Valaquez Bride (22 page)

Juliet's cheeks flamed. "Raul, please, go," she murmured.
"It's crazy for you to be in here."

"Is it?" He shook his head. "I feel right at home and
don't plan to leave… until you tell me what you were
dreaming."

She hesitated, then blurted out, "It was a very choppy
dream. We were walking in the courtyard at Casa Valaquez
and…"

"And…"

"We
were looking at a baby through a hospital nursery window."

"Benny and Holly's baby?"

"P—probably," she evaded, the inquisition
beginning to make her tremble. "I couldn't tell."

"Really?" Raul's black eyebrows shot up. "Surely you
remember if the baby looked like a gnome. Did it?"

She giggled nervously and shook her head. "No, the baby
wasn't crying and was very handsome, actually."

"Handsome? Hmm, since you use that particular word, the
baby must have been a boy. Right?"

"I guess. Oh, I don't know! Why are you asking all these
questions? Why do you care about my dream?"

"Because it was about me. I'm merely curious."

"Well, that's all I remember about it so…"

"But why were you smiling?"

"Because in it, you were smiling at me!" she exclaimed
softly. "So why shouldn't I smile back?"

"Why indeed." He laughed softly, then leaned down until
his lips were brushing hers. "I think it's very interesting that you
dreamed you and I were looking at a baby in a hospital nursery, then
smiling at each other, don't you? I think maybe you were dreaming that
was
our
baby."

Shaking her head, she shrank down against the mattress.
"Why should I d-dream something like that? I've never even thought
about having a baby."

"But you'd like to someday, wouldn't you?" he whispered.
"Wouldn't you, Juliet?"

"Well, sure, I guess so but…"A kiss silenced
her, a kiss that began lightly, caressingly, then suddenly became a
ravishing possession. The strength of the firm warm lips that parted
hers forcefully became all that was real in the world until his hands
trailed over her sheet-covered body and his touch became devastatingly
real too. Her skin caught fire everywhere his hands made contact and
suddenly, even the thin sheet seemed a barrier she no longer wanted
between them. "Come to bed, Raul," she whispered urgently, unable to
prevent herself and as he slipped beneath the sheet, her slender arms
swiftly encircled his neck. He was so warm, so muscularly lean that she
couldn't fight the weakness that invaded her body as his weight pressed
her down into the soft mattress. Catching her small face between his
hands, he lowered his head, his lips parting hers hungrily until her
slender young body was arching against him.

"Juliet, God, I want you;
te quiero
,"
he whispered hoarsely, his breath hot as he pressed a burning kiss into
the hollow at the base of her throat. "And you're not afraid of me, not
so afraid that you'll say no this time. Will you? Say yes, Juliet. Let
me love you. Don't say no."

"I don't want to say no," she confessed, her fingers
tangling in his hair. "But…"

"I can't let you go this time; forgive me," he groaned,
even as he swiftly removed her gown and pushed it off the bed onto the
floor. His robe followed. One strong arm slipped beneath her, pulling
her over on top of him and as their legs tangled and her soft breasts
yielded to the hard surface of his chest, he gripped the back of her
head in one hand and brought her mouth down to meet his.

The fire within Juliet blazed out of control as she gave
him back kiss for kiss and she
could
only moan softly as he swiftly pressed her back down onto the bed
again. A tremor of delight shook her body as his hands caressed and
kneaded her breasts and her own fingers eagerly traced the contours of
the broad muscular shoulders above her.

"Your skin's like satin," he whispered between bruising
kisses. "I want to touch every inch of it. But I don't want to take
you, Juliet; I want you to give yourself to me. Can you?"

"Raul, I…"

"God, you have to now," he muttered roughly before his
mouth took hers again.

Drowning in sensual pleasure, aching for his lovemaking,
Juliet was on the verge of total surrender when she heard the footsteps
on the stairs. Then she remembered it was Wednesday and Rosita always
came to tidy the house on Wednesdays. She tensed, instinctively pushing
against Raul's chest. "Please! Raul, you have to let me go," she
begged. "Rosita's coming up the stairs. She'll come in here!"

Raul didn't seem to hear. His hands curved into her waist,
holding her against him as he whispered her name into her ear and it
was only as the bedroom door was opened, that he finally pulled away
slightly.

As he turned his head, Juliet opened her eyes, then, with
a barely audible groan, hastily tugged the sheet closer up beneath her
chin. She could have died of embarrassment. It was bad enough for
Rosita to find her in bed with a man who didn't love her but Jimena
Ruiz was standing in the doorway too, as usual, in the wrong place at
the wrong time again. Yet, even Jimena's presence was insignificant
compared to the fact that Alicia Valaquez was between the other two
women! And her obsidian eyes were as hard and cold as chips of ice as
she glared at Raul and Juliet.

No one moved; no one spoke for what seemed an eternity of
time until, at last, Jimena broke the silence by saying viciously,
"Well, well, we seem to be intruding, do we not, Dona Alicia?"

"
Silencio
!" the señora commanded. And
as Jimena quickly obeyed and shut her mouth, the older woman ignored
Rosita's tearful murmurings, eased the overwrought housekeeper to one
side, and stepped farther into the room. "Since I had business in town,
I offered to drive Rosita here to do her weekly maintenance cleaning.
Jimena was at the
casa
looking for you so when I
told her you were here, she followed in her car. We did not intend to
intrude on this—this scene but I think perhaps it is good
that we did."

Juliet could believe neither her calm tone nor Raul's
response to it. He simply inclined his head at the explanation, as if
nothing out of the ordinary was occurring. Why didn't he tell his
grandmother that nothing had actually happened? That had to be made
clear and at last, Juliet felt compelled to say it herself.

Her denial made no impression on Dona Alicia who merely
gestured impatiently. "My eyes do not lie to me,
niña
.
I see what I see." Then turning to Raul, she uttered a few words in
sharp clipped Spanish.

In Spanish also, his reply was equally brief and elicited
confusing reactions.

With a strangled imprecation, Jimena swung out of the
doorway to stamp down the hall, her spike heels hammering the tile
floor violently. Even more astounding, Rosita was grinning as Raul's
grandmother regally preceded her into the hall and the housekeeper
winked at Juliet, then drew the door closed again.

"You have to convince her that nothing happened!" Juliet
insisted urgently, gripping Raul's forearm in supplication. "You saw
how upset she was to find us—like this. You have to ease her
mind about it!"

Raul propped himself more comfortably on one elbow, his
dark gaze holding hers. "Telling her nothing happened would be useless.
As she said, she sees what she sees and no one will convince her she
didn't."

Juliet pressed her fingers against throbbing temples.
"What she must think of me!" she whispered bleakly. "What did she say
to you in Spanish? And what did you answer that made Jimena so angry?"

Raul's jaw tightened as he simply looked down at her for a
long moment. "Abuela asked me what our plans were. And I told her that
you will be a Valaquez bride after all. My bride, Juliet, as soon as a
wedding can be arranged." And his expression was totally unfathomable
as Juliet's amber eyes widened in stunned disbelief.

"You can't mean that!" she gasped softly, her face paling.
"I mean, you can't just tell me we're going to get married simply
because your grandmother misunderstands what she saw! That doesn't make
any sense! It's…"

Silencing her by pressing one finger against her lips,
Raul gave her a slight mysterious smile and his expression was still
beyond analysis. "Maybe it does make sense," he countered softly.
"Maybe it's inevitable. I think perhaps it was always your destiny to
become a Valaquez bride."

"But you can't just accept the situation as inevitable!
You haven't even tried to tell your grandmother that we
didn't—that nothing happened between us despite what she saw."

Raul lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. "I know
Abuela. She can be a very obstinate woman. Nothing I say to her is
going to change her mind about what she saw. You may as well accept
that fact, Juliet. I do."

Juliet shook her head, her expression incredulous,
conflicting emotions causing her heart to hammer erratically. If only
he loved her, she would have been eager to marry him, but he didn't and
she had too much pride to enter into a marriage that a regrettable
misunderstanding was forcing upon him. And actually she was astounded
that he was taking this entire situation so calmly. Usually he was so
strong-willed and in total command of his own life but that slight
shrug he had just given seemed to have conveyed a near fatalistic
attitude, as if he meant to accept this marriage without protest. Still
clutching the edge of the sheet up beneath her small chin, she searched
his face almost frantically. Could she have misread his personality
completely? Perhaps the modern image he projected was merely a thin
veneer. Perhaps he was more old-fashioned than she had ever imagined.
Too confused to speak, she could only gaze at his dark finely carved
features until he gently brushed a tousled strand of russet hair back
from her cheek. Then she trembled and there was something of a
beseeching luminosity in her eyes as they sought the dark green depths
of his.

"Are you really trying to tell me you're going to let
yourself be forced into a marriage?" she whispered tremulously. "Oh,
Raul, I don't think I understand you at all."

"You will," he whispered back, his gaze roaming over the
delicate features of her face, then downward to take in the rounded
contours of her slender body outlined against the thin sheet. "After
we're married…"

"But we can't get married! Not like this!" The edge of her
teeth pressed down into the softness of her lower lip and her
expression conveyed some anguish. "You don't want to sacrifice your
freedom because of a misunderstanding. And I don't want…"

"
Basta
. Enough, Juliet," he commanded
roughly, catching her chin between one thumb and forefinger. "You must
accept the inevitable."

"But I…"

"You seem to be forgetting something very important," he
murmured, lowering his dark head until his warm minty breath was
caressing her temple. "What Abuela believes happened would have
happened if she hadn't walked into this room a moment ago. And since
even you must know that it's inevitable that we will make love sooner
or later, don't you think it would be wise for us to get married."

"You couldn't marry me just for—just
to—oh, you know what I mean."

"I only know that I can't wait much longer to possess you.
You are exquisite, Juliet, and I want you," he answered huskily, hot
passion flaring in his eyes.

As his warm mouth covered hers, she tried to fight the
traitorous response of her body but the battle was futile. His
hardening lips caught the tender lower curve of hers, tugging gently
until her mouth opened slightly and the tip of his tongue sought the
sweetness within. Her senses came alive and as he gently pried open the
small fingers that clutched the sheet, she released it with a soft moan
of submission. Fire danced over her skin as his hand slipped beneath
the sheet to brush over her bare shoulders. His fingertips probed the
delicate contours of her collarbone and the shadowed hollow at the base
of
her creamy throat. Then his lips followed the path of his fingers, his
teeth nipping gently at her sensitized skin.

She gasped softly as his hands took possession of her
breasts, cupping the rounded cushioned flesh, stroking her satin
textured skin with seeking fingers. His mouth sought hers again,
parting her lips with swift demand, conveying a nearly insatiable
hunger that took her breath away. He was very expertly seducing her.
She knew that, yet as he traced the throbbing peaks of her breasts,
then rubbed his thumbs across them coaxingly until they hardened with
desire beneath his questing touch, she couldn't suppress the quickening
shaft of pleasure that made her dizzy with longing for him. A central
throbbing emptiness deep within her became an intolerable aching and
she arched against him, seeking fulfillment and finding delight in his
hard smooth body as he pressed her down swiftly into the mattress. His
bare skin, hot against hers, was an enticement she couldn't resist.
Wrapping her arms around his waist, she feathered her hands over his
strong broad back, tracing corded muscles with eager fingertips.

"
Te quiero
," he breathed raggedly
close to her ear, then captured the tender lobe between his teeth and
nibbled gently until she could withstand the piercing sensations that
rippled through her no longer and urged his mouth to hers again.

Even then, the seduction continued. His lips played with
hers teasingly until her fingers tangled in the thick hair on his nape,
pressing him down, urging a rougher taking of her mouth. His kisses
deepened, became slow rousing quests that demanded total surrender and
when she was all warm and yielding beneath him, his lips sought the
taut roseate peaks of her round breasts and the brushing touch of his
tongue heightened the empty aching inside her.