The Vasquez Baby Read online

  He’d hurt her so, so badly but had she learned her lesson? No, she’d come back for more.

  Was he being deliberately cruel? Was he reminding her once again that she’d driven him into a marriage, when in fact that wasn’t what he’d wanted?

  Was he was telling her that marriage wasn’t going to stop him living his life the way he wanted to live it?

  Was that what was going on here?

  A wave of dizziness washed over her and for a terrifying moment she thought she might faint in front of him yet again. Gritting her teeth with determination, she took several deep breaths and took a glass of champagne from one of Raul’s staff. Deciding that it would be kill or cure, she drained it in several gulps.

  Dimly aware of Raul’s disapproving and slightly startled gaze, she raised the empty glass in his direction. ‘To us, darling. And to all those little things you do for me that show just how much you care.’

  His eyes narrowed, but whether or not he would have responded to her subtle jibe she had no idea because Pedro dutifully lifted his glass.

  ‘To the pair of you. May you have a long and happy union.’

  Faith was deeply regretting the fact that she’d downed the champagne. Her head was swimming again, and now she wasn’t sure of the cause.

  ‘So what is it that you do, Faith?’ Pedro was blunt and straightforward but Faith was spared the need to reply by his wife’s intervention.

  ‘She’s married to Raul,’ Sofia murmured. ‘Which means her time is totally occupied in the pursuit of looking gorgeous.’ Her gaze lingered speculatively on Faith’s newly cropped hair and Faith flushed.

  ‘I’m a vet. I specialise in horses. Raul has an interesting breeding programme so I chose to come here and work.’ And never left. But she would now. Any moment. She was going to walk out of the door and not look back.

  As soon as she could be sure that her legs would hold her.

  ‘Breeding? Well if there’s anyone who could use some advice in that area, then it’s Raul.’ Sofia laughed. ‘Breeding is probably the only area of life in which he has absolutely no experience. I never could quite see him changing a nappy.’

  Faith glanced at Raul and found him looking at her. ‘Faith is exceptionally talented. Especially with the animals themselves.’

  Did he even realise that she was upset?

  Deciding that she wasn’t going to inflate his ego still further by showing him how much his careless behaviour had upset her, Faith stood her ground.

  Apparently unaware of the dangerous shift in the atmosphere, Pedro took a mouthful of his champagne. ‘One of my stallions is misbehaving—kicking out his box, biting his groom—the product of an extremely difficult early life, I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s born vicious.’

  ‘No horse is born vicious.’ Faith’s years of training made it impossible for her to stay silent. ‘It’s the way they’ve been treated that makes them that way. If he’s vicious then he obviously feels he needs to defend himself from something.’ Her eyes still held Raul’s. ‘All of us have the potential to be vicious if the provocation is sufficient.’

  Raul’s eyes narrowed but Pedro simply nodded, his mind clearly still on the problem of his horse.

  ‘You could be right. To be honest, I have no idea what’s in his past. My stud groom rescued him from somewhere or other. Thought he had potential. I’m not so sure. I think he needs to be taught who’s boss.’

  A bubble of laughter rose in Faith’s throat. ‘In my experience a display of macho domination rarely achieves the desired effect. I’ve always found that people respond better when you aim for a partnership of trust and respect.’

  ‘People?’ Pedro looked at her quizzically. ‘I thought we were talking about horses.’

  ‘Horses, people.’ Faith shrugged. ‘The principles are the same. The foundation of a good relationship is trust and respect.’ She emphasised both words and Raul shot her a warning glance, which she interpreted as meaning: be careful. This deal is important to me.

  And suddenly she wondered if he really did care about anything other than the acquisition of wealth.

  Why else would he have chosen to flaunt his previous relationships in front of his wife?

  Still apparently oblivious to the undercurrents swirling around them, Pedro drained his champagne. ‘You’re letting a woman dictate how your horses are handled, Vásquez?’

  ‘I employ the best.’

  Pedro frowned. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever met a female vet before.’

  Faith took a sip of orange juice. ‘Well, we’re pretty much the same as the male variety, only we’re usually a little smaller because our bodies don’t have to make room for the ego.’

  Sofia laughed with delight. ‘I absolutely adore the English sense of humour.’

  Pedro reached for a handkerchief and mopped his brow. ‘I know it isn’t considered politically correct to say so, but I still don’t believe that a woman can do everything a man can do.’

  ‘I completely agree.’ Faith took another sip of her orange juice. ‘No matter how hard I try I simply can’t behave in a callous, insensitive fashion. Fortunately that major defect in my character hasn’t affected my ability as a vet. Generally animals respond very well to a woman’s touch.’

  Finally alerted to the fact that the atmosphere wasn’t all it should be, Pedro glanced at Raul who displayed a characteristic lack of concern.

  ‘As you can see, my wife is as spirited as the horses she loves so much. Faith is extremely well qualified.’

  Pedro’s eyebrows shot upwards. ‘If she’s that well qualified, why doesn’t she have her own practice?’

  ‘She met me,’ Raul murmured. ‘And I derailed her career.’

  ‘Postponed,’ Faith corrected him sharply. ‘I can return to my career any time I choose to do so.’

  Sofia smiled. ‘So you fell in love.’

  ‘Who wouldn’t love Argentina?’ Faith deliberately chose to misunderstand her. ‘It’s a fascinating and beautiful country. And the perfect place to practise equine medicine.’

  ‘He’s dangerous in the stable.’ Pedro was back to the subject of his horse. ‘We can’t let him out, he’ll create havoc.’

  ‘But horses are herd animals,’ Faith said. ‘They like social contact. Especially the stallions. They are naturally dominant and assertive.’

  ‘Sounds uncannily like Raul,’ Sofia drawled. ‘Dominant, assertive, a challenge to handle…’

  Faith looked at her, startled, because actually the description she’d used did sound like Raul.

  How many difficult stallions had she handled who’d appeared to give no thought to the effect they had on those around them?

  He probably hadn’t invited his ex-mistress here with the express purpose of upsetting her. He’d invited her here because he was thoughtless. But did that really make his actions any more acceptable?

  How in a million years could she ever be happy with a man this insensitive to her feelings?

  Deep in thought, Pedro didn’t appear to have heard his wife’s comment. ‘I might send him over to you, if that is within your realm of experience? Might be a bit much for you.’

  Raul frowned. ‘There’s nothing Faith can’t handle. She’s very clever.’

  ‘There’s nothing clever about it,’ Faith said. ‘They just need patience and understanding.’

  ‘Now I’m really confused.’ A cheeky gleam in her eyes, Sofia laughed. ‘Are we talking about Raul or the stallion? Clearly Faith has a special way with difficult men, since she dragged you to the altar.’ Sofia slid her arm into Faith’s again. ‘And now, enough of this. Raul if you don’t feed me soon I swear I shall join the horses in your yard. They’re better cared for.’

  CHAPTER NINE

  THEY enjoyed a typical Argentine asado—a barbecue cooked over an open fire—and it was dark when Faith and Raul waved their guests off and walked back towards the Beach House.

  Furious with him for hurting her and even more furious with herself f
or caring, Faith stalked ahead, her heels tapping on the path. She didn’t trust herself to speak for fear of exploding and she wasn’t sure whether she’d produce tears or anger.

  ‘When you’re angry, your neck seems longer,’ Raul drawled from behind her and she straightened her shoulders and increased her pace. ‘And that won’t work, either, because my legs are longer than yours and I can walk faster.’

  She turned then, like a cornered animal ready to fight. ‘Do you really want to have this conversation out here? Think hard, Raul, because you probably won’t want an audience for what I’m going to say.’

  Apparently unconcerned, he lifted a bronzed hand to his throat and loosened the top button of his shirt. ‘I thought we’d had enough conversation for one day.’

  ‘If you want to avoid conversation, don’t invite your ex-girlfriends to dinner without at least having the courtesy to warn me.’

  Raul’s eyes narrowed defensively. ‘Given that you are the one wearing the wedding ring, you have absolutely no reason to be jealous.’

  ‘It isn’t about being jealous, it’s about courtesy.’ Faith kept her eyes on his, ignoring the dangerous shimmer in his eyes that warned her of the shift in his mood. ‘Let’s look at this another way—what would you have done if you discovered that I had invited an ex-boyfriend to dinner?’

  ‘Flattened him,’ Raul said in a cool tone. ‘But that’s entirely different.’

  ‘It is not different. I have feelings, Raul. It would be nice if you would remember that.’ Shaking so much she could hardly stand, she turned sharply and walked through the door of the Beach House. Dropping her bag as she walked, she went straight through to the bedroom and removed her earrings, dropping them on the bedside table.

  ‘I don’t understand your problem.’ He stalked into the room like a very angry jungle-cat and she clamped her teeth onto her lower lip to stop herself from crying.

  ‘I know you don’t,’ she whispered. ‘And that is the problem, Raul. You don’t seem to be able to stop yourself hurting me. You never think about my feelings and I promised myself that I wasn’t going to allow you to do this to me again.’ She kept her back to him, willing herself not to break down and sob.

  ‘That is a totally unfair accusation,’ he snarled, ‘Given that it was precisely to protect your feelings that I didn’t tell you.’

  ‘So in other words, you knew I would be upset.’

  She turned and then wished she hadn’t because the physical impact of the man almost fused her brain. He was extravagantly, impossibly handsome, his features bold and masculine, his posture one of complete control.

  Immediately on the defensive, his fabulous dark eyes narrowed to two dangerous slits. ‘I thought you’d behave like a typical woman, and you’ve just proved me right.’

  Faith inhaled sharply. ‘She taunted me with your relationship. Waved it under my nose like a red flag. We have a word for him in Spanish—guapisimo.’ She mimicked the other woman perfectly and then glared. ‘Well let’s see how guapisimo you are when I’ve blacked your eye, Raul.’

  ‘You are behaving in a totally unreasonable fashion.’

  ‘You think it’s unreasonable of me to be upset?’

  ‘Frankly? Yes. She’s history.’

  ‘She couldn’t take her eyes off you!’

  ‘That’s her problem, not mine,’ Raul replied instantly. ‘And not yours, either.’

  He didn’t have a clue!

  ‘Perhaps I am being silly but she knew a great deal about you,’ she breathed. ‘And I couldn’t work out whether she was being friendly or nasty. But I had the distinct impression that she wished she was the one who was married to you.’

  ‘She wouldn’t have been able to handle me in a million years.’ He yanked the tie from his throat with an impatient hand and Faith swallowed, transfixed by the hint of bronzed male skin and the tangle of dark hair at the base of his throat.

  She wasn’t sure she could handle him.

  ‘She is very beautiful.’

  ‘Don’t do this to yourself,’ he warned, dropping the tie and slowly undoing the buttons on his shirt. ‘You’re more intelligent than that, Faith. I never pretended not to have a past and you have no reason to be insecure.’

  ‘Of course I have,’ Faith said quietly. ‘I know you didn’t want this marriage.’

  ‘Don’t do that female thing of dissecting every single action,’ he warned in a throaty voice. ‘You’ll just hurt yourself.’

  ‘I just spent an evening with a woman who hammered home just how well she knows you. If I didn’t have doubts about sustaining this marriage before, then I certainly have them now.’

  ‘Sofia has nothing to do with our marriage.’

  ‘You invited your ex-girlfriend into our home without telling me and expected me to be nice to her! That has everything to do with our marriage.’

  They were circling each other like animals and the atmosphere in the room heated and sparked.

  Raul watched her with raw frustration. ‘Actually, I invited a business associate into our home in order to negotiate an important deal. Sofia just happens to be his wife. I didn’t think that was important, given that she’s my ex-girlfriend. What possible reason would there be for you to be so upset?’

  ‘Because I’m your wife!’

  ‘Precisely,’ he drawled in a sardonic voice, his handsome face cold and unsympathetic. ‘Cuenta his beneficios.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘Count your blessings. You’re the one wearing my ring. If anyone around here should be upset, it’s Sofia, not you.’

  Faith was so shocked by his unique interpretation of the facts, that for a moment she couldn’t voice a response. ‘You can’t possibly mean that. Even you can’t be that arrogant and insensitive.’

  The air around them heated to a fierce blaze.

  ‘Don’t do this, Faith,’ he warned softly, his voice as deadly as the expression in his eyes. ‘Don’t do this to us.’

  ‘I’m not the one doing it, Raul,’ she spat, but she saw him step towards her and every muscle in her body quivered with tension. ‘That’s far enough.’

  If he came close to her, if he touched her…

  Terrified that he was going to do just that, she went to stalk past him but he moved so swiftly that she didn’t stand a chance. And she knew deep down that she’d never had a chance. With merciless intent one hand locked around her wrist and the other came round her waist.

  ‘No, Raul.’ She squirmed and writhed, the silk of her dress sliding against the hard muscle of his thighs. ‘Don’t you dare touch me. After what you did tonight, you’re never touching me again!’ But they were just words and both of them knew it. The atmosphere was thick with what they were both feeling, and in many ways that made it worse because she so badly wanted to be able to walk away from this man. ‘Let me go.’

  ‘Why?’ He brought his mouth close to hers and she turned her head to avoid the contact, her eyes closing as she felt the roughness of his jaw scrape the sensitive skin of her cheek. ‘Why would I do that?’

  ‘Because we’re making each other miserable.’

  ‘Only when we talk, cariño,’ he murmured softly into her ear, his low masculine voice as sensuous as his touch. ‘We hadn’t touched each other for weeks and it’s been driving both of us mad—’

  ‘No, Raul, that isn’t—’ She broke off with a gasp as his mouth traced the line of her jaw. ‘Don’t do that—don’t do that.’

  But he wasn’t listening. ‘I haven’t paid you enough attention.’

  ‘That isn’t what I was saying—’ She moaned as his mouth found the tiny pulse at the base of her throat. ‘Raul, I’m asking you not to—’

  ‘What? You’re asking me not to do what?’ His strong fingers slid around her cheek and with firm, relentless pressure he drew her lips back towards his. His mouth hovered a breath away from hers, but he didn’t take the kiss. ‘Why do you fight this?’

  ‘Because I have to,’ she whispered.
‘For my sanity and my self-respect.’ It was the last desperate plea of someone who was drowning and the words turned to a groan as his mouth finally brushed hers in a suggestive, sensuous kiss.

  Flames erupted though her body with explosive force and she felt her insides turn to hot, molten lava.

  ‘You don’t want this?’ His tone husky and full of dark, sexual promise, he lowered his head and lightly explored the edges of her mouth with his, the erotic slide of his tongue plunging her straight into a whirlpool of excitement. She was sucked downwards, spinning, in sexual free-fall. ‘If you don’t want to do this, then stop me,’ he murmured, his mouth still against hers as he ruthlessly used every skill to drive her wild. ‘Walk away, if that’s what you want to do.’

  Every single part of her was on fire, burning up in the heat of his seduction. ‘How can I when you’re holding me?’

  His dangerously clever mouth curved into a sardonic smile. ‘I let go of you five minutes ago, cariño. So why are you still pressed up against me?’ He gave her less than five seconds for the truth of that statement to sink into her fevered brain and then he brought his mouth down on hers in a bruising, glorious kiss that sent both of them out of control.

  This time there was no careful teasing or skilfully orchestrated seduction. There were no tentative touches of his tongue or sly brushes of his firm lips. Instead he claimed her mouth with his, driving out her protests with the force of his kiss.

  And she responded because the way he kissed her demanded nothing less.

  All the emotion and incredible tension that had been building over the past weeks exploded to the surface and they devoured each other hungrily as their bodies thundered with need.

  His mouth didn’t leave hers but his hands dropped to her shoulders and he tore ruthlessly through the fabric of her dress. It slithered to the floor of the bedroom and was instantly forgotten by both of them because his hand was on her breast and Faith gave an agonised moan and closed her eyes.

  Her head was filled with a kaleidoscope of light, and as his fingers grazed the sensitised peaks of her breasts, sharp arrows of desire shot through her body straight to the very heart of her. She leaned into him, pressing herself against his throbbing, thickened shaft, her response to him every bit as animal and basic as his was to hers.