His Revenge Seduction: The Mélendez Forgotten Marriage / The Konstantos Marriage Demand / For Revenge or Redemption?. Kate Walker

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СКАЧАТЬ and with tight lips, saddled the horse, handing Emelia a riding helmet once he had finished.

      Emelia put it on and, giving him a smile, swung up into the saddle and rode out of the stable courtyard, relishing the sense of freedom it afforded her. She rode through the fields to the woods beyond, at a gentle walk at first and then, as her confidence grew, she squeezed Callida’s sides to get her to trot. It wasn’t long before she urged the horse into a canter, the rhythm so easy to ride to she felt as if she had been riding her for ever. How strange that Pedro had said she had refused to ride the horse Javier had bought for her. The horse was well bred and would have cost a mint. Why had she rejected such a beautiful precious gift?

      After a while Emelia came to an olive grove and another flicker of memory was triggered in her brain. She slipped out of the saddle and led the horse to the spot where she thought the photograph she had seen in Javier’s study was taken. Callida nudged against her and Emelia absently stroked the mare’s neck as she looked at the soft green grass where she had lain with Javier. Had they made love under the shade of the olive trees? she wondered. Her skin tingled, the hairs on the back of her neck rising as she pictured them there, limbs entangled intimately, Javier’s leanly muscled body pinning hers beneath the potent power of his.

      She thought back to their conversation about the terms of their marriage. The rules she had accepted supposedly without question. No children to tie either of them down. When had she decided she didn’t want children? Had she said it just to keep Javier happy? He struck her as a man who valued and enjoyed his freedom. In many ways he seemed to still live the life of a playboy: regular international travel on private jets, a disposable income, no ties or responsibilities other than a relatively new wife who apparently didn’t travel with him with any regularity. Children would definitely require a commitment from him he might not feel ready to agree to at this stage of his life.

      Emelia, on the other hand, had always loved children; it was one of the reasons she had wanted to teach instead of perform. She loved their innocence and their wonder at the world and had always dreamed of having a family of her own some day. Growing up as an only child with numerous stepmothers entering and exiting her life had made her determined to marry a man who would be a wonderful husband and father, a man who was faithful and steadfast, nothing at all like her restless father. Why then had she married a man who didn’t want the same things she did? Surely she hadn’t slept with him for any other reason than love. She had vowed ever since her disastrous affair of the past that she would never make that mistake again. But, thinking about the current of electricity that had flared between her and Javier from the first moment he had stepped up to her bedside in the hospital, Emelia had to wonder if she had fallen victim to the power of sexual attraction after all. If only Peter was still alive so she could ask him to fill in the gaps for her.

      She had made a couple of girlfriends at the hotel but none of them were particularly close. Besides, they had been on temporary visas and would have moved on by now. It seemed the only way to find out her past was piece by piece, like putting a complicated jigsaw puzzle back together without the original picture as a guide.

      Emelia rode back to the villa and handed Callida over to Pedro, who had very obviously been hovering about, waiting for her return. He took the mare with visible relief and reluctantly agreed on having the horse ready for another ride at the same time tomorrow.

      When Emelia came downstairs after a shower she was informed by Aldana she had a visitor.

      ‘She is waiting in la sala,’ the housekeeper said with a frosty look.

      ‘Gracias, Aldana,’ Emelia said. ‘But who is it? Someone I should know?’

      Aldana pursed her lips but, before she could respond, female footsteps click-clacked from behind Emelia and a young voice called out, ‘So you are back.’

      Emelia turned to see a young female version of Javier stalking haughtily towards her. The young woman’s dark-as-night eyes were flashing, her mouth was a thin line of disapproval and her long raven hair practically bristled with anger. ‘Izabella?’

      The young woman’s eyes narrowed to paper-thin slits. ‘So you remember me, do you? How very interesting.’

      Emelia took a steadying breath. ‘It was a guess, but apparently a very good one.’

      Izabella planted her hands on her boyishly slim hips, sending Emelia another wish-you-were-dead glare. ‘You shouldn’t be here. You have no right to be here after what you did.’

      Emelia marshalled her defences, keeping her tone civil but determined. ‘I’m not sure what I am supposedly guilty of doing. Perhaps you could enlighten me.’

      Izabella tossed her glossy dark head. ‘Don’t play the innocent with me. It might have worked with my brother but it won’t work with me. I know what you are up to.’

      Emelia was conscious of the housekeeper listening to every word. ‘Would you like to come into la sala and discuss this further?’ she asked.

      Izabella gave another flash of her midnight eyes. ‘I don’t care who hears what I have to say.’

      ‘Does your brother know you are here?’ Emelia asked after a tense pause.

      The young woman’s haughty stance slipped a notch. ‘He is not my keeper,’ she said, making a moue of her mouth.

      ‘That’s not what he told me,’ Emelia returned.

      Izabella gave her head another toss as she folded her arms across her chest. ‘He wouldn’t have taken you back, you know. He only did it because he had no choice. The press would have crucified him if he’d divorced you so soon after the accident.’

      Emelia felt as if a heavy weight had landed on her chest. She felt faint and had to struggle to remain steady on her feet. She would have excused herself but her desire to know more about her forgotten marriage overruled any concern for her well-being. ‘Wh-what are you saying?’

      ‘He was going to divorce you,’ Izabella said with an aristocratic hoist of her chin. ‘He had already contacted his lawyer.’

      Emelia moistened her lips. ‘On…on what grounds?’

      Izabella’s gaze was pure venom. ‘Adultery.’ She almost spat the word at Emelia. ‘You ran away to be with your lover.’

      Emelia stood in a frozen silence as she mentally replayed every conversation she’d had with Javier since she had woken in the hospital. While he hadn’t accused her of anything openly, he had alluded to what the press had made of her relationship with Peter. He had also expressed his bitterness at her remembering Peter while not remembering him, which she had thought was a reasonable reaction under the circumstances. But if Javier truly believed her to have been unfaithful, what was he waiting for? Why not divorce her and be done with it? Did he really care what the press would make of it? What did he hope to gain by taking her back as if nothing had happened? It didn’t make sense, not unless he loved her and was prepared to leave the past in the past, but somehow she didn’t think that was the case. He desired her. She was acutely aware of the heat of his gaze every time it rested on her, indeed as aware of her own response to him. She was not immune to him, in spite of her memory loss. One kiss had shown how vulnerable she was to him.

      ‘But it’s not true,’ she said after a moment. ‘I didn’t commit adultery.’

      Izabella rolled her eyes. ‘Of course you would say that. Your lover is dead, so what else could you do? You had to come back to Javier. He is rich and you had nowhere else СКАЧАТЬ