‘You’re pale.’
She gave a careless shrug, trying not to betray everything that he made her feel. ‘Jet lag. I’m tired.’
‘No, it isn’t that. I’ve seen you with more colour in your cheeks when you’ve been up all night with one of the horses.’ He studied her closely, his scrutiny more than a little disturbing. ‘Are you dizzy? Do you need a doctor?’
‘No.’ She didn’t confess that she was just as wound up as he was. Every nerve ending in her body was reminding her that he was close by.
He watched her for a moment, and then increased the pressure of his hand and urged her towards the door. ‘If this evening is too much for you, tell me and you can go back to bed.’ He flashed her a confident, self-satisfied smile. ‘You see how thoughtful and caring I can be?’
‘Would that be an empty bed, or a bed with you in it?’
‘We both know you would be mortally offended if I wasn’t in it, cariño,’ he purred, amusement in his eyes as he pulled her against him and stole a swift kiss from her parted lips. ‘Then you would be accusing me of not finding you attractive, no?’
Tied into knots by his kiss, his smile and his words, she couldn’t even respond.
She was a hopeless case, Faith thought weakly as she followed his direction and walked through the door on shaking legs. Desperately she tried to think about something, anything, other than him.
‘These people we’re meeting tonight—’ she glanced at him briefly ‘—do I need to know anything about them? I don’t want to say the wrong thing. Who are they?’
‘They own land.’ Raul took her hand in his and drew her close to him as they walked up the path that led from the Beach House to the main courtyard of the estancia. ‘Land that I want.’
‘You already own ten-thousand acres. Why would you want their land?’
‘Why settle for less when you can have more?’ But something flickered in the depths of his dark eyes and she had a feeling that there was more to this business deal than he was revealing.
‘In other words, you have a good reason and you’re not planning to share it with me.’
He laughed. ‘I love the fact that you have a sharp brain.’
‘Just as long as I don’t use it,’ Faith said tartly and his answer to that was to bring his mouth down on hers again, his kiss so impossibly skilled that the rest of her sharp rejoinder died in her brain.
‘You taste good,’ he murmured against her lips and she groaned and dragged her mouth away from his.
‘You always do this to me.’ She put her hands on his chest to steady herself, and then looked up at him. ‘You’re infuriating, do you know that? You use sex to shut me up.’
‘Not true.’ He bent his head and his mouth brushed her neck, that simple touch sufficient to send a thrill of excitement rushing through her.
‘You’re doing it again,’ she gasped, wishing desperately that her body wasn’t so responsive to his. ‘Stop it, Raul.’
His mouth lingered, warm and full of promise. ‘You want me to stop?’ The erotic flick of his tongue fired her blood.
‘No. Yes …’ Sinking into a trance, Faith closed her eyes. ‘I don’t know. Where did you learn to do that?’
‘I was born knowing,’ he purred softly, but the twinkle in his eyes softened the arrogance of the statement. ‘In Argentina, men know how to be men. And part of being a real man is being an incredible lover.’
‘Your ego is enormous.’
His eyes darkened wickedly. ‘That isn’t my ego, cariño …’
All too aware of the strength and power of his arousal, Faith dragged herself out of his arms. ‘All right, enough.’ Flustered and shivering with desire, she held up a hand like a ‘stop’ sign. ‘Just stand there and don’t move for a minute.’
His gaze was slumberous and deadly. ‘I love the fact that you’re such a sexual woman.’
Faith gritted her teeth. ‘I said enough! And no more kissing. I can’t have a conversation while you’re kissing me.’
One dark eyebrow swooped upwards in sardonic mockery. ‘Precisely.’
Confused, her entire body buzzing, Faith glared at him. ‘Do you know that you use sex to avoid every subject that is remotely difficult? You never talk about things that matter.’ Her head was still reeling from the slow, seductive touch of his mouth and for a moment she wished that he wasn’t quite so skilled in that area. If he had been less accomplished as a lover, she might have been able to concentrate on their relationship.