Except for her reaction when he kissed her.
He turned back to the woman, gritting his teeth as his eyes took in her round bottom, the denim pulled tight across the delectable roundness as she bent down to pick up something from the floor.
“Can you really afford to keep that horse?” he asked, his tone silky smooth and he knew by her body’s reaction that he’d hit the issue right on the head.
Natalie’s simmering temper boiled over, swinging around, she glared up at him. “Don’t you dare talk to me about money! Not after…!” she stopped, remembering the humiliating threat his father had issued on the day she’d left. On the day his father had forced her away.
Pulling back quickly, she pressed her lips together. “Just go away, Javier. We have nothing else to discuss.” She unlatched the gate to the coral and patted Charlie’s flank, encouraging him to go have fun with his friends. He was king of the herd, ruling the two ladies with a firm lead. But her ladies loved Charlie. He was a very beneficent king. She often laughed at how her two mares would tease and taunt Charlie, only to nuzzle him back into a good mood. Horses were beautiful animals, kind and gentle, and far more loving than most people realized.
Natalie’s cell phone rang and she pulled it from her back pocket, her heart starting to pound when she realized it was Alejandro’s school calling. “Yes?” she quickly answered.
“Good morning, Ms. Shaw. I’m sorry to bother you but Alejandro has come down with the tummy bug that is going through the school.”
“Is he okay? How long has he been sick?” Natalie asked, already hurrying up the yard towards the house.
“It isn’t anything to worry about,” the school principal soothed. “From what we’ve seen, this bug is bad for only about twelve hours or so, and it passes quickly.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she said, sprinting as fast as she could over the grass and up the hill. “Tell him I’ll be there!”
Suddenly, she stopped and looked back at the man who had torn her world apart four years ago. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes still hidden by the shadows caused by the morning sunshine, so she couldn’t see what he was thinking.
Natalie glared at Javier for a brief moment, but her mind was frozen in a panic. Her son was sick and, no matter how many times this happened, she still hated to see her little boy in pain. “Go away, Javier. Don’t be here when I get back. Don’t ever come back.”
Toby and Tanya, her tabby cats, strolled out of the barn and looked around, trying to determine why yelling had ruined their naps. With a flick of their tales, they both moved off towards the forest, determined to catch some birds today, still unaware of the bells around their necks that warned the birds. The felines kept the mouse population under control, but Natalie didn’t want any birds to suffer at the hands of her kitties.
Javier watched as the lovely lady hurry up to her house. She never glanced back at him and he hated that. He wanted to walk up to her and toss her over his shoulder, carry her into that pathetic excuse for a house and tumble her into her bed so that he could make love to her until she was once again screaming his name. Then he would demand answers.
Four years ago, she’d left him when his father refused to give in to her demands for more money. Apparently, she’d demanded more and more. Unbeknownst to Javier, his father had been giving her the money, wanting to make her happy because Natalie made Javier happy. Until he’d told her no more. In a fit of rage, she’d left, telling Javier’s father that she’d come back only if he started paying her a monthly allowance.
Initially, Javier hadn’t believed his father. Natalie had never asked for money, had even refused to allow him to buy her things. He’d wanted to shower her with gifts, take her on shopping sprees. But after only a few trinkets, she’d told him no more.
He’d thought his father’s explanation for her abrupt departure odd at the time, not believing his father. Natalie hated shopping. It had only been when he’d tricked her into entering a store would she allow him to buy her clothes or jewelry. Finally, his father had shown him the cashed checks. Only when he’d seen her dainty signature on each of the checks his father had written to her, had he accepted the truth. And even then, he’d thought it strange that he’d never seen any evidence of where she’d spent the money.
Looking around, he guessed that she’d gone through all of the money, but he still didn’t know where. Perhaps to buy Charlie. That would make sense, he thought as he leaned against the fence, watching the stallion run with the mares across the field.
But if she’d wanted a horse four years ago, all she’d had to do was ask him for it. Not to mention, he had a full stable of prime horseflesh at Castle Astrana. He knew that Natalie had ridden every single day, sometimes being out for hours and had seemed to truly enjoy the horses in his stable. She’d never asked him for anything other than his time.
Looking around, seeing how sparsely she lived now with the horses seeming to be her only luxury, he wondered if he’d misunderstood his father all those years ago.
There was a mystery here.
And unfortunately, he acknowledged that he still wanted Natalie. Even after she’d run from him, just one taste and she was back in his head.
Oh, he knew that he couldn’t bring her home as his wife. No, his father would never accept Natalie as Javier’s Marquesa after she’d demanded money, reducing their relationship down to a business transaction. Not that Javier would be controlled by his father’s wishes. If Javier wanted to marry a woman, he would find a suitable bride and be done with it. He’d never allowed his father to control him and he never would, which had caused many arguments between them over the years. But he respected his father and knew that Natalie had wounded the older man.
No, he couldn’t disrespect his father by bringing Natalie home as his wife, nor would he foist a mercenary woman like her onto his friends and acquaintances.
But there were other ways, other arrangements that might be more satisfying to both of them. Looking around, he considered all of the possibilities. She had nothing here other than her horses and a job that obviously didn’t pay her enough to keep her in the style to which she’d aspired before.
Perhaps he could entice her back to Spain. Not to live in the castle as she’d done before. No way. She’d abused that privilege four years ago with her demands for money. He’d never offer it again.
But an apartment…perhaps, his penthouse in Barcelona. Yes, he did a great deal of business there. And Natalie could travel with him. She’d like that, he thought. She’d wanted to travel with him before, but he’d told her that he was too busy to take her with him. As his wife, he’d wanted more for her than sporadic nights.
As his mistress…yes, as his mistress, he would require her presence while he traveled. And her passion. After the kiss they’d shared earlier, he didn’t doubt that her passion would be forthcoming. Apparently, that was the only aspect of their previous relationship that had been real.
Yes, Natalie as his mistress sounded like a very good idea.
Glancing at his watch, he knew that he needed to get to his next meeting. Decision made, he walked up the hill towards his waiting driver. Slipping into the back of the limousine, he pulled out his cell phone and made some calls, setting up what he suspected would be enough to entice his mercenary woman.
And yes, Natalie was still his woman. After that kiss in her barn, he knew that there was still something between them. The attraction was still there, still just as, if not more, powerful than it had been four years ago.
Preferring to face reality rather than hide from it, he knew that he’d never really gotten over Natalie’s betrayal. Nothing had ever made any sense. Maybe now he could figure out what had happened.
He told himself that he didn’t care how many men she’d had since she’d walked away from him. As his wife, he would have cared. He would have demanded fidelity. As his mistress, he would demand fidelity until this attraction between them burned
out. He would definitely require exclusivity.
Before, he’d been prepared to marry Natalie, to treat her like a queen. He’d been her only lover and he was honest enough to admit that her innocence had pleased him. As his mistress, he told himself he didn’t give a damn how many other lovers she’d had in the past as long as she was faithful to him for as long as their business arrangement lasted.
Chapter 2
Ten hours later, Natalie was exhausted. Alejandro was only three years old, but he was a big boy! And heavy! He was already showing signs that he would grow to be about the same size as his father. Javier was about six feet, four inches, and towered over her five feet, five inches. Alejandro was already a head taller than all the other kids in his pre-school…and built like a brick! Not only the height of his father was becoming known, but the little guy had muscles. He could run faster, climb higher, hit the ball harder, and do everything better than the other kids.
On top of that, the reason she had decided to sell Charlie, Alejandro was too smart for the local preschool she’d enrolled him in. They were doing as much as they could, but the principal had sat Natalie down and explained that Javier was special. He would need a special school that would challenge a child as intelligent as Alejandro. He was already reading chapter books, his agile mind working on math problems years ahead of his peers.
Unfortunately, he might be taller, stronger, and faster than the other kids, but her son was just as susceptible to a virus as any other human being. Her poor little man had been throwing up all afternoon. She’d picked him up from the school as quickly as she could, but even on the short drive home, she’d had to stop twice as the nausea overwhelmed his little body.
Now, sitting with him curled up in her arms, finally asleep, she rocked gently back and forth, thinking about his father who had stormed back into her life today.
Oh, if only Javier had been the man she’d thought him to be. So many years ago, she’d put him on a pedestal. He’d been larger than life, bursting into her world and making her see the world through rose-colored glasses. She’d been so in love with Javier, almost from the first moment she’d seen him. He’d been tall, handsome, and so shockingly male. That summer before her last semester of graduate school, she’d been pathetically naïve, madly in love with him, and she hadn’t seen the real man behind the beauty of what she’d thought they shared together.
She’d met him in a museum while touring through Barcelona, soaking up the beautiful language and Spanish culture. Ever since she’d been a child, she’d been fascinated by Spanish history and the language, thinking it was the most beautiful culture. The glorious art, the creativity of the Spanish people, the beauty of their melodic language had always enticed her. She’d majored in Spanish at university, intent on teaching the language to others, sharing the beauty of the culture and language with kids. That summer, meeting Javier, had been the most amazing experience of her life.
Looking down at the dark hair and handsome features of her son, the son she’d conceived that summer, she knew that, despite the pain of Javier’s rejection and the terror of coming back home pregnant and unemployed, still with one more year of school left to finish before she could find a decent job, she knew that she’d never change anything.
She didn’t have much. Looking around, she knew that Javier would look down his aristocratic nose at her furniture, some bought at the various discount stores and some even dragged home from curbside rejects, bound for the trash heap. But she thought of her home as cozy, warm and inviting. There were only two small bedrooms, one bathroom plus a family room and a kitchen. But it was their home. Alejandro would never know the pain of his father’s rejection. She’d shower him with enough love so that he would never need to know about his heartless father.
Oh, Natalie knew that eventually her little guy would ask questions about his father. And yes, Natalie knew that she wouldn’t hide the truth. Alejandro was the rightful heir to the aristocratic title of Marques d’Astrana, and ultimately, Duque d’Astrana. But that was a bridge to cross at another time. Right now, her son was worn out from the stomach bug that had ravaged the preschool.
Standing up, she stifled a groan as her son’s weight bore down on her. But she managed, carrying him to his small room and putting him down in his toddler bed. He was already wearing pajamas, having put them on earlier, once the nausea had slowed down. He’d gone through several shirts already, the vomiting had been intense. After changing his clothes three times, she’d kept him in just his underwear, wrapping a cotton blanket around him. It was easier to get the blanket out of the way when another bout of nausea hit him.
Tomorrow, she’d give him a warm bath and start him on some toast, and try and get more water into his dehydrated body. But right now, she gently pulled the covers up over his adorable body, tucking the edges in to keep him warm. She knew that she’d barely sleep tonight, worrying about him. But thankfully, as a teacher, her boss was incredibly understanding and knew what schools would require in an effort to keep the stomach bug away from the other students. A substitute teacher had been brought in today for Natalie’s scheduled absence, but that sub would also work tomorrow to cover for Natalie as she nursed her son back to health.
She ran her fingers through his dark curls and gazed down at her son. He was like a carbon copy of his father. Every time she’d looked into Alejandro’s adorable features, she saw Javier. The dark eyes, the almost black hair…the stubborn glances, the calculating looks. She laughed when Alejandro did it, stunned at the memories of when she’d seen that same look on his father.
Dumping all of the clothes into the washing machine, she poured in extra soap and turned the washer on with hot water, wanting to kill the germs. Washing her hands, she changed her own clothes, pulling on a soft sweatshirt and pair of comfy leggings. She thought about making herself something to eat, but the effort just seemed too much at the moment. After the day’s events, all she wanted to do was curl up in bed and fall asleep.
Unfortunately, she had papers to grade and lesson plans to work on.
She’d just finished picking up the miscellaneous toys that were scattered around when the doorbell rang. Looking at the clock, she was shocked to realize it was only seven o’clock. Early, but still, who would be coming around at this time of the night?
Probably Hayden, she thought, thinking of her friend. Or Arianna, Hayden’s amazing business manager. The woman was always working, she thought, as she went to answer the door. It might even be both of them or Kate, who ran the coffee shop in town. Kate would be the first to arrive with hot tea and anything in her shop that might be bland enough after the stomach bug. Word about any unusual occurrence spread quickly in this small area of the world, so she wouldn’t put it past the three of them to show up, offering to help.
But when she pulled the door open, it wasn’t a raven-haired woman or a brunette standing on her tiny front stoop. The tall, dangerous, devastatingly handsome man looking down at her…well, he wasn’t female!
And he wasn’t stopping. Javier didn’t wait for an invitation. He simply stepped into her house, his size and virility making her tiny family room feel like a closet.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, keeping her voice low enough she wouldn’t wake up Alejandro.
“I’ve come to make you an offer,” he announced.
Natalie’s temper flared, but she controlled it, remembering Alejandro’s exhaustion and not allowing herself to yell at this man. “I’m not interested. Charlie isn’t for sale. I’m taking him off the market.” At least until Javier was no longer interested, she told herself. Natalie ignored the start of panic as she tried to come up with a way to pay for the expensive school Alejandro needed. She’d do anything for her son, but she just couldn’t let this man back into her life. Not again. No way!
“You haven’t heard my deal,” he pointed out ominously.
“I’m not interested in any deals. I told you, Charlie is not for sale.”
He moved
closer, his tall frame blocking out the dim light coming from a side table and causing her breath to catch in her throat. “This has nothing to do with the horse and everything to do with you and me.”
She shook her head, pressing her palms against his chest, but the effort was completely ineffective, both because his arms were so strong and because feeling his muscles against her body was distracting her, causing her to lose her focus.
“There is no ‘you and me’, Javier. Let me go and get out of my house.”
A dark eyebrow lifted. “Your lips say there’s nothing between us, but I think your body is saying something else. And I think your body argued against that assertion earlier today when I kissed you.”
Natalie trembled but tried to ignore the heat that was quickly divesting her of her anger. “I don’t care what my body says, Javier. My mind is telling you to go to hell!”
He laughed softly and, curse him, his strong hand slipped underneath her sweatshirt. “Shall we test your anger? Should I find out just how strong your resistance is?” He lowered his head, his lips stopping only millimeters from her lips. “I think you are just as soft and beautiful as you were four years ago.” His dark eyes moved over her features, then he shook his head. “No, that’s not true.” He lowered his lips even more, barely touching hers and she stifled a whimper. “I think you are actually more beautiful now.”
Spanish Passions (Friends Forever Book 2) Page 2