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He slid out of his seat, but despite the slight strain between them, the brothers hugged briefly, Ramon murmuring something to his brother Suki didn’t quite catch. Luis nodded, his features relaxing as he murmured back.
Face-to-face, their striking resemblance was unmistakable, the only differences being their eyes, Luis’s inch shorter height and hair that was a dark chocolate to his brother’s jet black. But where Luis’s face and stature evoked keenly interested second glances, Ramon’s completely captivated, hypnotising every human being who made the mistake of glancing his way.
It was why, several seconds after Luis had left the booth, and despite urging herself otherwise, Suki couldn’t look up. She tightened her hold on the glass holding her wine spritzer, willing her fingers not to shake. But reassuring herself that he was mere flesh and blood seemed utterly useless.
Her breath emerged hard and choppy, when, contrary to her thinking he’d take Luis’s seat, he slid into the booth next to her.
Another minute crawled excruciatingly by. A minute when the power of his fixed gaze burned her averted face, when every nerve screamed at being the object of his scrutiny.
‘Felíz cumpleaños, Suki.’
Unlike the birthday wish he’d delivered to his brother, this one held a little extra...something. Hot and mysterious. Dark and dangerous. Or was it just her stupid, fevered imagination? A shiver went through her. She managed to free one hand from around her glass, long enough to tuck her hair behind her ear before it returned to its death grip around her drink. ‘Thank you,’ she murmured.
‘It’s the done thing to look a person in the eyes, at least once, when they’re talking to you, is it not?’ he drawled. ‘Or is your drink infinitely more interesting than I am?’
‘It is... I mean...it’s the done thing, yes, not my drink—’
‘Suki.’ Her name was a rigid demand.
One she couldn’t have denied even if she’d wanted to. And absurdly, now she was commanded, she didn’t have any qualms about turning her head, meeting the gleaming, intense green eyes that focused on her.
She’d met Ramon Acosta a handful of times over the last three years. From the first time when Luis had introduced them at their university graduation ceremony and every occasion since, she’d been struck progressively speechless. Because almost impossibly, her best friend’s older brother grew more captivating, the force of his raw magnetism intensifying every time she saw him. Far from Luis’s tireless mocking acting as the impetus she needed to kill her senseless crush, her traitorous emotions heightened and sparked even more explosively with each meeting, the stern talking-to she gave herself before each meeting a useless exercise once in Ramon’s presence.
It was becoming a problem. But not one she wanted to deal with right now. It was her birthday, after all.
Besides, even if Ramon Acosta were anywhere in her league, he would still be out of bounds on account of his very public, very serious engagement to Svetlana Roskova, the drop-dead gorgeous Russian model.
But, having met his gaze, she couldn’t look away. Couldn’t think beyond the affirmation of how completely irresistible he was. From the olive-toned vibrancy of his skin to the strong column of the throat exposed by the top two buttons left undone in his dark navy shirt, to the slim fingers resting dangerously close to hers, she was absorbed by him.
‘There you are,’ he murmured, a trace of dark satisfaction in his voice that triggered alarm within her. ‘I’m infinitely pleased that I don’t have to spend the rest of the night addressing your profile.’
‘You are?’ she blurted, then cringed.
Seriously, get a hold of yourself!
One side of his full mouth tilted upward, although Suki didn’t spot a single scrap of mirth on his face. ‘Contrary to what is widely believed, it turns out that looking into the whites of someone’s eyes doesn’t guarantee insight into their true nature, but I still prefer that mode of communication.’
This time she caught a definite thread of bitterness, wrapped in thinly veiled fury. ‘Is...is something wrong?’ she ventured. ‘You seem agitated.’
The mocking laugh was unexpected. ‘Do I?’ he enquired lazily.
His tone grated, morphing, perhaps fortunately, her bemusement to irritation. ‘You find my concern amusing?’
Dark green eyes tracked her face, lingered on her mouth. ‘Is that what this thing is I’m sensing from you, little mouse? Concern?’
‘What else could it be? And I wish you two wouldn’t call me that,’ she replied sharply. ‘I’m not a mouse.’
His eyes narrowed again, the trace of distemper thickening. ‘Far be it from me to be as predictable as my brother. Rest assured, I will fashion a suitable moniker for you.’
‘Or you can use my given name, like everyone else, and just call me Suki?’
For some reason, the request made him tenser. He stilled, his eyes growing even more intense, scrutinising her from forehead to jaw to throat. ‘Sí. I guess I could, Suki,’ he rasped.
Her name rolled like an unexploded sensual grenade off his lips, tumbling to a charged stop between them. She stared at him, fighting to breathe, watched his gaze drop and linger for long, unnerving seconds on her mouth. Time ticked away. It might have been a minute. It might have been five. The noise of the pub receded but she could hear his steady breathing, feel the condensation from the glass coating her fingers, the cold a deep contrast to the fire burning inside her.
‘Are you and my brother involved?’ The question was grim and rapier-sharp.
‘Involved?’ she parroted, still caught in the grip of the electrical storm brewing between them. ‘I don’t know what—’
‘You wish me to be explicit? Are you screwing my brother?’ he demanded.
She exhaled in a horrified little rush. ‘Excuse me?’
‘Pretended outrage at my language isn’t necessary. A simple yes or no will suffice.’
Another healthy bout of irritation flared, saving her jumbled senses. ‘I’m not sure what’s up with you, but you obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, so—’
The low curse was uttered in Spanish, but she knew it was potent nevertheless. ‘Indulge me and let’s refrain from the mention of beds and who woke up where for the moment, cara.’
She frowned. ‘Well, you’re sort of proving my point with that statement. Which begs the question why did you come here to celebrate your brother’s birthday if you’re in such a terrible mood?’
The skin bracketing his mouth pinched white as his nostrils flared. Suki watched, her spine stiffening with dread as his fist balled on the table. ‘Because I’m loyal. Because when I give my word I keep it. Because Luis trusts me to be there for him and it’s my duty to honour that trust.’
The icy fury with which he delivered the words robbed her of breath, but only for a moment. ‘I wasn’t questioning your loyalty or—’
‘You still haven’t answered my question.’
She shook her head, struggling to follow the mercurial swing of the conversation. ‘Probably because it’s none of your business.’
His fist tightened further. ‘You think it’s none of my business? When he treats you like you belong to him but you look at me with those gorgeous, greedy blue eyes?’
She gasped, her insides clenching tight with mortification. ‘I don’t!’
His laughter was mocking and cruel. ‘You pretended you needed the encouragement to acknowledge me, but your eyes haven’t stopped devouring me since I sat down. Fair warning though, even as much as Luis means to me, I don’t share my women. Ever. So a ménage à trois will be out of the question.’
‘I... God, you’re despicable,’ she replied, horror dredging through her, because he’d not only so easily witnessed the stupid feelings she’d been desperate to hide, but had also felt no qualms about calling her out on them.
‘Am I? Or are you just disappointed because whatever hot little scenario you concocted in your head has been rumbled?’
‘Believe me, I have no earthly idea what you’re talking about. And I’m sorry if someone misplaced a few of your billions or kicked your puppy because clearly something’s happened today to put you in this filthy mood. But, regardless of that, I should warn you that I’m two seconds from throwing my drink in your face. So unless you want a cold drenched body to go with that deplorable attitude, I suggest you shut up right now! And also, how dare you speak to me of sharing and...and ménages? Aren’t you engaged to—?’
‘Madre de Dios, how long was I away for?’ Luis slid into the seat and nodded thanks to the waitress who set the ice bucket and champagne flutes down. ‘Because I could’ve sworn it was only five minutes. And yet you two look like you’re about to come to blows? I’m surprised at you, little mouse.’ Although his tone was jovial, his eyes were shrewd as they slid from her to his brother.
Suki shook her head, unable to believe what was happening. ‘Trust me, I’m not—’
‘I was setting your girlfriend straight on a few things,’ Ramon interjected.
Luis’s eyebrows shot up, then he laughed. ‘My girlfriend? Where did you get that idea?’
Silence reigned at the table. Suki glared at her supposed best friend.
Ramon’s tight jaw eased a fraction before he shrugged. ‘Are you saying she doesn’t belong to you?’
Suki’s teeth clenched. ‘Excuse—?’
‘Sí, she belongs to me—’
‘Can you please stop talking about me as if I’m some ornament?’ she interrupted.
Ramon ignored her, his keen gaze fixed on his brother.
Luis’s lighter eyes narrowed. ‘Like a sister belongs to a brother who cares for her. Like a friend owns the entitlement of kicking someone’s ass if they so much as whisper a threat of harm her way. Like—’
‘Understood,’ Ramon said, his voice firm and grave.
‘Good, I’m glad that’s settled,’ Luis replied, then reached for the champagne.
Suki turned her head, met the newly gleaming gaze Ramon turned on her. ‘Is it? Is it settled?’ she hissed.
One corner of his mouth quirked, as if now his brother had explained he found the whole subject amusing. ‘I got the wrong end of the stick, it seems, gatito.’
‘Is that supposed to be an apology?’ she snapped.
A fleeting expression darkened his eyes. ‘Permit me some time to find the right words.’
Considering Ramon Acosta was lauded worldwide as possessing the Midas touch with every venture he turned his hand to, she found it impossible to believe he was lost for anything.
He’d single-handedly turned his parents’ half a dozen Cuban-based hotels into the world-renowned Acosta International Hotels chain while pursuing a private but deeply passionate artistic talent. When Svetlana Roskova had accidentally on purpose let slip during an interview that she was a muse for, and involved with, an artist, the media had clamoured to know who had won the heart of the Russian beauty.
After several sources had speculated that it was indeed Ramon, he’d given a single exclusive interview confirming himself as her lover and the man behind the wildly successful Piedra Galleries. Overnight, his already highly sought after paintings and sculptures had become priceless collectors’ items, with commissions from monarchs and world leaders placed on a waiting list that stretched into years, according to Luis.
But the man Suki had placed on a lofty pedestal was far removed from the one now watching her with wild, unsettling eyes. A fact his own brother noted as he peeled the foil off the champagne cork.
‘You seem wound up tighter than normal, Ramon. I can virtually see the smoke curling from your ears. It’s quite a sight to behold,’ Luis observed dryly.
Ramon’s mouth tightened. ‘Is this how you wish to spend the rest of your birthday, lobbing jokes at me?’ he asked without taking his eyes off Suki.
She suppressed a shiver, wondering what was going on behind the hooded green eyes.
‘I was just trying to lighten this heavier than normal mood, seeing as it’s my birthday and I can do what I want, but if you’re not going to explain yourself, at least answer that damn phone that’s been buzzing in your pocket for the last five minutes?’
Ramon shifted his gaze from her long enough to flick his brother an impatient look before reaching into his jacket. Extracting the sleek phone from his pocket, he barely glanced at it before powering it off.
Luis’s jaw dropped. ‘You’re actually turning off the power source to the empire? Are you unwell? Or are you ignoring someone specific?’
‘Luis...’ His voice held patent warning. One his younger brother didn’t heed.
‘Dios, is there trouble in paradise? Has the great Svetlana tripped over her stilettos and fallen from grace?’
Ramon Acosta’s face iced up, his eyes turning a shade of turbulent green. ‘I was waiting until later to share the news, but if you must know, as of this morning, I’m no longer engaged.’
He was no longer engaged.
As if his words had caused the planet to stop turning, silence descended on the booth. The three of them remained frozen in place, even as the words ricocheted through her brain.
He was no longer engaged.
Suki jumped at the sound of the cork forcefully ejecting from the bottle. Frothy, expensive liquid spilled. The sounds and smell of the pub roared back into her consciousness. But still the words pounded through her head.
Ramon was no longer committed to another woman.
She frowned at the giddy relief swirling through her, then started as a flute of champagne was thrust into her hands.
‘Drink up, little mouse. Now we have two...no, three reasons to celebrate,’ Luis said, eyeing her with even deeper resolution.
‘I’m glad my broken engagement brings you such sublime joy, hermano,’ Ramon replied, his voice arctic cold.
Luis sobered. ‘I chose to respect your relationship, but my views on your engagement never changed. She was the wrong woman for you. Whether the move to end it was hers or yours—’
‘It was mine.’
Luis’s smile returned. ‘Then either celebrate with me or drown your sorrows. Either way, we’re finishing this champagne.’ He poured two more glasses.
Ramon waited a beat, then raised his glass and recited another clipped birthday toast before tossing back the drink. Luis, his point made, proceeded to drink most of the bottle, while Suki sipped hers.
All the while tension reigned, heightened even further by the looks Ramon kept casting her way.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Luis rose just after midnight, his predatory gaze on a stunning redhead smiling at him from two seats away.
‘Time to make a significant start on my second quarter-century.’
Suki pushed away her half-finished glass. ‘I think I’ll head home—’
‘Stay,’ Ramon said. Before she could reply, he turned to his brother. ‘My limo is outside. Have the driver deliver you wherever you want to go.’
Luis clapped his hand on his brother’s shoulder. ‘I appreciate the offer but I’m going to tread delicately with this flower. We don’t want her overwhelmed and bolting at the sight of all those Acosta billions before I get the chance to close the deal, now, do we?’
Ramon’s jaw tightened before he shrugged. ‘Very well. I’ll leave you to serenade your paramour on the night bus.’
‘Dios, everything is such an extreme with you, isn’t it? There’s such a thing as a black cab, you know? And even with the lowly salary you pay me as junior marketing executive, I can still afford one.’
‘If you say so. Either way, I expect you to report to the office sober and whole on Monday morning.’
‘As long as you promise to deliver Suki home, safe and sound.’
She shook her head, grabbing her handbag as she rose. ‘There’s no need. I’ll be fine getting home by myself.’ Although she would be relying on the maligned public transport, the reason to keep a close eye on her spending casting a sudden grey shadow on her birthday. Her phone hadn’t rung in the four hours since she’d called the hospital to check on her mother so she must be having a relatively restful night. At least she hoped so.
‘Sit down, Suki,’ Ramon drawled, his tone throbbing with implacable power. ‘You and I aren’t finished.’
