Claimed for the De Carrillo Twins

at on the side of Matty’s bed, careful not to disturb him. Resolve filled her anew not to bow under Cruz’s increasingly down-and-dirty methods to disturb her—that incendiary kiss in the back of his Jeep, his words of silky promise in the vault...

After this evening things had changed. Cruz had obviously given himself licence to seduce her. And she knew if he touched her again her ability to resist would be shamefully weak.

She looked at the ring on her finger—heavy, golden. A brand. And an unwelcome reminder of the emotion she’d felt when Cruz had pushed it onto her finger.

She hated it that he believed whatever lies Rio had told him about her so easily. She wasn’t remotely mercenary or avaricious. She had remonstrated with Rio countless times over the amounts of money he was spending on her. But he hadn’t wanted to know. He’d told her that they had a certain standard to maintain, and that she needed to educate herself about fashion, art, et cetera.

The prospect of a future in which Cruz refused to listen to her and wore down her defences until he found out about her innocence in the most exposing way possible filled Trinity with horror.

She stood up and left the room decisively. She had to at least try to make Cruz see that she wasn’t who he thought she was. She would appeal to him rationally, without emotion and physical desire blurring the lines between them.

Above all, she had to make him see that the twins were and always had been her priority.

It was time to talk to her husband and make him listen to her.

* * *

‘Come in.’

Trinity nearly lost her nerve at the sound of that deeply authoritative voice, but she refused to give in to it and pushed the door open. Cruz was sitting behind his desk, jacket off, shirtsleeves rolled up and the top of his shirt undone. There was a glass of something in his hand. He epitomised louche masculine sensuality.

He looked up from the papers he’d been perusing and immediately sat up straight and frowned when he saw it was her. ‘What’s wrong? Is it the boys?’

His instant concern for his nephews heartened something inside her. Some fledgling and delicate hope that perhaps she could appeal to him. In spite of all the evidence so far to the contrary.

She shook her head. ‘No, they’re fine. I just checked on them.’

‘Well, is it something else?’

Trinity came further into the room, suddenly aware that Cruz was looking at her with a very narrow-eyed assessing gaze and that she was still in the dress. She cursed herself for not having changed into something less...dramatic.

Cruz stood up. ‘Would you like a drink?’

She shook her head, thinking that the last thing she needed was to cloud her brain. ‘No, thank you.’

He gestured to a seat on the other side of the table and as she sat down he said, ‘I noticed you didn’t drink much earlier—you don’t like it?’

She shook her head. ‘Not really. I never acquired the taste.’ As soon as she said that, though, she regretted not asking for some brandy—she could do with the Dutch courage.

‘So? To what do I owe the pleasure of this late-night visit?’

Trinity looked at Cruz suspiciously. Something about the tone of his voice scraped across her jumping nerves. Was he mocking her for having exposed herself so easily earlier, when he’d kissed her? His expression was unreadable, though, and she told herself she was imagining things.

She took a breath. ‘I just...wanted to talk to you about this arrangement. About going forward, making a practical life together.’

Cruz took a sip of his drink and lowered the glass slowly again. ‘Practical? I seem to recall events earlier which would turn the “practical” aspects of this relationship into far more pleasurable ones.’

Trinity immediately stood up, agitated. He was mocking her. ‘I did not come here to talk about that.’

Totally unperturbed, and like a lazy jungle cat eyeing its prey, Cruz just sat back and said, ‘Pity. What did you want to talk about, then?’

She ploughed on before this far more disturbing and flirty Cruz could make her lose her nerve.

‘I know that I won’t be able to continue with this sham marriage while you believe the worst of me and don’t trust me. It’ll start to affect the boys. They’re too young to pick up on the tension now, but they’re intelligent and inquisitive and it’ll soon become apparent. That kiss earlier...it was unacceptable and disrespectful of my boundaries. This is meant to be a marriage in name only. You will either need to learn to deal with your antipathy for me or...’ she took a breath ‘...we can move on from the past.’

Cruz went very still and then he put his glass down. He stood up and put his hands on the table, his eyes intense. A muscle ticked in his jaw. ‘You think that kiss was a demonstration of my antipathy? That kiss was the inevitable result of our explosive mutual desire and proof that you want me as much as I want you.’

Trinity sucked in a breath, mortification rushing through her, and in a desperate bid to deny such a thing she blurted out, ‘You gave me no time to respond. I was in shock.’