Modern Romance Collection: November 2017 Books 5 - 8. Annie West
walked to the door and was about to open it, but paused. What would he think when she went to look for him after the underlying tension in all he’d said before she’d come to her room? Would he think that she wanted to carry on from their kiss? No, she couldn’t risk that, not after the way she had all but begged him to kiss her, to hold her close. A fierce blush rushed over her cheeks as she recalled the way she’d clung to him, pressing her body against his so wantonly.
She couldn’t risk a repeat of that kiss. She had to hold on to the fact that she had all she needed to free herself of Raul Valdez and, if she wanted to, blow his controlled world apart.
THE INFORMATION RAUL’S mother had handed to her had been a shock, but exactly what she needed. For the last five days Lydia had kept it to herself as she’d completed her search. Now she was finally ready to tell Raul, but with the anniversary party only a few hours away she didn’t know if it was the right time. She should be elated, overjoyed that the fake engagement they had entered into was not going to end with an alarmingly real two-year marriage, but the thought of coldly delivering all she now knew and walking away didn’t feel right.
What was the matter with her? Two weeks ago she would have willingly hurled abuse at the hard and tough exterior that was Raul Valdez. At first, her intention had been to find out where his brother was, then deliver the information coldly. She’d wanted to make him feel as insignificant as he’d made her feel all those years ago when they’d first met. That evening had haunted her ever since, making her squirm with embarrassment each time she recalled it. Despite her desire to make him feel as insignificant, it wasn’t what she wanted to do now.
Something had changed. She’d glimpsed briefly beneath that hardness and seen a very different man. The kind of man who warmed her heart and made it skip a beat. The kind of man she found attractive and she was sure that this time he was not as indifferent to her as he had once been. Not if that kiss in the rain was anything to go by.
‘It is time to leave.’ Raul’s firm tone dragged her from her thoughts, making her instantly question if she truly had seen a different man from the powerful and controlled man who stood before her, resplendent in his tuxedo.
He looked devastatingly handsome, pulling her already stretched nerves tighter as she fought to conceal the effect he had on her. The black tuxedo hugged his body, fitting him to perfection and highlighting his strength, and the white of his shirt emphasised the olive tones of his skin. But it was his face that really made her heart flutter. The sultry and very sexy expression in his eyes, the slight curve of a smile on his lips and the raised brows as he slowly took in every detail of her silver dress filled her with excitement.
‘We should talk.’ She tried to concentrate, to focus on the here and now, but nerves skittered round her. Why did she feel so nervous? It wasn’t as if tonight were a real date. She stepped towards him, trying to still the thud of her heart and be herself, but something had changed and that something had happened as she’d kissed him in the rain. Since then everything had been different. She’d been trying to ignore it but as she looked up at him she knew she couldn’t any longer—didn’t want to.
‘Not now.’ His incredibly sexy voice filled with control and command, but she had to tell him. She didn’t want any more hidden secrets.
‘But there are things—’
‘Later.’ He cut across her appeal. The determination in that word and the hard, feral look he gave her almost silenced her, but he needed to know what she’d found out. She couldn’t keep it from him. It wasn’t just because it meant they no longer had to continue with the charade of their engagement. It was something else, something much deeper, something she’d never expected to find. She pushed the thought aside. She would be totally out of her depth with this man if she indulged in such notions. Whatever it was between them it was merely lust. A strong sexual attraction. Nothing more.
‘No, we must talk, now, before we go to the party.’ She hated that she sounded so pleading but, now that she knew for sure the truth about his brother, he had to know. Not that it changed anything for her, but it would definitely change things for Raul.
‘Lydia, we are already late. We leave now. After all, we have to convince everyone our engagement is real, do we not?’
‘B-but...’ she stammered over the word, unable to believe how she’d ever imagined a hidden vulnerable side to him.
‘Now, Lydia. I have timed our arrival to maximum effect. Whatever you have to say can wait.’
‘Very well, let’s go.’ She picked up her small silver clutch bag, which matched the glitz of the stunning dress she’d bought that afternoon. She should have been ecstatic to find such a dress and the contact she’d made with the designer for her own boutiques, but the contents of the envelope had been weighing heavily on her mind. They still were.
Raul’s silence as they drove through the busy streets of Madrid to one of the most prestigious hotels was difficult to say the least. He’d made it clear he didn’t want to talk of anything, that arriving with maximum impact and creating a couple newly engaged was all he cared about.
Now, as she entered the large room, tables adorned with silver decorations in celebration of the couple’s anniversary, Raul changed. He smiled and became very attentive. He placed his hand in the small of her back, partly touching her skin due to the backless design of the dress, and she caught her breath as a frisson of awareness raced up her spine.
She turned to look up at him and the smile of satisfaction that lingered on his lips only heightened that awareness. For the briefest of moments, his dark gaze locked with hers, desire surging through the normal granite hardness.
‘A very convincing act, querida.’ His voice was deep and so very sexy that she couldn’t break that eye contact even though she wanted to. ‘Now it must be continued as we greet our hosts.’
Raul guided her through the glamorous guests and she was aware of the curious glances cast their way. Either Raul was such a playboy that nobody expected him to settle to marriage or she was very different from the kind of woman he usually had at his side. Whatever it was, she was far from comfortable.
She put on a smile as he introduced her in Spanish to a couple whose love for one another was more than obvious. The tall and elegant woman, named Estela, smiled at her and spoke in Spanish.
‘She said you are very beautiful, an English rose.’ Raul’s voice broke through her thoughts, sounding so very different from the harshness he usually adopted. All part of the show, she reminded herself.
Lydia looked at the woman and replied in Spanish, ‘Thank you and congratulations.’
‘Your Spanish is excellent,’ Estela replied with a smile and a quick glance at Raul, as if she knew what Lydia was doing.
Beside her she could feel the shockwaves coming off Raul. That dinner party, when he’d made her feel so low, so useless, was now being paid back. He said nothing and when she turned to smile at him she knew he was furious.
‘You make a very handsome couple,’ Estela’s husband added, defusing the charged atmosphere slightly as he put his arm around his wife’s shoulders and pulled her close. ‘Your father knew what he was doing, Raul.’
Lydia’s gaze held Raul’s, but he was stoically calm, not a trace of emotion of any kind. Just how much did the board know of their arrangement? And if they knew it all, why was there any need to act the part of lovers?
As if sensing her annoyance and her questions, Raul called over a passing waiter and handed a flute of champagne to her, then his hosts and finally took one himself.
‘A toast,’ he said in Spanish. ‘To love. Long may it last.’
Lydia raised her glass towards the couple and joined in the toast, then took a sip of the sparkling liquid, but nearly choked on the bubbles as Raul added one more toast.