Honor-Bound Groom

by Yvonne Lindsay

  He could only nod. Drawing in a deep breath, he pulled away from her, missing the contact instantly.

  “Come, let’s go into the emergency department.”

  He helped her from the car and was relieved when she didn’t pull away from him as he draped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her close against his side. Where she belonged, he reminded himself. No matter what this strange distant game she had played tonight, she was his wife and she belonged with him. Always.

  It was nearly two in the morning when they made it back to the castillo. Alex’s grandfather was comfortably settled in a private room at the hospital, his neurologist hopeful that because of Javier’s quick call for help that they had been successful in halting any additional damage as a result of the ischemic stroke he’d suffered. They’d been able to medicate as soon as the scan results had confirmed their suspicions, falling just within the window of time vital to ensure a strong chance of survival and recovery.

  Alex had taken a moment to thank Javier as they’d arrived home. The manservant had been awaiting their arrival and broke into unashamed sobs of relief when given the news that his master would in all likelihood pull through with minimal permanent damage.

  Reynard and Benedict had chosen to take taxis to their homes directly from the hospital, rather than return to the castillo for their vehicles or stay over at their old family home. The next day would be soon enough to work out the logistics of recovering their vehicles. Besides, they would undoubtedly cross over with one another at the hospital as each planned to be there with their grandfather for as much time as their work commitments permitted.

  Loren left Alex with Javier and went up the stairs to their rooms, feeling more than twice her age as she let herself into her bedroom and kicked off her shoes.

  She looked around the room, feeling as if it had been days since she’d been here, rather than the hours it had actually been. Her eyes fell on the fragrant candles she’d set around the room in an effort to create the right atmosphere in which to seduce her husband. A seduction she’d planned before she’d heard what she suspected was the first excruciating shred of complete honesty from him in all her time back here.

  In the drama surrounding Abuelo’s stroke, the earlier events of the evening had been pushed aside, but now every word she’d overhead came rushing back in a painful remembrance.

  She quickly gathered the candles up and dropped them into the wastebasket near her escritoire. She stood there, shaking with anger. How dare he have played with her life like that and then call it a mistake?

  “Loren?” Alex spoke from the entrance to her bedroom. “Are you all right?”

  A short sharp sound burst from her throat. It should have been a laugh but there was far too much bitterness behind it to even mimic humor. Alex covered the distance toward her and tried to take her in his arms, but she pulled free and took two steps back from him.

  “Don’t! Don’t touch me.”

  She had to keep some distance between them; it was the only way she could keep her anger in the forefront of her mind when all her body wanted to do was meld with his and find again the ecstasy they’d shared for all too brief a time. She knew it took more than a physical connection to keep a marriage alive.

  “Don’t touch you? What is wrong? I’ve barely seen you all week and we’ve had a very distressing evening. I need to touch you. I need you.”

  “No.” She shook her head.

  The bleak weariness that had been on Alex’s face earlier was now replaced by sharp intellect and a satisfied nod of understanding. “You are emotional. It is only to be expected. Giselle told me today you might be pregnant.”

  Loren couldn’t believe her ears. “Giselle what?”

  Alex continued, “Don’t you think that you should perhaps have given me the news yourself?”

  “And when would I have had the opportunity? You’ve been away from the castillo all week—not even home at night until very late and then gone early in the morning. Even today, on the telephone, you treated me as no more than a private messenger service.” She cut the air between them with a sweep of her hand. “Whatever, as it happens, your assistant’s conjecture is premature. My cycle was obviously out of sync. Whether it was from the travel or the stress of the wedding, it matters little. Tomorrow I will have my period.”

  “And you know this for sure because?” he growled.

  “Because I know my own body, and I know I’m not pregnant.”

  Alex blew out a breath and closed his eyes, his features suddenly contorted with disappointment. When he opened his eyes she was struck by the raw regret mirrored there. She decided to ignore it. She was no doubt as wrong about his feelings on this as she’d been about so many things to do with Alexander del Castillo. If he had any regrets it would only be that he had to continue with this total charade of a marriage to get the heir he so desperately wanted.

  “I’ve given the matter of our prenuptial agreement further thought,” she continued. “I believe it would be best for us to go back to my original request for an assisted pregnancy. In fact, I’d prefer it.”

  “Prefer it?” Alex echoed.

  “Yes. Intercourse between us is clearly going to be a hit-and-miss affair. After all, it’s not as if we didn’t try hard enough before. To be honest with you, I’m not keen to resume that side of our marriage.”

  “Not keen.” His voice was flat, his jaw rock hard.

  She clenched her hands into fists at her sides, her fingernails digging small crescents.

  “That’s right. Plus, I believe you also wish to get on with things yourself.”

  “Things? Would you care to define exactly what those things are?”

  Loren chewed her lower lip for a second. Did she dare acknowledge that she knew of his affair with Giselle, that she was aware he’d been biding his time to pick up again where they’d left off? She lifted her chin and met his gaze squarely.

  “I think you know what I’m referring to. We both know this marriage between us was a mistake. In fact I heard you say the very thing yourself tonight.”

  “You heard me say that?” His voice was deadpan, as was the expression in his eyes.

  Alex stepped in closer, filling her senses with his presence. Loren stood her ground. He knew very well what he’d said and now he knew she’d overheard him.

  “Alex, as I said before, I will fulfill my duties to you under our legal agreement. That means I must deliver you a child. There was nothing in there about how I am to achieve that goal so I elect to use the clinical facility here on the island. Now, if that is all, it has been an extremely long and demanding day and I would like to get some sleep.”

  “There was also nothing in there about you being the one to elect how you should fall pregnant,” Alex said.

  Loren felt her heart stutter in her chest before resuming a rapid rhythm. “Are you suggesting you would force me?”

  “Force? No, I doubt that would be necessary. Not when I know I can do this and have you willing in my arms.”

  He snaked one arm around her waist and drew her against his body, molding her hips to his lower body, widening his stance to cradle her there. Instantly Loren felt the answering call of her body to his, the intensity of awareness, the heated flow of blood through her veins.

  When Alex bent his head to hers and caught her lips in a possessive kiss she found herself answering in kind. Allowing her anger an outlet, showing him he may be able to dominate her physically but he would never dominate her will.

  They were both panting, their breathing discordant and harsh in the air between them, when Alex broke away.

  “Out of respect for your oncoming condition,” he said, his fingers splaying across her hip and lower belly, “I will not continue, but I believe my point has been made. You cannot refuse me, Loren. Your own body makes a lie of that.”

  As she watched him leave the bedroom and pull her door closed behind him she forced herself to acknowledge he was painfully right. She’d adored h
im as a child, been infatuated with him as a teen. Now she loved him with every cell in her body as a woman. Even knowing he would still choose another did not assuage the loss she felt as he’d walked away.

  Was this how her father had felt when he’d learned of her mother’s infidelity? This frantic sense of hurt and betrayal, the urgent desire to turn back the clock and start over—to get things right next time?

  Her mother had once, and only once, alluded to the fact that she’d chosen to do something totally against her nature to force her husband to finally let her go. That the passionate highs and desperate lows of their rocky marriage had been as destructive as they’d been exhilarating and that she’d been incapable of bearing them any longer.

  The fact that Naomi had been unfaithful to Francois Dubois to break free of her marriage had been a cop-out as far as Loren was concerned. She’d always believed that if they had loved one another enough they could have made things work. Not all marriages were always sailed on an even keel. Some people, some relationships, were just not cut out to be like that. That didn’t mean they had to fall apart.

  But the one thing Loren did know for certain was that when one partner loved less, or not at all, that marriage was doomed to failure.

  When Loren woke the next morning with her period she was torn between relief that she wasn’t yet forced to bring a baby into a loveless marriage and sorrow that the intimacy they’d shared in so much happier times, no matter how orchestrated, had not resulted in a child to love. After taking care of her needs she carried on through into the sitting room of their suite. Her maid usually ensured a tray was sent up for Loren each morning with her preference of cereal and yogurt for breakfast together with freshly squeezed orange juice. Loren usually took this quiet time in the morning to review the papers and plan her day.

  She was surprised, however, to see Alex pacing the carpet when she pushed open her chamber door.

  “Abuelo?” she asked, one hand to her throat. “Is everything all right?”

  “Sí, he is resting comfortably. That is not why I’m here.”

  “Oh? What is it, then?” Loren went instantly on the defensive. “Ready to go for round two in the baby debate?”

  “There is no debate,” Alex responded, his voice harsh.

  “Well, there certainly is no debate today. I have my period. You can go and carry on with whatever it is you’re supposed to be doing today.”

  “Are you certain?”

  Loren just stared at him. She knew she looked anything but her usual self this morning. The cramps had started in earnest shortly after she’d gone to bed and had kept her awake for the rest of the night. Her reflection in the mirror had shown her cheeks were pale, her eyes dark and shadowed.

  “I will contact the doctor today and find out what is necessary to instigate the procedure.”

  Alex rubbed one hand across his eyes and sighed.

  “Loren, it doesn’t have to be like this.”

  “Yes, Alex, it does. We wouldn’t want there to be any further mistakes, now would we?”

  “You have taken my words out of context,” he argued back.

  “Just how out of context?”

  Alex felt a swirl of helplessness eddy within him in the growing whirlpool of frustration he’d been feeling since the previous night. If only he could convince her to listen to what he’d really meant. Caution warned him that today was probably not the best time to broach the subject of his innermost thoughts. She was unlikely to believe him if he declared his love for her right now, and given how he’d dissembled to her already he could hardly blame her.

  Just seeing her like this, looking bruised and fragile, made him want to sweep her into his arms and tuck her back into her bed. To force her to relax and regain her strength. To be the vibrant young woman he’d reintroduced himself to in New Zealand.

  “I do not wish to banter with you about something as important as this when you are clearly not at your best. Perhaps when you are feeling better and more amenable to discussion—”

  “This is not just some passing mood, Alex! I’m serious. As far as I am concerned, until we are discussing the creation of our child, we have nothing else to say to one another.”

  “Fine,” he said in clipped tones, not wanting to acknowledge the hurt her words had inflicted upon his hopes. “You contact the clinic. Let me know when and where I’m needed or if you happen to change your mind from this ridiculous insistence of yours.”

  Alex drove to his office in a fury, barely even noticing the summer glory of the countryside that led to the resort’s location.

  The fact Loren was totally unwilling to resume the physical side of their marriage completely baffled him. They had been perfect together. So she’d overhead him saying he’d made a mistake. He had. He was man enough to admit that. But her adamant refusal to enter into discussions with him unless they were discussing their child caused a pain inside him that was physical as much as it was emotional. A pain he was totally unaccustomed to feeling. If this was love, no wonder his ancestors had primarily chosen to marry for any other reason but that. Anything was better than giving someone else the power to make you hurt inside the way he hurt right now.

  He thought fleetingly of the situation that had brought about his marriage to Loren. The governess’s curse may not be real, but it had certainly made an impact on his life, and not one he was happy to accede to.

  The three supposed edicts of the governess as she’d cursed his ancestor played back in his head—honor, truth and love. Well, he had both honored and continued to love his grandfather, and he’d tried to love his wife. Tried, and failed. It was a failure he wanted to put behind him as quickly and effectively as he could.

  As he pressed the accelerator down a little harder, sending his car flying along the resort road, he vowed Loren would come back into his arms, and into his bed, on his terms or no terms at all.

  Twelve

  It had been two weeks since their last civil conversation beyond the frozen politeness they displayed to everyone at mealtimes at the castillo. At least those mealtimes when Alex deigned to come home.

  His grandfather had been moved from the hospital, protestingly, into convalescent care. That he would be allowed back home when he met the rehabilitation markers set by his doctors was of no consolation to him. Loren had spent most of her days divided between keeping him company, preventing him from being cheerfully murdered by the staff at the facility where he was staying and performing her duties at the orphanage.

  Each time she held the babies, she ached a little more for the child she did not carry. But, she told herself, that need would soon be assuaged by the procedures she would soon commence. Her doctor had agreed to begin the necessary treatments once both she and Alex were fully apprised of the information relating to them.

  Now she finally had all that information to hand and she was determined to start whatever was necessary as soon as possible—which meant ensuring Alex was equally informed.

  The prospect of undergoing injections to ensure she produced multiple viable eggs was something she didn’t look forward to, but she was prepared to endure whatever she had to. She’d promised, legally and personally, to carry out her end of the agreement. She was her father’s daughter. She did not renege on anything.

  Loren checked her reflection before grabbing the file of papers the doctor and his nurse had given her. She smoothed her straight dark hair with one hand before straightening her shoulders and giving herself a small nod of approval. She was ready to go to Alex’s office.

  The dark blue shift she wore tapered to her slender form perfectly, and her matching sling-back shoes confirmed her businesslike appearance. And that’s all this was. A business transaction. The execution of a plan.

  At the resort, the receptionist waved Loren through to Alex’s offices. At his door she paused, her hand curled, knuckles ready to rap on the smooth wooden surface. But then she decided against it. She was his wife, after all. There had to be some adva
ntages to it.

  She reached for the polished steel handle, pushed open the door and stepped inside only to come to a rapid halt at the sight before her.

  Giselle was all but straddling Alex’s lap—her hair a golden tumble down her back, her hand covering his own as it pushed up the hem of her skirt, her other arm draped around his neck and his head bent into the curve of hers.

  Loren gave a startled gasp and spun on her heel before stopping and forcing herself to face the couple who were now apart. Giselle quickly stood beside Alex’s chair and slowly rearranged her clothing. Her face wore a distinct look of sly satisfaction—Alex’s, however, wore one of dark fury.

  Loren looked from one to the other, suddenly overwhelmed with a determination that would brook no denial. She would not tolerate this. If Alex wanted a child in this marriage then he’d have to play by her rules and her rules demanded no infidelity.

  It was time she grew a spine and fought back. Adrenaline coursed through her body. Suddenly she could begin to understand why people took scary risks. The sense of exhilaration was both terrifying and electrifying at the same time.

  She pointed one finger at Giselle. “You. Get out.”

  “I beg to differ,” Giselle drawled. “I believe you’re the one out of place here.”

  “You can beg all you like, but you will be doing it elsewhere from now on. Get out, now, and stay the hell away from my husband.”

  “Alex!” The other woman appealed to the silent male figure at her side. “You can’t let her talk to me like that. You have to tell her about us.”

  “What’s it to be, Alex?” Loren challenged.

  “Leave us,” he said, his voice calm and level.

  “Surely you don’t expect me—” Giselle protested.

  Loren smiled at her, although it was more a baring of teeth than a signal of pleasure. “I believe my husband asked you to leave.”

  With a sniff of disdain Giselle collected her bag, then with a hand trailing the side of Alex’s face she said, “Should you change your mind, you know where to reach me.”