Valaquez Bride (4 page)

Bristling at his demanding manner and supercilious tone,
Juliet thrust out her small chin defiantly and tugged her light blue
T-shirt down over her slim jean clad hips, inadvertently emphasizing
the round fullness of her breasts. When Raul deliberately allowed his
narrowing eyes to drift downward and linger, she released her shirttail
immediately but, though she blushed, she succeeded in meeting his now
amused gaze without flinching. "I'll have you know I'd planned to
change clothes but now that you've made such a big deal of it, I think
I'll just go to the hospital in my jeans."

Raul cursed softly. One long stride brought him so close
to Juliet that she was forced to press against the cool white wall
behind her to avoid his body brushing against her own. His large brown
hands gripped her upper arms. "Didn't I just tell you not to try my
patience?" he asked, his voice deceptively soft. "Your adolescent
behavior has caused your uncle and my family enough trouble, Juliet. I
promise you I won't tolerate your juvenile tricks now or ever again.
So, you'd better go upstairs and change to a dress right now or I'll
carry you up and change your clothes for you. Understood?"

The light that flared in his jade green eyes both
frightened her and incited her to violence at the same moment. She
wrenched free of him; her hand swung out, her palm open as if she meant
to deliver a stinging slap to his face, but before she could make
contact with his cheek, he moved swiftly to catch her wrist. He smiled
tauntingly as she called him a none-too-complimentary name. Then his
muscular arm glided around her slender waist, tightened and hauled her
close against his long, lean body. His hand pressed hers against his
chest. "You're playing with fire," he muttered ominously. "I don't
think you realize what I'd like to do to you right now."

Juliet could guess, though his intense reaction to her
attempted slap astonished her. Beneath her trembling fingers his heart
was beating strongly, rapidly, and she knew its fast pace was not a
result of the little effort it had taken for him to subdue her. His
response to her foolish show of bravado was wholly masculine and
suddenly she was scared. She had never seen him like this before, with
a relentless glittering in his eyes. The hard inflexible contours of
his body conveyed the same relentless message and when he lowered his
dark head, her breath caught. "All right, all right," she whispered
haltingly, straining back against the muscular arm around her slender
waist. "I'll go put on a dress. Just let me go. Now, please."

A grim yet triumphant smile tugged at the corners of his
sensuously carved mouth as he released her, saying mockingly, "A very
wise decision, Juliet."

She couldn't even think of a retort to utter. Unable to
bear being close to him a second longer, she turned and walked out of
the
sala
with as much dignity as she could
muster. As she trudged up the stairs a moment later, she massaged her
throbbing temples with shaky fingers. Tears of sheer frustration burned
threateningly behind her eyes. She was shocked at the depth of Raul's
resentment. Why should he care that she hadn't wanted to marry Pablo?
Keen as he was about arranged marriages, he should have logically
planned a more suitable marriage for his brother, a marriage to some
aristocratic girl instead of a mere commoner like her.

Thoroughly confused, Juliet walked into her old bedroom
without even noticing the gleaming hardwood floors, the simple, yet
elegant, mahogany furniture or the cool aquamarine draperies and bed
coverlet that provided bright accents to the room's decor. Chewing her
lower lip, she stared blindly out one wide window, gaining no pleasure
from the panoramic vista of the snow-tipped Sierra Nevadas rising
majestically in the distance. A soft sigh escaped her. This
confrontation with Raul had been the worst possible way to begin this
visit. Maybe he saw her lack of interest in Pablo as an affront to the
precious Valaquez family honor. And if he did, he would undoubtedly
make her stay in Granada as unpleasant as possible.

Grimacing, she shed her jeans and T-shirt to slip into a
sleeveless linen dress of periwinkle blue that enhanced her fair
complexion and the fiery highlights of her auburn hair. But after
stepping into cream-colored espadrilles and going to stand before the
cheval glass, she hardly noticed her reflection. Her mind was occupied
with matters far more important than mere appearance.

She had never realized Raul could be the way he had been
tonight—mocking and deliberately hurtful. Last year, he had
actually seemed very fond of her and her only complaint had been that
he didn't see her as a desirable young woman rather than a child. It
was difficult to believe that same man was now so mercilessly taunting.
And he had actually tried to lay the blame for last year's marriage
fiasco at her feet! She had once foolishly assumed he was a fair-minded
man but now it was apparent that she hadn't known the real Raul
Valaquez very well at all. She couldn't have known him because the man
awaiting her downstairs seemed a total stranger, a dangerous stranger
she knew intuitively she would be extremely foolhardy to antagonize any
more than she already had.

Dread dragged at her stomach and with a muttered
imprecation, she went to the vanity across the room. Sitting down
before the oval mirror, she brushed her thick russet hair with long
thorough strokes, postponing going downstairs again as long as she
possibly could. But with the sudden realization that Raul might tire of
waiting and come up to get her, she hastily put down her brush and
hurried out her door.

The ride to the hospital in Raul's elegant cream BMW was
silent and excruciatingly tense. Juliet sat as close as possible to the
far edge of the brown leather passenger seat and clutched her straw
purse in her lap. Staring out her window at the black velvet,
star-studded sky, she tried not to think about the man beside . her but
failed miserably. The lean brown hand that was casually gripping the
steering wheel evoked the unbidden memory of how she had felt that
evening they had danced together and that same hand had curved almost
possessively into the insweep of her slim waist. Why did he have to be
so damned attractive and magnetic? And why was she such a sap?
Considering his insulting treatment of her tonight, she knew she
shouldn't see anything at all attractive about him. It simply wasn't
logical for her to even be aware of his male magnetism, yet she
realized rather bleakly that logic had little to do with her responses
sometimes. And this was one of those times. With an inward sigh of
resignation, she closed her eyes.

After a moment, she reopened them, actually noticing the
plush interior of the car for the first time. Judging by this expensive
vehicle and by Raul's tailor-made suit, the Valaquez family fortunes
obviously hadn't suffered any losses in the past year, not that she had
really thought they might have. Raul was well-known as one of Spain's
most successful young entrepreneurs and now she could imagine why he
was so successful. If he was as ruthless in his business dealings as he
had been with her tonight, he couldn't fail to succeed.

Her wry smile faded abruptly when she suddenly sensed Raul
was watching her but when she looked at him, he turned his attention
back to the narrow winding streets of the city without a word. A slight
confused frown knitted her smooth brow as she realized they were
approaching Alhambra, rather than driving away from it, which they
should have been.

"This isn't the way to the hospital," she spoke up, her
voice quavering as all sorts of crazy suspicions popped into her head.
"Why are you going this way? Where are you taking me?"

"To see Will," Raul answered, his low-timbered voice
conveying more than a little impatience. "I had him transferred to a
private clinic in the suburbs where he'll receive more personalized
care."

Juliet subsided into silence, feeling very much the fool.
She really had to regain control of her emotions. Raul might be more
ruthless than she'd ever imagined but he wouldn't resort to kidnapping,
just for the sake of revenge. Still, despite the logic of that thought,
she didn't really feel particularly safe until Raul turned off the road
onto a winding paved drive that led across the lush grounds of what
appeared to be an estate. It
was
the clinic,
however, evidenced by the long low white building with its typically
Spanish flat roof and arched arcade, gracing the front. Baskets hanging
from the arches spilled over with the nodding blossoms of scarlet
fuchsia. Well-tended palms were planted before each arch column and
there was the clean fresh scent of orange and lemon in the cool night
air. All in all, the clinic looked like one of those exclusive spas
where the affluent go to escape the pressures of their lives and Juliet
wondered how Uncle Will would be able to pay the bill for his stay
here. He was by no means destitute but he wasn't a millionaire either
and to stay in a place like this, it would certainly help to have a
small fortune stashed away somewhere.

After Raul opened Juliet's door and she got out of the
car, he cupped her elbow in one large hand as they walked inside the
clinic. Once in the spacious reception area, however, he allowed his
hand to drop and moved away from her. Illogically, she almost regretted
the distance he deliberately put between them, especially when the
pretty young woman seated at the reception desk gave him a blatantly
flirtatious smile and he returned it, then began to converse with her
in Spanish. As they talked and laughed together, Juliet stood back
feeling left out and berating herself for feeling that way. After all,
she knew Raul disliked her immensely and also knew if she had good
sense, she'd dislike him too. He had certainly given her no reason to
nominate him for Spain's Mr. Congeniality award.

Wandering away from the chatting couple, she went to stand
before a painting displayed on a whitewashed wall. Seemingly endless
rows of olive trees gleamed golden in an exquisite sunset and glancing
down at the corner of the canvas, Juliet recognized the artist's name.
The painter was one who frequently brought his work to Uncle Will's
gallery but she couldn't recall her uncle mentioning that he had sold
any paintings to a clinic. Perhaps he had made the sale within the past
eleven months or perhaps Raul had sold it. Coming from such a prominent
Granada family, she imagined he had connections with almost everybody
who was somebody.

Despite her firm resolution to completely ignore Raul and
the flirtatious receptionist, Juliet couldn't prevent herself from
glancing over her shoulder. Her cheeks warmed with color as she found
Raul walking toward her, the parting smile he had given the
receptionist fading from his lips and the warmth leaving his eyes as
his gaze flicked over Juliet.

"You wait here," he commanded brusquely. "I want to tell
Will you've come. It might be too much of a shock to him if you just
walk into his room. Sit down somewhere and I'll come for you in a few
minutes."

"Wait," Juliet said swiftly as he started to walk away.
Before she thought, she reached out to lay her hand on his forearm,
then quickly pulled it away when she felt his muscles tense beneath her
fingers. She gestured uncertainly. "Is—why do you think my
coming might shock him too much? Is he that badly injured? Rosita said
he only had a broken leg and a concussion."

"A fairly severe concussion," Raul responded tersely.
"Will isn't a young man and when you
see
him, I think you'll realize he's changed since you left last June."

On that ominous note, Raul walked away and Juliet felt a
sinking sensation in her stomach. Too nervous to sit on one of the
rattan chairs behind her, she stared up at the painting again but
without really seeing it.

Though she was still disappointed in her uncle for what he
had done last year, she didn't want to think about that right now. She
owed him so much. No one had expected him to take her in when she had
become an orphan at age twelve and it would have been far simpler for
him to allow her to become a ward of the state. But he hadn't and
because he now needed her, Juliet couldn't really regret coming back to
Granada, even if she did have to endure Raul's animosity.

For the next long five minutes, Juliet paced the floor of
the deserted waiting room, beginning to wonder if Raul was ever coming
back. At last he did, but he neither smiled nor spoke a word as he led
her out of the reception area, down a long corridor. Two nurses in
white starched uniforms glided past them almost noiselessly, their feet
making no sound on the cork-tiled floor. Only their skirts rustled
softly as they hurried by. Raul stopped by the next-to-the-last door at
the end of the hallway but before Juliet could take a step to precede
him into the room, he caught her arm.

"He's still weak and a little groggy so you can only stay
five minutes." Hard green eyes bored into the amber depths of hers.
"And whatever he says to you, you agree with him. Is that understood? I
won't have you upsetting him."

Juliet yanked her arm free, righteous indignation making
her cheeks bloom with crimson color. "I can't imagine why you'd think
I'd upset him!" she whispered furiously. "For God's sake, Raul, he's my
uncle; I'd never do anything to hurt him! And I don't need you telling
me how to act around sick people. Who do you think you are? The wise
and powerful reincarnation of El Cid or something? Well, don't expect
me to jump to your every command! I don't want you telling me what to
do and how to act. You have no right to treat me like I'm a rather
stupid child!"

"Don't I, Juliet?" he countered with infuriating calm.
"Considering how stupidly childish you acted last June, I think I have
every right. As long as you act immature, I'll treat you accordingly."