by Donna Vitek
"Oh, no you won't," Benny retorted emphatically. "No way. That's your money and…"
"And you and Holly are my friends and I want so much to help. Please let me." As Benny argued and Juliet realized how stubborn he was going to be, she decided a little emotional blackmail would be justified in these circumstances. She allowed her lower lip to tremble and tears to fill her eyes. "You've got to let me help. I feel responsible for the accident since you were on your way here to see me when it happened. If you don't let me help pay the medical expenses, I'll feel so guilty. I'll never forgive myself."
Benny's hesitation was his undoing. After a few more minutes of her fervent pleading he acquiesced. "It's crazy for you to feel guilty about the accident, but if you do, then I guess I have to let you help with the bills. But you'll just help. All right? I'll want to pay as much I can. Remember the coffee house where you and I met last year. I can get a job singing there again, I'm almost sure. The pay's not terrific but beggars can't be choosers."
"Where will you stay while Holly's in the hospital?"
"Probably that little hotel where I stayed last year. It ain't what you'd call grand but it is cheap," Benny said wryly, sounding more like himself. Then his expression sobered again. "I shouldn't have loaded all my problems onto your shoulders when you have enough troubles of your own. How's your uncle?"
"About the same. His doctor says it may take him a while to recover completely."
"So you're stuck here, huh? And how are things going with the macho Raul? Is he giving you a hard time?"
Juliet sighed. "I really don't know what to make of him," she said softly. "That night I arrived back, he was so hostile he finally goaded me into telling him what I thought of him for trying to arrange a marriage between Pablo and me. But I'm sure he still really thinks I led Pablo on, then dumped him. What bothers me now is that Raul is being very nice to me, so nice that I'm getting very edgy. He has to have some devious motive for being that nice." She smiled wryly. "But even now, with this Mr. Friendly act he's putting on, he keeps telling me in no uncertain terms that I'm not to see you. He doesn't quite believe you're married and he thinks you and I are much more to each other than traveling companions."
Benny's eyebrows lifted. "He's got everything wrong, hasn't he?" He smiled mischievously. "Boy, if he only knew how willing I was last year to be more than your friend and how uninterested you were. It really broke my heart when I realized you only thought of me as your buddy."
"Your heart sure mended fast enough after you met Holly," Juliet countered with a grin. "You never gave me another romantic thought."
Benny smiled sheepishly. "I guess the two of us were destined to be just friends. But I'm a little confused about Raul. Why should it matter to him what we are to each other? He's not still trying to arrange something between you and Pablo, is he?"
Juliet lifted her face to look up at the cool blue sky, and shook her head. "Oh, I don't know what he has in mind. Maybe he just wants to boss me around for a while. After all, I probably insulted the entire Valaquez family by refusing to marry Pablo, then running off with you."
"And you're going to go on letting him believe that? You're not going to try to convince him I am married to Holly?"
"Why should I?" Juliet countered rather resentfully. "He doesn't want to believe anything I say. And if I did convince him, he'd probably try to rush me down the aisle with Pablo and I certainly wouldn't appreciate that."
"But he can't force you to marry anybody so why do you care if he tries? Unless it bothers you that he's not romantically interested in you himself?"
Blushing slightly under Benny's too perceptive gaze, Juliet muttered evasively, "I don't want to talk about Raul anymore. Tell me, is Holly allowed visitors? Could I go see her?"
"Sure and she wants to see you; she told me to tell you to come as soon as you could." Suddenly, Benny hopped up from the bench. "Well, I'd better go. I want to stop by the hospital before I go see if I can beg my old job back at the coffee house."
"Try not to worry too much," Juliet said softly, standing also. "I'm sure both Holly and the baby will be all right and if you need money, just call me. Okay?"
Benny nodded, then surprisingly grasped her shoulders and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. "You know you're a great kid," he muttered, then rushed away before she could respond.
As Juliet watched him walk beneath an archway into the shadows then disappear through the door to the King's Salon, she shook her head sadly. He and Holly didn't deserve trouble like this and, in actuality, she did feel rather guilty that the accident had happened on their way to see her. when they had called her yesterday, she should have made a concerted effort to sound more cheerful. Then they wouldn't have felt the need to come to Granada to rescue her and this entire mess would never have occurred. But it had and she released her breath in a long shuddering sigh of regret.
"Parting is such sweet sorrow," a deep sarcastic voice spoke from behind her. When she spun around, eyes wide with surprise and dismay, Raul shook his head. "I must say, Juliet, your Benny doesn't look like the Romeo type. He looks more like a reject from the hippie generation."
Juliet closed her eyes, trying to control the tumultuous beating of her heart. A tightening constriction in her throat prevented her from speaking but, really, there wasn't much she could say anyway. Raul was right. Benny had looked disreputable today, his jeans and faded shirt wrinkled, as if he had slept in them, and his hair, which was overdue for a trim anyhow, had stood up on end because he had repeatedly raked his fingers through it. And he had also been rather blearly-eyed due to the cold he was catching. This had been the worst possible time for Raul to see him but she had no intention of apologizing for her friend's appearance. If Raul wanted to think she had poor taste in companions, then let him.
"Are you going to stand there with your eyes closed all day?" Raul prompted at last, his tone grim. "Or are you going to face me and admit you lied last night. Your Benny is no more married than I am."
Juliet came alive, her head jerking up, her eyes opening, fury flaring in them. "He most certainly is married. And I'm plenty tired of you calling me a liar! Benny has a wife and I'm not going to tell you that again."
"If he's married, then why this secret rendezvous with you?" Raul asked caustically though his lean features remained infuriatingly serene. "Or is that a foolish question? Does he have both a wife and a mistress, namely you?"
Since Juliet refused to dignify such an insane allegation by answering it, she instead muttered resentfully, "What are you doing here anyway? How did you find me? Did Rosita overhear me on the phone and call you?"
"Believe it or not, I didn't come here to deliberately disrupt your rendezvous with your lover,"
Raul said bitingly, tossing his suit coat back over one shoulder then thrusting his other hand into his right trouser pocket as his dark gaze raked mercilessly over her. "I just happened to stumble over the emotional parting scene. I've been with the director of the museum here. I have a client who has in his possession a clay urn that belongs in the Alhambra. He wants to sell; the museum wants to buy and I'm negotiating the terms."
"Oh, I see," she muttered, glancing away. Unreasonably, she was disappointed he hadn't come here specifically to drag her away from Benny but that was a foolish reaction and she berated herself for it. After all, she knew very well he didn't care enough about her to inconvenience himself. Wishing she didn't care about him either, she half turned away but was unable to suppress a soft sigh. "Well, I didn't realize the gallery was in the business of selling artifacts too. Things must have changed. Uncle Will only handled paintings and sculptures. I suppose this new business is your idea?"
"Yes. Now, enough of this trite nonsense," Raul murmured close to her ear. Taking her hand in his, he swung her around to face him again, his jaw clenched. "If you recall, I promised retribution if you saw Benny. You chose to ignore my warning so now…"
His words trailed off suggestively and his message was quite
clear. Though Juliet quaked inside, she drew herself up to her full height, which unfortunately didn't seem considerable compared to his. Nevertheless, she squared her jaw and shoulders simultaneously and forced herself to look directly up at him. "Don't be ridiculous, Raul," she said more tauntingly than she meant to. "You're not going to do anything to me in a public place like this and I know it." She gestured toward a group being led through the courtyard by a tour guide. "See. With all these people around, you don't dare…"
"I will dare, Juliet," he growled menacingly, taking a step closer to her. "I don't appreciate being lied to. So if you know what's good for you, you'll just admit Benny isn't married. It's obvious he isn't. I certainly didn't see a pregnant woman with him."
Enough was enough; it was too much actually and Raul's mocking words only succeeded in reminding Juliet that Holly was in the hospital and that the life of her unborn baby might very well be in danger. Tears sprang to her eyes and before she could blink them away, Raul saw them.
"What the…"
"Oh, will you just shut up?" she muttered bleakly, turning away from him. "Whether you believe me or not doesn't much matter to me right now. I'm much more worried about Holly. For your information, she's Benny's wife and he met me here to tell me they'd had an accident. She's in the hospital right now and she might have her baby two months early. She's my friend and I'm worried about her so I don't feel like being abused by you. So would you just go away and leave me alone. Please."
Raul stepped around in front of her and perhaps it was the trembling of her lips that convinced him. "Damn," he muttered violently, reaching out to brush her hair back from her cheeks. "All right, I believe you. Even you wouldn't make up such an elaborate lie. What I don't understand is why you're still with Benny. And I certainly don't understand how you can be friends with the girl he dumped you for. Isn't it a little awkward to travel with an ex-lover and his wife?"
Juliet's shoulders sagged and her grim laugh was more a soft moan. "You idiot, Benny is a friend. That's…"
"You American girls have such a casual regard for intimate relationships," Raul scoffed, shaking his head. "Friends can change to lovers then back again to friends the next day, without anybody ever feeling deeply involved."
Realizing it was useless to try to convince him that Benny had never been her lover, Juliet moved away from him, then sighed when he followed. She was too utterly weary of arguing with him to even resist when amazingly gentle fingertips brushed away the crystalline teardrop that fell from the thick fringe of long, dark brown lashes onto her cheek.
"Come with me; we'll walk in the garden," he insisted softly, cupping her elbow in one large hand to guide her toward a door beyond a keyhole archway. "There are too many people in here."
Though Juliet considered protesting, one glance at his finely carved features changed her mind. There was a determination in his eyes that squelched any opposition.
Glaring sunlight struck them and the heat of the day enveloped them as they entered a terraced inner garden bordered by cypress and myrtle trees. Though Juliet began to drag her feet balkingly as she was directed past a splashing fountain with waters cascading coolly into a rippling pool, Raul only smiled down at her and pulled her closer to his side. His muscular arm encircled her waist as he took her up the mosaic tiled terraces into the dark, private copse of bordering cypress trees. In the shaded seclusion, Raul tossed the suit coat he carried onto the ground, dropped down to his knees on it, and pulled her down to him. He produced a freshly laundered white monogrammed handkerchief. "I really hope your friend Holly will be all right. And the baby too," he murmured gently, then proceeded to dry Juliet's cheeks with the soft square of fine cloth. As she pensively chewed her lower lip, he pressed the handkerchief into her left hand, then with an incomprehensible whisper, caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tugging slightly, tenderly coaxing her lips to part as she took a quick breath.
Suddenly, everything was different. The swaying branches whispered above them and, with the occasional singing of the birds and the tinkling music of the cascading fountain, provided the only sounds in the abrupt intense silence that surrounded them. Juliet's senses awakened to a new, keener awareness. The red of the roses and the white of the delicate jasmine in the garden became, in an instant, much more vibrant. Their fragrance mingled with the slightly piney scent of rosemary and perfumed the air. Her heart seemed to stop beating as she saw the warming gleam of desire that flamed in the dark green depths of Raul's eyes. It was as if nothing else existed except this garden paradise and them but her common sense wouldn't let her become totally lulled into submission by the exotic surroundings. As Raul's hands suddenly spanned her waist, drawing her to him so that she was half reclining across hard thighs and he lowered his head, she was prepared to fight him tooth and nail if he tried to kiss her. But it didn't quite work out that way. Once again, his mouth moved over hers with such gentle teasing persuasion that common sense had no chance to prevail. Her soft lips clung to his, parting as his teeth nibbled and tugged slightly on the full lower curve and the kiss became a powerful sensual force she had no strength to resist.
It was insane but his mere touch seemed to have some hypnotizing effect on her. She relaxed against him involuntarily, her heart leaping as he gathered her closer, his powerful arms enfolding her in warmth. Her trembling hands pressed against his chest but he was undaunted by such ineffectual resistance. One caressing hand moved along the incurving contour of her waist, his fingertips stroking into the tantalizing arch of the small of her back, his thumb brushing the cushioned slope of her breast.
A shiver danced over her skin. Her fingers clutching his shirtfront spread open over his chest, warmed by the compelling heat of his flesh, felt even through the fabric. Her senses spiraled as she inhaled the mingling scents of lime and tobacco. And as she intuitively moved nearer, his mouth took complete possession of hers. Startled yet aroused by the touch of his tongue tasting hers, she was swept upward in the tumultuous dawning of desire. Last year, she had often daydreamed of Raul kissing her but even her wildest erotic imaginings hadn't prepared her for this. His kiss was a deliberate seduction, an intimate searching possession that made her ache to be much closer to him. Now, only this moment mattered; everything else, even his tyrannical unfair behavior toward her, ceased to exist. Beyond rational thought, she surrendered to emotions far stronger than any will to resist. Her small trembling hands fluttered hesitantly upward to encircle the strong bronzed column of his neck, her thumbs grazing over the contouring tendons.
"Juliet," he whispered, his voice excitingly low and rough as he gathered her closer still with swift undeniable urgency. As her softness yielded to the harder stronger masculine line of his body, one questing hand slipped up to cover the mound of one breast and when the firm warm flesh surged responsively against his palm, he groaned softly.
His touch was electric. As Juliet's slender bare arms went around his neck, she delighted in the shafting awareness that shot through her body when strong fingers curved into her throbbing cushioned breast. Other men had tried to bestow such familiar caresses; Pablo had tried often but she had always brushed his hand away with mild irritation. Raul's touch was different, so very different. She liked it. The demand his hard lean hands conveyed sent shivers dancing over her skin and aroused a central throbbing aching inside her. Her soft lips parted wider and were captured by the firm yet sensuous shape of his. Her mouth opened slightly, invitingly. His kiss hardened, then became a deepening, spellbinding exploration that weakened her limbs with intensifying warmth. And as his fingers tangled in the thick hair on her nape, she was kissing him back with a passion that was rising to meet his.
It was the clatter of footfalls on the tiles around the fountain that brought Juliet back to the real world a moment later. And when she heard a tour guide droning on in memorized English, she dragged her lips from Raul's with a breathless murmur of protest. Still cradled in his arms, she opened drowsy amber eyes, met the deb
ilitating triumphant gleam in the green depths of his and blushed crimson. When she struggled to escape his arms, he released her immediately and she sat up, her head bent, her silken hair falling forward to conceal her face. She felt thoroughly confused and somewhat ashamed and when Raul's fingertips feathered over her nape, she jerked away.
"Let's not play games, Juliet," he said softly. "You're a very responsive young woman and you've been without a lover too long. We could have a very satisfying relationship while you're here in Granada."
Juliet scrambled to her knees, the color draining from her face as she stared at him. "Are you suggesting that w-we have a casual affair?" she stammered. "Wh-what kind of person do you think I am?"
"I think you're a very modern young woman and I don't want you to be lonely while you're here," he said with provoking calm, as if he were deliberately baiting her. "So my suggestion that we keep each other company wasn't meant as an insult."
"Well, I am insulted!" she retorted recklessly. "And you can just go straight to hell! I wouldn't choose you to keep me company if you were the last man on earth. And I haven't been without a lover too long. I've never had…" Her words halted abruptly. She couldn't tell him she'd never had a lover—that admission would be far too revealing and make her wanton response to him too significant. She had no desire to let him learn that his touch affected her in a way no other man's ever had. Raul was already difficult to handle, as it was. Clamping her lips firmly together, she jumped to her feet but the muscles of her throat constricted painfully as Raul stood swiftly and caught her wrist before she could escape. Her eyes widened with bewilderment as she stared down at the lean fingers curving around her small wrist. "Wh-why are you doing this?" she asked huskily. "Yesterday you were pretending to be nice but today, you're—you're being horrid."
"I can be nice or I can be 'horrid'," he answered bluntly. "How I treat you is all up to you, Juliet. And I don't believe you really think I've been horrid today. You enjoyed the past few minutes as much as I did so why try to deny it?"
