The Spaniard's Woman - Contemporary Romance (8 page)

‘It’s controlled pandemonium. Not nearly as bad as it looks.’ Rhianna replied cautiously, remembering the previous afternoon. She’d been wondering when Gabriel would put in an appearance and how he’d behave when he did.

His dark eyes flickered around the room again. ‘Have you had breakfast yet?’

Rhianna was taken aback. ‘Um... a piece of toast a couple of hours ago.’

‘That is hardly seems enough to fuel the fires of efficiency. Come,’ he jerked his head in the direction of the corridor. ‘Come and have breakfast with me.’

Was this an olive branch? Rhianna moved towards him slowly. Yesterdays tempest seemed to have passed. He looked almost civilized this morning, dressed in black, casual pants, a white shirt and a dark jacket. Over this he wore a long black woolen coat. Armani would have been jealous, unless of course he’d been the one to design the outfit although Rhianna vaguely recalled that Gabriel had preferred Zegna for his couture. She felt decidedly dusty in the presence of such impressive Spanish elegance.

‘I still have a lot to do and I feel like I’m running out of time.’ Rhianna gestured towards the demolition site that was her bedroom. She wasn’t at all sure that she wanted to have breakfast with Gabriel. His moods were as unpredictable as the weather and the prospect of being stuck at some restaurant or cafe with him when the barometer swung back up to stormy was hardly appealing.

Gabriel considered the room for a moment. ‘If you have breakfast with me, I will help you,’ he informed her.

Rhianna tried not to look incredulous. Back in Spain, Gabriel life was filled with people whose only purpose was to do his bidding. When she had lived in the villa they had shared together she had been stunned when Gabriel had set about hiring two local women to take care of her. He’d been unable to comprehend why she had found this so peculiar, dismissing her objections that she was a grown woman who could take care of herself. Gabriel had never had to wash a pan or cook a meal in his life. ‘Breakfast first, however. I am hungry.’

‘I guess I’ll get changed then.’

‘Where is Dylan? He is not in his room.’

‘At pre-school. They’re throwing a little going away party for him.’ Trying to explain to his teachers why he was suddenly going on a visit to Spain had been interesting.

Gabriel looked intrigued. ‘Is he not a little young for school?’

‘It’s for three year olds. It’s more like a play-group, actually. I don’t know a lot of other mothers so twice a week I take Dylan to play with other children for three hours in the morning. He loves it.’

‘I see.’ Rhianna could almost see Gabriel adding this to the list he was compiling on his son and she felt an unexpected surge of remorse at having deprived him of his son for three years. He had missed out on a good deal; Dylan’s babyhood, his first steps, his first words... Perhaps she had done the wrong thing, not telling Gabriel about Dylan but it was too late to do much about it now.

‘I pick him up at twelve. Perhaps you’d like to come with me? I know that Dylan would love to show you around.’

Gabriel nodded. ‘I would like that.’ His gaze flickered down to her clothing, ‘Do you wish to change?’

‘Definitely.’ Dressed in her work gear, she felt at a decided disadvantage. Gabriel didn’t move, merely leaning his shoulder against the wall as if he were prepared to wait there all day. Rhianna frowned at him. ‘Usually I get changed without anybody else in the room, Gabriel.’

He gave her a slow smile. There was something about him today, an edgy mood that felt ominous although he really did seem eager to make peace between them. ‘It is nothing I haven’t seen before,
mi dulce
,’ he pointed out. ‘And nothing I am not planning on seeing again in the very near future.’

Rhianna stared at him narrowly. ‘I thought you wanted breakfast?’

‘There are many things I want. For the moment some of them will have to wait,’ he shrugged. ‘So hurry up and change before I forget my good intentions.’

The breath whistled out from between Rhianna’s teeth. Giving him a dark look, she turned and began searching through the pile of clothing on the bed that was waiting to go into suitcases, pulling out a pair of black cargo pants and a thin cashmere jumper which was the exact same jade green as her eyes. She walked into the en-suite and shut the door behind her, shooting the lock with a decisive click. Irritated by the exchange that had just taken place between them, she pulled on the pants and jumper, then turned to glare at her reflection. His casual assumption that he could make himself free in her bedroom - or anywhere else, by the sound of it - was infuriating and made all the more so by the knowledge that he knew she would succumb whenever he chose to touch her. If she didn’t make a stand very soon then her entire life seemed destined to be ruled by an arrogant Spaniard who believed he had some God given right to treat her as he pleased.

Green eyes glittered back at her in the mirror as she ran a moisturizing cloth over her face to remove any residual grime. She contemplated applying makeup for approximately ten seconds before rejected the idea. Why in the world would she want to make herself more appealing to Gabriel Ortega? He already seemed to think he owned her, body and soul.

Gabriel was waiting for her, sitting on the edge of her bed holding the book that she had been reading before going to sleep at night. He glanced up as the door of the en-suite opened, his eyes glinting at the sight of her. Replacing the book, he rose to his feet and walked across to her. Before she had any idea what he was up to, Gabriel reached around to pull out her hair tie and her lush hair tumbled in a silvery cascade down around her shoulders.

‘Damn it Gabriel!’ she exclaimed indignantly.

‘I like it down,’ he explained and his fingers trailed through the silky strands, his touch sending a shiver down her spine.

‘It’s not practical to have it down when I have things to do,’ she replied, turning away abruptly.

‘You do not need to be practical when you are with me. I will take care of you and our son. Your job is to please me.’

‘Like a good Spanish woman?’ she asked, eyes flashing. ‘But I’m not Spanish, am I? That was always the problem.’

It was a provocative statement. He had left her because she had not been Spanish, with a proper past or a noble heritage. ‘Spanish or not, you are still my woman,’ he told her coolly. ‘And you will do what I wish.’

Rhianna shook her head stubbornly. ‘Not this time Gabriel. You might make me return to Spain with you but I’m not some starry eyed idiot any more.’

‘We shall see,’ he murmured, taking her arm. ‘Come. I am hungry.’

Rhianna was surprised; she had expected an argument but he had been surprisingly calm. She wasn’t foolish enough to think she had heard the last of that particular issue, however.

He took her to a small, intimate cafe on the edge of the harbor. At ten-thirty the place was full of mothers with lattes and businessmen who’d opted for a coffee meeting but Gabriel had no problem securing a table in front of the window. A light rain was falling, small drops misting the glass and obscuring the view of the slate gray water of Sydney harbor. Glancing at the menu, Rhianna immediately saw why Gabriel had brought her here. Cafe Bonita specialized in Spanish food and she gave a wry smile.

‘I thought I would remind you of how much my country has to offer.’ Gabriel murmured. He really did appear to be trying to promote harmony between them. Rhianna wasn’t sure what to make of it.

‘Speaking of Spain,’ It was time to ask some questions. She had the right to know what Gabriel intended for Dylan and herself when they arrived. She would have to organize accommodation and that would mean traveling around a little. She paused, waiting until the waitress came across to them. Gabriel ordered
Pan de Horno
and
churros
for both of them, along with some coffee. ‘When we arrive in Spain I will need to look at some places for rent.’

He appeared surprised. ‘You will not be renting. You and Dylan will stay at my home.’

Now it was Rhianna’s turn to be surprised. She knew of his family villa in Catalonia, of course, but she had never been invited to visit. All she knew of the place was that his mother lived there and Rhianna felt a frisson of anxiety. What would his mother think when he brought home a strange woman and an unknown grandson? She spoke carefully, choosing her words. ‘I think I would prefer it if we had our own place.

Gabriel shrugged. ‘Perhaps, but your place is with me. You will like my home. It is very beautiful.’

‘I’m sure it is but I don’t want to stay there,’ she retorted, frustrated.

‘My mother will want to meet her grandson.’ Leaning back in his chair a little, he regarded her steadily. ‘Surely you would not want Dylan to meet his family without you at his side?’

Of course she didn’t want it, something he knew perfectly well. ‘You hardly play fair, do you?’ she observed bitterly, ‘I suppose you
have
told your mother that we’re coming, haven’t you?’

Gabriel nodded impatiently. ‘Of course. She is delighted.’

Sure she was. Rhianna was already dreading the meeting. The older women in wealthy Spanish families were often quite terrifying, ruling their houses with ruthless assurance. It was all very well for Gabriel to tell her that his mother would accept whoever he brought home but Rhianna knew better. She would certainly not welcome a unknown foreigner into her home, even if Rhianna
did
come bearing Gabriel’s son and heir.

‘We’ll stay for a short while,’ she agreed reluctantly. ‘But I want to find my own place.’

‘We shall see,’ he murmured and Rhianna eyed him suspiciously. She knew him too well to believe that he would do anything other than what suited him. Reaching across the table, he covered her hand with his own. ‘What troubles you?’

‘Moving to a new country. Meeting the family of a man who have never heard of me before.’
Knowing perfectly well that as soon as you decide that you want me, I am going to fall headlong into your arms
... The thought wasn’t spoken but it was uppermost in Rhianna’s mind. She had never thought to be the kind of woman who was a slave to her body’s needs. In fact, up until a little over a week ago, she would have thought she was the exact opposite. Which only went to show how very little she knew about herself...

Gabriel picked up her hand and held it cupped in the palm of his own. ‘Do not concern yourself with the future. You must leave everything to me.’ His eyes darkened as he looked at her and suddenly the air between them seemed supercharged, filled with electricity. ‘And when we are in Spain, I will make sure that you never want to leave. I will occupy your nights and fill up your days. I will give you no opportunity to regret leaving this country.’ Bending his head, he turned her hand over and kissed the small pulse that beat at the base of her wrist. It was a extraordinarily erotic gesture. ‘You will see,
mi
Rhianna. I will drive all thoughts of a life without me from your head...’

Chapter Seven

The plane ride had been a long one but it had been made easier by Dylan sleeping for nearly seven hours of the flight. They had reached Barcelona at seven o’clock in the evening and Rhianna had watched the city grow steadily beneath them as they made their descent. Gabriel’s family estate was a three-hour drive outside the capital so he had arranged accommodation for them at a hotel only ten minutes from the airport.

Even though he had slept for a while on the plane, by the time they arrived at the hotel, Dylan was growing heavy eyed again but the sight of the Grand Marina’s impressive expanse of glass and marble had him staring around him in amazement. ‘It’s big!’ he said, awed.

‘Enormous.’ Rhianna agreed with a smile. When they reached the suite of rooms Gabriel had reserved for them, Rhianna let Dylan explore a few moments. ‘Okay,’ she said when he’d peeked into every room. ‘It’s time we thought about getting you into bed. You’ve had a very busy day. Did you like the plane?’

‘Uh-huh.’ Dylan agreed eagerly. All in all, he’d had a very exciting twenty-four hours. While Gabriel carried Dylan’s bag into one of the bedrooms, Dylan trotted over to the big sliding windows that ran alone one wall of the living room and pushed his head through the curtains to peer out. ‘Spain?’

‘It certainly is. A whole new country. Shall we go out on the balcony to take a look around before you hop into bed? I think we should be able to see the ocean from up here.’

Dylan didn’t need to be asked twice. He dragged excitedly at the curtains, trying to open them. Rhianna went to help him, sliding them across and they paused in delight at the sight that awaited them. The Mediterranean seemed to stretch out forever, dark blue in the soft evening light and extraordinarily beautiful, so close it seemed to come all the way up to the foot of their hotel. Rhianna slid the door open and they went out onto the balcony together. The air was cool, a small breeze blowing off the water, which smelt of salt and food and a combination of exotic scents that brought the country rushing back to Rhianna in a wave of remembrance. She picked up her son and they stood staring at the water. ‘Wow!’ Dylan whispered.

‘Beautiful, is it not?’ The deep voice so close behind them made Rhianna tense instinctively.

Dylan turned in her arms to smile at his father. ‘Look, Papa. You can see everything!’

Gabriel came to stand at Rhianna’s side and held out his arms. Dylan moved into them willingly. ‘And what do you think of your first sight of your papa’s country?’

‘It’s nice,’ Dylan thought about it a moment, ‘and big. Is this our house?’

Rhianna smiled a little. The Ortega’s were wealthy but even they couldn’t aspire to live in a place like the Grand Marina. Gabriel chuckled. ‘No,
mi hijo
, this is a hotel. Our home is a little drive away. Tomorrow morning, when you have had a big sleep we will have some breakfast and then we will go there. You will meet your
abulea
and your
tia
and I will show you where we are going to live.’

‘Tia means aunt.’ Dylan frowned. ‘I remember. But abu...ab..’

‘You’re grandmother. She will be very happy to meet you,’

Rhianna wondered about that. Would Gabriel’s mother really be all that overjoyed to meet her son’s illegitimate child? And how would she feel about her grandson’s mother?

‘Will you show all the places in your house to Mommy too?’

Gabriel glanced at Rhianna and smiled. ‘Oh yes. I will show your mother everything, you may be sure of that.’

Rhianna bent her head, unwilling to meet his eyes. Their relationship for the past few days had been far from friendly and she felt uncomfortable with this sudden, enforced companionship. It had been easy enough to avoid him when she was busy with last minute things in Sydney but all that was about to change. ‘I think it’s time to get Dylan ready for bed,’ she said abruptly and they left the view behind them.

Dylan was too tired to be hungry. By the time Rhianna had gotten him into his pajamas, washed his face and brushed his teeth he was yawning hugely, so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. Rhianna tucked her son up in bed and he fell asleep at almost the same time as his head hit the pillow, hand tucked beneath his cheek. Rhianna kissed him lightly, pulling up the covers. She switched the bedside light off but left the door open a little way, in case Dylan woke during the night and was afraid.

Gabriel was waiting for her in the living room of the suite. He had poured two glasses of wine and was standing at the window, staring down at the city below, which was still alive with the hum of over a million restless people.

‘He’s gone back to sleep.’

Gabriel did not look around. ‘Good. He will have a busy day tomorrow.’

The reminder of tomorrow made Rhianna tense, the prospect of meeting Senora Ortega suddenly very immediate. She glanced uneasily at Gabriel’s broad back. Their cordial breakfast had left her feeling deeply troubled. She had realized that Gabriel expected her to fall back into their previous way of life and the prospect terrified her.

Before they had left Australia she had made a decision. She had told Gabriel that, while she was willing to join him in Spain, she was no longer prepared to be his lover. So much had happened in such a short space of time that she could barely grasp the changes that had swept through her life. The last thing she needed was to enter into the same relationship that had almost destroyed her three and a half years before. Gabriel had not taken her decision well. Grimly withdrawn on the flight over, he had saved his good humor for their son, teaching him short, easy sentences in Spanish, reading to him and playing games. Rhianna, however, he had virtually ignored. Which, Rhianna reasoned, was what she had been after, wasn’t it?

She looked around her forlornly. The Grand Marina was a five star hotel and the suite was equipped with every conceivable luxury. Under different circumstances she would have reveled in this new experience but, as things stood, she felt horribly alone. ‘I’m going to bed.’

He turned at that and looked at her and something in his gaze made her shiver. ‘In a moment; drink a glass of wine with me.’

Rhianna shook her head. She was exhausted, both by the flight and her own tangled emotions about returning to Spain. ‘I’m tired and, as you said, we’ve got a big day tomorrow. I just want to get some rest.’

‘I imagine you do,’ he agreed quietly. ‘But I wish to talk with you and I have no desire to wait until tomorrow. There are things we need to discuss now. Tonight.’

Rhianna’s heart sank. The last thing she needed was another confrontation, not after the flaming row they’d had back in Sydney. His fury at her announcement about their relationship had been frightening with the force of its cold intensity. ‘What do we have to talk about? We discussed everything that needs to be discussed... before.’ Despite the fact that she was determined to stick to her resolution that they should focus on their roles as Dylan’s parents and forget about the more intimate side of their relationship, she felt a flicker of doubt as she looked at Gabriel’s face. There was a kind of coiled energy about him, a fusion of tightly reined emotions that did not bode well.

‘We must and we will.’ He walked towards her slowly and for some reason she was reminded of a large, predatory cat, graceful and dangerous. She suppressed her instinct to back away from him, instead, forcing herself to stand her ground. ‘Tonight we will sleep together in the master bedroom,’ he told her softly. ‘We are in my country now and we play by my rules. You are the mother of my son and you will share my bed with me Rhianna.’

Rhianna’s green eyes sparkled with anger. Back in Sydney he had told her they would ‘discuss’ their relationship further when they arrived in Spain. If this was Gabriel’s idea of having a discussion then this visit to Spain didn’t have a chance of working out. ‘I told you that I didn’t want to come to Spain as your lover.’

‘There is no need to remind me. I can remember
exactly
what you said.’ His forbidding expression told her
exactly
what he thought of her request to keep their relationship platonic. ‘But I am disregarding it.’

Rhianna held up a hand, as if she could physically ward off his words. ‘You’re
disregarding
it? Honestly Gabriel, do you ever hear yourself? Just because I’m Dylan’s mother doesn’t mean that we need to share a bed together. I was gone from your bed for a long time,’ she reminded him flatly. ‘You survived perfectly well without me then and there’s no reason to believe that you won’t survive without me now.’

‘It’s not a matter of survival,’ he told her curtly. ‘It is a matter of desire. I want you, Rhianna. Why would you deny me what you have been so willing to give to another man?’

Rhianna looked at him blankly. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘What do you think?’ he snapped. ‘You were prepared to sleep with Grady O’Farrell for a roof over your head. I am going to give you a life where you will want for nothing. Your presence in my bed is the very least I expect from you.’

Rhianna glared at him, frustrated and furious. ‘I told you that my relationship with Grady was a job. Just
business
, for God’s sake!’

‘And so it shall be with me. You think that my blood is made of milk, that I would be satisfied with anything less than all of you?’ His mouth twisted, voice dropping. ‘Perhaps the men you have known back in Australia would accept such a thing but I shall not. I have found you again, Rhianna and I am reclaiming you as my own.’

Reclaiming you
... Rhianna heard the words with disbelief. It was such an incredibly primitive thing to say but, for all his smooth sophistication, Gabriel Ortega could be a very primitive man. She remembered the way he had grabbed her and had thrust her against the door back at Grady’s, pushing his body against hers as if he could physically enforce his domination over her and shivered at the memory, trying to ignore the eager heat that flared inside her. If only she could at least pretend that her body didn’t crave him it would make her situation so much easier. She had been tormented by memories of her disastrous surrender back in Sydney. To give into him again would only reinforce her folly.

‘Listen to yourself,’ she whispered. ‘Gabriel, it’s over between us!’

‘You are so sure of that,
mi
Rhianna?’ Somehow, he had backed her up until she was up against the table with nowhere else to go. His dark eyes were fixed on her mouth and she knew that he intended to kiss her, knew it with every tingling fiber of her body.

He was far too close and she was far too vulnerable to his potent masculinity. She was incapable of dealing with Gabriel in this mood but she had no idea how she could safely maneuver herself past him and escape into one of the bedrooms. Now they were back in Spain he seemed to have become even
more
Spanish, if that were possible. The man who stood before her radiated confident sexuality, the sort that made women go weak at the knees without even knowing why. When Rhianna had first met him, swept up into his arms as they had danced through the streets of Girona, she had been overwhelmed by that intense aura, almost bedazzled by it. Gabriel made her feel as if she were beautiful, sexy, desirable... but most of all he had made her feel utterly
female
. It was small wonder that, at twenty- two, Rhianna had been totally bowled over by him.

But a great many things had changed, she reminded herself. She was no longer the starry eyed girl who had thought the sun rose and set with her gorgeous Spanish lover. Which meant that she should be able to handle the situation she was in without any trouble at all except... her whole body was crying out for him to touch her, battling alarm bells that told her she should run while she still had the opportunity. Or had that time already passed?

Her breasts suddenly felt heavy and warm, the nipples contracting beneath the thin, silky top that she wore, so that Gabriel could see quite clearly how his nearness was affecting her. The intensity of her arousal made flight a fading option. Her legs felt weak with need and she desperately wanted to close the space between them, to raise her face for his kiss and forget how she had come to be in this hotel room with him.
It’s like an illness,
she thought helplessly.
Gabriel is the disease and there isn’t a cure in sight.

‘I’m not going to do this,’ she said, her voice uneven. ‘I meant every word I said back in Sydney. I don’t want to... to...’ But she did want to, so badly that the lie died on her lips, the thought of making love to Gabriel filling her head with images that she simply couldn’t escape. And he was too close, far too close...

‘I want you,’ he said quietly and the words struck a responsive chord within her that made her quiver. ‘I want to explore every delectable inch of you, not just tonight but on every night to come. You need to understand the way things are,
mi
Rhianna.’ He moved closer still until she could feel the heat of his body reach out to sear her flesh, fanning the flames of her own desire. ‘You are my
mujer
, my woman. From this day forward you will have no other lover but me.’ His hand reached up to brush the hair back behind her ear, the gesture almost tender. ‘I don’t care what you did in the years you have been gone. Those memories mean nothing to me because we were not together. Your new life starts now,
querido
. You will try to fight me because you cannot accept that I am your life now, but it will do you no good.’ His voice had fallen to no more than a whisper, a dark, erotic caress of words while his lips brushing against her forehead, feather light. Rhianna closed her eyes, half hypnotized by the sound. She had never felt more aroused in her life. ‘You...’ his fingers slipped the first button of her shirt free, ‘are...’, the second button followed, then the third, ‘mine!’