Valaquez Bride (5 page)

She glowered up at him, her fingers itching again to make
stinging contact with his cheek. She ached to wipe that mocking,
sardonic expression right off his face. Yet, she didn't dare slap him.
This was a hospital after all, not exactly the place to start a fist
fight. Besides, she suspected that if she ever struck Raul, retaliation
would come swiftly and with such vengeance that she shuddered now with
the very thought of what he might do to her. Oh, but she longed to hit
him though, to flail at his chest with her fists for his mocking and
supercilious attitude. And apparently her desire to do him some bodily
harm revealed itself in her eyes.

"Don't do anything you'll regret," he warned, his voice a
low growl from deep in his throat, his eyes like glittering green ice.
"Now, try acting your age for once and go in there and make Will feel
like he's a little bit important to you."

Vehement protest trembled on Juliet's lips but she had no
time to voice her indignation. As Raul pushed open the door and his
hand pressed against the small of her back, impelling her forward, she
had no choice except to move into the room. She glanced back over her
shoulder, her expression reproachful yet uncertain too. "Aren't you
coming in with me?"

Raul shook his head. "You can only stay five minutes and
Will wants to see you alone. I'll wait out here for you but just
remember what I said. Don't do anything to upset him."

"I got your message the first time, lord and master,"
Juliet whispered recklessly. "You don't have to repeat yourself." And
with a rebellious uptilting of her chin, she left him in the doorway.

Will McKay's private room was as quietly elegant as the
reception area had been. Apricot draperies of silk covered a wide
window and complemented the cream-colored walls and the furniture which
was upholstered in natural earth tones. Juliet tiptoed into the room,
approaching the bed with a concerned smile trembling on her lips and
when her uncle turned his head on his pillow to return her smile, tears
filled her eyes. Raul was right. Uncle Will had changed. There seemed
to be more gray streaks in his thinning light brown hair and the lines
on his face had deepened. To Juliet, he looked ten years older than he
had last June and there was a fragility about him that nearly caused
her to burst into tears. Yet, knowing she would upset him terribly by
crying, she controlled her emotions and immediately took the thin
blue-veined hand he extended to her.

"You've lost weight," was his first comment.

"Only a few pounds," she answered, relieved to see that
his blue eyes were alert and appraising as they swept over her.
"Besides, you're thinner too so don't fuss at me when you've obviously
lost more weight than I have."

Her teasing tone elicited a grin. "I can afford to lose
weight. I'm an old man."

"What nonsense. You're only as old as you feel and you
always told me you felt like a teenager."

"So I did," Will McKay replied, his grin beginning to
fade. His thin fingers plucked at the crisp white sheet that covered
him. "But lately my age has been catching up with me. I don't feel so
young anymore. But I think maybe I've just been missing you."

With a muffled sob, Juliet bent down to kiss his lined
cheek. "Oh, Uncle Will, I've missed you too."

As she straightened again, Will caught one small hand
between both his and patted it gently. "Why did you run away with that
unkempt singer, child? I just don't understand why you did it."

"Oh, let's not talk about that now," she murmured hastily.
This was definitely not the time or place to argue with him about their
lack of agreement regarding arranged marriages, so she lifted her
shoulders in a slight shrug instead. "I just needed to get away, that's
all."

Will grimaced as he shifted his position as much as was
possible with his right leg suspended in traction. Then his eyes met
hers again and he indicated with a sweep of his hand that she should
sit down on the chair by his bed. "Well, tell me, are you
and—that young man still—er, together?"

"Right now I'm with you," Juliet answered with forced
cheeriness, giving him a weak smile. As she pleated the cotton blend
fabric of her skirt, she stared down at her lap. "Well, how are you
feeling? Is your leg giving you much pain? And how about your head?
Raul said you had a concussion."

"I'm a tough old bird; I'll be okay," he murmured but his
voice quavered slightly.

Juliet jerked up her head, then jumped to her feet when
she saw that his face had suddenly gone very pale. "Are you all right?"
she exclaimed softly, leaning over him. "Uncle Will, do you hear me?"

He had closed his eyes, but now they fluttered open. "I
have to get out of this place," he muttered, a disoriented look in his
eyes. "I'm late for an appointment at the gallery." Then his eyelids
drooped shut again.

Tears blurred Juliet's vision as she clenched and
unclenched her hands around the metal bed railing. The narrow white
bandage across Will's forehead took on a more ominous significance now.
Obviously his concussion had been much more severe than she realized.
She glanced toward the door, needing Raul to come in and help her cope
with this situation, yet reluctant to ask anything of him. When she had
almost decided to go get him anyway, however, her uncle awakened again.

"You're still here, child. Good," he murmured, reaching
out one hand to her. "I seem to doze off every few minutes. Guess the
medication I'm getting is making me groggy."

Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Juliet smiled down at
him, squeezing his thin fingers gently. After releasing his hand, she
carefully straightened the sheet that covered him. "Since you're
sleepy, I'm going now. I wasn't supposed to stay long anyway."

"But you'll be back?" Will questioned urgently. "Won't
you? Promise me you'll stay in Granada until I'm back on my feet again. I know I'm asking
a lot but…" His words trailed off on a hopeful note.

He
was
asking a lot but Juliet knew
she couldn't refuse him. It had been wrong of him to try to manipulate
her into marrying Pablo but, intuitively, she realized he had probably
thought he was doing what was best for her. She had to forgive him,
especially now when he needed her. Finally she nodded. "I'll stay until
you're well again, I promise." And when Will smiled as he drifted off
to sleep again, she breathed a sigh. She had made the commitment; she
couldn't back out now, but as she walked out of the room to join Raul
in the corridor, she really felt a great need to run away again.

The drive back from the clinic was as uncomfortable as the
drive there had been. Raul didn't speak until they were nearly at
Will's house and then his tone was cold and unfriendly. "Will wants you
to stay here."

"I know that," Juliet responded stiffly to the abrupt
statement. "He asked me to stay until he's well."

"I hope you told him you would because you will," Raul
announced, turning his head to give her a level stare. "He's a sick man
and I won't have you upsetting him by leaving again. So you'll be
staying in Granada for a while whether you want to or not."

"For your information, I already told him I'd stay,"
Juliet said indignantly. Half-turning in her seat, she glared at him.
"And even if I hadn't already promised him, you can bet nothing
you
could say would make me change my mind. You seem to think you have some
right to boss me around. Well, you don't!"

"Don't I, Juliet?" Raul drawled, more than a hint of
mockery in his deep melodious voice. "I think I have the right. Will
asked me to take care of you until he's better. And I intend to do it."

"Take care of me! Hah! I don't need anyone to take care of
me. I'm twenty-one years old, not ten, and since you're only eleven
years older than me, I don't think you qualify for the role of
surrogate father."

"You don't arouse my tender paternal instincts anyway, I
assure you. To deal with a brat like you, all a man needs is the
strength to turn her over his knee. And if you push me too far, I'll do
that to you."

"You and who else?" she challenged recklessly as he parked
the BMW in front of Will McKay's house. "If you ever try to lay a hand
on me, you'd better have help."

Raul simply laughed. "I'm beginning to see Pablo didn't
handle you right last year. And obviously your singer doesn't either.
You need to be taught that men are a great deal stronger than women,
physically at least. And if you give me any trouble whatsoever, I'll be
delighted to teach you that unavoidable truth," Raul said calmly,
getting out of the car and coming around to her side to shut her door
as she got out. He laughed again, more softly, the sound coming from
deep in his throat as he gazed down at her from his considerable
height. Then, incredibly, he reached out and trailed one fingertip
along the enticingly curved outline of her lips. As she hastily drew
back, trembling, he smiled almost triumphantly, lowered his head and
whispered softly into her ear, "You might even discover you enjoy the
lessons."

"Very amusing," Juliet drawled, managing somehow to sound
composed and cool. But as her cheeks warmed tinglingly, she was
grateful the darkness masked the revealing blush. She was so anxious to
end this dreadful evening that when Raul impelled her none-too-gently
to the front door of the house, she lost no time fumbling in her purse
for her key. "You don't have to go in with me. You've already been too,
too kind to me tonight by driving me to the clinic," she said
sarcastically. "So you needn't escort me into the house."

"I'm not escorting you; I'm coming in for the night," Raul
countered matter-of-factly, then took her key and unlocked the door. As
he handed it back to her his fingers deliberately brushed across her
sensitive palm. "I've decided to stay here since I have to go to the
gallery every day. No use driving back and forth from Casa Valaquez.
Besides, Will asked me to stay with you. He doesn't want you to be
alone in the house."

"But I'm not alone! Rosita's here," Juliet protested
swiftly, peering up at him, wishing she could see his expression. But
his face was shadowed; he was a broad silhouette in the shaft of
moonlight that shone behind him and she felt suddenly overpowered by
his dark form looming before her. "You can't stay here," she continued
weakly. "I…"

"I'm staying. So just accept that fact graciously and get
inside," he commanded imperiously, nearly pushing her into the brightly
lit entrance hall, then shutting the massive door firmly behind them.

The sudden silence that filled the hall was unnerving;
Juliet swallowed uneasily, tilting her head back to look into Raul's
lean face. Though she was of average height, the top of her head didn't
quite reach his shoulder and a very real awareness of his superior
physical strength struck her with near breathtaking force. That
awareness coupled with the strange unrecognizable light in his eyes
caused her to move backward, away from him. Then the phone rang and the
sudden unexpected jangle nearly made her jump out of her skin. Although
she was illogically reluctant to turn her back on Raul, she did so and
hurried to the round mahogany table that graced the center of the hall.

It was Holly calling. "How's it going? How's your uncle?"
she asked quickly. "I bet seeing him wasn't as bad as you thought it
would be. Right?"

"He's still in the hospital, of course," Juliet answered
evasively, feeling Raul's intense gaze burning into her back. "He seems
very weak and—and he wants me to stay until he's well again,
so I guess I won't be seeing you in two days after all. I hope you
understand."

"Of course I do. I never thought you'd be able to leave
him that soon anyway," Holly answered compassionately. "I just hope you
get lucky and don't run into Pablo and Raul Valaquez."

"I'm afraid my luck's already run out. With the latter."

Holly got the rueful hint. "You mean you've seen Raul? Oh,
what rotten luck. Well, how did his royal majesty act?"

Juliet shuffled her feet uncomfortably and twirled a
strand of auburn hair around and around on her finger. She felt as if
Raul were so close behind her that she'd soon feel his breath against
her neck. Lowering her voice slightly, she answered Holly. "Look, I
can't really talk right now. Why don't you call me tomorrow morning?"

Holly was a perceptive girl. "Oh, dear, he's right there
with you now, isn't he? That's why you can't talk? Well, all right,
I'll call you tomorrow. Just keep your chin up and remember that Benny
and I love you."

"I'm glad somebody does," Juliet answered softly and after
saying good-bye, she replaced the receiver. She took a deep shuddering
breath that became a soft startled cry as, suddenly, hard hands
descended on her shoulders and she was spun around to face Raul. Her
breath caught in her throat as she gazed up bewilderedly into his angry
eyes.

"Your singer, I presume?" he ground out harshly, his
fingers biting into her shoulders. "It must have been. That's why you
couldn't talk with me around. Well, you'll be able to whisper sweet
nothings to each other in the morning, but while you're here that's
all
you'll do. You won't be seeing your no-talent
friend
until your uncle is well. Will asked me to see that you didn't and I
intend to abide by his wishes."

"You—damn you!" Juliet spluttered, then managed
to untangle her tongue. "Just who do you think you are? You can't tell
me what to do! I don't care what Uncle Will said.
You
won't tell me who I can or can't see!"

"Oh, but I just did," Raul whispered, his jaw tight as his
dark gaze raked over her flushed face. "But don't worry. I'll be here
to keep you from getting too lonely. In fact, I'd be happy to start
tonight. I always was attracted to you, even before Pablo met you, but
I thought you were too young and inexperienced for me. You seemed like
such an innocent and I didn't want to frighten you with my ardor. That
was my mistake. You weren't the sheltered little girl I thought you
were and now that you've been living with a man for almost a year, I
certainly don't have to worry anymore about frightening you. Do I?"