Sold To The Boss: A Narcos Romance

Chapter 8

Rafael smiled down at Isabella, pleasantly surprised by the calmness and smoothness of her voice when she greeted the Lotega's. But he also felt a slight sense of irritation at the lushness of her curves pressed up against his hard body. He didn't want to like it so much. He shouldn't like it so much. Isabella was practically as innocent as a child compared to him, not that he knew anything about her past. And his irritation at that fact, the fact that he wanted to know more, threw a red flag in his mind that he forced way down so he could focus on the meeting at hand.

"Rafael, I did not know you were engaged! Congratulations!" Señor Luiz Lotega, a man near Rafael's father's age, looked Isabella up and down like a snack. Traditional family man my ass, Rafael thought to himself. He felt his grip grow firmer on Isabella's waist as he guided them over to the couch. He was gripping so tight he was probably leaving nail marks in her tender skin, not that he minded the fact...

"Yes, just recently," Rafael waved one of his servers over and had a round of drinks served. Isabella rested her hand casually on his leg and he stilled at the feel of her delicate fingers against his strong thigh. She was playing the part perfectly, so why couldn't he?

"We met at his cousin's wedding," Isabella took a sip of her drink and smiled warmly at the Lotega's, "I had no idea my childhood friend, Rosila, had such handsome men in her family." Señora Lotega laughed giddily and winked at Isabella.

"Indeed, but Rafael is by far the best. I can't lie, at one point I did hope he'd marry our lovely Maria--"

"Juana," Señor Luiz Lortega chided his wife good-naturedly. "Were you two engaged before your father passed? I don't remember him mentioning it."

Rafael took a sip of his drink before responding. This was exactly the question he'd been hoping for. "Unfortunately no. My father...well my father and I didn't see eye to eye on many things and one of them was my love for Isabella. She's not from a Narcos familia."

"Ahh, I see. True love then?" Señora Lotega smiled, her eyes glimmering with excitement. Clearly she loved gossip and feeling young again. To Rafael's surprise, Isabella responded before he could.

"I had no idea, you know, about his father's views. I never wanted to cause a rift between them but he was...not a welcoming man," she cast her gaze down like the emotional rejection was real for her. Rafael fought the surprised look off of his face. Isabella was quite the actress apparently.

"Well, I'm proud to see that Rafael has chosen true love over business. There's only so much money one man needs to make." Señor Luiz Lotega looked pleased, his hypocritical gaze still fixedly on Isabella's chest.

"Indeed. She's the most important thing in my life." Rafael rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, willing her to look up at him. When she did there was something in their exchange, something more than a mutual agreement to perform. For a moment, Rafael forgot about the Lotega's sitting in front of him and got last in a pair of perfectly almond-shaped hazel eyes...

"Well, we certainly don't want our business talk to get in the way of true love. Rafael, shall we take a walk? Discuss a few terms and then leave the business behind us and enjoy a meal together?" Señor Luiz Lotega drew his gaze back to Rafael, whose hand was still resting over Isabella's.

"Yes, let's have a walk outside. We won't be long," Rafael ducked his head, aiming for Isabella's cheek. But she turned her face at the last moment, his lips brushing against hers and her hand coming up to gently caress his scarred cheek. Rafael stifled a growl at the back of his throat, his blood rushing to his groin. What in the fuck, he thought as his lips crashed onto hers. It took every ounce of restraint to keep his tongue from forcing its way into her sweet, warm mouth, every fiber of his being wanting to explore this woman further. Alone. But he stood quickly, releasing her hand and running it through his hair as he gestured for Señor Luiz Lotega to follow him outside.