’s a law unto himself. That’s it. That’s the way it’s always been. If it helps, Nicole has touched him more than any other woman – ever. He’s altered his life for her, made adjustments those of us who know him well wouldn’t have thought possible; he’s shown real affection. I’m not saying it’s permanent or even significant. I’m just saying it hasn’t happened before.’

‘Nicole’s really unhappy.’

Jack raked his fingers through his sun-streaked hair, dropped his hands. ‘I don’t know what to say. What do you want me to say?’

‘Nothing.’ Fiona took a deep breath. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’m just feeling sorry for her.’

‘Rafe’s made some major changes for Nicole. That’s a simple fact.’ Jack shifted restlessly; defending his cousin’s sense of commitment was dangerous.

‘Thanks for the explanation. Whatever I think really doesn’t matter anyway.’ With a nod, she rolled off the bed. ‘I can pack in five minutes.’ She smiled. ‘You wearing that?’ He had on shorts, no shirt, his feet were bare.

‘I’ll put on a shirt. It’s just us on the plane – and a steward or two. Wear whatever you like.’ He grinned. ‘Or nothing at all.’

‘I’ll need a few more drinks before I consider public nudity, although cultural mores are definitely more casual down here.’ Nude beaches were common on the island.

‘It’s summer.’ Jack smiled. ‘What can I say. La dolce vita.’