Raul's Revenge. JACQUELINE BAIRD

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СКАЧАТЬ sincerely hope so,’ Penny said, blushing scarlet but delighted that Ava was confirming her own heartfelt belief.

      ‘I have never seen Raul so happy. I have known him all his life—as a baby, a young boy and as a man. I know him better than he knows himself. If he has one fault it is that he is fearful of committing himself to a woman. I do not usually gossip but I think you are entitled to know what makes him the way he is.’

      Penny stopped eating and, picking up the carafe of white wine from the centre of the table, filled her glass, and, lifting it to her mouth, took a sip, her eyes fixed in fascination on Ava.

      ‘Go on,’ she prompted eagerly.

      ‘Raul was eight years old when his mother ran off with an American serviceman stationed in Spain. His father was devastated—never really recovered. Poor Raul did not understand what had happened or why his mother never came to see him again. I tried my best to take his mother’s place, but by the time he was a teenager he was very bitter. His father didn’t help by repeatedly cursing young women, and his mother in particular.’

      ‘How awful.’ Penny sighed, her tender heart full of sympathy for Raul as a lonely young boy.

      ‘True, but worse was to follow. You have met Dulcie; you have seen what she is like. Well, with the families being neighbours it was inevitable that Dulcie became Raul’s “friend”, for want of a better word. Raul went off to university in America, but they corresponded and eventually became betrothed.

      ‘It suited both parents, and Raul was used to looking after the girl. But I had my doubts. Dulcie was totally spoilt by an over-indulgent father, and when Raul was studying Dulcie was off to Paris, Rome—anywhere there were men and money. The rumours were rife and true, but Raul never suspected.’

      Penny’s mind reeled. Raul had been engaged to the woman she had thrown out of his home. She couldn’t believe it. He had once loved that witch of a woman and yet had never mentioned it to her. Did she know him at all? She listened with mounting disquiet as Ava went on.

      ‘The wedding date had already been fixed when Raul’s father died and everything changed. Dulcie discovered that Raul’s father had died in debt and that there was no money to support her extravagant lifestyle, and a month before the wedding she took off with a Colombian cattle baron—though some said his business was more chemical than cattle...

      ‘Apparently the Colombian traded her in for a younger, more fertile model, and she returned to Spain two days ago. I am telling you all this, Penny, so you are warned. The master loves you and, given time, he will many you—of this I am sure. But beware of Dulcie; she is an evil but clever woman. Around the master she was always sweet and innocent, but you have seen how she treats people when he is not around.’

      For some reason all Penny could think of was Raul and that horrid woman together. She was eaten alive with jealousy at the thought of Raul making love to Dulcie, touching the other woman as he now touched her. It was ridiculous; it had all been over years ago but she could not help feeling a certain dread. She tried a smile.

      ‘Don’t worry, Ava. Raul is much older and wiser; he would never allow himself to be fooled twice, and—’

      ‘So this is how my two favourite women spend their time when I am not around.’ A deep laughing voice cut across Penny’s. ‘Drinking wine and gossiping.’

      Penny spun around in her chair. It was Raul... He was leaning carelessly against the wood frame of the dining-room door, his jacket casually hooked on a long finger and draped over one broad shoulder. A snowy white shirt open at the neck revealed the strong column of his tanned throat, and his eyes glinted with humour and something more. He looked all male and incredibly sexy. Penny jumped to her feet and in seconds had thrown herself at him.

      His arms opened to enfold her. ‘You never said last night.’ She reached up and raked her fingers through his dark hair, cradling his head with her small hands. Her head tilted back to gaze up into his handsome face.

      ‘I decided to surprise you, querida,’ he murmured as his mouth fastened on hers.

      CHAPTER THREE

      RAUL’S kiss was so overpowering that Penny was lost in it in seconds; she forgot where they were and that they had an audience; she hungered for him with a desperation she had not thought possible. Once more in his arms, her tongue twining with his, she clawed unconsciously at the fine silk of his shirt, popping his buttons in her haste to feel the satin skin beneath, while Raul’s hands roamed freely down her back, cupping her buttocks, hauling her into the hard cradle of his hips, making her intimately aware of his aroused state.

      ‘Dios,’ he groaned against her mouth, and when he lifted his head, his dark gaze burned down into the blue depths of her passion-glazed eyes. “That was some welcome, Penny. Can I take it you missed me, hmm?’

      ‘Yes, every minute,’ she agreed, an ecstatic smile lighting her lovely face.

      ‘Did you miss anything else?’ he demanded hardly, straightening to his full height and stepping back.

      ‘Only you.’ She moved and, standing on tiptoe, nipped at his square jaw. It was as high as she could reach. His strong hands curved around her shoulders, holding her firmly away from him, and through the euphoric haze at seeing him again it slowly dawned on Penny that he was deliberately keeping her at a distance.

      ‘Raul?’ she husked tentatively as his dark eyes slid down the length of her body with a possessive arrogance, then back to her flushed face, a silent demand in their black depths. Wide, puzzled blue eyes met his narrowed, predatory gaze and a tremor of something very like fear slithered down her spine. Raul exuded a raw, animal magnetism, an aura of power and vitality that suddenly seemed oddly threatening. And what on earth did he mean? Who else could she have missed? It didn’t make sense.

      ‘You’re sure about that?’ he queried, the corner of his mouth twisting in a cynical smile.

      ‘Of course,’ she said emphatically. Surely he knew how much she’d missed him, loved him...? ‘What is it, Raul? What’s wrong?’ She twisted her hand in his shirt in agitation and another button popped.

      ‘Nothing—nothing at all. But unless you want to shock poor Ava completely—’ his hands dropped to catch hers at his chest, and, entwining their fingers, he lowered her hands to her sides ‘—I think you’d better stop trying to rip my shirt off.’ His dark head bent, and, his voice lowering to a husky drawl, he added, ‘Not that I mind. I seem to remember denying you a siesta in Dubai; now seems a good time to correct the omission.’

      She had forgotten all about the older woman. Penny glanced over her shoulder to see Ava standing by the table, her brown eyes wide and round and ever so slightly shocked. ‘I think you’re right.’ She turned back to Raul, her lips twitching. ‘We don’t want to offend her sensibilities, and suddenly I feel incredibly tired.’ She chuckled, inwardly relieved that it was only Ava’s presence inhibiting Raul, and nothing more sinister.

      

      Penny opened her eyes and yawned widely. The sun was setting, the last rays streaking the room with a warm rosy light. She turned on her side and smiled, a languorous sexy curl to her mouth as her gaze feasted on Raul lying flat on his back beside her. His chest rose and fell slowly in the steady rhythm of sleep.

      With his eyes closed he looked younger and somehow vulnerable. The ridiculously long sweep of his СКАЧАТЬ