Raul's Revenge

Life would be so easy married to Raul. 'But I have a career, a business,' she blurted out, frightened at where her thoughts were leading her.

'Ah, yes. Sense and Sensibility. I had my people look into the trading performance of the chemist. Admit it, Penny, it does not warrant two full-time pharmacists. You can easily be a silent partner and let Amy run it. In fact you would be doing her a favour.'

Why did it not surprise her that he had checked out the business? It rankled but it was typical; Raul meticulous to the nth degree. Nothing got past him. But she could not resist getting a dig in.

'As it happens, you're right. Amy and Nick plan to get married in a few months. But because of the Spanish fishermen demanding from the European Community the right to fish in English and Irish waters poor Nick's fishing boat hardly makes him a living any more.'

Raul threw back his black head and burst out laughing. 'Come on, Penny!' he finally said, grinning in genuine delight. 'You can blame me for a lot of things, but hardly for the European Community's fishing policy.'

'Yes, well...' Perhaps she was scraping the barrel for an excuse to deny what her head and her heart knew was really the only solution. Her lips twitched, then a chuckle escaped. She looked into his dark eyes, saw the amusement and laughed with him. 'Perhaps I did go a bit too far.'

Raul stood up and hauled her with him. A flash of pleasure caught her unawares as his naked thighs brushed hers, and she stopped laughing and looked up at him.

'Will you go that little bit further and agree to marry me?' he asked quietly. His strong hands moved and framed her face, and made her look at him. 'Be reasonable, for James's sake.'

'I don't know,' she said slowly. 'You did kidnap the pair of us. Hardly the action of a reasonable man.'

'I was frightened,' Raul said soberly.

'You, frightened?' she exclaimed; the concept was unbelievable. Privately Penny thought that in a past life Raul could have been a swashbuckling pirate, like Errol Flynn in the old black and white movies she had a secret penchant for watching.

'I am human, Penny; I do have the same hopes and fears as other men. The day I heard your name on the television—Penelope Gold—and realised that you were not married and the next second that I had a son, I was shocked rigid. Then a moment later to discover the child had been stolen was the most terrifying experience of my life. When I met you and James I was furious at your deceit, and frustrated at my inability to do any thing to protect you both, but I did not dare upset you.

'I never thought,' Penny murmured, and she should have done. When they had first been lovers he had insisted on taking her virtually everywhere with him. He was a possessive and protective male. Even when he had sent her back from Dubai it had been for her own protection. He'd considered that she would be safer in Spain.

But what did he mean, he hadn't dared upset her? It sure as hell had upset her to find herself kidnapped, she thought with a flash of resentment. And as soon as the question entered her head she was asking the question.: 'What do you mean, upset me?'

'You were in shock and wearing yourself out, still working and trying to pretend everything was normal while never letting the boy out of your sight. I could not allow it to continue. I spoke to your doctor and he agreed with me—you needed to rest, a chance to recuperate from a devastatingly emotional experience. But if I had sug­gested you come to Spain for a holiday you would have laughed in my face. Therefore I took the decision for you.'

Penny frowned, pulling away for a moment. Had she been living on the edge for the past few weeks? she asked herself, and the answer was yes, the frequent nightmares proved it. 'You're so convinced you have the answer to everything,' she said in a soft, pain-filled voice. 'You frighten me sometimes.'

He looked down at her and grimaced. 'I don't mean to. And if I had not given the wrong answer years ago none of this would have happened. But it is not too late.' And before she could guess his intention his dark head lowered and he pressed his mouth against her parted lips. 'James deserves two parents, and we are good together,' he whispered into her mouth, and then proceeded to show her.

By the time Raul allowed her to breathe again she was in no state to deny him anything. 'Have you made up your mind, Penny?'

'Yes,' she said softly. 'All right.' His dark eyes gleamed with golden shards of triumph and a latent passion. 'You won't regret it, I promise, and I will not be too demanding a husband; in fact the marriage need not be for life, simply until James is of age. Then you can resume your career—anything you like.'

If he thought that he was reassuring her he was wrong. 'That's very reasonable of you,' she said flatly, pushing out of his arms. His words hurt, leaving her in no doubt. It was James that he wanted, and she was simply to­lerated as his mother and a compatible sexual partner. But she had committed herself now. God help her!

CHAPTER TEN

'But it is ridiculous, Raul.' It was four o'clock in the afternoon on the eve of their wedding. James was playing quite happily in a plastic sandpit that had appeared the day before at Raul's instructions, and Penny, wearing a brief green bikini—a relic from the past—had been sitting on a nearby lounger, supervising her son. Now she was standing, hands on hips, glaring up at her soon-to-be husband.

Raul, wearing hip-hugging jeans and a short-sleeved white shirt with a buttoned-down collar left open to reveal the beginnings of black chest hair, looked danger­ously sexy and very sure of himself. 'It's tradition, Penny.' He grinned down at her. 'You know that.'

She felt herself shiver, intensely aware of him though he wasn't even touching her. 'But there is no point in your stopping at a hotel for the night. We have been sharing the same bed for the past couple of nights; we I already have a child, for heaven's sake!'

Not for a moment dared she admit even to herself that she was frightened—frightened of being on her own, with time to think. As long as Raul was around she had swanned along in a kind of mental daze.

He had reintroduced her to Daisy, her horse, as well as providing the tiniest Shetland pony that Penny had ever seen for James. They had spent the long, lazy days with James and the passionate nights locked in each other’s arms. When she'd had any doubts about the forthcoming marriage Raul, with unerring accuracy, had seemed to sense her feelings and, before she had been able to voice them, had either physically or mentally reassured her.

Yesterday he had arranged for the owner of an ex­clusive boutique in Granada to visit the hacienda with a choice of designer clothes. Then Raul had done the traditional thing and disappeared while Penny had chosen a fabulous heavy wild silk dress for the wedding. Now he was adamant that he was spending the wedding eve at a hotel in Granada.

Given the circumstances, she should be flattered that he was leaving her alone, she conceded grudgingly. He obviously trusted her enough not to renege on her promise to marry him and disappear. But she still could not resist saying huskily, 'Must you?'

'It's bad luck, Penny, and we need all the luck we can get.' His mouth twisted into a mockery of a smile. 'You of all people must recognise that.'

The edge of bitterness in his tone stopped her short. He obviously had still not forgiven or forgotten that she had kept his son from her.