Modern Romance Collection: November 2017 Books 5 - 8. Annie West
that was a mistaken idea. He was dressed immaculately in a charcoal-grey suit, but nothing could detract from the air of superiority and total control he exuded.
He rose from his seat and stood waiting for her; the angry set of his handsome face left her in no doubt he had seen the headlines. Her futile hope slithered away, taking with it the remainder of her confidence as his dark eyes glared accusingly at her, his anger palpable even at this distance.
She walked towards him, her head held high, trying to match his strength, to show he didn’t intimidate her at all. As she got closer her confidence faltered and she stopped halfway across the room, glad now that they were the only people there. She glanced around, just to check.
‘I booked the entire restaurant to ensure I had the privacy I needed.’ Raul sounded calm, approachable, but she wasn’t fooled. She could detect the steely edge lurking beneath the surface. Calm he might be, but he was definitely far from approachable.
She turned to face him, looking into those dark eyes she’d lost her heart to, trying to bring confidence from deep within her. ‘I got your message.’
‘And I have seen your salacious kiss and tell in the papers this morning.’ He went straight in for the kill, his voice now harder than the gleam of anger in his eyes, but she remained resolutely still, meeting his gaze and the accusation within it head-on. Inside she trembled but outside she was strong and defiant. The armour that had served her well for many years deflected most of the pain.
‘I’m very sorry to disappoint, but I am not the source of your embarrassment.’ She raised her brows at him in a show of high-handedness as she said that final word, then continued before he had a chance to say anything, ‘Surely a man like you is used to sidestepping such stories in the papers.’
‘About my lovers, yes.’ He let the barbed words hang in the air and she refused to react, refused to think that one day she too could be linked to him as one of his lovers—exactly what she’d never wanted to be. ‘About my fiancée, no.’
Fury boiled up inside her. ‘I am not your fiancée. Not any longer. I kept my side of the deal.’
‘On that I beg to differ.’ The superiority in his voice rankled but she maintained a stony silence, forcing him to continue. ‘You have shared the story of my half-brother with someone and now it is everywhere. You broke the terms of our contract, Lydia.’
‘I have not shared it with anyone,’ she blurted out, hurt that he could accuse her of such a thing after all they’d shared.
Raul laughed. A cold, cynical laugh, which sent a shiver of worry all over her, chilling her to the core. ‘Do you really expect me to believe that, querida? You were so strong-willed, so against any kind of affair, yet suddenly you changed. You became a passionate woman intent only on desire. You used the mutual attraction between us to drag out more of the story.’
‘I did not.’ Indignation fired the retort at him but as he moved away from the table and came towards her, his dark eyes watching her closely, she regretted the outburst. Was that what he thought their weekend affair had been? When she’d been enjoying the gentle truce between them, the deeper understanding she’d gained of him as they’d talked about their pasts, he’d been satisfying a more basic need. How stupid had she been to fall for his act of vulnerability, to feel sorry for him?
He came very close to her, walking around her, his shoulder almost touching hers, as if they were about to start dancing. Not a slow sedate dance like the night of the party, but a wild passionate dance. A tango filled with anger.
Quickly she looked away and wished that other diners were here. At least it would stop the intimacy of this meeting, but that was not possible because Raul had, yet again, manipulated the situation to suit him. What kind of man booked out an entire restaurant?
One in total control—of everything.
‘You begged me to take you to my bed.’ The hardness in his eyes didn’t match the silky seductive sound of his voice and a tremor of awareness sizzled over her. Why did she still feel like this? How could he still have such a hold on her—on her heart?
‘I felt sorry for you.’ She was shocked at that last thought, her gaze met the fury of his and, once again, she wished the impetuous words unsaid. Still she held his gaze, her chin lifted mutinously in a desperate attempt to hide the real reason she’d wanted to be with him, hide the love that had been impossible to ignore as it had blossomed during those two blissful days.
‘So, it was pity sex.’ He turned and walked away from her and she could see the tension in his shoulders as clearly as she could feel it bouncing around the empty restaurant. Then he whirled round to face her. ‘That is even worse.’
‘I don’t care what kind of sex it was, Raul; I did not sell your story. Just tell me what was so important so I can go before your brother arrives. I will leave and we will never have to see one another again. You can move on with your life, safe in the knowledge you have safeguarded the company, destroyed my father and kept all you wanted.’
Around the room the air prickled with challenge as she glared at him. She wanted to tell him it was far from pity sex, that it had been much more about falling for him—falling in love. But that would be futile. This man didn’t want love in his life. Inwardly, she groaned. How had she been so stupid? To think this man could ever feel anything for her?
‘I’m afraid that will not be possible, Lydia.’ The tone of his voice had changed again. He sounded dangerous and icily calm as he moved back towards her.
‘What do you mean?’ She held her ground, stood firm in the high black patent heels she’d chosen for added height, added confidence.
‘What I mean, Lydia, is that you have broken the agreement you signed. The one that stated you would not share any information with anyone else.’ Menace laced every word as he stopped a short distance from her, as if he didn’t dare come any closer. He hated her now. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his words and feel it surrounding her.
‘Why would I do that?’ From the moment she’d arrived in Madrid she’d become caught up in Raul’s story and even more caught up in the man himself. She’d wanted to help, wanted to be the one who made a difference to his life.
‘You tell me. I have lost a lucrative contract over this and who knows? I may well have lost my brother before I gained him.’ Pain lashed through her. He didn’t care at all that they’d lost the closeness they’d found in Madrid or that they were losing each other with each angry word he spoke.
‘I’m sorry, but it wasn’t me.’ Outwardly, she remained strong. Detached. Inside, she was falling to pieces and she wanted this moment to end.
‘I don’t need your damn pity—in any form.’ He rounded on her and she closed her eyes against the agony that was ripping her heart into shreds. How had she ever thought it might be possible that one day they could become more than just an affair? She couldn’t stay a moment longer and listen to him, feel how much he hated her.
‘And I don’t need this.’ With a toss of her head, her hair flinging out around her, she turned and started to walk away.
‘If my brother doesn’t arrive at one as arranged, then all you have done will have been in vain. Your moment of glory—or is it revenge?—will be for nothing.’ Raul’s steady voice halted her steps and she turned to face him. Was he holding her responsible for Max not turning up?
She looked at her watch. Less than ten minutes until Max should arrive. But what if he didn’t?
‘If my brother doesn’t arrive, your father’s debts will remain unpaid and our engagement deal will stand.’ His words were hard and grating, his handsome face full of anger.
‘You can’t force me to marry you.’ She matched his anger as she flung the words at him.
‘I can and I will.’
Lydia looked to the door of the restaurant, hoping to see a man striding through, but nothing. ‘No, I’ve