Forbidden Deception (Deception)

24

“W here are you taking me?” My cold fingers wrap tighter around Rafael’s hand. The wind whips at us as soon as we step outside, but my covered eyes don’t give me anything to work with.

“You can take the blindfold off,” Rafael whispers from behind me, then his hand drops mine, and he unties it himself.

I blink, my eyes adjusting to the light. We’re on the rooftop, and there’s a helicopter standing tall and ominous in front of us. The sky blazes with magenta and blue streaks, splashing colour across the city.

Rafael walks around me until he stands in front of me, his eyes twinkling like the descending sun behind him, lips stretched into a soft small smile. He reaches his hand out to me, gaze raking over my white trousers and red top.

“That’s it? A helicopter ride?” I tease when he helps me climb in and leans over to secure the harness around me. Once done, he pauses right in front of me.

Is my heart even beating?

Am I even breathing?

He shakes his head with a soft chuckle.

“I know you aren’t like this, but something about you makes me want to throw my whole fortune at you, just so you know how much I am willing to give you,” he murmurs, knuckles brushing my cheeks.

His hand pauses near my mouth, so I playfully nip at his fingers.

“When you truly feel deeply for someone, you are always ready to give them the world. My brother set quite a high standard for me. I’ve seen him do so much for his wife. It’s only fair I get someone who will go to the ends of the Earth for me.” My tone might be playful, but I truly do want what Remo feels for Aurora.

“Your brother will pale in comparison to me; trust me on that. But everyone feels and shows their care differently.”

I don’t miss the way his breath hitches when he says ‘care’ as if he wanted to say something else.

He leans back and buckles himself in, nodding at the pilot in front of us, and the blades pick up speed. I grin, glancing at Rafael and my hand placed on his thigh.

“A ride to our date location,” he says through the headphones, his voice powerful.

I feel such a rush of emotions that I could only ever dream of feeling and yet here I am, sitting in a helicopter with Rafael while he takes me on a date. A billionaire, a ruthless manipulative businessman ready to woo me.

All after asking and pleading for me to stop putting a barrier between us.

That alone has my heart turning into mush.

The view of the glittering city below me and the sunset look like something out of a movie. My heart races, feeling light yet excited, thumping in an unusual rhythm, as if not knowing how to react.

The ride lasts for around twenty minutes, and I just can’t stop smiling. My cheeks even start to hurt, but I can’t drop it.

We soon start our descent onto a big field. The blades slow, and Rafael helps me out, then leads me to a decorated table. The sun is just barely out on the horizon, casting the clearing in a beautiful golden glow.

“That was such a beautiful ride. I loved it, Rafael,” I comment, looking at him instead of where we are going. That should have been my first priority, to look where we are, to be aware of my surroundings, but Rafael has this charm, this aura around him, that makes me feel so at ease that I could spill all my troubles to him.

His broad shoulders flex against his suit jacket, and his hair is neatly styled. He is so much taller than me that I sometimes have to lean my head back to truly look him in the eyes.

“Really?” He looks down at me, lips tilted up.

I nod, biting my lip and suddenly feeling so shy.

I look up when we stop in front of the table set for two. Fairy lights glitter from poles, creating an intimate, magical scene.

To the right is a gorgeous tall home. It’s got three pointed roofs, with the entrance in the centre. The gardens are beautifully manicured and edged by dark trees. It looks familiar.

“That’s one of Gustav Industries’ secluded luxury holiday homes. It’s not available for public use because it’s a home used by the members of the Elite club. I’ve got security surrounding us today. I wanted to bring you to the first land investment I made in my career that I designed and built.”

He bought me to one of the homes that he has a picture of on his office floor.

The manor looks absolutely haunting yet classy, with sharp edges, clean-cut designs, and black marble stairs.

I look back at Rafael to see something vulnerable swimming in his eyes. He walks me over to the white-clothed table and pulls out a chair. I sit down while he takes his place on the other side.

“You told me that we are worlds apart. You told me we can’t be. What if I prove to you that maybe we can?”

I hold my breath, watching every muscle in his face for any signs of regret, but there are none.

“I built the Crystal Noir Home in hope of truly impressing my investors, but that took me forever. We have the same drive for success. I’ve seen you put so much effort and time into Gustav Industries, and I wanted to show my own effort and time. I failed many projects and was almost forced to resign from my position of CEO until this project. I want you to know that I admired your work ethic and your loyalty to me before I started wanting you.

“People… When I needed a mother’s love, my father and older brother were there. They were there to make sure I didn’t feel her absence. Nights were filled with stories of her, days were filled with doing activities she loved, and yet my heart was still empty of her love. It’s no one’s fault. Not my father, who mourns her till this day, not Mikko’s, who only remembers a ghost of her, nor me, who never even knew who she is.” He looks down at the table, something close to grief taking over his features.

“How do I put that trust in someone again? How do I give my heart to anyone when the one time I tried, I got shut down? My step-mother ruined trust for me. Badly. And I don’t think I have recovered.” He takes a deep breath and looks up at me.

“The question still stands, though, doesn’t it? Why all these disastrous things? Why the blackmail, the deception? Deep down, I know the answer. And that’s jealousy, emptiness, and just bitter ache. While I have long ago let go of my jealousy, the emptiness and ache still remain like ashes left by a fire. They are still here, still hurting me, still killing me slowly. I can’t stop it. So I turn towards destruction, chaos, havoc.

“I told you it wasn’t the desire I’m after. I’m a man that can control it easily. Work and family come first for me, and yet you challenged my priorities like never before.”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.

Rafael continues, “I asked you to be with me, but you don’t understand just how much you have changed the neurons in my brain. You sometimes made me question whether or not you are real. There are times when I’m not even sure how deep my feelings for you run. Every time I fucked up, you still cheered me on; every time I threw my work across the table, you were there to pick it up and push me to continue. How can I explain to you, how could I make you understand that your silent support, your dramatics, have made me yours? I look into your eyes in meetings, and I can’t hear anything else. You brush your hand against mine, and I am fucking gone.” He runs a frustrated hand through his hair, and his dark eyes snap to mine.

My heart dips.

“How does life put my greatest temptation in front of me and make it forbidden? It placed the perfect woman in my sight and dangled her in front of me, teasing me and taunting me that I could never have you, that you wouldn’t want someone like me. So I took you to London, in hopes that maybe you would retreat, walk away, but you are here. You still are here.” He sighs, painful longing and frustration in his eyes.

“You played that sex tape at the party?”

Rafael nods, but he doesn’t look ashamed. If anything, he looks ready to fight to keep me.

“You lit a fire in Remo Cainn’s warehouse?”

“Yes.”

“Were you behind the revelations of the many affairs of the recently elected politicians?”

He nods, eyes set on me.

I hold my breath. My hands are shaking, so I drop them to my lap. I should tell him. I should reveal my darkest secret so he knows I have a dark streak in me.

“I killed someone Rafael.” I don’t look up, my voice quivering.

“I killed a man at my boarding school, and I don’t regret it. I lost part of my sanity after that. I thought I was gone. I thought my brother wouldn’t let me stay in his home when he found out. I thought he would look at me and be disgusted, and I didn’t know what to do.” My lower lip trembles, but I hold everything in.

“He didn’t push me when I returned home, but his wife was concerned and knew something was up. Maybe my people skills were skewed, maybe I wasn’t hiding my insanity well enough. How could I? I’d barely met my brother before, and I… Rafael, I am the last person to judge you, to hold you accountable for your actions.”

I finally look up, tears blurring my vision, but I smile and run my fingers under my eyes. My makeup better not have come off.

“I hope you decide that, maybe, we are both a broken part of the puzzle that don’t fit with anyone else but each other,” I continue.

Rafael tilts his head, then dips his chin, urging me to come closer.

I get up and walk towards him.

His hands grab my hips, and he places me sideway on his lap, his hand cupping my jaw.

“Like I said, life knew what to offer to mess with me,” he grits out, then his lips crash against mine, stealing my breath away.

My heart starts beating at an erratic pace, and my hands dive into his neatly styled hair. His lips coax mine to open, and he dips his tongue in my mouth. A moan rips from me when his tongue glides against mine. His hand runs down my back to cup my ass, pulling me further into his lap until I feel him under me. Thick. Hard. And long.

“Rafael,” I whisper, my hair creating a curtain around us.

He looks up, a tortured look in his eyes.

“No one fucking hurts what’s mine.” His words imprint themselves in my mind.

Rafael doesn’t let me go from his lap all throughout the dinner, which, surprisingly, robots bring out. Later, we sit in the living room of Crystal Noir with our wineglasses being constantly refilled.

I have made myself comfortable in Rafael’s lap, now my favourite place, with my shirt hiked up and my trousers button open. His own suit jacket is discarded and his shirt buttons are open while we kiss on the couch.

When I pull away, I run my hand down his insanely impressive muscles and six pack. His skin is hot under my wandering palms, tightening everywhere I touch while Rafael hardens under me. A hiss falls from his lips when my nails rake over his chest.

“My favourite colour is grey.” I frown. “Or maybe yellow. I can’t decide between the two.”

Rafael nods, his eyes set on my lips. “Mine is chocolate brown.” He rakes his hand through my straightened hair, watching as the strands slip through his fingers.

“My favourite flowers are sunflowers.”

“Mine, too,” Rafael answers mindlessly, running his fingers through my hair once more.

“What do you like the most?”

“You.”

I playfully slap him on the arm, and his eyes return to mine while he grins.

“Be serious, Rafael.”

Rafael skilfully turns us, so my back is on the sofa and he is above me, settling between my legs with my hands pinned above my head. His gaze hungrily runs down my body, leaving a trail of hot need.

“It’s true. I’ve come to realise that I like watching you, touching you, tasting you, feeling you.” With each word, he leans down, closer to my face until he is a breath from my lips.

“You like something? I do, too. You hate something? I do, too. You want me to kill someone? I am here, my love.” My heart throbs at the pet name.

“What if right now I want your hand.” I grab his hand, biting my lip. I’ve never done this before, and yet right now, I feel ready, and I want to give Rafael the rest of me.

“Here,” I whisper, letting his hand travel under my trousers, cupping my throbbing pussy.

Rafael groans from above me.

“You want me to fuck you with my fingers, love?”

I nod.