She tried to fight the urge to fling her arms around him and kiss him back. Her legs trembled, her fists clenched and unclenched but it was no contest. Defeated, she raised her hands to his chest, her fingers lingering on the soft fabric of his shirt, lovingly tracing the muscular wall of his chest.
His mouth left hers and Penny gasped for breath. But Raul had no such difficulty. He gazed deep into her passion-glazed eyes. 'You see, Penny? I know you better than you think. Caution is not in your vocabulary when it comes to sex,' he voiced mockingly.
Shame turned her face scarlet and she pulled back, stumbling slightly in her haste to escape. Raul reached out a hand to steady her and she knocked it away.
Furious with Raul but even more furious with herself, she forgot any notion of staying in control, and raged back viciously. 'Sex is all you ever think about, you arrogant pig. Well, I've got news for you. You might be able to turn a woman on for a moment—big deal! So can millions of other men,' she derided. 'But, in the long term, even with all your wealth and power, you are a dead loss. And as for getting your hands on my son forget it; you haven't a cat in hell's chance.'
‘The events of the past two days would suggest otherwise,' Raul said with a cynical edge.
Penny stiffened, her anger draining away as ice spread slowly through her body while Raul casually turned aside and shrugged off his jacket, dropping it on the sofa. Equally casually he strode across the room to lean against the fireplace before turning to look back at her and deliver the coup de grace.
'After all, Penny, you were hardly very cautious with the boy, handing him over to a complete stranger,' he opined acidly.
Penny was frozen on the spot. She stared with pain-filled eyes at his hard, ruthless face. Her throat tightened and she had to look away to blink bock the tears. There was nothing he could have said that would have hurt her more. 'I won't argue with you,' she said quietly. 'But neither will I let you have my son.'
He shook his dark head and grimaced. 'I have no intention of depriving you of your child.'
She wanted to believe him but she did not trust him an inch. 'So you say,' she muttered.
'Believe it,' Raul said tersely, and, idly picking up a picture frame from the mantelpiece, which held a photograph of James as a baby, he stared at it for a long moment. 'How old was be when this was taken?' he asked in a thick voice.
'Six months.'
'He's beautiful.'
'Yes,' Penny agreed. Actually, he was the living image of his father, and the worried thoughts that had kept her awake last night came back to her. She had almost decided to tell Raul about James. Maybe Raul's turning up today was fate. The decision had been made for her.
A weary sigh escaped her. She glanced sideways at Raul, so large and elegant, leaning casually against the fireplace, and wondered fearfully exactly what he wanted.
'For God's sake, Penny! You're standing there like a frightened rabbit. Sit down before you fall down, and let's talk like two sensible adults.'
She did as he said; she did not have much choice. Perched on the edge of the sofa, it seemed to Penny as if she had an awfully long way to look up at where Raul was standing, a dark, brooding frown marring his handsome face. She waited, expecting him to speak; the silence lengthened, the tension in the air almost tangible until finally she could stand it no longer.
'You said talk,' she reminded him curtly.
Raul replaced the photograph on the mantelpiece and, ignoring her words, began pacing up and down the room. Finally he stopped in front of Penny. 'When will the boy wake up?' he demanded.
She glanced up and caught a glimpse of some emotion she did not recognise in his dark eyes. 'Half an hour, maybe,' she murmured. If she had not known better she could have sworn that Raul was nervous.
'I see.' He ran a hand distractedly through his thick hair and lowered himself down beside her on the sofa. 'Enough time, I suppose.'
'For what?' Penny asked, edging away from the far too masculine thigh brushing her bare leg.
Raul noted her reaction, his mouth quirking in the semblance of a smile. Then he floored her completely. 'To arrange the wedding, of course.'
She was on her feet in a flash and spun round to stare down at him in horror. He couldn't be serious. No. She was jumping to conclusions. Remember, she reprimanded herself sternly, you're a mature adult, a mother, a businesswoman.
'Who is getting married?' she asked, and answered her own question. 'Of course—you and Dulcie.' Suddenly it was very clear, and Penny's temper took off again. 'If you think for one second I would let that woman anywhere near my child, forget it. You can have access rights but that is all.'
'Not Dulcie. You and I, Penny,' Raul corrected her coolly. 'It is obvious the boy needs a father's protection. I've decided marriage is the best solution all round.'
He had decided! Never mind that he already had a fiancée! Raul the magnificent had decided. The master's voice... Penny thought bitterly. 'Not in my lifetime,' she said bluntly.
'You have not given it any thought, Penny. Consider all I can give the boy. Remember years ago you asked me to marry you. Nothing has changed except now I agree.'
'No,' she reiterated, hating to be reminded of her last humiliation at this man's hands. She would never take the risk of that happening again.
'Don't be so damned selfish.' Raul grabbed her wrist and pulled her down beside him on the sofa once again.
'Let go of me.'
'Not until you listen. I am trying to be fair to you, Penny, because you have suffered a terrible experience,' he said earnestly. 'I am trying to keep my temper. But
I have not forgotten that you never once mentioned you were pregnant when you asked me to marry you. If you had I would have agreed and none of the trauma of the past couple of days need ever have happened. The chemistry is still there between us; we can have a good marriage and our son a good family life.'
Penny looked at him long and hard. There was no doubting that he was absolutely serious, and for a second she actually considered what it would be like married to Raul. Sexually he was perfect—every woman's fantasy lover rolled into one. Her heart stopped momentarily and Raul's dark eyes gleamed triumphantly into hers, as if he was reading her mind.
'You know I'm right, Penny.'
It was the superb self-confidence in his tone that infuriated her, and she remembered the rest—his domineering personality, his orders on what to wear and where to go, his workaholic lifestyle, flitting around the world at a moment's notice. He was certainly not cut out to be a father and family man. In fact James would probably see more of his father if Raul had to make an appointment to meet the boy than he ever would living with his dad. And then there was Dulcie!
Suddenly his suggestion struck Penny as ludicrous. 'You're kidding, of course. You, who vowed you would never be trapped into marriage, have the gall to sit in my home and propose marriage to get my child.' A humourless laugh escaped her. 'Sorry, no.'
'Think again, Penny.'
'I don't need to; the answer is no.'
'I could fight you in court for custody.' He said the words casually, with no more inflection than a weatherman reading the forecast.
Penny looked at him in disbelief. He was lounging back on the sofa, apparently at ease. 'You would do that?' she said tightly.
Raul gave her a chilling smile. 'It's an option,' he said, giving nothing away.
His dark eyes blandly met her furious blue but she was too angry to bother trying to hide her hatred and disgust. In fact, she realised, she was not even surprised. From the minute Raul had said 'our son' she had been waiting for something like this. 'You would never win. Not in an English court. Especially after the recent publicity.'
'But can you take that chance, Penny?' he asked brutally. 'I have the time, the wealth and the best lawyers at my disposal, whereas you have very little money or time to fight me.'
True to character. To Raul wealth was everything, Penny thought bitterly, but he was no
t getting her son. 'Try it,' she challenged him. 'But know I will fight you to the death to keep my son.'
A loud shout of 'mamma' from James stopped whatever acid comment Raul had been about to make.
Penny immediately leapt to her feet, and didn't notice the menacing intent in Raul's expression. 'He's awake.' She stated the obvious to give herself time to think. She knew that she would have to make sure she acted cool and in control around Raul. It was the only way to get through to a man like him, and now was a good time to start. She took a few steps and then turned back to him. He had not moved; it was as if the sound of the child's voice had frozen him on the spot.
'My son—' she emphasised the 'my', '—can wait a minute; he has plenty of toys in his cot. But the situation between us cannot.'
Her decision made, she proceeded coldly. 'Do you remember your final words to me years ago? “Send me a bill, honey, and I'll think about paying.” Penny saw his facial muscles tauten, his mouth twisting in a grim line, and she knew that he did not appreciate being reminded of what a swine he was. But she didn't care; she was fighting for her baby, her life.
'I hate to disillusion you, Raul, but all your power and all your wealth cannot pay the bill. You see, the price of rearing a child, a family, is love—lots and lots of love. The one commodity you cannot make or deal or buy. The one thing you do not possess and never will.'
She watched him in silence for a second. His face was like carved granite, his eyes hard, but she had the weirdest sensation that she had cut him to the quick, then quickly dismissed the thought. Nothing hurt Raul.
'You can hire your fancy lawyers, throw your money around, but you will not win. As I said before, I will allow you access, but on my terms and conditions. Take it or leave it.'
Penny thought she heard him mumble and waited, but still Raul remained silent, his dark face expressionless, so she continued, 'But that is all that is on offer, or ever likely to be...'
As a departure line, Penny thought it was rather good, and, spinning on her heel, she walked out of the room.
Lifting James up in her arms, she turned him around. 'Hello, my love, did you have a nice nap?'
'Nap, nap, nap,' James gurgled with delight.
'Not nap but nappy, I think!' Penny said ruefully, her hand on his bottom decidedly damp.
It was a simple matter to lie the little boy on the baby changer and strip off his old nappy, but not so simple to get the new one on. James loved the freedom of being half-naked. His chubby arms and legs waving around in the air, his little hand caught strands of Penny's long hair and pulled while his big brown eyes laughed happily up at her. 'Mamma, Mamma.'
'Yes, Mamma is here and always will be, I promise.' And, deftly fastening a new nappy around his dimpled bottom, she picked him up and cuddled him to her bosom. 'No strange lady—' she nuzzled his neck until he screeched with laughter '—or man is ever going to take you away from me ever again.'
'Was that for my benefit?’
Penny stopped and turned sideways; Raul was standing in the door watching them. 'No, but if the cap fits...' She trailed off.
Raul was not listening. He was gazing in rapt fascination at the child she held in her arms. She glanced down at James and, oddly, he was staring equally intently at the man. Her glance slid from one to the other; they were so alike it was uncanny.
'It’s James, isn't it? I heard it on the television.' Raul's deep husky voice shook as he walked towards them.
They were the saddest words Penny had ever heard Raul utter. How appalling to have to discover your child's name from the television, and suddenly she was smitten with guilt.
'May I...? Will he let me hold him?'
His hesitant request added to the weight of her guilt. She looked up at him and saw a different Raul, stripped of all arrogance. The pleading humility in his dark gaze shocked her to her soul.
Had she done right in depriving him of all knowledge of his child? Or had she done it simply out of pride— if he did not want to marry her for herself, then she was damned if she would marry because she was pregnant? And now today she was doing the same thing again. The thought disturbed Penny more than she wanted to admit.
She forced a smile to her lips and lifted James high in the air. 'Yes, of course you can hold him,' she declared, not looking directly at Raul. 'And as for James minding you have nothing to worry about. He's such a friendly little chap he will go with anyone. Unfortunately,' she said with dry irony, recalling how easily he had toddled off with the strange woman.
Raul chuckled and, reaching out his hands, gently took James from Penny's arms. 'He may look like me but obviously he has inherited your naive disposition.'
'I was naive once but not any more,' Penny said quietly, not wishing to upset James but not at all happy with Raul's reminder of how easily he had fooled her years ago. But it didn't matter, because neither of the two males was listening. Raul was talking softly in Spanish to the little boy and it did not seem to matter that James did not know a word. The rapport between them was instant.
Watching father and son together brought a lump to her throat. Identical dark eyes with the exact same expression, the same curly hair. She saw James reach a chubby finger to Raul's chin and smile. Penny remembered Raul had always been a twice-a-day man when it came to shaving, sometimes three times if they had been late going to bed and he hadn't wanted to roughen her skin when making love. A vivid image of them both in the bathroom one night—Raul shaving and then sharing her shower—flashed in her mind.
She felt the colour surge in her cheeks. 'I'll go and make tea,' she said into thin air, suddenly needing to get away.
It was bard seeing her baby take so easily to Raul, she excused herself. But deep down she knew that seeing Raul again, kissing him, had awakened all the old, familiar, sensual feelings she had thought gone for ever.
He was a very dangerous man... Penny found it no easier to resist the magnetic pull of his vibrant masculinity now than she had more than two years ago, and it terrified her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
'I'm sorry, Penny, I don't care what you say. I still don't trust him,' Amy said flatly.
Cuddling her mug of hot chocolate in one hand, with her elbow on the kitchen table, Penny propped up her head with the other hand. She was tired and she had had the same argument with Amy every night for the past four nights, ever since Raul had suggested taking Penny and James out for the day on Sunday.
'What harm can there be in going out with the man for one day?'
'I don't know. But I do know by your own admission that when Da Silva arrived out of the blue three weeks ago first he demanded marriage and then threatened a custody battle. Ask yourself, was that the action of a reasonable man? Don't forget I've seen the possessive way he holds James. He wants him, and that man is used to getting his own way—something you should know better than most...'
Everything Amy said was true in a way. Except now Penny did not believe that Raul had any intention of taking James away from her. Admittedly the first time he had arrived on her doorstep she had thought differently. She had been shocked rigid, and frightened. But once Raul had seen the boy he had changed from a stern-faced autocrat to doting father in minutes.
A reminiscent smile curved her lips as she saw again in her mind's eye the picture of Raul and James on the living-room floor when she had walked out of the kitchen with the tea-tray. Raul had built a castle with Lego bricks and James had been in the process of knocking it down, both of them laughing. Amy had arrived home and in her usual fiery manner had told Raul to go. To Penny's amazement Raul had gone...
But even more amazingly he had called back quite late the next evening. Amy had already left to visit her boyfriend, and Penny, alone except for James, had not known what to expect—further demands for marriage or threats of custody.
But instead Raul had been perfectly calm and correct. He'd stayed only long enough to tell her that he had spoken with his lawyer and, apart from wanting to
make an allowance for James, he totally accepted her stipulation of visiting rights only, and had left with a thank-you and a promise to be in touch.
'You're not listening, are you, Penny?'
'What? Yes—yes, I am,' Penny stuttered.
‘That damn man has got you mesmerised again.'
'Don't be silly, Amy. There is nothing between Raul and me any more; he treats me as he would a maiden aunt.' And it was true. On Raul's subsequent visits he had concentrated solely on James, with never a touch or glance that could be construed as the least sexual towards Penny. She was glad, she told herself, but deep down she was a bit miffed—though she would not dream of admitting it to Amy.
'I'm not so sure, girl. A leopard does not change his spots. I think he's lulling you into a false sense of security. He arrives twice a week, all very civilised and polite, plays for a few hours with the boy, then meekly leaves when you say so.'
'You worry too much.' Penny grinned at the fiery redhead's serious expression. For the first time ever in her dealings with Raul Penny had won... It was a heady feeling. Now Raul wanted to spend a whole day with them and she did not see a problem.
'I know what I'm doing. By allowing Raul reasonable access to James, strictly in my company, of course, it might be to my advantage when the final legal arrangement is worked out. James is entitled to know his father; I realise that now. And even you must admit Raul is great with the boy.'
'Great with James he may be, but I still think you should take my advice and have nothing to do with the man until your solicitor has the arrangement signed and sealed, strictly legit— '
'But I've already won!' Penny exclaimed in exasperation at Amy's stubbornness. 'Raul agrees with me completely. No marriage, no messy custody battle. We are two mature adults who had an unfortunate affair and James was the result. Surely I can agree to spend a day with the man for the benefit of James?' As the victor she could afford to be generous, she thought complacently.
'For heaven's sake, Penelope! Will you listen? You're still in shock from the trauma of James going missing, and Da Silva turning up like a bad penny has done nothing to calm you down. It's understandable, but you're not thinking straight, so please be careful.'
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