Spanish Nights (Harlequin Treasury 1990's)

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘I was. So afraid that you wouldn’t want me, but I never meant to hurt you, Luis! I never intended to deceive you.’

  ‘I know.’ He drew her into his arms, holding her so gently that she felt tears well into her eyes at his tenderness. He kissed them away, cupping her chin in his hand as his lips moved over each damp eyelid. ‘I adore you, mi esposa. I was yours and only yours, body and soul from the first moment I saw you.’

  She laughed shakily, snuggling closer into his hold. ‘And I belonged to you too from that moment.’ She drew back a fraction, a frown puckering her brow for an instant. ‘There was never anything between Domingo and I. I want you to understand that.’

  ‘I know.’ He sighed roughly, feathering a delicate kiss across the frown lines to smooth them out. ‘I knew it even before he said as much this evening on the telephone.’

  ‘You telephoned him? But I thought you said that you would never...never...’

  ‘Crawl to him to hear that you had kept your vows? I remember clearly what I said to you, Laura. Every harsh word. Each is engraved on my heart.’ He ran a hand down her cheek, his fingers trembling until she turned and pressed her mouth against them.

  ‘Don’t, Luis, we both said things we regret.’

  ‘And I shall regret them until the day I die.’ His voice throbbed with emotion, his hand curving around her cheek. ‘Every cruel word filled my head when I came back and found that you had gone. I think I went slightly crazy, discovering that it had happened again, yet I couldn’t blame you for what you had done. It took me a while to think what to do and that was when I phoned Domingo.’ He laughed bitterly. ‘I even hoped that you were with him just so that I might have the chance to talk to you, maybe convince you not to leave me again.’

  ‘Oh, Luis!’ She slid her arms around his waist, holding him close, feeling his pain as though it was her own. They had hurt each other so much, but if they could only set that aside then it would make them stronger.

  He smoothed a hand over her hair then kissed her temple, his lips gentle. ‘I owe Domingo a debt. He not only went out of his way to confirm what I knew already in my heart, that there was nothing between you two, but told me that he had seen you that afternoon in Cadiz. Without that I wouldn’t have known where to start looking for you, Laura. I would have tried all the likely places but I would never have found you in time. You would have left.’

  She sighed gently, remembering that frantic, painful flight. ‘I didn’t want you to. I took care to cover my tracks, Luis, so that you wouldn’t find me. I knew that the airport here would be the first place you would look, but Cadiz...I meant to catch the train to Seville and fly back to England from there but...’ She stopped, colour tinging her cheeks as she remembered her thoughts, her sudden uncertainties about whether she was doing the right thing by running and denying Luis any knowledge of his child.

  ‘But?’ he prompted. He studied her face, the fear he could see still lying in the depths of her shadowed eyes. ‘Even now you still aren’t sure I am telling you the truth, are you, Laura? I don’t blame you but I don’t know any way to convince you...apart from this.’ His lips settled on hers in a kiss of such tenderness and love that her heart seemed to swell with emotion. He wasn’t demanding he was giving, giving himself to her, heart and soul, trusting her with all those secret parts of him that made him vulnerable. He had never opened himself to her like this before, never laid his emotions bare, and it touched her more than she could say. To feel Luis, always so strong and indomitable before, now so vulnerable made all the fears fade and trust grow.

  ‘I love you, Laura,’ he whispered shakily. ‘I have always loved you. I just convinced myself that what I felt was a desire for revenge but it was all lies...lies!’

  ‘And I love you too, Luis. Only you...and...and the child I am carrying.’ She took his hand and laid it against her stomach, smiling at the shock which flickered in his eyes.

  ‘You are pregnant? Is that what you are saying, amada?‘

  ‘Mmmm. I hope you don’t mind but I’m afraid you only have yourself to blame for my condition,’ she teased gently, loving the expression of awe on his handsome face.

  He kissed her hard and hungrily, his mouth fervent with need. ‘Mind? It is something I have dreamed about, you carrying my child!’

  ‘Is that the reason why you wanted me to come back to you in the first place, Luis? Because you wanted a child to carry on the name of Rivera?’ There was an echo of pain in her soft voice, a faint shadow on her face as she asked the question. She looked down, not wanting to see the truth of it and heard him mutter something rough. He lifted her face, his eyes very dark as they met hers.

  ‘I wanted you back because I loved you, Laura. I made up any number of reasons to hide that fact from myself but that is the truth. This child we will have is just a beautiful bonus.’

  ‘But Mercedes said...’ She stopped when she saw the anger on his face but his voice was gentle.

  ‘She said what? Please tell me, Laura. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.’

  ‘She said that you were desperate for an heir, that...that the only reason you wanted to continue with this mockery of a marriage was because it was the one way you could get a child when it isn’t possible for you to divorce me.’

  ‘I never, ever discussed either our marriage or children with her. I want you to believe that, Laura. Never!’

  There was no way she could doubt him, not when she saw that certainty on his face. She reached up and kissed him. ‘I do. I had only found out for certain that I was pregnant this morning, just before I met Mercedes in town. When she told me that I was so afraid, Luis. She said that once I’d produced a child then you would no longer need me in your life. You would have the child and that would be enough!’

  ‘And that is what pushed you into running away again.’ He drew her to him, holding her close as though he would never let her leave his embrace. ‘Mercedes is very astute. Perhaps she guessed somehow that you were pregnant from something you said.’

  ‘No. I didn’t know myself until last night when I started adding up the clues...’ She paused for a moment. ‘This morning, though...’ She stopped but Luis prompted her.

  ‘What happened then?’

  ‘Just something Pilar said.’ She laughed with a touch of embarrassment. ‘I had the feeling that Pilar had guessed even though I hadn’t done so myself.’

  Luis sighed deeply. ‘And that solves the mystery.’ At her start of surprise he continued, ‘Pilar’s sister, Rosa, works for Mercedes. They probably discussed the news of your condition and somehow Mercedes heard and used it to her advantage. I shall never forgive her for what she has tried to do, Laura.’

  It made sense, so much sense that Laura wondered why she hadn’t realised sooner what the woman was up to. Mercedes had used whatever scraps of information she had gleaned to her advantage time and again. It explained everything apart from where Luis had gone last night. She frowned, wondering if she should ask him, and heard him laugh deeply.

  ‘Tell me what is bothering you now, querida. We must clear this all up once and for all, and soon.’

  She glanced up at him questioningly. ‘Soon?’

  ‘Sí. We are wasting time, too much time which could be employed in a much more enjoyable way.’ He smoothed his hand down her side, the tips of his fingers brushing against the curve of her breast, and she shuddered. When he did it again with a touch of knowing arrogance she went up on tiptoe and kissed his mouth then just as deliberately gently bit his lower lip. He groaned deeply, his arms contracting around her, his body pulsing against hers in a way that left her in no doubt as to his need.

  ‘You are a witch, Laura. You cast a spell over me all those months ago and I cannot be held responsible for my actions. So tell me quickly what you wish to know!’

  She stroked her hand across his chest, feeling the thunderous beat of his heart against her palm. She let it rest there, loving him more than she’d thought possible. ‘Whe
re did you go last night, Luis, when you left the house? I thought you’d spent the night with Mercedes, especially after what she said to me today, but now I don’t know.’

  He captured her hand and kissed the palm, folding her fingers over the warm spot where his lips had caressed. ‘I didn’t go anywhere. I just drove and drove trying to make some sense out of all the madness that seemed to be filling my head. No matter what Mercedes told you, I never went to her. How could I, when all I could think about was you?’

  ‘And you didn’t plan that trip to Amsterdam with her either?’

  ‘No!’ He seemed to make a determined effort to control the sudden flash of anger. ‘I was surprised to see her there but thought nothing of it, merely assumed that she was there on business. If she told you anything different then it was lies, Laura. I cannot believe that you could be taken in that way!’

  ‘Can’t you?’ She laughed lightly. ‘Then you must never have known what it feels like to be jealous, Luis.’

  His face softened at once. ‘Oh, but I do. I seem to have been eaten up with jealousy for so long now, but there is no need for me to feel that way any longer.’

  ‘No. There never was a need. It was always you, Luis. Only you. You are the man of my dreams, the man who fills my heart.’ She let her head rest against his chest, feeling the deep shuddering breath he drew in. There was a moment’s long silence, as though both of them were suddenly aware of how close they had come to losing one another. Then Luis bent and lifted her into his arms, kissing her softly before drawing back to look deep into her eyes. ‘Now all that is behind us, Laura. From this point on we look to our future. Tonight you will sleep in my arms and when we awake tomorrow it will be a new beginning for all of us—you, me and the child you will give me in a few months’ time. I love you, querida.’

  She cupped his cheek with a gentle hand, her eyes filled with everything she felt. ‘And I love you too, querido.’ Her hand slid around his neck as he carried her up the stairs, her heart swelling with joy at the thought of the life they would have together. A new beginning with the man she loved with all her heart.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-8562-0

  Spanish Nights

  Copyright © 1994 by Jennifer Taylor

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