The Spaniard's Woman - Contemporary Romance

The Spaniard’s Woman

Kat Davidson

Copyright KatDavidson@2011

http://www.kate-harper.com

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Girona, Catalonian Coast, Spain

If she ever saw his face again she would kill him!

Rhianna St James stood gazing out of the full-length windows that overlooked the Mediterranean but she didn’t see the sparkling azure blue of the water below. Her mind was too preoccupied with her final encounter with Gabriel Ortega.

‘I thought you loved me -’ She flinched when she remembered how her voice had broken on the words.

‘Love?’ His brief laughter had been the cruelest cut of all, shattering her world. ‘You are my mistress,
pequeno tonto
. What has love got to do with what I have told you? You have known all along that I must marry. Now, the time has come.’

Perhaps she had known – he’d certainly told her at the beginning – that one day he would marry but she’d never really believed it would be to some well born Spanish girl. Gabriel loved her. He had never said as much but the evidence was there every night, when they lay in each other’s arms. How could he think the intensity that they shared could be anything
but
love? ‘
Please
, Gabriel!’

He’d touched her cheek then, finger a delicate caress and she’d shivered. ‘Why are you so upset? Nothing will change between us. I will still come to you -’

‘Before or after you’ve made love to your wife?’ Rhianna had demanded bitterly. How could this be happening?

Impatient, he’d shaken his head, his hand dropping away. ‘Did you think an Ortega could marry any woman who has no history, no family? This marriage has been arranged for many years. There is no need for these tears. You are a modern woman. Although we did not speak of it, you must have understood how these things work. I still want you, still want that a
mor dulce
,’ his voice had thickened and he’d reached for her then, pulling her closer and for a moment and Rhianna had closed her eyes, wanting only to hold onto him, to inhale his scent and pretend that things were the way she had believed them to be, such a short time before. There had been no escaping his words, however. They had been relentless. ‘Little will change. You will see.’

His words had fragmented something deep within her, destroying a part of her that was so fragile that she had known instinctively it was gone forever. It had taken an enormous effort of will to pull away from the endless temptation that was his body. ‘Everything’s changed,’ she had told him, voice deadened with shock as the tears dried on her cheeks. ‘I thought that I meant more to you. Apparently I was wrong.’

Gabriel’s face had darkened. ‘This is foolish! How can you doubt that I care for you? Have I not given you this place to live in? Our place, just for the two of us.’ His hands had reached for once more but she had moved away, determined not to be drawn back towards the powerful magnetism that was Gabriel Ortega. ‘You are behaving like a child. You are my lover, my woman. You are shocked now and perhaps I was too harsh, telling you like this but in time you will see that things don’t have to change between us. In Spain, wives expect that their husbands will keep a mistress. Ana will not object to our arrangement.’ Turning, he’d collected up his jacket and car keys. ‘You are upset. I will leave you now but I will return tomorrow. Perhaps then we can talk sensibly about this.’

‘I won’t be here tomorrow,’ she had told him quietly. Ana, the women Gabriel had decided came from suitable bloodstock to be the mother of his children, might not mind that he kept a mistress but Rhianna would mind it very much. She wanted no part in such a future. She’d been a fool. For eleven months Rhianna had lived in a fantasy, pretending that the life she was leading with Gabriel would have some kind of fairytale ending, but it was over now. Even though it felt as if her heart would break, her relationship with Gabriel was finished. ‘I’m leaving.’

He’d laughed then, genuinely amused. ‘But of course you will be here. Where would you go? You and I know both know that you belong with me.’ His eyes, obsidian dark, had raked her from head to toe, dangerously seductive. She had seen the fire in his gaze and had felt her own senses flare in response, despite herself. ‘My beautiful, delicious Rhianna…’ The words had been a low, hungry growl and she’d tensed, wondering how she could bring herself to reject him when every part of her was programmed to respond to his touch. Fortunately, she hadn’t been put to the test. Gabriel had decided that she needed time alone to get used to his marriage bombshell. His idea of ‘handling’ the situation, no doubt. ‘I shall return in the morning,’ he had told her roughly, ‘We’ll talk again then.’

Rhianna had stared at the face of the man who had been so beloved to her. She’d lived with Gabriel for nearly a year and she had been so sure that she knew him, through and through.

How could she have been so wrong?

At that moment, Rhianna had seen Gabriel Ortega with different eyes. He was a man who had an unshakable sense of his own place in the world. Even though the finely angled plains of his face had been as familiar as ever, he’d suddenly been a stranger who bore no resemblance to the man who had held her in his arms, night after night. Who had showed her an intensity of passion that she had never experienced before.

At that moment, something inside her withered and died.

When she’d said nothing, he spoke again, voice edged with exasperation. ‘I will return tomorrow Rhianna. Do you understand?’

‘I understand,’ she had repeated dully. He would return tomorrow. But by tomorrow, she intended to be gone.

She had remained silent, frozen, as he had turned and walked out the door and out of her life. Ten minutes passed before Rhianna had moved and then she had flung herself onto the vast bed and cried until it felt as if there were no tears left in her body. But when the tears had stopped, the pain had not because, dry-eyed, her world was still the same.
Shattered
.

Rhianna turned from the window and looked around the airy, spacious room that she had discovered so much joy in. Everything that it contained had been bought for her by Gabriel. Bought for his mistress, she realized now, fool that she’d been. Profoundly in love for the first time in her life, Rhianna had honestly believed that he would grow to see how much they belonged together. It was true that he had never offered her marriage. Indeed, he had always said that one day he would have to marry one of the fine women that his family had long since decided that he should form an alliance with. But that had been a vague threat Rhianna had never truly believed in. Their bodies had sang together in the kind of perfect harmony that had made her feel that she was the most fortunate woman in the world.

‘I will take care of you,
mi dulce
Rhianna,’ he had whispered, while his strong, hard body had covered her own, night after night, his mouth raining kisses down onto her bare skin, ‘You are mine now,
mi encantador
...’

And she
had
been his, for as long as it had taken him to tire of her, just as Grady had warned her he would.

Turning, she picked up her handbag that contained her passport and a small overnight bag. Her beautiful dresses were still hanging in the closets, her fine underwear in the drawers and there they would stay. It was time to go home.

Chapter One

Sydney, Australia.

‘You need a holiday.’

Rhianna gave a wry smile and glanced towards the enormous windows of the small, crowded cafe. It was teeming outside and fog from the heat of bodies and food obscured most of the view. Which, in Rhianna’s opinion, was a good thing because the world outside was far from welcoming. ‘That’s what Doctor Griffith said yesterday. That Dylan and I should get away for awhile.’

Jenny Fisher’s face softened. ‘How is Dylan?’

‘At home with Mrs. Fitzpatrick.’ The familiar, nagging fear that had been her constant companion since her son had contracted pneumonia eight weeks before had eased since his recovery but it still lingered like a ghost. Dylan was getting better but he looked so fragile, so white. Little boys were supposed to be all rough and tumble and that was the way her son
used
to be. Now, he tired easily and his appetite still hadn’t returned. ‘He’s not as good as he could be. It would be great to take him up to Queensland for a week or two. Get him some sunshine and fresh air.’

‘Well?’ Jenny said gently, ‘What’s stopping you. If it’s money you know Adam and I would -’

‘No.’ Rhianna leaved forward to squeeze her friend’s hand. Of course Jenny and her husband Adam would pay for a holiday. They were wonderful friends. But they were going through their own financial hardships at the moment, with Adam retrenched from his work six months before. It had taken him several months to get another job and there certainly wasn’t enough money to splash out on holidays, now when they’d nearly lost their house. Jenny sighed. ‘Grady, then. You know he wouldn’t mind.’

Rhianna nodded slowly. Ever since the doctor had recommended taking Dylan away, Rhianna had been trying to think of a way to manage it. She didn’t have any money. Dylan’s stay in hospital, his tests, his medication… they’d all eaten into her savings. Which left Grady. ‘I hate to ask. He’s been so good to us.’ It had taken her several weeks when she had returned from Europe four years before to realize that she had been pregnant with Gabriel’s child. The discovery had brought her a rollercoaster of emotion; joy at the discovery of new life inside her and the terrible realization that she would have to tell Gabriel that he was a father. And since he was the last man on the face of the earth that she felt like seeing, the prospect had sent her into a tailspin of nervous despair. She needn’t have worried. While she wrote two letters, she never received a response to either and after a time, she had stopped thinking about Gabriel. Almost.

Since she had returned from Europe over three and a half years before, she had been forced to make choices she would never once have contemplated. Her son was the most wonderful thing that had happened to her in a long time and she was determined to give him the best start possible. To do that, before she had returned to Australia she had taken a chance and called the man she had once contemplated marrying. They’d stayed in touch while she was in Spain, against all odds because the two of them had very little in common. Now a days, Grady was sort of her friend, definitely her employer and a difficult man to deal with in either role. But he had been
very
good to her and Dylan.

‘And you’ve been very good to him.’ Jenny reminded her firmly. ‘He’s not exactly a whole lot of fun to deal with.’

Which was true enough. Grady O’Farrell had suffered a fall from a horse when he was eighteen that had put him in a wheelchair. While there was no doubt his accident had given him a twisted attitude to life, it hadn’t stopped him from taking control of his families extremely lucrative computer business. Orphaned at the age of fourteen and with no family of her own to turn to, it had been immensely reassuring to have a job to return to; Grady had promised that, if she returned to Sydney instead of her home town of Melbourne, he would find something for her. She’d thought that he might organize a position in the offices of O’Farrell Industries, which was a large software corporation in the city. Rhianna had no idea what she would do there, but she would have been happy with anything. Instead of a company job however, he had suggested that she become his ‘personal assistant’, a live in position that had ended up offering a great many benefits, one of which was her own suite of rooms. All she needed to do for him in return was... well, everything, as it turned out. Since taking on the job Rhianna did everything from organize Grady’s business meetings to fix him meals when the housekeeper was absent. It wasn’t the life she would have chosen but she no longer just had herself to think about and at least her position with Grady let her have Dylan with her.

Of course, the down side of the arrangement was that she owed Grady big time and he wasn’t about to let her forget it. That and the fact that he frequently acted like a bear with a sore head. His former PA’s hadn’t ever stuck around for very long, unable to cope with his surly temper, which might have explained why he offered the position to her in the first place.

‘Ask him.’ Jenny said firmly. ‘You and Dylan both need a holiday. Go up to the Gold Coast or Darwin and catch some down time. I think you’ll discover that it’ll really get Dylan back on track.’

Rhianna nodded slowly. She’d do anything for her son, even if it meant becoming even more beholden to a man she already owed so much to. The hiccup, of course, would be taking a few weeks. Grady liked her to be around. ‘I’ll ask him. I’ve got to do something.’

‘Such as find a nice man and think about yourself for a change?’ Her friend suggested wryly. Jenny and Rhianna had gone to university together for two years down in Melbourne, until Rhianna had decided to go overseas for a holiday, using some of the small nest egg that her mother had left her. When Rhianna had returned eleven months later they had bumped into each other out of the blue. Jenny’s degree had landed her a job in Sydney and she’d moved there permanently. When she’d met Rhianna again she had noticed an indefinable change about her and it wasn’t just because she was obviously pregnant. Something, some spark, had been extinguished. She had been eager to know the story behind her old friend’s swollen belly and had probed ever so gently. At first Rhianna had been reticent but after awhile she’d confided in Jenny a little, not everything but enough for Jenny to know that someone had hurt Rhianna very deeply indeed.

Rhianna dismissed the idea with a wave of her hands. ‘I’ve got more than enough men in my life!’

‘Is Grady still suggesting marriage?’ Jenny demanded.

Rhianna nodded. ‘He says it would be a more stable environment for Dylan.’

Jenny gave a snort of disgust. ‘Grady O’Farrell is a manipulative, overbearing pain in the butt.’

Rhianna smiled. ‘Doesn’t that apply to most men? At least I know exactly where I stand with him. Believe it or not Jen, I trust Grady. And I can handle him.’

‘If you say so,’ her friend did not sound convinced but then, Jenny was always concerned about Rhianna’s happiness.

Just the same, on her way back home Rhianna reflected that what’s she’d told Jenny was quite true. She really
did
know how to handle Grady and it was a relief to work for a man who had no interest in her sexually. Once, there might have been a spark but it had died a natural death and they had ended up as friends. And while Jenny was right about her employer and old high school beau being both manipulative and overbearing, at least she always knew what to expect. Grady had been suggesting they get married for the past six months.

‘Why not?’ he’d urged, thin face creased in the usual frown, ‘You get an upgrade to the O’Farrell family fortunes and I get a wife which might stop people from feeling sorry for me.’ The bitterness in his voice had been unmistakable. ‘It’s a business proposition, Rhianna. You’re not the type to want to fly around the world on a skiing holiday every six months and I don’t have to be polite around you.’

‘Tempting offer,’ Rhianna had replied dryly, before turning him down. In many ways she felt sorry for Grady; life in a wheelchair couldn’t be easy for somebody who had once been a promising athlete, especially as it happened to him at such a young age. But she had no desire to become anybody’s wife. The only full time career she was interested in was that of Dylan’s mother. ‘I understand where you’re coming from but I prefer to be your employee.’

‘That’s short term. What about the future? Don’t you want the best for Dylan?’

Trust Grady to hit her where it hurt the most. ‘It’s my job to provide for Dylan,’ she’d told him firmly. ‘I don’t need a man for that.’ Any man. Ever.

Pulling her small Toyota into the driveway of Grady’s elegant three-story house in Cremourne, Rhianna collected up her shopping and went inside. Dylan was laying on the floor in the main entry hall, surrounded by an impressive array of toy cars. As usual the sight of him made her heart turn over. She loved her son profoundly. During the pregnancy she had had her doubts, wondering what her attitude towards her baby would be when the end of her relationship with Gabriel had been so catastrophic. She needn’t have worried. Despite the fact that his Spanish heritage was unmistakable, she’d adored Dylan from the moment she’d laid eyes on him. His illness had left him looking far too thin and slightly drawn around the eyes and he was far too pale.

As soon as he registered her presence, his face lit up, dark eyes sparkling at the sight of her. ‘Mommy!’ he greeted her, climbing to his feet so he could come across and wrap his arms around her knees. Rhianna laughed, bending down to ruffled the thick black hair.

‘Hello monster!’

‘You’ve been ages. Mrs. Fitzpatrick gave me ice-cream.’

‘Well aren’t you the lucky one.’ Bending down, she scooped her son up into her arms, something that was a great deal easier to do since his illness. He wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed.

‘I missed you.’

‘And I missed you. Were you good?’

‘As good as good can be.’

Despite the fact that Dylan had only just turned three, he was very advanced for his age. Rhianna constantly marveled at the amount he seemed to be able to absorb while he seemed to add a couple of new words to his vocabulary every day. Rhianna knew her son was exceptionally smart. How could he not be? He was an Ortega, even if he didn’t carry the name. ‘Have you had a nap?’

Dylan shook his head. ‘I was waiting for you.’

‘Oh really? Well I think there might be time for a quick one before your favorite program on television.’

Dylan made a face. ‘I don’t want a sleep. Can I watch a movie?’ He looked at her hopefully, big dark eyes with their sooty fringe of impossibly thick lashes doing their best to seduce her. It rarely failed.

‘You need a nap more than you need a movie.’ But she caved in anyway.

It wasn’t until an hour and a half later that exhaustion finally caught up with Dylan. Rhianna sat on the edge of his bed, tucking the blanket beneath his chin and stroking the hair back from his forehead. It had taken some time for her to get past the resemblance Dylan had to his father. Even now, the sweep of those long lashes against his cheek and the dark curl that dropped across his forehead could bring a lump to her throat. Sometimes she wondered which of the high born Spanish girls Gabriel had ended up marrying but thoughts such as those were generally forbidden, locked away in a place that she rarely allowed herself to go. It was only the sweet familiarity of her son’s face that broke down the barriers she had erected. Her little Dylan was an Ortega, through and through. Sometimes she wondered what Gabriel would say, if he knew that he had a son. Their son...

Rising, Rhianna moved softly around the room, picking up clothing and straightening toys. In three and a half years she had never heard Gabriel Ortega’s name mentioned and that was exactly the way she liked it. In the usual way of things she would never have met the man at all because university students of limited means rarely came across highborn Spanish men in the normal course of events. However, an impulsive visit to the city of Girona had brought them together. She had met him at one of the festivals that the Spanish seemed to love so much, on a balmy night when the stars were out and the streets of Girona had been lit by hundreds of lanterns. He had appeared out of nowhere to dance with her, sweeping her into his arms and spinning her around until she was breathless. At some time, they had ended up by the water, watching the moon’s reflection break and waver, talking through the night until dawn.

That had been the beginning. After that, they had spent all their time together in the villa he had moved her into and she had believed he was every romantic dream she’d ever had, come to life. Tall and dark and impossibly handsome.

In retrospect, she should have known it would all come to an end. Sometimes she felt as if the whole thing had been some kind of mad dream but dreams did not produce babies.

Glancing at her sleeping son, she frowned. One day he would ask questions about his father and she would answer as honestly as she could because he had every right to know who had sired him. After that... well, after that would be up to Dylan. If he chose to seek out the Ortega family then so be it. All she could do in the interim was try and raise him right.

Her pager buzzed silently on her hip and Rhianna sighed. Wednesday was supposed to be her day off but being employed in a live in position meant that Grady felt no hesitation in summoning her if she happened to be around. Although perhaps this might be her opportunity to ask her employer about a little paid leave… She let herself out of Dylan’s room silently and went downstairs. Grady was in his study, a spacious room at the front of the large Victorian townhouse that was both residence and office. The offices of O’Farrell Industries were officially located in George Street, Sydney but Grady rarely went there. He could operate just as effectively from home and he hated it when he attracted attention.