Page 89 of Raul
When the waltz ended, she and Gerardo started toward their friends.
“Disculpe,Erica,” called a voice that made her nerve endings vibrate.
She turned to find Raul gliding smoothly through the crowd with a touch and smile to move people out of his way.
“Gerardo.” Raul nodded and smiled at the other pilot. “A pleasure to see you.” It was a greeting and a dismissal, and Gerardo took the hint, vanishing into the crowd.
“Raul, it’s good to see you,” she said.
“May I have this dance?” he asked, holding out his hand and fixing her with an intense look.
“What about your ankle?” But she put her hand in his, relishing the warm strength of his fingers as they closed around hers.
“It’s well wrapped,” he said, moving them toward the dance floor.
“No dancing.” She found the temerity to pull him to a halt. “Let’s find someplace to sit so you can rest it for a few minutes.”
He went still for a moment before he said, “Come with me,” and headed in the opposite direction.
Once again, he cleaved through the glittering, chattering crowd until they came to a paneled door. Opening it, he ushered her onto a small patio surrounded by a high stone wall, covered in espalieredvahohibiscus. A few tables and chairs were arranged on the mosaic floor while flames flickered from metaltorches bolted to the wall. When the door closed, the sound of voices and music was abruptly reduced to a mere hum.
Raul turned to her, still holding her hand. “You look very beautiful. Like a goddess draped in liquid bronze.” His voice was deep and resonant. “I wanted to tell you that.”
“Oh.” She sounded breathless because his words had knocked the oxygen out of her lungs. “Thank you.” She inhaled. “You look quite handsome yourself.”
He lifted his free hand, almost as though hypnotized, and ran his palm over her bare shoulder and down her arm.
His touch sent heat shimmering through her body to pool in her belly, and she shivered at the power of it.
Without a word, he stripped off his tuxedo jacket to drape it around her shoulders, the satin lining warm from his body as it slid over her skin. Even though she wasn’t cold, she pulled it close. That was as near to having his arms around her as she could get.
For a long moment, they stared at each other, the air between them vibrating with longing and desire. He broke the spell with a wave toward the chairs. “Shall we sit?”
“Yes…your ankle.” Her brain was barely functioning, but she thought to pull one chair over to face another. “You can put your foot up there.”
“Gracias.”He settled into the chair and lifted his foot. “The injection I got this morning is wearing off.”
“You gave no sign of pain at the ceremony…or since then,” she said, sitting in a chair facing him. “No one would ever guess.”
“Except that I’ve avoided most of the dancing tonight.” He tugged at his bow tie. “Although I have to do the Baile del Dragón with Grace in an hour. Then Pater and Eve will depart, signaling that the staider guests should follow suit before the party gets loud.”
The Dragon Dance was a sedate version of a favorite Calevan country dance that imitated the courtship rituals of the famous lizards.
“Any news of the dragon or her eggs?” she asked.
He made a sound of frustration. “Mikel’s guys have posed as Customs agents and inspected every single package brought on board al-Buya’s yacht. It’s been nothing but fresh produce, chickens, and magnums of champagne. He’s had video surveillance on it as well, but no one has sneaked anything on illegally.”
“So you don’t think it’s al-Buya?”
“If it isn’t, we’re back to square one because Mikel has uncovered no other suspects.” Raul blew out a breath. “Al-Buya has promised to give me a tour of his yacht tomorrow. That will give Dario and Pascal the opportunity to poke around while using my presence as an excuse.”
“That’s brilliant!”
“Only if they get lucky. The yacht is enormous.”
Silence fell. The torches sent shadows flickering over the carved planes of his face, making it hard to read his expression even though he was facing her.
“Quinn and Gabriel’s ceremony was perfect,” she said to fill the empty air. “And Odette kept her side of the bargain. I scanned the media regularly, but there wasn’t a whisper of anything about the kidnapping other than the usual references.”
