‘Not true.’ He bent his head and his mouth brushed her neck, that simple touch sufficient to send a thrill of excitement rushing through her.
‘You’re doing it again,’ she gasped, wishing desperately that her body wasn’t so responsive to his. ‘Stop it, Raul.’
His mouth lingered, warm and full of promise. ‘You want me to stop?’ The erotic flick of his tongue fired her blood.
‘No. Yes …’ Sinking into a trance, Faith closed her eyes. ‘I don’t know. Where did you learn to do that?’
‘I was born knowing,’ he purred softly, but the twinkle in his eyes softened the arrogance of the statement. ‘In Argentina, men know how to be men. And part of being a real man is being an incredible lover.’
‘Your ego is enormous.’
His eyes darkened wickedly. ‘That isn’t my ego, cariño …’
All too aware of the strength and power of his arousal, Faith dragged herself out of his arms. ‘All right, enough.’ Flustered and shivering with desire, she held up a hand like a ‘stop’ sign. ‘Just stand there and don’t move for a minute.’
His gaze was slumberous and deadly. ‘I love the fact that you’re such a sexual woman.’
Faith gritted her teeth. ‘I said enough! And no more kissing. I can’t have a conversation while you’re kissing me.’
One dark eyebrow swooped upwards in sardonic mockery. ‘Precisely.’
Confused, her entire body buzzing, Faith glared at him. ‘Do you know that you use sex to avoid every subject that is remotely difficult? You never talk about things that matter.’ Her head was still reeling from the slow, seductive touch of his mouth and for a moment she wished that he wasn’t quite so skilled in that area. If he had been less accomplished as a lover, she might have been able to concentrate on their relationship.
His beautiful eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t solve problems by committee.’
‘I’m not a committee. I’m your wife.’
‘Sí, and you knew the type of man you were marrying.’ His tone hardened slightly but his gaze was still on her mouth. ‘If you don’t want me to think about sex, don’t dress provocatively.’
‘Well, what do I wear then, Raul? Tell me, because I certainly don’t know.’ Shaken by the depth of her own response to him, Faith smoothed the dress over her hips. ‘You’re staring at me.’
‘Because I don’t understand you,’ he breathed. ‘You would prefer that I don’t find you attractive?’
‘No, of course not. I’d just like there to be more to our relationship than sex.’
His thick lashes lowered slightly as he surveyed her. ‘You don’t like the fact that I want to make love to you day and night?’
His words made her stomach tumble and she dragged her gaze away from his, her breathing shallow. ‘Of course I do. Any woman would, but—’
‘So what is the problem?’ The careless lift of his broad shoulders indicated that as far as he was concerned, there was nothing to solve.
‘I feel as though I’m banging my head against a brick wall.’
‘This is because of your accident perhaps.’
She turned to look at him, ready to thump him for that comment, and then she saw the twinkle in his eyes and realised that he was teasing her. ‘You really like to live dangerously.’
His slow smile was impossibly sexy. ‘Of course.’ She gritted her teeth. ‘I hate you, do you know that?’ ‘Sí, cariño.’ Ignoring her attempts to keep at a distance, he hauled her into his arms and brought her hips in direct contact with his. ‘I know just how much you hate me. About as much as I hate you.’ Sexual tension erupted with explosive force and Faith groaned a faint protest against his seeking mouth.
‘I had a career before I met you,’ she muttered, but he smothered her words with another assault on her lips, the skilled stroke of his tongue almost unbearably exciting as he kissed her until her head spun. Finally he lifted his head slowly and the look he gave her was one of pure, undiluted masculine satisfaction. ‘I have no objection to your career. I’m very modern in my outlook.’
Faith would have laughed but she no longer had the energy. ‘Modern? You make Neolithic men look progressive. Why am I with you? I used to have a brain.’
He smiled at that. ‘You still have a brain, cariño.’ ‘So why am I standing here, kissing you?’ ‘Because I am the best at what I do,’ Raul drawled with a trace of humour. ‘And your brain is occupied in responding. I love your brain. Never think I don’t.’ He cupped her face possessively and looked into her eyes. ‘And now, enough. We have guests arriving.’
And that was that, Faith thought helplessly. As far as he was concerned, that was the end of yet another conversation where he’d tied her in knots and revealed absolutely nothing about himself.
‘If these negotiations really are important to you, then why are you taking me?’ She turned away from him, unsure whether she was more annoyed with herself or him. ‘I obviously just distract you.’
‘I want you to be there.’
Resigning herself to the fact that she was unlikely to be given more of an explanation than that, Faith picked up her bag that she’d dropped on the floor when he’d kissed her. ‘What role am I playing? Am I allowed to speak? Or do I pretend I’ve had a lobotomy?’
‘You’re my wife.’ Raul smiled and that smile held such charm that for a moment Faith caught her breath.
‘I hate it when you do that,’ she muttered and his smile widened as he took her hand firmly in his.
‘Do what?’
‘You know what,’ she said crossly, picking her way carefully up the path. ‘You always use that smile of yours when you’re losing an argument.’
‘Lose?’ He frowned at her. ‘What is this “lose”? It isn’t a word I know.’
‘Very funny.’ Faith pulled a face but she left her hand in his, enjoying the contact more than she was wiling to admit, even to herself. ‘Perhaps I’m going to embarrass you tonight. You know I’m not at all commercial. I don’t think I’m capable of making a good impression on a businessman.’
‘You made a good impression on me.’ Raul adjusted his long stride to match hers. ‘And I’m a businessman.’
Her heart turned over at the unexpected compliment. ‘You’re lots of different things.’
‘Desperate,’ he said dryly, his smile full of wry self-mockery as he glanced at her. ‘That’s what I am at the moment, cariño. Thanks to you.’
Awareness exploded inside her. ‘I thought we were supposed to be avoiding the topic of sex.’
‘We were.’ He let out a frustrated sigh. ‘It’s your fault.’
She tried to ignore the electrified atmosphere and changed the subject swiftly. ‘So what do you want me to do this evening, seriously?’
‘Try not to draw attention to yourself so that you don’t distract me from the business in hand. This is a particularly tricky negotiation and I need to concentrate.’ He took her hand in his and led her towards the main house just as a car purred into the courtyard.
‘It’s really that important to you? Any chance that you’ll tell me why at some point?’
He didn’t answer her question, and when she glanced towards him he was staring down the long driveway at an approaching car. Gone was the lazy, sexy smile that had made him so approachable. Now he just seemed cold and intimidating.
The car came to a halt in a cloud of dust and a man heaved himself awkwardly from the driver’s seat, a sheen of sweat visible on his brow as he negotiated the heat and the demands of his own excessive body-weight. Faith guessed him to be in his fifties but it was obvious that he was holding on to his youth with grim determination. His shirt was open at the neck and strained over his thickened waist, his thinning hair artfully arranged to conceal the onset of baldness.
‘Vásquez—I hear congratulations are due.’
‘Pedro.’ His hand outstretched and his tone cool, Raul strode forward and shook the man’s hand and Faith watched while the other door opened and a woman slid elega
ntly out of the passenger seat.
Suddenly Faith understood why the man was so grimly determined not to be parted from his youth. The woman was stunning. She somehow managed to be both slender and curvaceous at the same time and the coal-black hair that hung straight over her bare shoulders shone like polished agate. Apparently undisturbed by the heat, she slowly removed the oversized sunglasses from her exquisite face to reveal almond-shaped eyes of surprising warmth. A friendly smile on her glossy mouth, she walked over to Faith, hands outstretched.
‘So Raul finally took the plunge,’ she said cheerfully, leaning forward and kissing Faith on both cheeks. Then she linked arms with her, as though they were firm friends, rather than total strangers. ‘Half of Argentina is ready to kill you—the female half, of course. The male half are probably incredibly grateful. Finally they can sleep easy in their beds without feeling they need to lock up their wives. I’m Sofia.’
Confused by the other woman’s direct approach and unsure how to respond, Faith glanced towards Raul but he was listening to something that Pedro was saying, his dark glossy head tilted because he was so much taller. Realising that he wasn’t paying her any attention, Faith turned back to Sofia and froze.
The other woman was staring openly at Raul, a look of naked sexual appreciation in her eyes. Then she looked at Faith and grinned sheepishly. ‘Oops, sorry. Caught red-handed.’ She gave herself a mock smack on the wrist. ‘Naughty me. But you have to admit that he is indecently handsome and I don’t get to look at men like him very often. I’m sure you’re used to women gazing at him. Being with Raul is a bit like owning a very rare and valuable painting—everyone wants to stare at it.’
Shocked and surprised by the hot spurt of jealousy that pumped through her veins, Faith struggled to stay polite. ‘And your husband doesn’t mind?’
‘I can’t imagine he’d be thrilled, but he has nothing to worry about. Raul and I were quite unsuited.’
Were?
For a moment Faith thought she had misheard, and then she looked into the other woman’s eyes and her entire world shifted.
‘You know him well?’ Why was she asking that question when she already knew the answer?
‘Pretty well.’ Sofia looked at her. ‘Oh dear. Me and my big mouth. Obviously the two of you haven’t discussed his past. Very wise. If I was with Raul, I can’t say I’d want to know about his past, either. One of the disadvantages of being with an extremely rich and handsome man is the knowledge that every other woman wants him too.’
‘Sofia …’ Raul’s voice came from directly behind them and Sofia turned, her eyes dancing with laughter.
‘Darling—no need to use that tone. I’m just pleased you finally found someone willing to put up with your domineering, macho ways on a permanent basis. How are you? You’re looking good, but there’s nothing new in that.’
Before Raul could respond, Pedro approached. Apparently unaware of the byplay, he was mopping his brow. ‘Shall we get out of the heat?’
‘Of course. We’ll have drinks on the terrace.’
Pinned to the spot by shock, Faith looked at Raul in disbelief.
That was it? That was all he was going to say?
Tact and sensitivity wasn’t his strong suit and she, more than anyone, was well aware of that—but still she couldn’t quite believe that he’d intentionally invited his ex-mistress to join them for dinner without at least warning her.
It must have been an unfortunate coincidence.
She desperately wanted to believe that he hadn’t known the woman was with Pedro—that any minute now he was going to throw her off his property. Because the alternative to that was to acknowledge that once again her feelings had been bottom of his agenda.
‘It’s cooler on the terrace,’ Raul said smoothly, nothing in his body language suggesting that he considered anything to be amiss.
Faith flinched as though he’d struck her.
So that was it, then.
Clearly he expected her to smile and chat to his ex, while he concentrated on his business deal.
No wonder he hadn’t told her what was expected of her.
He’d obviously known that she would have been on the first plane out of Buenos Aires.
Raul strode across the courtyard, Pedro by his side, nothing in his manner betraying the slightest hint of awkwardness.
Deprived of the opportunity to claw his impossibly handsome face, Faith wanted to turn and stalk in the opposite direction, but she was unable to do that either because the other woman tightened her hold on her arm.
‘We have a word in Spanish to describe someone like him,’ Sofia murmured, her voice like rich honey. ‘Guapisimo. It means “indescribably handsome”. I haven’t been here for a while,’ she confided, as they moved onto the sunny, vine-covered terrace where several staff were poised ready to serve drinks. ‘You must show me what Raul has done. This place is the talk of the international polo-circuit.’
Faith didn’t bother replying—she was too busy planning ways to kill Raul—but first she turned some serious anger onto herself.
You fool, she chided herself. You stupid fool.
He said he wanted the marriage to work and that was all it took for you to run back to him.
He’d hurt her so, so badly but had she learned her lesson? No, she’d come back for more.
Was he being deliberately cruel? Was he reminding her once again that she’d driven him into a marriage, when in fact that wasn’t what he’d wanted?
Was he was telling her that marriage wasn’t going to stop him living his life the way he wanted to live it?
Was that what was going on here?
A wave of dizziness washed over her and for a terrifying moment she thought she might faint in front of him yet again. Gritting her teeth with determination, she took several deep breaths and took a glass of champagne from one of Raul’s staff. Deciding that it would be kill or cure, she drained it in several gulps.
Dimly aware of Raul’s disapproving and slightly startled gaze, she raised the empty glass in his direction. ‘To us, darling. And to all those little things you do for me that show just how much you care.’
His eyes narrowed, but whether or not he would have responded to her subtle jibe she had no idea because Pedro dutifully lifted his glass.
‘To the pair of you. May you have a long and happy union.’
Faith was deeply regretting the fact that she’d downed the champagne. Her head was swimming again, and now she wasn’t sure of the cause.
‘So what is it that you do, Faith?’ Pedro was blunt and straightforward but Faith was spared the need to reply by his wife’s intervention.
‘She’s married to Raul,’ Sofia murmured. ‘Which means her time is totally occupied in the pursuit of looking gorgeous.’ Her gaze lingered speculatively on Faith’s newly cropped hair and Faith flushed.
‘I’m a vet. I specialise in horses. Raul has an interesting breeding programme so I chose to come here and work.’ And never left. But she would now. Any moment. She was going to walk out of the door and not look back.
As soon as she could be sure that her legs would hold her.
‘Breeding? Well if there’s anyone who could use some advice in that area, then it’s Raul.’ Sofia laughed. ‘Breeding is probably the only area of life in which he has absolutely no experience. I never could quite see him changing a nappy.’
Faith glanced at Raul and found him looking at her. ‘Faith is exceptionally talented. Especially with the animals themselves.’
Did he even realise that she was upset?
Deciding that she wasn’t going to inflate his ego still further by showing him how much his careless behaviour had upset her, Faith stood her ground.
Apparently unaware of the dangerous shift in the atmosphere, Pedro took a mouthful of his champagne. ‘One of my stallions is misbehaving—kicking out his box, biting his groom—the product of an extremely difficult early life, I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s born vicious.’
‘No horse is born vicious.’ Faith’s years of training made it impossible for her to stay silent. ‘It’s the way they’ve been treated that makes them that way. If he’s vicious then he obviously feels he needs to defend himself from something.’ Her eyes still held Raul’s. ‘All of us have the potential to be vicious if the provocation is sufficient.’
Raul’s eyes narrowed but Pedro simply nodded, his mind clearly still on the problem of his horse.
‘You could be right. To be honest, I have no idea what’s in his past. My stud groom rescued him from somewhere or other. Thought he had potential. I’m not so sure. I think he needs to be taught who’s boss.’
A bubble of laughter rose in Faith’s throat. ‘In my experience a display of macho domination rarely achieves the desired effect. I’ve always found that people respond better when you aim for a partnership of trust and respect.’
‘People?’ Pedro looked at her quizzically. ‘I thought we were talking about horses.’
‘Horses, people.’ Faith shrugged. ‘The principles are the same. The foundation of a good relationship is trust and respect.’ She emphasised both words and Raul shot her a warning glance, which she interpreted as meaning: be careful. This deal is important to me.
And suddenly she wondered if he really did care about anything other than the acquisition of wealth.
Why else would he have chosen to flaunt his previous relationships in front of his wife?
Still apparently oblivious to the undercurrents swirling around them, Pedro drained his champagne. ‘You’re letting a woman dictate how your horses are handled, Vásquez?’
‘I employ the best.’
Pedro frowned. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever met a female vet before.’
Faith took a sip of orange juice. ‘Well, we’re pretty much the same as the male variety, only we’re usually a little smaller because our bodies don’t have to make room for the ego.’
Sofia laughed with delight. ‘I absolutely adore the English sense of humour.’
Pedro reached for a handkerchief and mopped his brow. ‘I know it isn’t considered politically correct to say so, but I still don’t believe that a woman can do everything a man can do.’
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