The Twelve-Month Marriage Deal

by Margaret Mayo

  At this moment she looked as though she wanted to be anywhere but here. Her incredible eyes were shaded by long silky lashes, her full and tempting lips pressed tightly together. He was not used to women backing away from him.

  ‘Are you scared of me, Elena?’ It wasn’t what he’d wanted to say, but the words had slipped out before he could stop them.

  With a toss of her head her thick black fringe fell over one eye, making her look coquettish, though he knew that that was the last thing she would want. Coquettishness was not Elena’s style.

  ‘Is that what you think? Actually, I was wondering why we need to talk. Our families can arrange the wedding. There’s nothing that you and I need to do. Just turn up,’ she added bitterly.

  ‘Not so, Elena.’ He felt a flash of anger at her apparent indifference. ‘You need to choose your wedding dress, your bridesmaids, and we should shop together for rings. Then there’s the guest list—we should have a say in that. There’s a whole host of stuff to do. I’ll happily leave some of the organising to our parents, but there’s still plenty for us if we’re to make this marriage look genuine.’

  ‘But it isn’t genuine,’ she retorted with another flash of her spectacular eyes.

  ‘No one is going to know that,’ he cautioned, his silver eyes growing fierce. ‘No one. Do you understand?’

  Elena nodded. Nevertheless her eyes warred with his. ‘I should tell you now that I’m not a good actress.’

  ‘You won’t need to be,’ he growled, and forgetting the warning he had given himself earlier, he hooked a hand lightly behind her neck and lowered his head to hers.

  Elena had known what would happen when he kissed her again. It was why she had kept her distance, why she had not let him see by the merest movement of her eyes that she was turned on by him. And now it was too late.

  The instant his mouth touched hers she went up in flames. Without conscious thought her lips parted and the feelings that raced through her were volcanic. It was as though her whole body had erupted. As though it had been waiting for this moment all its life and was going to take full advantage.

  When Vidal felt her response he groaned and deepened the kiss, instantly setting off a further chain reaction until her whole body felt reborn, newly sensitised, dangerously explosive.

  One tiny part of her couldn’t believe that this was happening and warned her to back away now. On the rare occasions she had thought about marriage she had had the ideal man in her head. She wanted someone with the same ambition as herself, someone prepared to launch out in a new direction and take chances. She had worked hard and surpassed her wildest dreams.

  Vidal had worked hard too, very hard, extremely hard in fact, but he had remained in the banking industry, following his father’s footsteps, and that in anyone’s eyes would have made him boring.

  And yet boring was most certainly not a word she associated with Vidal. How could a man who looked as good as he did be uninteresting? How could a man who twisted her nerves to screaming point be dull? Or who kissed her with dangerous gentleness? He was the devil incarnate. A man sent to test her, to bend her to his will without her even realising it.

  His kiss was not just a kiss. It was a kiss to surpass all kisses. His mouth was not hot and hard, it wasn’t demanding even. But it was all the more treacherous because of its gentleness.

  It was she who wanted more, who wanted to feel the fire in him, the urgency, the evidence that he truly desired her. Because how could they go through with this marriage if he didn’t?

  As if her wishes had somehow transferred themselves to him, Vidal’s long, strong fingers moulded the back of her head, urging them closer and harder together. His kisses became more demanding, his tongue exploring her mouth, tangling with her tongue, encouraging her to do the same to him.

  With her whole body now on fire Elena knew that if they had been anywhere but here she would have begged him to make love to her. She couldn’t have helped herself. He had awoken the animal inside her. Indeed she might not have had to beg because one glance at his face and she saw her own torment echoed there.

  It was not until the car slowed to a halt that they pulled away from each other and Elena couldn’t help wondering how they were going to sit at their dinner table and pretend that they didn’t want to be in bed.

  She was almost afraid to look Vidal in the eye, but he had no such compunction. ‘I think,’ he said softly, a meaningful smile curving his lips, ‘that I’m going to enjoy being married to you, Elena Valero.’

  Chapter Four

  VIDAL knew that bedding Elena before their marriage was out of bounds—no matter how much he wanted her, and that was one hell of a lot. His body was tortured with need and ached so much that he felt he would go out of his mind.

  After that kiss—the all-important, ground-breaking, manic kiss in the back of his car, when he had felt a whole host of raw emotions, when she had returned it with a fiery hunger of her own—Elena had frozen on him, making it very clear that she did not want a repeat performance.

  Whether she had scared herself by her instant reaction he did not know, but he certainly had no intention of keeping her at arm’s length after their wedding. Dios! He wasn’t made of ice. How could a man keep his hands off such a woman who besides torturing him with her sizzling, supple body could kiss so hotly and willingly?

  It had been the most surprising, the most amazing kiss. One he had never expected, but which had given so much of herself away. Elena was certainly a hotblooded woman with the potential to carry them both into a world where nothing mattered except erotic sensations and mind-blowing sex. He had the feeling that with Elena he would experience something new every day, something incredible and exciting, and his tortured mind was already spinning away to a planet of its own.

  They had spent the evening talking about their wedding and he had spent the night dreaming about her deliciously tempting body next to his, making electrical, uncontrolled, unstoppable love, and he consoled himself with the fact that he would have a whole year of this undeniably stimulating pleasure before he finally got her out of his system.

  Which he had no doubt he would. He fancied her like hell, but marriage—long term? It would never work. From what little he had gleaned from her sister she had moved to America to have a good time. She’d felt no commitment to family. Which in his eyes meant that she wouldn’t make a good wife or mother. Which was just as well because he wasn’t ready to settle down yet.

  A lover, yes, an instantly excitable lover, but no more. And he had twelve months of spectacular lovemaking to look forward to. Elena in his bed every night, himself inside her. She had the potential to be like no other lover he’d ever had. Everything in him cried out for fulfilment.

  And one way or another he intended on taking it.

  Elena was not happy when the next day Vidal insisted that they go shopping for their wedding rings. Dinner had been an uncomfortable affair. She ought never to have allowed Vidal’s kiss to affect her, she shouldn’t even have let him kiss her, and she still couldn’t understand why she had reacted as she did. And she was even more alarmed when he took her to Seville’s most exclusive jeweller and they were ushered into a private back room.

  The owner, a friend of Vidal’s, brought out exquisite diamond after exquisite diamond, each one more beautiful than the last. But Elena didn’t want to choose. It didn’t feel right. Why should he spend so much money when their marriage was a sham?

  But as usual Vidal got his own way. He personally placed each ring on her finger, doing so with such tenderness that Elena wanted to scream. Was he aware of the torture he was putting her through? Did he know that his touch, the same as his kisses, sent a dangerous, convoluted agony through her? He was deliberately behaving like the most attentive lover of all time.

  In the end she walked out of the shop wearing the biggest solitaire diamond she had ever seen. Their wedding rings, also chosen, were being kept in the shop’s vault until their wedding day.

 
‘It was wrong of you to inflict this ring on me,’ she scolded in the car on their way home, twisting it round and round on her finger. It felt heavy and alien and she was so afraid that she might lose it.

  ‘You don’t like it? We can always—’

  ‘It’s not a case of liking it,’ she protested angrily. ‘It makes far too much of a statement.’

  ‘You think I’m not proud to be marrying you?’

  ‘Of course you’re not,’ she snapped. ‘Pride doesn’t enter into it. Let’s face it, neither of us want this wedding. We’re saving the bank, that’s all.’

  ‘And you think your parents’ bank isn’t worth a diamond ring?’

  ‘It’s not just any diamond,’ she retorted. ‘It was the most expensive in the shop. It doesn’t impress me, though I suppose you think it will impress other people. Tell them how much you love me. If only they knew.’ She was glad of the glass window between them and his driver because she would have hated him to hear this conversation.

  ‘You’re not playing the game, Elena.’ Vidal’s voice was quiet but deadly.

  ‘That’s because I’m not into playing games,’ she declared with a flash of her beautiful eyes.

  ‘Mmm,’ he growled. ‘Perhaps you’ve never played the right sort. Perhaps you have a lot to learn.’

  He looked as though he wanted to kiss her!

  She certainly had a lot to learn about defending herself where Vidal was concerned. He was dangerous. He infiltrated her senses, he turned everything on inside her, he made her wish that she were anywhere but in his presence because there was no chance of ignoring him.

  ‘I think we should hire a wedding planner to organise the wedding,’ he said with a complete and surprising change of subject. ‘I don’t want to take any risks. I want everything to be perfect.’

  Elena shook her head dismissively. ‘Don’t waste your money. I’ll do it. It will give me something to do, otherwise goodness knows how I’ll occupy my time.’

  ‘It’s going to be a big wedding.’ Vidal’s eyes were sceptical as he looked at Elena. ‘I doubt you’d be up to it.’

  ‘Not up to it?’ she snapped, her eyes flashing hotly, hating his very low opinion of her. ‘It’s what I do for a living.’ If he’d taken an interest instead of using her as a free ride towards his dream of acquiring their bank then he would have known.

  ‘You’re a wedding planner?’ he enquired, a frown now dragging his brows together, looking at her closely as if seeing her for the first time.

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘You work for a wedding-planning company?’ Stupid question, of course she must, hadn’t she just told him? Heavens, why had he never bothered to ask what she’d been doing in America? Why had he made a fool of himself by only just finding out? What was wrong with him?

  He guessed it was because their marriage was a means to an end. There was no love or romance involved. It was a business proposition. A twelve-month contract. In normal, everyday business dealings he didn’t know all the personal details of everyone he dealt with. Wasn’t it the same thing?

  Somewhere inside him he began to feel uncomfortable. And he didn’t like it, not one little bit.

  Elena tilted her chin, her eyes steady on his. ‘I own the company.’

  And now he felt worse. If she had said that she was a man dressed as a woman she couldn’t have shocked him more. His mind reeled. ‘And you’ve left your business in order to help out your parents?’

  ‘That’s about the sum of it,’ she answered coolly. ‘But of course none of that bothered you, did it?’

  He chose to ignore her question. ‘I take it that you don’t have a very big order book?’ If she could afford to take a year off it didn’t say very much for her company.

  ‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’ she snapped. ‘That I’m not doing very well? On the contrary.’ Her eyes flashed defensively. ‘I’m doing very well for myself, thank you.’

  ‘I see.’

  That was all he said. She must have stunned him by her admission. For the first time since agreeing to marry him Elena felt good inside. ‘And fortuitously I happen to have a very capable assistant who is looking after things for me while I’m—away. Things might have been very different if I didn’t have Kate to depend on. I know you think that all I am interested in is a good time, but on the contrary, Vidal, I work very hard. And I’m not happy about having to walk away from it for twelve whole months.’

  ‘So tell me about LA,’ he said, his silver eyes level on hers. ‘It’s not somewhere I’ve ever visited.’

  ‘Then you should,’ she retorted. ‘It’s a vibrant, cosmopolitan city and actually Spanish is well spoken there. You can shop till you drop, there’s a fabulous nightlife, and the people are extremely friendly. My clientele includes film stars and business people such as yourself.’

  ‘So you shop on Rodeo Drive, is that it? You mix with the rich and famous. I’m impressed.’

  The words were easily spoken, but he didn’t look impressed. In fact, he looked anything but and Elena wished that she were anywhere but here in this car with him having this conversation.

  ‘I never realised that you were such a high flier. No one told me, not even your sister.’

  ‘That’s because you’ve shown not the least bit of interest in what I do—what I did,’ she corrected quickly. ‘I don’t even believe that you feel sorry for my parents, I still think your main aim is to get your hands on their bank.’

  In the long silence that followed Vidal shot her a look that almost sliced the floor from beneath her feet. ‘If that’s your opinion then let’s forget the whole deal. I can assure you, Elena, that I’m not doing this for any selfish reasons. We don’t have to go through with it. The choice is yours. Feel free to let your parents down if that’s what you want to do.’

  The air in the car had thickened and Elena wished that she had held her tongue. It wouldn’t be herself or Vidal who suffered if she backed out now; it would be her parents. Especially her mother. Could she do this to them? Of course not. But it took every ounce of pride to admit that she was in the wrong.

  ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Of course we must go through with it.’

  Vidal nodded, his eyes studying hers for several long seconds until finally his shoulders relaxed. ‘I am not a greedy person, Elena, despite what you might think. I am a businessman and the merger makes sound business sense. And now that I’ve discovered you have a good business brain on that pretty head of yours, I have a suggestion to make.’

  Elena widened her eyes suspiciously. Any suggestions from Vidal could only spell more trouble.

  ‘How do you feel about coming to work for me after the wedding? Purely for the duration of our marriage, of course. You’ll naturally want to get back to your own business as soon as the twelve months is up, but it will give you something to do in the meantime. I’m impressed with your organisational skills. I could do with someone like you. And you’ll be keeping an eye on your own business, of course?’

  ‘If I’m given the time,’ she retorted, her eyes meeting his head-on. How she managed not to look away she had no idea, but somehow she did it. She was well aware that she had given Vidal a shock and his offer of a job was as a result of it. Up till then he hadn’t had a very good opinion of her.

  Vidal’s eyes narrowed dangerously. ‘How about my offer?’

  ‘I’ll let you know.’ He had shocked her by suggesting she work with him, but there were too many other things on her mind at this moment to give it any real thought. It could be a good thing, as he said it would give her something to do; on the other hand it could be sheer hell. It would mean she would never escape him.

  During the next few days and weeks Vidal couldn’t help but be impressed with the amount of work Elena put in. No one would have guessed that their marriage wasn’t for real. She really was pulling out all the stops.

  ‘You’re doing an amazing job,’ he told her one evening when he had again taken her o
ut to dinner. ‘Anyone would think this was a real marriage with the attention you’re paying to detail. No one will ever guess that it’s all make-believe, that this isn’t your lifelong dream. Thank you, Elena.’

  Elena didn’t need thanks. In fact, she was hardly listening. It was bizarre to think that she had been planning her own wedding—to a man she did not love and to whom she had no intention of staying married!

  And it had been even harder fending off the paparazzi. How they knew about the wedding she didn’t know, but they were followed wherever they went, their photographs appeared in all the newspapers, the story of Vidal turning from one sister to another was discussed and explored and laid bare for everyone to read.

  It was hell.

  Vidal’s younger brother, Fernan, who knew about the deal and had arrived for the wedding, thought the whole thing was farcical. ‘I think my brother needs his head examined,’ he said to Elena. ‘If I were marrying you I’d want it to be for ever.’

  ‘He’s a gentleman and he’s helping my family.’ Elena lifted her chin and fastened cold eyes on his face. Fernan was equally as good-looking as Vidal, equally tall, and looked after the overseas interests of the bank. He had been a good companion to her when they were younger, but there had been no contact between them over the years.

  ‘And no doubt helping himself to an affair with you in the bargain?’ came the cynical reply. ‘I don’t blame Reina for running out on him—it’s a huge commitment. Be careful, Elena. Do not fall in love with him or you’ll have your heart broken.’

  ‘You need have no fear,’ she tossed back, her eyes flashing. ‘I’m giving him twelve months of my life and not a minute more. It’s the least I can do under the circumstances.’

  ‘Okay. But remember that if you should ever need a shoulder to cry on, I’m here.’