The Vasquez Baby

‘Don’t do this to yourself,’ he warned, dropping the tie and slowly undoing the buttons on his shirt. ‘You’re more intelligent than that, Faith. I never pretended not to have a past and you have no reason to be insecure.’

‘Of course I have,’ Faith said quietly. ‘I know you didn’t want this marriage.’

‘Don’t do that female thing of dissecting every single action,’ he warned in a throaty voice. ‘You’ll just hurt yourself.’

‘I just spent an evening with a woman who hammered home just how well she knows you. If I didn’t have doubts about sustaining this marriage before, then I certainly have them now.’

‘Sofia has nothing to do with our marriage.’

‘You invited your ex-girlfriend into our home without telling me and expected me to be nice to her! That has everything to do with our marriage.’

They were circling each other like animals and the atmosphere in the room heated and sparked.

Raul watched her with raw frustration. ‘Actually, I invited a business associate into our home in order to negotiate an important deal. Sofia just happens to be his wife. I didn’t think that was important, given that she’s my ex-girlfriend. What possible reason would there be for you to be so upset?’

‘Because I’m your wife!’

‘Precisely,’ he drawled in a sardonic voice, his handsome face cold and unsympathetic. ‘Cuenta his beneficios.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘Count your blessings. You’re the one wearing my ring. If anyone around here should be upset, it’s Sofia, not you.’

Faith was so shocked by his unique interpretation of the facts, that for a moment she couldn’t voice a response. ‘You can’t possibly mean that. Even you can’t be that arrogant and insensitive.’

The air around them heated to a fierce blaze.

‘Don’t do this, Faith,’ he warned softly, his voice as deadly as the expression in his eyes. ‘Don’t do this to us.’

‘I’m not the one doing it, Raul,’ she spat, but she saw him step towards her and every muscle in her body quivered with tension. ‘That’s far enough.’

If he came close to her, if he touched her…

Terrified that he was going to do just that, she went to stalk past him but he moved so swiftly that she didn’t stand a chance. And she knew deep down that she’d never had a chance. With merciless intent one hand locked around her wrist and the other came round her waist.

‘No, Raul.’ She squirmed and writhed, the silk of her dress sliding against the hard muscle of his thighs. ‘Don’t you dare touch me. After what you did tonight, you’re never touching me again!’ But they were just words and both of them knew it. The atmosphere was thick with what they were both feeling, and in many ways that made it worse because she so badly wanted to be able to walk away from this man. ‘Let me go.’

‘Why?’ He brought his mouth close to hers and she turned her head to avoid the contact, her eyes closing as she felt the roughness of his jaw scrape the sensitive skin of her cheek. ‘Why would I do that?’

‘Because we’re making each other miserable.’

‘Only when we talk, cariño,’ he murmured softly into her ear, his low masculine voice as sensuous as his touch. ‘We hadn’t touched each other for weeks and it’s been driving both of us mad—’

‘No, Raul, that isn’t—’ She broke off with a gasp as his mouth traced the line of her jaw. ‘Don’t do that—don’t do that.’

But he wasn’t listening. ‘I haven’t paid you enough attention.’

‘That isn’t what I was saying—’ She moaned as his mouth found the tiny pulse at the base of her throat. ‘Raul, I’m asking you not to—’

‘What? You’re asking me not to do what?’ His strong fingers slid around her cheek and with firm, relentless pressure he drew her lips back towards his. His mouth hovered a breath away from hers, but he didn’t take the kiss. ‘Why do you fight this?’

‘Because I have to,’ she whispered.

‘For my sanity and my self-respect.’ It was the last desperate plea of someone who was drowning and the words turned to a groan as his mouth finally brushed hers in a suggestive, sensuous kiss.

Flames erupted though her body with explosive force and she felt her insides turn to hot, molten lava.

‘You don’t want this?’ His tone husky and full of dark, sexual promise, he lowered his head and lightly explored the edges of her mouth with his, the erotic slide of his tongue plunging her straight into a whirlpool of excitement. She was sucked downwards, spinning, in sexual free-fall. ‘If you don’t want to do this, then stop me,’ he murmured, his mouth still against hers as he ruthlessly used every skill to drive her wild. ‘Walk away, if that’s what you want to do.’