Valdez's Bartered Bride Read online

  ‘Don’t tease me with your sexy body.’ The Spanish words were soft and seductive as he brushed his lips against hers and she closed her eyes, imagining the kiss was because he loved her, because they were something more than one-night lovers.

  She pushed against his chest with her palms, ignoring the firm muscle beneath her fingers, the soft hair she just wanted to run her hands through. Inwardly she groaned with a mixture of despair and longing, outwardly she laughed again.

  ‘I am not a tease, Raul Valdez.’ Her voice was so light, so playful it didn’t even sound like her.

  ‘You are,’ he began as his hand moved up her waist to cover the firmness of her breast, making her drag in a deep breath as passion exploded inside her. ‘And very sexy.’

  ‘Sexy?’ she questioned coyly, not able to believe she was being so flirtatious. Was it because she didn’t want the night to end, didn’t want the daylight to bring the harsh reality of having become just another one of his conquests?

  He pulled her closer, his intentions emblazoned in the black depths of his eyes. Her heart raced as she surrendered to his kiss, to his caress. She wanted this so much—wanted him. She put her heart and soul into the kiss, allowing it to convey all the emotions she could never tell him.

  ‘Sí, querida. Very sexy.’ He whispered the words against her lips, the sensation wildly erotic. ‘And now I can’t let you go.’

  ‘Is that so?’ She moved daringly against him, enjoying the momentary rush of power, but not for one minute did she believe she was truly in control. That kind of mistake could be fatal with a man like Raul Valdez.

  In a movement so swift she gasped, Raul pushed her back against the softness of the pillow, the weight of his naked body preventing her escape. Laughter glittered in his eyes as he looked into hers and she wanted to hang on to this moment for ever, to remember how it felt to be loved by him and to love him in return.

  ‘You are not going anywhere, not until I have made love to you again and again.’ His voice had become deep and husky, adding to the fire of desire that was rapidly burning out of control within her.

  ‘But it’s nearly morning.’

  ‘Then we shall have all day, no, all weekend together.’

  ‘All weekend?’ Now she was shocked. Was he saying it as some kind of test for her? After all, hadn’t she insisted on being his for just one night?

  ‘Yes. One weekend of passion and I don’t intend to waste a moment more of it.’

  Before she could respond, offer up any kind of defence, his lips were claiming hers in a hot kiss, the heat of his body coaxing hers into submission and she knew she couldn’t fight it any longer.

  * * *

  It had been hard to leave Lydia in bed, but as the mid-morning winter sunshine streamed into his apartment Raul had done just that. Their lovemaking had been powerful and passionate, but as Lydia had slept his thoughts had wandered. Now she was sitting opposite him as they had breakfast, the air of aloofness she often hid behind threatening to return. But he wasn’t ready to end it yet.

  ‘I thought you wanted to go to London today.’ Lydia’s voice held a note of uncertainty and he downed a black coffee in one go, needing the hit of caffeine to calm him. After last night’s revelations—all of them—there was no way he was going to step out of this erotic interlude and into his future. For now, that could all wait. He still wanted Lydia with a burning need that made him want to drag her straight back to bed and it was the perfect defence against acknowledging the truth.

  Was it her obvious innocence last night, before she’d become a bold and flirtatious lover, or a way of punishing her for being the one who’d changed his life? He didn’t know. Either way, he wanted her. He wasn’t about to turn his back on such an alluring companion. Not yet. She would be his for the weekend. On Monday he would return to reality and fly to London to meet his brother. Once he’d done that, Lydia would be free—he would be free. Their lives could return to normal.

  Except that his never would. His would change beyond recognition. He had a brother. One he wanted to know, and it had nothing to do with money as Lydia had accused him of.

  He and his brother shared the misfortune of having the same father. Didn’t that count for something? He frowned as he thought of Carlos’s insistence that he marry instead of looking for Max. Was that really to ensure Lydia’s father didn’t get away without repaying his debt or was Carlos reluctant to have two Valdez sons at the helm of the company? Was it possible there was something else going on?

  ‘Would you rather I walked out so soon after last night?’ He dragged his mind back to the present and glared at Lydia, unable to keep the annoyance from his voice that she could so easily move on from all they’d shared last night.

  ‘But last night, you said you would be going today.’

  ‘That was before our lovers’ tryst.’ He watched the glow of a blush rush over her cheeks and, even though anger was the best emotion to deal with what was to come, he smiled. ‘I am not in the habit of making love to a woman and then running off into the night. We will spend the weekend together. Like lovers. Then we will go to London on Monday.’

  ‘You want me to come with you?’ She sat opposite him, her silk dressing gown doing little to hide the fact that beneath it she was naked, and he gritted his teeth against the sudden stab of lust that shot through him.

  Slowly he put down his cup, then stood up and put out his hand to her. With a guarded expression in her eyes she took his hand and he pulled her to her feet, then with his free hand tugged at the belt tied loosely at her waist. The cream silk slipped apart, exposing her to his hungry gaze.

  ‘I want nothing more than to make love to you again and again. This weekend is for us. The future can damn well wait.’

  He shoved aside the agony of having that cruel confirmation that his father had never really wanted him, never really cared for him in any way. Now he knew why he’d had to put up with such a harsh upbringing, why anything he’d done had never pleased his father.

  His father had never wanted him. He hadn’t been the much-sought-after son and heir. That honour had fallen to Max, the son who’d taken his name, the name he should have had, just months before he’d been born. How could he ever have competed with that? Did he want to? The question lingered in his mind.

  And this woman had known that cruel fact since they’d visited his mother and had kept it from him. He bit down on the anger and allowed desire to flow through him. He needed it to forget the pain. Passion and desire made very good salves for such wounds.

  ‘We should go out, take a walk in the park or something.’ There was hesitancy in her voice, which only increased his suspicion that she was far from the experienced lover she wanted him to believe her to be. Even her teasing this morning hadn’t completely disguised the fact. He’d seen something in her eyes, something deep and meaningful.

  Very well. He would play the part of lover and forget the real world that awaited him.

  ‘We can.’ He pulled her closer, feeling the heat of her body scorch his. ‘After I’ve explored your sexy body, kissed every part of it and made you cry out my name as you did early this morning.’

  She blushed prettily and he kissed her, tempting her, feeling her resistance subsiding. Whatever else happened, she was his for now. But it couldn’t last. He’d never wanted sentiments and emotions in his life and, despite the new and powerful draw to her, Lydia wasn’t going to change that.

  * * *

  Lydia lay languidly in bed as darkness fell over Madrid, the apartment becoming the romantic place it had been last night, lit with only a few lamps. They had left the apartment to stroll around the cafés and bars in Madrid’s plaza. But the undercurrent of sexual attraction meant that neither of them had had much appetite for food. As the winter sun had given way to the night, they’d returned to the warmth of the apartment and Lydia was hardly able to believe they were still in a lovers’ limbo. She should be happy, should just enjoy it for what it was, but foolishly
she wanted more—and knew it was impossible.

  She’d never known such pleasure existed. Raul had shown her that lovemaking was something wonderful but she knew it wasn’t lovemaking to him. It was merely lust—overwhelming desire and passion.

  The sound of Raul in the shower dragged her from dwelling too much on what could never be. For Raul she knew this whole weekend was based on desire and lust. It was more than lust for her. Could it be possible that she’d fallen for him—really fallen for him? Or was it that she still felt sorry for him, still felt the pain and vulnerability she’d seen in his eyes when she’d told him about Max? As he’d looked at her, the party going on around them, all she’d wanted was to ease that pain, to be the one to make things right for him.

  This morning his lovemaking had been wild and hard, the gentle dominance of last night had turned to something more determined and Lydia had found it as exciting as their first passionate encounter. Finally, that anger had dissipated and the man who’d driven her mad with desire, making her throw caution aside and be his for the night, had returned.

  She’d been bold, flirtatiously asking for more than sex, asking for something that resembled a real relationship, even though it would be only for two days. To her astonishment he had agreed and she had enjoyed his company over lunch. Had he enjoyed the day as much as her? Had he liked being a couple? And what happened now?

  ‘Should we go out this evening?’ She slipped from the bed and pulled on the silk dressing gown as he returned from the shower, a white towel around his hips, his hair dark with wetness. She couldn’t take her eyes from him, he looked so sexy, so handsome.

  ‘I think our absence from this evening’s party will say so much more than our attendance.’ The deep sultry tone of her voice made smiling coyly at him the only option, but deep down the worry still lingered that he was using her to prove something, to further his dealings with his board.

  ‘What did you have planned, then?’ She couldn’t believe she, of all people, was being so teasing and behaving like a seductress.

  ‘Other than to make love to the most beautiful English rose?’ He moved towards her and she shivered in anticipation.

  ‘Yes, other than that.’ With a flaunting smile she stepped past him. ‘I’d like to talk a little, get to know you better.’

  He tensed, the muscles of his chest flexing, proving if nothing else that this weekend was only about sex. She turned her attention to knotting the belt in her dressing gown, desperate to hide her disappointment from him and, even more importantly, not question it herself.

  ‘Very well. We shall eat here and talk over a glass of wine.’

  She frowned at him, wondering what it was he had planned now, because if there was one thing she’d learnt about him it was that he always had plans. Whatever those plans were she was determined to drive the conversation the way she wanted, to find out just what the future held for her and her family. Was she really clear of debt? The one question she wouldn’t ask was what the future held for them—as a couple.

  ‘What are you going to do—about Max?’ The question slipped from her as she lay in bed, casually trailing a finger across the fine cotton sheets.

  He looked at her as he tossed aside the towel and put his clothes on, the blue shirt only highlighting the jet black of his hair. He was avoiding answering her. Was he hoping he could rid himself of Max in the same way he intended to rid himself of her?

  He stood tall and proud, defiance coming off him in waves, and she knew without any doubt that it was most certainly not what he wanted. ‘I will welcome Max into my life and the family business.’

  ‘Because of loyalty to your father?’ She pulled the sheet against her. Such a discussion needed modesty.

  ‘No.’ He finished dressing and looked at her, his gaze sweeping over her, and her skin burned as if she were completely naked to his gaze. There was desire in his eyes, but also something else, something unfathomable, something very cold. ‘Out of necessity.’

  The barb of his statement hit her hard and although it was powerful it at least confirmed that she and the man she’d become temporarily engaged to would soon go their separate ways. It was exactly the deal she’d made with herself as she’d given in to the temptation of desire and had truly become his lover.

  ‘The lesser of two evils?’ She taunted him, needing to counteract the pain she felt. Pain that came from feeling deeply for this man—far too deeply. ‘Either welcome a brother or a wife.’

  ‘Sí, querida. To prove I am not the heartless man my father assumed I was. He thought I’d find marriage preferable to bringing my brother into my life.’

  Was he running from the truth now as she was? And what was his truth? With a heavy heart she knew it would not be that he had fallen in love with her, that he wanted more than this passionate weekend. She realised she was decidedly underdressed and vulnerability shivered over her as once again his gaze lingered on her.

  ‘So I am free to go?’ She dared to ask, dared to bring their lovers’ weekend crashing down around her.

  His brows rose and he crossed the room towards her, his height dominating the entire room, and even though she was covered only in a sheet she looked defiantly back at him. He sat on the bed next to her, reached out and stroked the backs of his fingers across her cheek in a moment so tender, so out of place, she had to blink back the urge to cry.

  ‘But you don’t want to go now, do you, querida? Not when the passion still burns so hotly between us. You want to stay, to sleep in my bed and be the woman I desire.’

  His seductive words stoked the slumbering fire of desire to life once more and she knew she was lost, that whatever she’d promised herself about not falling for him, she would never be able to keep it.

  ‘What I want is for you to come back to bed,’ she teased as she smiled up at him.

  He moved towards her, his kiss so light, so very loving she could almost believe it was real. ‘How can I resist such a seductress?’

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE PASSION THAT had ignited between them as they’d danced at the party two nights ago still flowed through Raul. A concept he was far from familiar with and, even though he wanted Lydia, he’d suggested they take a walk, as most people in Madrid did on a Sunday afternoon. She looked as if she belonged here, strolling with the locals, her long legs encased in white jeans and boots, the collar of her black faux suede jacket fanning out her hair around her. He had to do something to cool things down.

  Tomorrow he would be stepping out of this strangeness he’d fallen into and back into his real life. He’d be in London to meet his brother. A thought that brought happiness and annoyance in equal measures.

  ‘Have you spoken to your father?’ he asked and her step faltered beside him as they entered Retiro Park; the trees bare of leaves but bathed in the winter sun, it still looked inviting. He’d spent many hours here, first as a young boy and then a man. Sometimes he’d had the company of a woman, but it had never been to avoid the lure of taking one to his bed yet again.

  ‘No. That is a conversation for another day. What about you? Have you said anything to your mother yet?’ He glanced at her as she successfully turned the tables on him and a spark of admiration shot through him. Lydia was more than a match for him. He liked that. Not that it changed a thing. Tomorrow it would end. It was what they’d planned—what they wanted.

  ‘I think it will be better to tell her when I have met my brother, seen what kind of man he is. I insist on protecting her from this as much as possible.’ As he spoke she took his arm and moved closer to him and to the outside world they looked no different from any other couple in love strolling through the park.

  It wasn’t what he wanted. Love and other such ill-fated emotions weakened even the strongest man and, combined with the desire he had for Lydia, Raul sensed that it would be all-consuming—and lethal. No, it was not something he wanted or needed in his life.

  ‘I admire that in you.’ She spoke softly and he looked down at her
, to see she was watching him. The distance he was hoping to create between them slipped away as she smiled, openly and honestly. Hell, he wanted to kiss her.

  A fierce fire leapt to life within him, filling his whole body with something he didn’t want, something he couldn’t deal with. He’d known desire before, many times, but never like this. Could it be he’d crossed the boundary and was straying into a place he had no intention of being?

  He focused his mind on the conversation, ignoring the undertones of something much more devastating. ‘That I care for my mother? The woman who raised me, protecting me from the true knowledge of my father’s secret life?’

  Saying it aloud to Lydia brought it all home to him. How much his mother must have suffered because of the man she’d married, not out of love, but out of duty and honour to her family.

  He saw it all differently. He could hear again Lydia proudly telling him she had no intention of marrying him. All it did was back up the relief that she’d fulfilled her part of the deal and had found Max, unlocking the funds to clear the debt, funds that he strongly suspected his father had thought would never be unlocked.

  ‘But that is not wrong, Raul.’ She looked at him, a strange and powerful expression in her lovely green eyes. If he didn’t know how fiercely she opposed the idea of marriage and how she agreed on his philosophy of love, he could be fooled into thinking she was in love. With him.

  ‘Wrong or not, it is not up for discussion.’ He held her gaze for a second longer, then turned to walk on. They were drawing attention, he realised. ‘Let us walk.’

  She fell quickly into step beside him, her black boots making a gentle sound on the path, and feeling her body against his as they walked felt so right, so natural. For the briefest of moments, he wondered why he didn’t want this closeness, this total commitment.

  Because it will never last and pain will follow it.

  He could still clearly remember just what such pain had done to his mother when she’d discovered his father had led a secret life. It was the kind of pain that went hand in hand with that elusive emotion love and it had convinced him that, despite all his mother had claimed about their marriage being arranged, she’d loved his father.