Raul's Revenge

'And you don't know me,' Penny clipped back.

'Oh, but I do. And I can prove it,' he said dangerously.

Penny tensed as his darkening glance caught and held hers. Inexplicably her heart lurched in her breast. She could not break away from the hypnotic power of his glittering eyes. She was like a mouse hypnotised by the hooded gaze of a cobra.

Raul's hand dropped from her chin to her waist and she was firmly locked to the long, hard length of his body. She knew that she should resist but instead she watched, her pulse racing out of control as his head dipped and his mouth fastened over hers, hard, hot and demanding a response.

jacqueline baird

It had been so long since she had been held by a man, kissed by a man, and the fact that it was Raul, her one and only lover, had an instant effect on her senses. The feelings she had repressed for over two years welled up inside her; she felt dizzy, her mind spinning as sexual need as fierce as it was unexpected set every nerve in her body quivering with frustrated desire.

With an urgent, throaty growl of passion Raul plunged his tongue hungrily, erotically in her mouth. He slid one hand under her vest to glide teasingly up her naked back, his touch on her bare flesh sending shock waves through her slender frame. His other hand curved around her buttocks while a strong thigh urged her legs apart. She felt the powerful thrust of his male arousal and help­lessly arched closer into him. The deep, searing kiss, the heat of his hard body, the scent of him, so achingly fam­iliar, and she was drowning in a sea of sensuous delight.

She tried to fight the urge to fling her arms around him and kiss him back. Her legs trembled, her fists clenched and unclenched but it was no contest. De­feated, she raised her hands to his chest, her fingers lin­gering on the soft fabric of his shirt, lovingly tracing the muscular wall of his chest.

His mouth left hers and Penny gasped for breath. But Raul had no such difficulty. He gazed deep into her passion-glazed eyes. 'You see, Penny? I know you better than you think. Caution is not in your vocabulary when it comes to sex,' he voiced mockingly.

Shame turned her face scarlet and she pulled back, stumbling slightly in her haste to escape. Raul reached out a hand to steady her and she knocked it away.

Furious with Raul but even more furious with herself, she forgot any notion of staying in control, and raged back viciously. 'Sex is all you ever think about, you ar­rogant pig. Well, I've got news for you. You might be able to turn a woman on for a moment—big deal! So can millions of other men,' she derided. 'But, in the long term, even with all your wealth and power, you are a dead loss. And as for getting your hands on my son forget it; you haven't a cat in hell's chance.'

‘The events of the past two days would suggest otherwise,' Raul said with a cynical edge.

Penny stiffened, her anger draining away as ice spread slowly through her body while Raul casually turned aside and shrugged off his jacket, dropping it on the sofa. Equally casually he strode across the room to lean against the fireplace before turning to look back at her and de­liver the coup de grace.

'After all, Penny, you were hardly very cautious with the boy, handing him over to a complete stranger,' he opined acidly.

Penny was frozen on the spot. She stared with pain-filled eyes at his hard, ruthless face. Her throat tigh­tened and she had to look away to blink bock the tears. There was nothing he could have said that would have hurt her more. 'I won't argue with you,' she said quietly. 'But neither will I let you have my son.'

He shook his dark head and grimaced. 'I have no in­tention of depriving you of your child.'

She wanted to believe him but she did not trust him an inch. 'So you say,' she muttered.

'Believe it,' Raul said tersely, and, idly picking up a picture frame from the mantelpiece, which held a photo­graph of James as a baby, he stared at it for a long moment. 'How old was be when this was taken?' he asked in a thick voice.

'Six months.'

'He's beautiful.'

'Yes,' Penny agreed. Actually, he was the living image of his father, and the worried thoughts that had kept her awake last night came back to her. She had almost decided to tell Raul about James. Maybe Raul's turning up today was fate. The decision had been made for her.

A weary sigh escaped her. She glanced sideways at Raul, so large and elegant, leaning casually against the fireplace, and wondered fearfully exactly what he wanted.

'For God's sake, Penny! You're standing there like a frightened rabbit. Sit down before you fall down, and let's talk like two sensible adults.'

She did as he said; she did not have much choice. Perched on the edge of the sofa, it seemed to Penny as if she had an awfully long way to look up at where Raul was standing, a dark, brooding frown marring his handsome face. She waited, expecting him to speak; the silence lengthened, the tension in the air almost tangible until finally she could stand it no longer.

'You said talk,' she reminded him curtly.

Raul replaced the photograph on the mantelpiece and, ignoring her words, began pacing up and down the room. Finally he stopped in front of Penny. 'When will the boy wake up?' he demanded.

She glanced up and caught a glimpse of some emotion she did not recognise in his dark eyes. 'Half an hour, maybe,' she murmured. If she had not known better she could have sworn that Raul was nervous.

'I see.' He ran a hand distractedly through his thick hair and lowered himself down beside her on the sofa. 'Enough time, I suppose.'

'For what?' Penny asked, edging away from the far too masculine thigh brushing her bare leg.

Raul noted her reaction, his mouth quirking in the semblance of a smile. Then he floored her completely. 'To arrange the wedding, of course.'