CHAPTER EIGHT

      THE WHISPERS OF a new day had begun to slip into the room as Lydia opened her eyes, acutely aware of the warmth of Raul’s body against hers. It also confirmed to her questioning mind that last night had really happened. The exquisite passion hadn’t been the dreams of a woman falling harder and harder for a man who’d coldly told her love was for fools.

      Last night had been very real, deepening her feelings to newer levels, but now what should she do? Should she slip from the bed and return to her room? Slowly she moved, pushing aside the covers very carefully. She looked at Raul’s watch, lying on the bedside table after it had been discarded last night. It was still early and as she watched the seconds ticking away the thump of her heart became louder.

      ‘You are not going anywhere, querida.’ Raul’s voice, heavy with sleep, instantly stilled her then his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her naked body back into bed and against his. He might still be in the clutches of sleep, but he wanted her, she was in no doubt of that.

      ‘Now that is such a tempting idea.’ She turned in his arms, trying to fight the rising desire in her, wanting to sound carefree and flirtatious, as if this were a situation she was used to. Last night she’d wanted him to think she was an experienced lover and now she wanted him to think she knew exactly how it went—the etiquette of waking up beside a man who had been your lover for one night only.

      ‘The night isn’t over yet.’ His husky voice sent a tingle all over her as his hands slid down her body to her hips, where his fingers lightly circled on her skin, teasing her until she knew she wasn’t going to be able to resist him.

      She laughed brightly, fighting the urge to give into the heady desire now burning brightly within her once more. ‘It’s almost morning.’

      ‘Don’t tease me with your sexy body.’ The Spanish words were soft and seductive as he brushed his lips against hers and she closed her eyes, imagining the kiss was because he loved her, because they were something more than one-night lovers.

      She pushed against his chest with her palms, ignoring the firm muscle beneath her fingers, the soft hair she just wanted to run her hands through. Inwardly she groaned with a mixture of despair and longing, outwardly she laughed again.

      ‘I am not a tease, Raul Valdez.’ Her voice was so light, so playful it didn’t even sound like her.

      ‘You are,’ he began as his hand moved up her waist to cover the firmness of her breast, making her drag in a deep breath as passion exploded inside her. ‘And very sexy.’

      ‘Sexy?’ she questioned coyly, not able to believe she was being so flirtatious. Was it because she didn’t want the night to end, didn’t want the daylight to bring the harsh reality of having become just another one of his conquests?

      He pulled her closer, his intentions emblazoned in the black depths of his eyes. Her heart raced as she surrendered to his kiss, to his caress. She wanted this so much—wanted him. She put her heart and soul into the kiss, allowing it to convey all the emotions she could never tell him.

      ‘Sí, querida. Very sexy.’ He whispered the words against her lips, the sensation wildly erotic. ‘And now I can’t let you go.’

      ‘Is that so?’ She moved daringly against him, enjoying the momentary rush of power, but not for one minute did she believe she was truly in control. That kind of mistake could be fatal with a man like Raul Valdez.

      In a movement so swift she gasped, Raul pushed her back against the softness of the pillow, the weight of his naked body preventing her escape. Laughter glittered in his eyes as he looked into hers and she wanted to hang on to this moment for ever, to remember how it felt to be loved by him and to love him in return.

      ‘You are not going anywhere, not until I have made love to you again and again.’ His voice had become deep and husky, adding to the fire of desire that was rapidly burning out of control within her.

      ‘But it’s nearly morning.’

      ‘Then we shall have all day, no, all weekend together.’

      ‘All weekend?’ Now she was shocked. Was he saying it as some kind of test for her? After all, hadn’t she insisted on being his for just one night?

      ‘Yes. One weekend of passion and I don’t intend to waste a moment more of it.’

      Before she could respond, offer up any kind of defence, his lips were claiming hers in a hot kiss, the heat of his body coaxing hers into submission and she knew she couldn’t fight it any longer.

      * * *

      It had been hard to leave Lydia in bed, but as the mid-morning winter sunshine streamed into his apartment Raul had done just that. Their lovemaking had been powerful and passionate, but as Lydia had slept his thoughts had wandered. Now she was sitting opposite him as they had breakfast, the air of aloofness she often hid behind threatening to return. But he wasn’t ready to end it yet.

      ‘I thought you wanted to go to London today.’ Lydia’s voice held a note of uncertainty and he downed a black coffee in one go, needing the hit of caffeine to calm him. After last night’s revelations—all of them—there was no way he was going to step out of this erotic interlude and into his future. For now, that could all wait. He still wanted Lydia with a burning need that made him want to drag her straight back to bed and it was the perfect defence against acknowledging the truth.

      Was it her obvious innocence last night, before she’d become a bold and flirtatious lover, or a way of punishing her for being the one who’d changed his life? He didn’t know. Either way, he wanted her. He wasn’t about to turn his back on such an alluring companion. Not yet. She would be his for the weekend. On Monday he would return to reality and fly to London to meet his brother. Once he’d done that, Lydia would be free—he would be free. Their lives could return to normal.

      Except that his never would. His would change beyond recognition. He had a brother. One he wanted to know, and it had nothing to do with money as Lydia had accused him of.

      He and his brother shared the misfortune of having the same father. Didn’t that count for something? He frowned as he thought of Carlos’s insistence that he marry instead of looking for Max. Was that really to ensure Lydia’s father didn’t get away without repaying his debt or was Carlos reluctant to have two Valdez sons at the helm of the company? Was it possible there was something else going on?

      ‘Would you rather I walked out so soon after last night?’ He dragged his mind back to the present and glared at Lydia, unable to keep the annoyance from his voice that she could so easily move on from all they’d shared last night.

      ‘But last night, you said you would be going today.’

      ‘That was before our lovers’ tryst.’ He watched the glow of a blush rush over her cheeks and, even though anger was the best emotion to deal with what was to come, he smiled. ‘I am not in the habit of making love to a woman and then running off into the night. We will spend the weekend together. Like lovers. Then we will go to London on Monday.’

      ‘You want me to come with you?’ She sat opposite him, her silk dressing gown doing little to hide the fact that beneath it she was naked, and he gritted his teeth against the sudden stab of lust that shot through him.