Page 46 of Boost

When they finally returned to my face, there wasn’t even ahintof wrongdoing.

“Finished?” I snapped.

One corner of his mouth tugged. “Not nearly.”

The receptionist came back with my clutch and handed it over. I thanked her sincerely, and then turned back to Rafael. “Colton won’t be happy.”

He scoffed. “Colton won’t give a fuck. In fact, he’s probably counting down the minutes before he can escape too.”

“It’s the launch of hisownfoundation,” I exclaimed, throwing my arms wide.

Raf simply shrugged off my comment and looked toward the exit. When a gorgeous, sleek, dark-emerald car pulled up, he splayed his palm on my lower back and urged me forward. Warmth spread over my skin, reminding me of his lust-laden words earlier.

“There wasn’t a spark between you and him just now. Not like the one between us.”

“This is yours?” I asked in awe.

“Yup.”

The purring rumble of the engine idling sent a wave of goosebumps rippling over my shoulders. It was sexy.

I wordlessly slid into the passenger seat when Raf held the door open for me, and the heavenly scent of leather made me sigh. It smelled like a thousand new handbags, and enough to make my fingers itch to run over the smooth surfaces around me. The rich caramel shade of the interior leather contrasted gorgeously with the dark emerald exterior paint and left me impressed with Rafael’s taste in cars.

Raf rounded the hood and paused at the driver's door to shuck off his tux jacket. He smiled as he slid behind the wheel and tossed the jacket into the back seat.

“It’s nice, eh?”

“It’s divine,” I agreed, then hummed. “And thatsmell!”

He chuckled as I ran my hand across the dash, almost in a scent-induced trance.

After fumbling with his bow-tie and all but tearing it off, Raf flicked open the top two buttons on his collared-shirt, and then worked on each wrist. I watched him roll both sleeves, exposing more of his inked forearms, two inches at a time.

“Buckle up, baby,” he murmured, once he was done.

I gave him a wry look as I clicked the seat-belt into place. “No more costume changes?”

If looks could incinerate, I would have turned to ashes on the spot. “Maybe later, mamacita, if you play my game right.”

“Good luck with that, slick,” I deadpanned.

With a grin on his face, Raf put the car in drive and smoothly coasted forward.

“I never took you for a Porsche man.”

He scoffed and gave me another glower. “This ain’t just some run-of-the-mill Porsche, Greer. One look around will tell you that. And while we're on the subject, what kind of car man did you take me for?”

“Well… more like what you raced the other night,” I replied honestly. “What was it?”

“Toyota Supra RZ. And to be honest, I have a wide taste in cars. What I drive depends on my mood, or what I’m doing at the time.”

I nestled back into the seat and rolled my head his way. “You have many contrasting sides, Mr. Ortiz.”

His smile wavered at the corner before he got the reaction under control. While his demeanor stayed relaxed, tension pulled at his usually smooth voice.

“Everyone does, mamacita. But it’s the people who are most broken who are best at hiding it from the outside world.”

“I’m sorry if I touched on a sensitive subject,” I said softly.

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