Spanish Nights (Harlequin Treasury 1990's)

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘No, Luis! You’re wrong. I don’t want your kisses or anything at all from you.’ There was desperation in the denial and she saw him smile before he bent to brush his mouth along her jaw in a trail of soft, fleeting kisses that left behind them trickles of fire.

  ‘Perhaps your mind is telling you that you don’t want me—but your body, Laura. What is that telling you?’ His hand slid down her throat, his fingers brushing across the swell of her breasts, bare above the deep neckline of the nightgown. Back and forth they stroked, so gently yet so devastatingly that she felt the sensations to the tips of her toes. When his fingers swept lower, she gave a sharp cry of protest and caught his hand to move it away from her body.

  ‘Please, Luis! This isn’t right. It isn’t even sensible! You must know that?’

  He shrugged as he lifted her hand to his lips to kiss her fingers. ‘Perhaps, but I am not listening to my head now, pequeña. I am listening to what my body is telling me of its wants, its needs, and I want you whether it is right or sensible.’

  Slowly he set her hand down on the covers then cupped her breast, his thumb teasing the already rigid nipple until she gasped half in protest, half in pleasure. ‘See, Laura, I am telling the truth, am I not? You do want me. You want me no matter that your head tells you otherwise!’

  He took her mouth in a searing kiss, pinning her against the pillows as his hands swept down the curves of her body, stroking the smooth silky skin until every inch of her felt as though it was on fire, burning with desire for him. Laura murmured a protest, her hands pushing at his broad chest, a shudder running through her when her fingers encountered hard muscle and warm flesh. And what had started as an attempt to make him stop ended abruptly.

  Just the feel of him under her hands, the heat of his skin, the pounding beat of his heart against her palm, made her feel dizzy. Hands that had meant to repulse him started to caress, smoothing over the hair-roughened skin, feeling the softly abrasive sensation making her palms tingle as unconsciously her actions mirrored his. He groaned softly in his throat, his body tensing under the light touch of her hands and a sudden surge of intense satisfaction shot through her that she could make him feel this way despite everything that had happened. Was it possible that he felt more for her than he admitted to feeling and that this act of love could unlock the door to those feelings?

  Just the thought drove any lingering ideas of resisting from her head as she drew him closer and opened her mouth to kiss him back just as passionately as he kissed her. When his hands slid almost roughly to the thin straps of her gown and pulled them down to bare her breasts so that he could tease the hard nipples with his teeth and tongue, she helped him, moaning at the hot spirals of sensation that filled her. She had dreamed of Luis’s touch for so long and now it seemed all those dreams had come true.

  He stripped her quickly, his hands returning to her body almost before she had chance to miss them as he stroked her hips, her thighs, the calf of each leg, the arching instep of her slender feet. Laura felt boneless, her body responding helplessly to each caress with an ever increasing desire that had her writhing against the sheets. When Luis broke away to drag his own clothes off she watched him with passion-drugged eyes, her arms opening to enfold him as he came back to her.

  ‘Do you want me, querida?’ His voice was husky and warm, the liquid tones dark with promise and she smiled against his mouth as she pressed kisses to the thinly sculpted lips.

  ‘Yes. You know I do, Luis.’

  ‘Then tell me, Laura. Tell me how much you want me.’ He brushed her breast with his mouth then let his lips travel up her throat, nibbling at the pulse that was beating there so rapidly. Laura smiled, arching towards him, feeling her breasts brushing against his chest, her thighs tangling with his, the hardness of his body which betrayed his own desperate needs.

  ‘I want you more than anything, Luis. I want you to make love to me...now!’ Her own voice was husky and betraying. There was no reason to lie, no reason to pretend when Luis felt the same as she.

  When he suddenly moved over her, she closed her eyes, feeling the magic possessing her as his body slid into the most intimate contact of all with hers and started to drive them both to dizzying heights. Laura moaned her need, biting his shoulder to stem the frenzied cries.

  ‘You want me, Laura, don’t you?’ There was a harsh triumph in his voice now, an echo of something that brought her eyes open, and she stared into his face with shock, seeing the anger that lay in the depths of his black eyes as he drove them both towards the brink of fulfilment.

  ‘No...no. No, Luis!’ The denial whispered from her lips as her body betrayed her, spinning towards fulfilment, tricked into a completion that had been born out of hatred and nothing else. When Luis got up and left her without a word, Laura rolled into a tight little ball, unable to cry out the hurt and pain as night faded and brought with it a new day, and the promise of so many days to come. And in all those days and all those nights there would be no love, just this cold, bitter hatred. How could she bear it?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  SUNLIGHT slanted through the window, gilding the white sheets and antique lace spread which lay in a tumbled heap on the bed. Laura averted her gaze, hugging her arms around herself, but despite the warmth of the morning sun she felt cold, chilled to the bone by what had happened.

  What a fool she had been to let Luis trick her that way, to allow emotion to cloud reason. He had made it plain from the outset what he intended yet she, like a fool, hadn’t really believed him. Now she had no reason to doubt that he was out for revenge and no reason to hope that his attitude towards her would ever soften.

  The dressing-room door opened suddenly and she started nervously but it was only Pilar, the young housemaid. Laura forced a smile for the girl’s shy apology for the intrusion, only too aware of the speculation in Pilar’s dark eyes. There was bound to be talk about her and Luis now that she had come back and she would have to learn to live with it. But that didn’t mean it was going to be pleasant always knowing that she was the subject of gossip.

  There was a light of battle in her eyes as she left the room and went downstairs and out to the terrace but it did little to quell the sudden wild flurry she felt when she found Luis seated at the white, wrought-iron table. It was obvious that he had been up for some time because he was dressed in an open-necked white shirt and creamy-white breeches tucked into soft black leather boots. Most mornings he made time to ride one of the horses he kept at the stables behind the house and it seemed that this morning was no exception.

  He glanced up as she came on to the terrace then stood up and held the chair for her with his usual impeccable show of manners. Once she was seated he poured her coffee from the ornate pot and handed it to her as though it was a routine they had followed forever. Laura took a sip of the strongly fragrant brew, striving to stay calm, but when she suddenly looked up and saw the mockery in his eyes she lost the battle.

  ‘I imagine you are feeling very satisfied with yourself, aren’t you, Luis? You taught me lesson number one last night.’

  He toyed with his cup but stared calmly back at her. ‘I had no intention of teaching you anything you didn’t already know, Laura. You want me, I want you. Simple facts, don’t you agree?’

  ‘No, I don’t! I don’t agree with any of this...this charade! But don’t try it again. Do you hear me? because if you ever do what you did last night then I...’

  ‘You will...what?’ He leant forward so suddenly that she couldn’t avoid him as he pulled her to him, so close that she could smell the musky scent of the sandalwood soap he always used, the richness of leather from when he’d been riding. The scents stirred her senses, threatening to cloud her mind, but she fought the weakness by remembering how he had humiliated her.

  ‘I shall find something. Some way to make you sorry you ever started this!’

  He laughed softly as his fingers slid from her wrist to her elbow in a light caress. ‘I am quaking in my shoes, isn’t th
at the expression you use, querida? The thought of what you might do to punish me...!’ He laughed again, arrogance in the tilt of his head, the curve of his mobile mouth, and Laura felt her temper flare out of control. Without a thought to the consequences she struck out at him, but he was far too quick for her. His hand shot out and captured hers, his fingers biting into her flesh as his eyes blazed back at her for a long moment before he brought himself under control again. Turning her hand palm upwards, he pressed a kiss to its centre then closed her fingers over the warm spot where his lips had touched.

  ‘I hate you, Luis!’ she spat back at him, struggling to free herself.

  ‘So you have said repeatedly over the past couple of days. Do you think I care how you feel, Laura? Do you think it will influence me in any way?’ He let her go to pick up his cup and take a drink of the coffee before putting the cup down again with a hand that was rock steady. ‘It doesn’t bother me how you feel or what you think. You lost any right you had to expect consideration from me when you lied to and deceived me. Now I merely expect that you do as required with the least amount of fuss.’

  ‘And does that include sleeping with you?’ She laughed shrilly, tossing her head so that her hair floated around her shoulders, caught by the soft May breeze. She was wearing a fluffy white sweater with slim-fitting taupe trousers, an outfit which should have been more than adequate for such warm weather, yet she couldn’t quite stem the cold shudder that ran through her.

  ‘If that is what I want, then the answer is yes. You are my wife, Laura. Naturally I expect us to share a bed and normal intimacies.’

  ‘No!’ Her eyes grew stormy with pain as the memories rushed back. ‘I will not subject myself to a repeat of last night. It was vile, Luis!’

  ‘Vile?’ He raised one dark brow, his face calm if one disregarded the growing darkness of his gaze. ‘From what I recall, adorada, you seemed to enjoy our lovemaking. Yet now you call it “vile”?’ He shook his head, the breeze ruffling his black hair before he carelessly pushed it back. ‘I wonder why you are lying again. Or is it just that you are incapable of telling the truth?’

  ‘It is the truth. I hated what you did to me!’

  ‘So much so that you were like a wildcat, clawing and biting at me?’ He flicked the front of his shirt open and drew it away from his shoulder, watching her face as she saw the mark her teeth had left on his tanned skin. He laughed softly, rebuttoning the shirt as he held her shocked gaze. ‘You wanted me, Laura. You were with me every step of the way. I didn’t force you; I didn’t have to. The desire you feel for me and I feel for you was enough to ensure that you made love with me willingly.’

  ‘Love? Don’t delude yourself, Luis. What we did last night had nothing to do with love!’

  ‘Maybe not, but it was still an enjoyable and satisfying experience and one that I am sure we shall both be eager to repeat many times over the next few years. What bothers you most about it? The fact that you think I tricked you in some way, or that you enjoyed having sex with me even though you profess to hate me so much?’

  ‘I...’

  ‘Buenos días, Luis...Laura.’ The softly cultured tones of Doña Elena as she came out to join them on the terrace stopped Laura from replying. She swallowed down the hot retorts as Luis helped his mother into a chair. She had intended to be so composed for this first meeting with the other woman, but typically that wasn’t to be.

  She started nervously as she suddenly realised that Doña Elena was speaking to her. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that.’

  The older woman smiled calmly, sitting erect in the chair. She was an imposing figure, her black hair sprinkled with silver and as immaculately arranged as ever, the elegant black suit she wore perfectly tailored to fit her slim figure. Laura had always found her stiff and unbending and it seemed that little about her attitude had changed.

  ‘I merely enquired if you had slept well after your journey and all your recent exertions, Laura.’

  ‘Exertions?’ Laura repeated uncertainly, but it was Luis who explained.

  ‘Nursing your friend, querida. Madre has been concerned that it might have been too much for you.’ There was a touching warmth in his voice but it didn’t fool her. This was all an act to convince his family of the lie he intended them to live.

  Laura’s eyes warred briefly with his but it was she who dropped her gaze first, unable to withstand the piercing scrutiny for long. ‘I...fine, thank you.’

  ‘I am glad to hear that. We were all beginning to worry that you were never coming back. Poor Luis has been left alone far too long. It is a good job that he is such an understanding husband, sí?‘

  ‘Yes.’ Laura looked up and gave a stiff little smile as she carefully avoided Luis’s eyes. ‘He has been very...understanding.’

  There was an undercurrent to the words she knew he had heard. She shot him a quick glance and felt her stomach clench at the anger which glittered briefly in his eyes before he laughed.

  ‘There is a limit to how understanding a man can be and I had just about reached it, Laura. That is why I brought you home where you belong.’ He stood up and stretched so that muscles rippled in his lean torso and despite herself, Laura felt her breath catch. He was such a devastatingly handsome man physically, that lean physique honed to perfection from all the sport he played, ranging from polo to skiing. He seemed to sense her reaction because he came round the table and held his hand out to her with a smile that made heat run along her veins even as her brain screamed a warning.

  ‘Come, querida. I must change to go to the office, a necessity I regret but can do little about, I’m afraid. So let us enjoy a few minutes together before I leave.’

  Conscious of Doña Elena watching them, Laura let him lead her inside, but once out of sight of the other woman she snatched her hand away from him. ‘Very touching! And whose benefit was that for, Luis? Mine, or your mother’s, more likely?’

  He slid his hand under her elbow and ushered her quickly up the stairs to their room before he replied in a voice like steel, ‘When will you learn a little discretion? I do not wish the servants to hear your shrew-like rantings!’

  ‘Shrew-like? Why, you arrogant, insufferable...’ She got no further, the words stopped abruptly as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard. He raised his head and studied her, watching the colour sweep up her face.

  ‘Yes, shrew. And I find the prospect of taming you, little shrew, increasingly appealing.’ His hand cupped her face. ‘Perhaps that is why you act the way you do. Does the idea of being tamed excite you?’

  ‘No!’ She swatted his hands away and walked over to the window, keeping her back to him so that he couldn’t see the heat in her face. She hated him for his cold arrogance but hated herself almost as much because there might be the smallest grain of truth in what he said. There was a certain heady excitement in pushing him to the limit and almost making his control snap, but why? Because deep down she still harboured some foolish hope that she might unleash other emotions inside him apart from hatred and this desire for revenge? Was she still crazy enough to hope for that after everything that had happened.

  ‘It is a good job that the grapes aren’t being harvested, Laura. You would sour the wine with that look.’

  She turned on him in a trice, incensed by the mockery, then felt the words jam in her throat, held there by a sudden surge of raw desire. He had stripped off his shirt and was wearing only the tight-fitting breeches which hugged his narrow hips and muscular thighs. Sunlight gilded his chest, turning it the colour of bronze, each perfect muscle delineated. He looked like a sculpture standing there, so perfect yet so remote. He was her husband yet he felt nothing for her but hatred, and the pain she felt was so sharp that it was all she could do to hold back the cry of anguish.

  ‘There is something wrong, Laura?’

  She fought for control as Luis took a step towards her, terrified of letting him see how she felt. To give Luis that sort of advantage was asking for more heartache th
an she could cope with. ‘No. Nothing at all. What did you want to speak to me about, or was that touching little episode downstairs purely for the benefit of your mother?’

  His black brows drew together at the sarcasm, his tone holding a thread of steely anger. ‘My mother has been unwell recently. I don’t want her worrying about anything that can be avoided, do you understand? This marriage of ours is to appear perfect to everyone.’

  ‘They would need to be blind to think that!’

  ‘Not at all. Not if you play your part as adeptly as I know you are capable of. And after all, you do have such a fine incentive, don’t you Laura? The thought of Rachel and her father homeless and penniless cannot be a pleasant one, not when you know it would be your fault?’

  ‘My fault? That’s the trouble, isn’t it, Luis? I am to blame for all of it, according to you! Yet the only thing I am guilty of is loving you and imagining that you loved me back!’

  Pain and anger made her grey eyes burn and she saw an answering flame ignite in Luis’s dark ones. However, he controlled his anger and replied with a calmness which made her long to do something rash just to shake him, ‘I have no intention of discussing that with you now, Laura. I have made my feelings plain enough for you to be in no doubt of them.’

  ‘Well, bully for you! The great Luis de Rivera has spoken. How does it feel being so sure of yourself, Luis? Is it a good feeling, or does it sometimes get just the tiniest bit uncomfortable perched on top of that lofty pedestal? I only wish I were as perfect as you so obviously are!’

  The words were hardly out of her mouth before he had her in his arms, his fingers bruising as they bit into her soft flesh. ‘I never claimed to be perfect.’

  ‘Meaning that I did?’ She tossed her head, the long glittering golden strands of hair swirling around her flushed face. Her heart was hammering, her pulse racing, her brain screaming out a warning to proceed with caution but all of a sudden caution was the last thing she intended to heed. ‘I never lied to you, Luis! I never said one word to you to imply that I was a virgin!’