by Annie West
Luisa’s eyes snapped open and she found herself staring into Raul’s face. He looked as perplexed as she felt. A lock of dark hair tumbled over his brow, making him seem younger, more approachable. Her hand itched to brush it from his forehead but, despite what they’d just shared, the act seemed too intimate.
He moved, easing his weight onto his elbow, and she flushed, realising they were still joined intimately. She looked away but he turned her head towards him.
‘You didn’t tell me.’
‘Tell you what?’ The lovely lax feeling of contentment vanished and her muscles tensed.
‘That you hadn’t done this before.’ His beautiful mouth twisted.
Had it been that obvious? While the passion lasted it hadn’t mattered to Luisa. All that counted was her need and the fact that Raul reciprocated with equal urgency. Had he been disappointed? Her stomach dived.
‘Does it matter?’ She kept her gaze fixed on his mouth rather than his knowing eyes.
His lips thinned. ‘Of course it mattered. I would have made sure it was better for you.’
Her gaze flew up, colliding with an intense green stare. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask how it could possibly be better, but she managed to stop herself.
At the memory of what they’d done Luisa breathed deep, internal muscles clenching. To her shock she felt an answering throb inside as Raul stirred. His mouth tipped into a smile that was rueful and devastatingly glorious and Luisa’s heartbeat picked up speed.
‘I could do that now,’ he offered. To her amazement, Luisa felt her body hum with answering desire. So soon!
It frightened her how easily he’d made her need him. How readily she responded. Despite his occasional devastating tenderness, to him she was a convenience.
If she tried she’d convince herself what they’d just done meant as little to her as it must to him.
She just had to try harder.
‘I need to get up. This dress will be a mess.’
Abruptly he withdrew, his smile fading. Luisa bit her tongue rather than cry out for him not to move. Without his weight pressing on her she felt lost.
How could she miss his touch so soon?
Shakily she drew her crumpled skirts down over her nakedness while he stood and adjusted his trousers. She had to remember he was used to dealing with desire. With sex. For him it was nothing special.
‘Here, let me.’ He took her arm and drew her up to a sitting position.
Avoiding his eyes, Luisa looked down at her creased and rumpled silk. Her throat clogged. ‘It’s ruined.’
‘Nonsense. It just needs a little attention. Don’t worry, the palace has expert launderers.’
Shakily Luisa stroked the fabric, noticing a tear in the fine lace, feeling dampness at her bodice where Raul had suckled. What had seemed magnificent just minutes ago now seemed anything but. ‘They’ll know what we’ve done.’
‘No one expects us to be celibate.’ Once more he tilted her chin up. ‘You shouldn’t be ashamed of what we did.’ He paused and she sensed he hesitated. ‘Are you?’
Something passed between them, a surge of heat, a sense memory of passion. Luisa felt fire flicker in her belly. So, it wasn’t over after all. It was still there, this … craving for his touch.
That was when she faced the truth. ‘No, I’m not ashamed.’ She wanted her husband still, again.
She shouldn’t crave intimacy with the man who’d treated her so. Yet the feelings he unleashed subverted her pride.
‘Good. Because I intend for it to happen often.’ His hand slipped up to caress her cheek and she caught her breath at the gleaming promise in his look. ‘Turn around and I’ll help you out of that dress. You’ll feel better after a bath.’
Luisa twisted sideways, telling herself she wasn’t disappointed at his prosaic request.
It was only natural she’d enjoy sex with her virile, handsome husband. They were young and healthy. These … urges were to be expected. Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that nothing was quite that simple.
Luisa didn’t understand her feelings. One minute he outraged her. The next he intrigued. He wasn’t the sort of man she told herself she wanted, yet there were times when she liked him too much.
Perhaps she’d fallen for his expert seduction? He was vastly experienced and she a complete novice. Yet there’d been precious little seduction. He’d seemed as out of control as she. Luisa recalled the dazed look in his eyes and how he’d gasped an apology because he hadn’t been able to hold back. As if she’d wanted him to!
Her lips curved and her thighs squeezed as satisfaction curled within her.
‘Hold still while I get this veil.’ The feel of his hands fumbling in her hair sent rivulets of heat through her. Finally he drew the veil aside and tossed it onto a plush chair, a stream of heirloom lace. A reminder, if she needed one, that they came from separate worlds. She couldn’t imagine treating such a work of art so cavalierly.
Then she remembered how she’d thrown herself at him, heedless of the beautiful things she wore.
He brought out a side to her she didn’t know.
The touch of Raul’s fingers at her nape made her breath catch as the mattress dipped behind her.
‘This will take a while.’ The couturier had insisted on a myriad of buttons, each with its own tiny loop.
Raul sat close, his breath feathering her bare skin. She straightened, nipples tingling. In the silence she heard her breathing grow shallow.
‘I wondered …’
‘Yes?’ She’d never heard Raul hesitant.
‘Why were you so set against coming here? It wasn’t just the prospect of marriage. From the first you were negative, instantly opposed to inheriting.’
‘It bothers you that I didn’t swoon at your feet?’ Yet from the first Raul had got under her skin as no other.
‘If I ever expected that, I know better now. Besides, I prefer you as you are.’ Instead of annoyance, she thought she heard admiration in his voice.
Did her senses conspire to fool her?
His fingers brushed her back and her flesh drew tight. A coiling pulse began low in her belly. He devastated her defences. Luisa drew a sharp breath, seeking control.
‘Won’t you tell me?’ His voice was a dark velvet caress.
She shut her eyes. What would it hurt?
‘When I was sixteen my mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I looked after her.’
‘I’m sorry. That must have been hard.’
She nodded, her throat tight. ‘At least I was with her. But the point is, just before that some strangers came to the farm, wanting to talk to me. They were sent by my grandfather.’ Even now she had to force that word out. The man didn’t deserve the title.
‘Not to see your mother?’
‘No.’ A sour taste flooded her mouth. ‘His offer was for me alone. He invited me to live with him and learn to be a real princess.’ She paused, clasping unsteady hands as she recalled the grandiose promises and the demands.
‘At first I was excited. I was thrilled to see him, to be in his home. It was like a fairy tale. Even though he kept me busy at the palace, training me, he said, for when I’d be ready to take my proper place with him.’
‘You actually came here? I didn’t know.’
She nodded. ‘No one did. Obviously I wasn’t up to his high standards. But I was here long enough to get his measure and that of the people he mixed with. That put me off ever returning.’ She laughed hollowly. ‘I was naïve. It took a while to realise I was just a puppet to manipulate. No choices. No career. No control over my own destiny.’
The skimming touch of Raul’s fingers was gentle, almost a caress. She knew a ridiculous desire to sink back against him.
‘When news came of my mother’s illness I saw him for what he really was. He insisted I sever all links with my parents. He hated that my mother had walked out on the life he’d planned for her—a duty wife to some crony. He never forgave her. When I begged
for help to get her better care, he was furious. According to him, she’d ceased to exist the moment she’d left her home.’
Luisa shuddered as she recalled the old man’s vitriol. His cruelty.
‘By marrying a commoner she’d diluted her aristocratic bloodlines. It was only his extreme generosity that enabled him to overlook my tainted birth and offer to take me in.’
A stream of low-voiced Maritzian cut the air. No mistaking its furious, violent edge.
‘I knew he was old-fashioned.’ Raul’s voice was a lethal whisper. ‘But that’s just vicious.’
Luisa felt tears prickle, hearing his outrage and sympathy. It wrapped round her like a warm blanket.
She’d never told her parents. Couldn’t bear to repeat it, though she suspected her mum had guessed some of it.
Relief filled her at finally spilling the awful truth.
‘So you went back to the farm.’
‘Mum needed me. And so did Dad. When she died it almost broke him.’
‘Which is when you started taking responsibility for the co-op. I’m sorry, Luisa.’
She stiffened. ‘There’s nothing to be sorry for. I wanted to be with them.’
‘I meant I’m sorry your first contact with Maritz was so poisonous. No wonder you hated the idea of the place.’
Her laugh was bitter. ‘You can say that again. I thought the place full of the worst sort of people.’
‘Not just your grandfather?’
She hesitated, aware she’d again strayed into territory she’d never shared.
‘Luisa?’ He paused. ‘Do you want to tell me?’ It was the concern in his tone that did it. The gentleness.
‘There was a guy a little older than me at my grandfather’s palace.’ She sucked in a breath. ‘No one knew I was the prince’s granddaughter but when we met in the gardens it didn’t seem to matter who I was. We talked and talked.’ She cut herself off. How gullible she’d been!
‘We met daily. And I … fell for him.’ He’d kissed her and she’d believed herself in love. ‘He wanted to elope but I refused.’ She’d wanted her parents at her wedding.
‘That upset him. He tried …’ Foul memories surged, chilling her to the marrow and she was grateful for Raul’s warmth. ‘He tried to force me but I fought him. He left with a black eye, but not before he’d explained the reason he’d bothered with me was because of who I was. He’d found out and decided to use that to his advantage. He was ambitious, you see. Marrying a princess would be a coup.’
‘Luisa—’ Raul’s deep voice was gruff ‘—I’m sorry.’
‘It’s not your fault.’
‘But it’s my country, my people.’ No mistaking his regret and indignation.
A touch feathered between her shoulder blades as if he’d pressed his lips there. She was so tempted to ask him to love her again till the disturbing memories receded and all she knew was ecstasy.
Raul made her needy. He made her want things she shouldn’t.
On wobbly legs she stood, clasping the loose dress close. She needed to take control. She’d already revealed enough. Despite the relief of sharing, she felt raw.
‘I can manage now, if you point me to the bathroom.’
‘Let me help.’ From behind he tugged the dress.
Resisting would tear the fabric so she cooperated, only to find her bra had somehow got caught up with the gown. Hurriedly she crossed her arms over bare breasts.
‘That’s enough. I—’
He dragged the cloth down till it pooled at her feet.
Too late she remembered her panties lay in shreds somewhere. She clamped a hand between her legs, feeling moisture there, a reminder of the sex they’d shared. There wasn’t even a robe or a towel to cover her nakedness.
He circled before her, tall in his exquisite finery while she wore nothing but stay-up stockings. She felt vulnerable, especially before his magnificent height.
‘You’re stunning.’ The thickening timbre of his voice splintered her thoughts. ‘Let me look at you.’
The avid glitter in his eyes, the way his nostrils flared as if to drag in oxygen, spoke of a man at the edge of control. She felt his hands tremble as he took hers. He swallowed jerkily and tendons stood out in his neck.
She’d never been naked before a man. Embarrassed heat flushed her skin. But with it came a buzz of excitement, a rising sense of power.
For Raul looked … enthralled.
Again he swallowed and she saw the rapid pulse in his throat. It mirrored her heartbeat.
He looked like a starving man before a feast, not sure where to begin. She felt again that stirring of power.
With a visible effort he dragged his gaze up. His eyes had a strange unfocused look. Slowly he shook his head. He released her and stepped back.
‘You were a virgin. You’ll be sore. I shouldn’t …’
She didn’t feel sore. Not much. She felt wonderful. Because he wanted her as she wanted him? Or because he cared enough to hold back? To put her needs first.
She hugged the knowledge close. It was a small thing but it felt significant.
When he gently scooped her in his arms Luisa curled into him. She delighted in the steady thump of his heart as he carried her to the bathroom.
Minutes later she sank back with a sigh in warm scented water. It was bliss on the gentle ache of muscles.
Under lowered lashes she watched Raul strip off his jacket, roll up the sleeves of his collarless shirt and reach for a large sponge. Anticipation zinged through her.
His swirling touch with the sponge was impossibly erotic.
She gripped the massive tub rather than reach up to brush back the dark lock tumbling over his forehead. He tended her so gently. As if she were precious.
Sweat sheened his face. It trickled down his throat and she wanted to slide her hand along his skin. But his taut frown and grim mouth deterred her.
Until she noticed the bulge in his trousers. No wonder he looked in pain. No wonder his big capable hands shook so badly he’d dropped the soap more than once.
The knowledge set every nerve ablaze.
‘I’m getting out.’ Luisa struggled to rise.
‘Wait!’ Heedless of the water, Raul hauled her out with an ease that reminded her of the power hidden under his clothes. She sank into him, spreading her hands over his saturated shirt and muscled chest.
‘You need rest.’ His jaw set hard as if with strain.
‘That’s not what I need.’ She tilted her chin and met his gaze. ‘I need you.’
There, she’d said it and the world hadn’t collapsed around her! In fact it felt good.
‘Now.’ Her fingers curled tight in his sodden shirt. She raised herself on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.
In a flurry of urgent movement he lifted her, strode out and laid her on the bed. Seconds later he’d ripped his shirt open and shrugged it off. Luisa’s pulse rocketed as she took in his sculpted torso with its smattering of dark hair. His hands went to his trousers as he heeled off his shoes. A moment later he stood naked and imposing.
She forgot to breathe as she surveyed his perfect form, felt the power radiating from him. Then thought ended as he joined her. He was like a furnace, burning hot.
He touched her all over, palms smooth, fingers teasing. He skimmed and stroked and even tickled till she squirmed and tried to reciprocate. But he held her, his thigh clamped her still, his hands capturing her wrists.
The torture began as he used his lips, tongue and teeth on her body. Minutes turned into an aeon of pleasure.
It was as if he tried to compensate for the speed of their earlier coupling. Delight piled upon delight till Luisa was strung out, quivering with need and pleasure. It was too much, too intense.
‘Please, Raul,’ she gasped. ‘Don’t tease.’
He looked up under hooded lids and her breath snagged as he tugged with his mouth at her breast. He held her gaze as his tongue circled her nipple then lapped hard, drawing hot wires of desi
re through her taut body. She groaned and instantly his hand slid down, stroking at her most sensitive point.
That was all it took.
She cried out as waves of ecstasy crested and crashed within her. Still he held her gaze, even as the world swirled around her and she bucked helplessly beneath his touch. It was wonderful; it left her speechless.
But it wasn’t Raul.
Luisa clutched at his shoulders and finally, as she sagged spent against the mattress, he settled between her thighs. The feel of his hot flesh there sent a spark of energy through her lax bones and a searing sense of familiarity. Of rightness.
This time he slid home easily. She rejoiced in each magnificent centimetre, excitement stirring anew as he propped his weight above her. His solid chest brushed her sensitive nipples. Friction built to combustible levels with each measured thrust.
But it was his eyes that transfixed her. The connection between them was different this time. She read arousal and restraint in his gaze. And more. Something unguarded and raw. Something honest.
Raul moved faster and Luisa tilted her hips to meet him. Pleasure coiled tighter, lashing them together. It reached breaking point and still their eyes locked.
The climax came. Earth-shattering, mind-blowing ecstasy that went on and on. Through it all their gazes held in silent communication.
It felt like they shared as equals.
CHAPTER NINE
REALITY hit when Luisa woke.
Last night she’d almost believed they shared more than their bodies. But waking alone in Raul’s bed reminded her where his priorities lay. Their marriage was about his desire for power. Sex was a bonus they shared.
Her chest tightened as she forced herself to think of it as sex. It had felt like making love.
Yet he’d left it to a maid to wake his bride, discreetly pretending not to notice the rumpled bed or that Luisa was naked beneath the fine linen.
Fire scorched Luisa’s skin as the girl swept up the rumpled wedding gown, folding the metres of fine hand-worked veil with the reverence it deserved.
Memories seared, of Raul flinging the veil away. Of her standing with the dress at her feet as he held her arms wide and feasted on the sight of her. Of their blazing passion, utterly heedless of her exquisite finery.