Wed or Dead

LIV

"Rafael, are you jealous?" Eliana teased sparks of amusement playing in her eyes. Rafael was not impressed by her behavior. 

"No. It's just that you never know what's in a man's head" Rafael responded not liking the way she was reading his feelings.

"You totally are!" she grinned at him.

"I am leaving. Behave" he said then looked at Danny and said "Keep an eye on her and keep your distance"

"Yes, sir" Danny saluted jokingly. Rafael did not appreciate the gesture. He looked at two bodyguards who were apparently supposed to stay with Eliana, and then he left.

When Rafael left they started chit-chatting.

"So, how long are you planning to stay in Aspen?" Danny asked conversationally.

"Until Monday," Eliana said without elaborating.

"That's not a long time" Danny noted.

"I suppose. But more than enough for us. I have a company to manage" she said while focusing hard on keeping her balance.

Oh, right.

Wait, did she say company to manage? Danny's eyes widened.

"You own a company?"

"Yes, why?" She asked surprised by his reaction.

"No, nothing," he said quickly, embarrassed.

He was too quick to judge. She wasn't a gold digger, she was an heiress. They were the worst kind of girls. Entitled and demanding. He was not hooking up with them because they were hard to ditch.

Because Eliana already knew the basics, his job was just to encourage her to continue trying and from time to time correct her posture. He noted that her skis that were definitely brand new because she was having the latest model from his favorite brand.

"Like this?" Eliana asked trying to get into the position he suggested, but she wasn't doing what she was supposed to do, and if not for Danny's reflexes she would fall. Danny was glad he could finally have her in his arms and while keeping his hands on her even after she was standing steadily in a place he started moving each part of her body in the right position.

"Like this, just without falling," he said jokingly. "Wait," he added as his hand moved to brush a couple of strands of her hair out of her face. This was his first chance to have a moment with her.

Danny's hand stopped in midair. He looked to see who's gripping his wrist and got spooked out when he saw Rafael's dark eyes.

"Keep touching my wife, and you will have to move to another state to find a job" Rafael growled. Danny reacted very quickly by moving his hand away from Eliana as if she was burning him.

"Rafael stop scaring my instructor to death" Eliana sighed tiredly.

"He's behaving like he's having a death wish, so I act accordingly" Rafael responded coldly.

"He was just trying to help," Eliana said trying to calm her husband down.

"We're not going to need your help anymore," Rafael said, he paid Danny in cash and dismissed him without as much as, thank you. Eliana of course gave him her thanks and waved goodbye when he was leaving. He smiled at her and waved back before quickly disappearing out of their sight.

"Rafael that was unnecessarily hostile" she scolded gently.

"On the contrary, I was very civil" Rafael disagreed.

"How was that civil?" Eliana asked in disbelief.

"I didn't pull the gun on him" Rafael explained it as if he just made a big sacrifice in the name of world peace.

"There was no need to do that," she said dryly.

"Of course there was" Rafael politely disagreed.

"And why is that? What am I missing?" Eliana asked with hands on her hips pose.

"Because he was hitting on you," Rafael said as if it was obvious.

"Really?" Eliana asked, clueless.

"You haven't noticed the way he was looking at you, but I did," Rafael said darkly.

Eliana took a moment to think about it and decided that this guy was a bit creepy, but it didn't stop her from thinking that Rafael might be exaggerating a bit. Besides, even if he was a bit into her, it didn't matter because Rafael was the only man she loved and Danny wasn't even her type.

"No one has the right to touch you but me,"  Rafael said, his voice full of conviction as if he was laying down an unbreakable law to the word.

"Possessive much?" Eliana asked amused.

"Very" he agreed.

"Let's go, I will show you what I learned," she said changing the topic and grabbed onto his hand.

Wordlessly Rafael watched as she slowly tries to move towards the slope while still keeping close to him.

"Look, I am getting a hold of this," she said while slowly sliding down the slope. Rafael adjusted his speed to hers, the turtle's speed didn't seem to bother him much, he was busy observing her as if she was a work of art.

Eliana couldn't focus on anything else than Rafael either.

Just a minute ago she saw him skiing with a lighting speed, and now he was here just for her trying to make sure she's alright and enjoying her time. It was so precious. 

Of course, her lack of focus on her feet was a terrible idea, and she paid for it without losing the balance. Because she was still holding Rafael's hand. As she was falling, she could feel Rafael's strong arms grabbing her waist and pulling her in another direction. They fell, but it was Rafael who with his back hit on the hard snow surface she on the other hand was laying on top of him.  She blushed at the proximity they were in.

"Sorry"

"No need to apologize," he said with amusement.

"Maybe I need to work a little more on the balance"

"Good idea," he said and brushed a loose strand of her hair from her face. Then his hand traveled by the back of her head, and he grabbed her by the hair to pull her closer. He kissed her exposed skin and then...

"Did you just give me a hickey?" she asked, completely shocked

"Now everyone knows you're mine," he said, very pleased with himself

"Animal," she responded, but she couldn't get mad.

"We're all animals. I just happened to be more feral", he said with a predatory smile, taking her insult as a compliment and kissing her on his lips. When their lips parted Eliana started chuckling.

"What's so funny," he asked curiously.

"Nothing I can just hear Casey screaming at us to get a room"

"Good idea but let's eat something first"

And with that, they headed to downtown Aspen to see the city.

Author's note:

What do you think?