‘You’re right. You deserve better. I just haven’t been selfless enough to see it.’ He balled the letter and thrust it into his pocket, before he gripped his own nape in a merciless hold. ‘I didn’t call you because my father was in the middle of having a stroke when I arrived.’
‘What?’
‘He survived, but he’s lost the power of speech and will most likely be wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life.’
‘I... I don’t know what to say.’
His mouth twisted. ‘I think you’ve said plenty. Anyway, under his power of attorney, his eldest son has assumed his responsibilities. I was able to negotiate with him. He signed the document allowing my mother to be buried with her family.’
She stood and moved towards him. ‘I’m so pleased this is over for you. That you both have closure.’
He inclined his head, but the mask of weariness and pain didn’t dissipate. When his gaze lifted, his eyes held pools of deep anguish. ‘What did I do that was so unforgivable, Carla? Was it forcing you to be my mistress? You didn’t sleep with me against your will, I know that.’
She reached out and touched him, unable to abide his pain. ‘No, it wasn’t that. It was never that. I left because I had to. I stayed gone because—’
‘What do you mean you had to?’
‘My father texted me on the night of your party. He was ready to tell me what happened to my mother.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve taken you—’
‘That’s just what he didn’t want. He wanted me to come alone. I was terrified it meant the worst. That he’d killed her in a rage because I’d asked her to intervene with him on my behalf.’
‘And did it?’
She shook her head, the relief of finally being able to put it behind her easing her heartache. ‘It was an accident. Caused because they were rowing, and she was trying to get away from him, but it was an accident. She stormed out of the house and didn’t watch were she was going. She slipped and hit her head going into the pool. My father had security cameras installed when he started buying expensive art. I...couldn’t bring myself to watch all of it, but I saw enough to know he was telling the truth...’
‘And he kept all this from you because...?’
She shrugged, although the pain of that knowledge deadened her limbs. As did the pain of her decision to walk away from her father, once and for all. Somewhere down the line, she might learn to forgive him for some of the things he’d done, but right now she was too raw to even bear the thought of him. ‘It was just another way for him to control me, and he took it.’
Javier cursed, long and dark. His hand jerked out, as if to reach for her. At the last moment, it dropped to his side. ‘You said you left because you had to go. What kept you from coming back?’ he asked in a dead voice.
‘You.’
‘Sí, of course. The problem has always been me.’
‘Yes, it has. Loving you has been a big problem for me. But living without you will be an even greater one.’
He paled. All colour left his vibrant face as he stood thirty thousand feet up in the air. ‘You...’ He shook his head. ‘No entiendo. I don’t understand.’
She closed the distance between them and cradled his face in her hands. ‘I didn’t come back to you because I thought you only wanted me for the short term. I couldn’t stand the thought of staying and loving you only to be cast aside sooner or later.’
Feverish eyes examined her for an age, before he shut his eyes in disbelief. ‘I’ve loved you for three desperate years, querida. You ripped my heart out when you walked away from me that morning. After that I tried every means possible to get you back in my life. And now you...you...’ He groaned and slanted his mouth over hers. The kiss wasn’t gentle or sweet. It was three years of ravaging want and passionate need plugged full bore into their beings.
When he raised his head, they both gasped for air. Without giving her a chance to recover, he swung her into his arms and headed for the master suite at the back of the plane.
Clothes ripped in a frenzy of impatient desire. Fingers locked in her hair and pulled out pins. ‘You’re not allowed to wear your hair up again. Ever.’ He caught her by the waist and rushed her to the bed.
Laughter, pure and joyous, ripped from her throat. ‘What about when I’m competing?’
‘You’ve decided to go back to the ice?’
‘Not just yet. I want to enjoy being with you for a little bit. But I feel my love for it returning every day.’
He stretched out beside her and caught her face in his hand. ‘It will be more glorious than ever, mi amor. And before that we will make up for every single day we’ve wasted thus far.’
Her back arched off the bed as he trailed his hand down her body. ‘And how do you propose to do that?’ she rasped in a voice heavy with desire.