The Vasquez Baby Read online

  ‘Liking sex is a healthy and natural drive for a man. What’s wrong with that?’

  Wishing she’d never pursued this particular line of conversation, Faith drew in a long breath. ‘Nothing. It’s just—there are other things apart from sex. We could have a conversation.’

  ‘Sí.’ His eyes mocked her gently. ‘Talking can be very intimate, I agree. Before and after sex.’

  Now he was teasing her and the fact that he could succeed in making her hot and bothered even though she knew what he was doing, really irritated her. ‘Talking isn’t part of sex.’

  ‘What do you think this is, if it isn’t foreplay?’ He murmured the words softly, his voice so sexy that she felt her limbs weaken. ‘We are talking, yes, but we are both thinking about sex—’

  ‘Raul, please don’t do this.’ She couldn’t think clearly, not with his dark eyes suddenly alight with dangerous promise and his powerful body so achingly close.

  ‘We both know what is coming later,’ he purred. ‘Each of us is thinking “how will it be?” and “can I wait that long?’” His normally fluent English seemed considerably less fluent than usual but there was no mistaking his meaning and his words were such an accurate assessment of her thoughts that she stilled, a bloom of colour touching her pale cheeks.

  ‘That’s not what I’m thinking,’ she croaked and he gave a faint smile.

  ‘Liar.’

  She dragged her eyes from his. Only when she wasn’t looking at him was there a chance that her brain would work. ‘For a man with legendary intelligence, your goals are very shallow.’

  ‘Would you be flattered if I climbed into bed with you and reached for a book?’ He curved his hand around her waist, and she felt the instant response of her body.

  ‘Do you ever think of anything other than sex?’

  ‘Sí—sometimes I think of business.’ He leaned forward and kissed her mouth, the hot slide of his tongue deliberately erotic. ‘And now you need to stop distracting me or I am never going to get through the evening.’

  ‘It isn’t me, it’s you—you started this.’ But she was starting to feel the strain and he must have noticed because he slid his fingers under her chin and lifted her face to his.

  ‘You’re pale.’

  She gave a careless shrug, trying not to betray everything that he made her feel. ‘Jet lag. I’m tired.’

  ‘No, it isn’t that. I’ve seen you with more colour in your cheeks when you’ve been up all night with one of the horses.’ He studied her closely, his scrutiny more than a little disturbing. ‘Are you dizzy? Do you need a doctor?’

  ‘No.’ She didn’t confess that she was just as wound up as he was. Every nerve ending in her body was reminding her that he was close by.

  He watched her for a moment, and then increased the pressure of his hand and urged her towards the door. ‘If this evening is too much for you, tell me and you can go back to bed.’ He flashed her a confident, self-satisfied smile. ‘You see how thoughtful and caring I can be?’

  ‘Would that be an empty bed, or a bed with you in it?’

  ‘We both know you would be mortally offended if I wasn’t in it, cariño,’ he purred, amusement in his eyes as he pulled her against him and stole a swift kiss from her parted lips. ‘Then you would be accusing me of not finding you attractive, no?’

  Tied into knots by his kiss, his smile and his words, she couldn’t even respond.

  She was a hopeless case, Faith thought weakly as she followed his direction and walked through the door on shaking legs. Desperately she tried to think about something, anything, other than him.

  ‘These people we’re meeting tonight—’ she glanced at him briefly ‘—do I need to know anything about them? I don’t want to say the wrong thing. Who are they?’

  ‘They own land.’ Raul took her hand in his and drew her close to him as they walked up the path that led from the Beach House to the main courtyard of the estancia. ‘Land that I want.’

  ‘You already own ten-thousand acres. Why would you want their land?’

  ‘Why settle for less when you can have more?’ But something flickered in the depths of his dark eyes and she had a feeling that there was more to this business deal than he was revealing.

  ‘In other words, you have a good reason and you’re not planning to share it with me.’

  He laughed. ‘I love the fact that you have a sharp brain.’

  ‘Just as long as I don’t use it,’ Faith said tartly and his answer to that was to bring his mouth down on hers again, his kiss so impossibly skilled that the rest of her sharp rejoinder died in her brain.

  ‘You taste good,’ he murmured against her lips and she groaned and dragged her mouth away from his.

  ‘You always do this to me.’ She put her hands on his chest to steady herself, and then looked up at him. ‘You’re infuriating, do you know that? You use sex to shut me up.’

  ‘Not true.’ He bent his head and his mouth brushed her neck, that simple touch sufficient to send a thrill of excitement rushing through her.

  ‘You’re doing it again,’ she gasped, wishing desperately that her body wasn’t so responsive to his. ‘Stop it, Raul.’

  His mouth lingered, warm and full of promise. ‘You want me to stop?’ The erotic flick of his tongue fired her blood.

  ‘No. Yes…’ Sinking into a trance, Faith closed her eyes. ‘I don’t know. Where did you learn to do that?’

  ‘I was born knowing,’ he purred softly, but the twinkle in his eyes softened the arrogance of the statement. ‘In Argentina, men know how to be men. And part of being a real man is being an incredible lover.’

  ‘Your ego is enormous.’

  His eyes darkened wickedly. ‘That isn’t my ego, cariño…’

  All too aware of the strength and power of his arousal, Faith dragged herself out of his arms. ‘All right, enough.’ Flustered and shivering with desire, she held up a hand like a ‘stop’ sign. ‘Just stand there and don’t move for a minute.’

  His gaze was slumberous and deadly. ‘I love the fact that you’re such a sexual woman.’

  Faith gritted her teeth. ‘I said enough! And no more kissing. I can’t have a conversation while you’re kissing me.’

  One dark eyebrow swooped upwards in sardonic mockery. ‘Precisely.’

  Confused, her entire body buzzing, Faith glared at him. ‘Do you know that you use sex to avoid every subject that is remotely difficult? You never talk about things that matter.’ Her head was still reeling from the slow, seductive touch of his mouth and for a moment she wished that he wasn’t quite so skilled in that area. If he had been less accomplished as a lover, she might have been able to concentrate on their relationship.

  His beautiful eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t solve problems by committee.’

  ‘I’m not a committee. I’m your wife.’

  ‘Sí, and you knew the type of man you were marrying.’ His tone hardened slightly but his gaze was still on her mouth. ‘If you don’t want me to think about sex, don’t dress provocatively.’

  ‘Well, what do I wear then, Raul? Tell me, because I certainly don’t know.’ Shaken by the depth of her own response to him, Faith smoothed the dress over her hips. ‘You’re staring at me.’

  ‘Because I don’t understand you,’ he breathed. ‘You would prefer that I don’t find you attractive?’

  ‘No, of course not. I’d just like there to be more to our relationship than sex.’

  His thick lashes lowered slightly as he surveyed her. ‘You don’t like the fact that I want to make love to you day and night?’

  His words made her stomach tumble and she dragged her gaze away from his, her breathing shallow. ‘Of course I do. Any woman would, but—’

  ‘So what is the problem?’ The careless lift of his broad shoulders indicated that as far as he was concerned, there was nothing to solve.

  ‘I feel as though I’m banging my head against a brick wall.’

  ‘This is because of your accident perhaps.’

  She turned to look at him, ready to thump him for that comment, and then she saw the twinkle in his eyes and realised that he was teasing her. ‘You really like to live dangerously.’

  His slow smile was impossibly sexy. ‘Of course.’

  She gritted her teeth. ‘I hate you, do you know that?’

  ‘Sí, cariño.’ Ignoring her attempts to keep at a distance, he hauled her into his arms and brought her hips in direct contact with his. ‘I know just how much you hate me. About as much as I hate you.’ Sexual tension erupted with explosive force and Faith groaned a faint protest against his seeking mouth.

  ‘I had a career before I met you,’ she muttered, but he smothered her words with another assault on her lips, the skilled stroke of his tongue almost unbearably exciting as he kissed her until her head spun. Finally he lifted his head slowly and the look he gave her was one of pure, undiluted masculine satisfaction.

  ‘I have no objection to your career. I’m very modern in my outlook.’

  Faith would have laughed but she no longer had the energy. ‘Modern? You make Neolithic men look progressive. Why am I with you? I used to have a brain.’

  He smiled at that. ‘You still have a brain, cariño.’

  ‘So why am I standing here, kissing you?’

  ‘Because I am the best at what I do,’ Raul drawled with a trace of humour. ‘And your brain is occupied in responding. I love your brain. Never think I don’t.’ He cupped her face possessively and looked into her eyes. ‘And now, enough. We have guests arriving.’

  And that was that, Faith thought helplessly. As far as he was concerned, that was the end of yet another conversation where he’d tied her in knots and revealed absolutely nothing about himself.

  ‘If these negotiations really are important to you, then why are you taking me?’ She turned away from him, unsure whether she was more annoyed with herself or him. ‘I obviously just distract you.’

  ‘I want you to be there.’

  Resigning herself to the fact that she was unlikely to be given more of an explanation than that, Faith picked up her bag that she’d dropped on the floor when he’d kissed her. ‘What role am I playing? Am I allowed to speak? Or do I pretend I’ve had a lobotomy?’

  ‘You’re my wife.’ Raul smiled and that smile held such charm that for a moment Faith caught her breath.

  ‘I hate it when you do that,’ she muttered and his smile widened as he took her hand firmly in his.

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘You know what,’ she said crossly, picking her way carefully up the path. ‘You always use that smile of yours when you’re losing an argument.’

  ‘Lose?’ He frowned at her. ‘What is this “lose”? It isn’t a word I know.’

  ‘Very funny.’ Faith pulled a face but she left her hand in his, enjoying the contact more than she was wiling to admit, even to herself. ‘Perhaps I’m going to embarrass you tonight. You know I’m not at all commercial. I don’t think I’m capable of making a good impression on a businessman.’

  ‘You made a good impression on me.’ Raul adjusted his long stride to match hers. ‘And I’m a businessman.’

  Her heart turned over at the unexpected compliment. ‘You’re lots of different things.’

  ‘Desperate,’ he said dryly, his smile full of wry self-mockery as he glanced at her. ‘That’s what I am at the moment, cariño. Thanks to you.’

  Awareness exploded inside her. ‘I thought we were supposed to be avoiding the topic of sex.’

  ‘We were.’ He let out a frustrated sigh. ‘It’s your fault.’

  She tried to ignore the electrified atmosphere and changed the subject swiftly. ‘So what do you want me to do this evening, seriously?’

  ‘Try not to draw attention to yourself so that you don’t distract me from the business in hand. This is a particularly tricky negotiation and I need to concentrate.’ He took her hand in his and led her towards the main house just as a car purred into the courtyard.

  ‘It’s really that important to you? Any chance that you’ll tell me why at some point?’

  He didn’t answer her question, and when she glanced towards him he was staring down the long driveway at an approaching car. Gone was the lazy, sexy smile that had made him so approachable. Now he just seemed cold and intimidating.

  The car came to a halt in a cloud of dust and a man heaved himself awkwardly from the driver’s seat, a sheen of sweat visible on his brow as he negotiated the heat and the demands of his own excessive body-weight. Faith guessed him to be in his fifties but it was obvious that he was holding on to his youth with grim determination. His shirt was open at the neck and strained over his thickened waist, his thinning hair artfully arranged to conceal the onset of baldness.

  ‘Vásquez—I hear congratulations are due.’

  ‘Pedro.’ His hand outstretched and his tone cool, Raul strode forward and shook the man’s hand and Faith watched while the other door opened and a woman slid elegantly out of the passenger seat.

  Suddenly Faith understood why the man was so grimly determined not to be parted from his youth. The woman was stunning. She somehow managed to be both slender and curvaceous at the same time and the coal-black hair that hung straight over her bare shoulders shone like polished agate. Apparently undisturbed by the heat, she slowly removed the oversized sunglasses from her exquisite face to reveal almond-shaped eyes of surprising warmth. A friendly smile on her glossy mouth, she walked over to Faith, hands outstretched.

  ‘So Raul finally took the plunge,’ she said cheerfully, leaning forward and kissing Faith on both cheeks. Then she linked arms with her, as though they were firm friends, rather than total strangers. ‘Half of Argentina is ready to kill you—the female half, of course. The male half are probably incredibly grateful. Finally they can sleep easy in their beds without feeling they need to lock up their wives. I’m Sofia.’

  Confused by the other woman’s direct approach and unsure how to respond, Faith glanced towards Raul but he was listening to something that Pedro was saying, his dark glossy head tilted because he was so much taller. Realising that he wasn’t paying her any attention, Faith turned back to Sofia and froze.

  The other woman was staring openly at Raul, a look of naked sexual appreciation in her eyes. Then she looked at Faith and grinned sheepishly. ‘Oops, sorry. Caught red-handed.’ She gave herself a mock smack on the wrist. ‘Naughty me. But you have to admit that he is indecently handsome and I don’t get to look at men like him very often. I’m sure you’re used to women gazing at him. Being with Raul is a bit like owning a very rare and valuable painting—everyone wants to stare at it.’

  Shocked and surprised by the hot spurt of jealousy that pumped through her veins, Faith struggled to stay polite. ‘And your husband doesn’t mind?’

  ‘I can’t imagine he’d be thrilled, but he has nothing to worry about. Raul and I were quite unsuited.’

  Were?

  For a moment Faith thought she had misheard, and then she looked into the other woman’s eyes and her entire world shifted.

  ‘You know him well?’ Why was she asking that question when she already knew the answer?

  ‘Pretty well.’ Sofia looked at her. ‘Oh dear. Me and my big mouth. Obviously the two of you haven’t discussed his past. Very wise. If I was with Raul, I can’t say I’d want to know about his past, either. One of the disadvantages of being with an extremely rich and handsome man is the knowledge that every other woman wants him too.’

  ‘Sofia…’ Raul’s voice came from directly behind them and Sofia turned, her eyes dancing with laughter.

  ‘Darling—no need to use that tone. I’m just pleased you finally found someone willing to put up with your domineering, macho ways on a permanent basis. How are you? You’re looking good, but there’s nothing new in that.’

  Before Raul could respond, Pedro approached. Apparently unaware of the byplay, he was mopping his brow. ‘Shall we get out of the heat?’

  ‘Of course. We’ll have drinks on the terrace.’

  Pinned to the spot by shock, Faith looked at Raul in disbelief.

  That was it? That was all he was going to say?

  Tact and sensitivity wasn’t his strong suit and she, more than anyone, was well aware of that—but still she couldn’t quite believe that he’d intentionally invited his ex-mistress to join them for dinner without at least warning her.

  It must have been an unfortunate coincidence.

  She desperately wanted to believe that he hadn’t known the woman was with Pedro—that any minute now he was going to throw her off his property. Because the alternative to that was to acknowledge that once again her feelings had been bottom of his agenda.

  ‘It’s cooler on the terrace,’ Raul said smoothly, nothing in his body language suggesting that he considered anything to be amiss.

  Faith flinched as though he’d struck her.

  So that was it, then.

  Clearly he expected her to smile and chat to his ex, while he concentrated on his business deal.

  No wonder he hadn’t told her what was expected of her.

  He’d obviously known that she would have been on the first plane out of Buenos Aires.

  Raul strode across the courtyard, Pedro by his side, nothing in his manner betraying the slightest hint of awkwardness.

  Deprived of the opportunity to claw his impossibly handsome face, Faith wanted to turn and stalk in the opposite direction, but she was unable to do that either because the other woman tightened her hold on her arm.

  ‘We have a word in Spanish to describe someone like him,’ Sofia murmured, her voice like rich honey. ‘Guapisimo. It means “indescribably handsome”. I haven’t been here for a while,’ she confided, as they moved onto the sunny, vine-covered terrace where several staff were poised ready to serve drinks. ‘You must show me what Raul has done. This place is the talk of the international polo-circuit.’

  Faith didn’t bother replying—she was too busy planning ways to kill Raul—but first she turned some serious anger onto herself.

  You fool, she chided herself. You stupid fool.

  He said he wanted the marriage to work and that was all it took for you to run back to him.

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