Raul's Revenge

Penny was too weak to resist and drank greedily of the proffered water. When the glass was empty Raul withdrew his arm and straightened up. Penny flopped back against the pillows, her mind spinning like a windmill. She had thought that losing James for a day was the worst thing that could possibly happen to her, but waking up in Raul's bedroom in his home in Spain must run a close second.

It was a nightmare; it had to be. In a minute she would wake up, she told herself firmly, and, taking a few long, deep breaths, she dragged herself upright in the bed.

It was no nightmare. Raul stood a couple of feet away, watching her with hard eyes.

'Feeling better?' he prompted coldly.

Her head felt like lead and her heart like stone, but her uppermost emotion was an icy, fear-filled anger. But she dared not let him see that. She made herself move, sliding her legs over the side of the bed. She had to think, and think fast. She didn't know how Raul had done it. How had he got her here? Her dress bunched up around her thighs and she pulled it down over her knees, her brain spinning on oiled wheels. Wait a minute—she re­membered wearing her swimsuit and lying on the air­bed on the deck of the cruiser, Raul kneeling over her, offering her more wine and asking her if she was sleepy...

'You bastard!' she exclaimed as it hit her. The swine must have drugged her and stripped her naked before slipping her briefs and dress back on.

'No. But you dared to make my son a bastard,' Raul drawled, his dark eyes flicking over her with contempt. 'And I will never forgive you for that.'

Fury raged inside her as she stared at him, her face running through the whole gamut of emotions from fear to seething hatred. She struggled to her feet and swayed slightly, but sheer rage made her move; she wanted to hit him, claw his mocking eyes out. But she stopped a foot away from him. She clenched her hands at her sides in impotent fury. James! Raul had her son. She did not dare attack him.

'Why? How?' she asked through clenched teeth.

Raul gave her a chilling smile. 'I told you I wanted my son.' He shrugged. 'I have my son.'

She stared at him with growing terror. He made it sound so simple, a fact. 'You can't possibly hope to get away with it,' she said urgently. ‘The penalty for kid­napping is a long jail sentence and I will delight in giving evidence against you.'

'I think not,' Raul sneered.

'You think you are so bloody omnipotent,' Penny swore in panic. 'But James and I have friends. Already Amy will be searching for us.' Raul took a step towards her, his large hands curving around her shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh, burning her like a brand. Her pulse beat a frightening, erratic rhythm. 'Let—' Let me go, she had been going to say, but didn't get the chance.

'No, she won't,' Raul cut her off, his black eyes nar­rowed venomously on her pale face, 'because, my dear Penny, you sent Amy a telegram, informing her that the trauma of losing James had finally caught up with you and you were going on holiday for two weeks.'

'Amy will never believe that/ she said, appalled at his duplicity.

Raul shrugged. 'She does not have to, but the police will.' He gave her a chilling smile laced with mockery. ‘I informed the local constabulary that I was taking you on holiday to get away from the publicity et cetera. It was common knowledge in the community that I had been visiting you and James quite amicably for the past few weeks; what could be more natural?'

The full horror of her situation was finally getting through to Penny. Machiavelli had had nothing on Raul. Even to her, the victim of his diabolical plot, his expla­nation seemed believable. 'But what about passports, Customs? You can't just smuggle two people into a country.' She shook her head in stunned disbelief. This could not be happening to her.

Raul's mouth twisted. 'But I have,' he drawled with cynical amusement. 'You were my wife, who had ov­erindulged in wine, and I unfortunately could not find your passport. As for James... It was quite simple; I obtained a copy of his birth certificate as soon as I knew of his existence, and discovered you had deliberately left the father's name blank.' His voice became a savage snarl. 'An oversight, Penny?' His black eyes accused her. 'But with the help of a high government official James has been registered as my son on my passport.'

'You planned this right from the first,' Penny whis­pered in horror, finally recognising the enormity of his deceit. Raul had let her think that she had won, that she was in control. But all the time he had been plotting to abduct the pair of them.

'Naturally.'

An icy hand gripped her heart at the one curt word. Was there no end to her stupidity? How quickly she had forgotten that during their affair Raul had always been the dominant one, in complete control. Oh, he had said that they were partners, but he'd never actually meant it. The few times she had tried to assert herself she had never really succeeded. Two years apart had taught her nothing where Raul was concerned. Amy had been right all along. He was not to be trusted...

'You're mad, Raul; stark, staring bonkers,' she said flatly, determined to stand up to him this time. If she was to have any chance of getting away with her son she could not afford to lose her temper. 'You do realise that tomorrow or the next day or even—God forbid!—two weeks from now I will walk out of here with my child?' She had to make him see reason, but the bitter hostility in his eyes was not very reassuring.

'You, maybe—James, never,' he drawled crushingly. 'My lawyer agreed that you would probably win a custody battle in England, but now you are in Spain. My country. You are an illegal immigrant with no passport. You might consider me mad but to everyone here I am a pillar of the community. Need I say more?'

She shuddered, his words chilling her to the bone. She had a horrible conviction that he might be right.

'You're cold, Penny,' Raul drawled silkily, his strong hands rubbing her shoulders while his dark eyes mocked her. He knew perfectly well that it was not the air tem­perature making her shudder. 'Why don't you have a shower and change into something fresh? This is a very n

ice dress, but you have been wearing it for almost two days.'

Penny dropped her head to hide the fury she knew be would see in her eyes. 'What day is it?' she managed to ask, when what she really wanted to do was murder him on the spot.

'Monday evening.' His hands slowly slipped down her arms and closed around her wrists, then he stepped back, holding her arms out wide. His mocking gaze traced slowly over her face and then lowered to linger on the creamy mounds of her breasts revealed by the low neck of the crumpled summer dress. ‘The clothes you left behind are in the wardrobe. You should be able to find something that still fits you.'

Penny stiffened; to be told that she was fatter was just about the last straw. Her blue eyes shooting fire, she looked at him and caught a disturbing flash of some­thing very like sensual anticipation in his glittering glance. She bit her hp and swallowed the angry retort. She was not strong enough to fight with Raul, not yet... Instead she looked past him and said, 'First I want to see James.'

'I've told you, he is fine. Ava and I put him to bed an hour ago.' Raul still had possession of her wrists and he moved them around her back. Linking his fingers with hers, he eased her closer. 'You are the one who needs looking after,' he purred, his breath hot on her ice-cold face.