At this moment she knew nothing else except that her heart was beating furiously, her knees threatened to fold under her at any moment as sensuous shivers rippled over her entire skin and she longed for him to take her in his arms and kiss her. Was she going mad? This was so out of character. It would be crazy to embark on an affair with this man.
He was much too close to her again, his body too barely clothed for her sanity. Then she watched with a thrill of arousal and panic as his gaze dipped to her mouth. Slowly his head began to draw nearer to hers.
Luna had wanted this so much but a warning voice managed to rise up through the hazy intoxication of the moment. Stop. Think. You can’t let this happen. She shook her consciousness back to a stunned awareness and placed both hands on his chest, feeling the solid wall of muscle beneath.
‘No, Ruy. You know this isn’t a good idea.’
His sensually shaped lips quirked as he continued to gaze at hers. ‘I’d say it was a very good idea.’
Gently she pushed her hands against him and played the best card at her disposal. ‘We’ve discussed this. We have to work together.’
For several moments Ruy contemplated her, his face inches from her own, his eyes burning with intensity. Finally, he sighed and nodded, his gaze still locked on her. ‘The moon does funny things to men, didn’t you know that?’ he said huskily, pulling back.
She swallowed hard. Oh, you’re in trouble, Luna. This man is dangerous indeed. It could all go terribly wrong. She wasn’t there to fall for anyone, let alone Ruy Rueda de Calderón.
The soft breeze ruffled her hair and a few blonde wisps fell across her eyes.
‘Don’t look so alarmed, querida, I won’t turn into a werewolf at midnight,’ he murmured as he lightly brushed back the pale strands from her face. She sucked in her breath when his fingertips came into contact with her skin and looked up into his face with only the moon to guide her gaze.
They were bathed in pearly light and shadow. Around them, the sound of the sea rumbled on, as the waves broke rhythmically on the narrow stretch of shingle with a rustle and drag in their ceaseless ebb and flow.
Ruy’s deep-set eyes were so dark they seemed almost black as they gazed at her, soft and eager. ‘Will you accompany me to a masked ball tomorrow night?’ he suddenly asked, his sensuous lips curving into a disarming smile.
Luna blinked in surprise. This was the last thing she had expected him to say. She replied with the first sentence that came into her head: ‘I’ve never been to a masked ball.’
‘My grandparents give one every year at their hacienda in Jerez. Will you come?’
Luna hesitated. A masked ball … with Ruy. What should she say to that? Stepping on to his home turf rang so many alarm bells yet, despite all the personal reservations lining up to agitate her better judgement, another part of her stirred. A powerful and unknown part of her enchanted at the exotic prospect of a masked ball with all its attendant glamour, intrigue and romance. She stared into Ruy’s eyes that had darkened to blue obsidian as they watched her expectantly in the moonlight, and knew that part of her also thrilled at the thought of being alone with him at such an event.
That’s hardly the point, a sterner voice inside her piped up, shaking her out of such frivolous emotions. Pure logic stepped in like a neglected, interfering old friend. She must remember why she was there, and that was to complete an assignment … and her assignment was Dr Rodrigo Rueda de Calderón. There was a lot riding on this job, both professionally and personally. Ever since they met she had been behaving like hunted prey. Heaven knows how she was going to do it but, from now on, it was her turn to be the hunter.
Accepting his invitation would be the perfect opportunity to get to know her quarry better. After all, she was an investigative journalist doing an exposé. Presuming they would travel together to the ball, the journey time to Jerez would allow her to quiz him about his medical background, the clinic and its treatments.
Still, the ball was tomorrow night. To her, such spontaneity was completely alien and rode roughshod over her need for order.
‘What shall I wear? How would I get hold of a costume at such short notice?’
The question was as much to herself as to Ruy.
‘Live in the moment, Luna.’ He smiled at her and, despite her previous inner pep talk, she felt the warmth of it ripple all the way down to her toes. ‘Besides, it shouldn’t be difficult. Mascaradas has everything you can possibly think of. It’s a shop in Jerez that has supplied costumes for the El Pavón annual masked ball for a century. I can take you there.’
‘Thank you, I’m sure I’ll find it. Mascaradas, in Jerez, you said?’
‘Yes, off Plaza del Arenal, the main square. It’s half an hour’s drive from Cádiz.’
‘I’ve already driven that route, coming back from the airport.’
‘Yes, of course.’ He grinned. ‘So will you come with me tomorrow?’
Luna inhaled deeply. ‘Yes,’ she answered. ‘Yes, thank you. I’d love to go to the ball with you.’
‘I’ll pick you up at nine o’clock.’
She smiled back at him, still wondering at her own intrepid spirit. ‘I’ll be waiting.’
‘I’ll walk you up to the house,’ he said. ‘La Gaviota, a very apt name,’ he remarked as they cleared the dunes and went through the gate. ‘The house really does look like a large bird. It’s a very unique design. Quite a find, I would say.’
She didn’t take in his words or make a rejoinder, as it had suddenly dawned on her that he had walked half a mile to escort her safely back to the house. Was his own home far away? He might live in one of the cottages he had mentioned, but it seemed unlikely, otherwise Luna would have seen him around the beach more. How would he get back? Of course he could always call a taxi, she supposed.
It was night, and the temperature had dropped dramatically. In that skimpy running outfit he must be cold, she told herself. As her gaze slid involuntarily downwards again, Luna was glad that her infuriating blush was largely hidden by the night.
She quickly stooped to pick up her keys from under a flowerpot beside the path. ‘How are you getting back?’ she asked. ‘It’s quite chilly tonight.’
He smiled faintly. ‘No te preocupes por mi, don’t worry about me. My car is parked just off the beach road, not far from here. I was jogging back to it when we met.’ Amusement danced in his eyes as she looked at him furtively. ‘But thank you for your concern.’
They walked up the couple of steps to the front door.
‘This is a very isolated spot. Do you live alone here?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m surprised that your novio, your boyfriend back in New York, doesn’t object,’ he ventured coolly.
Not a very subtle way of finding out whether she was single. Nice try, she thought, and smiled inwardly, busying herself with opening the front door so she would be saved from making a reply.
Luna stepped inside, switched on the light and turned off the alarm. Ruy stayed on the threshold, and her senses throbbed with the awareness of him standing just behind her. She didn’t ask him in.
‘Thank you for walking me back,’ she said as she twisted round to face him. In the bright overhead light of the room, his good looks were even more overwhelming as he leant a forearm against the doorjamb. Their eyes met, words trembling unspoken between them. She stood motionless, her senses transfixed by his hypnotizing irises that gleamed with cobalt intensity; and he knew just what he was doing to her. It was written all over that infuriating Cheshire cat smile. He was tantalizingly close, watching her silently with a caressing, heated gaze that made liquid heat flood her, spreading wildly down between her thighs. Luna felt a powerful urge to widen the gap between herself and Ruy, away from that smile, away from those tauntingly muscled arms and legs. She took two steps back. He wasn’t playing fair. How was she supposed to relax with him when he looked at her that way?
His eyes drifted briefly over her taut body, poised to flee, then b
ack to her face. ‘Buenas noches, Luna, Queen of the Night,’ he murmured. He flicked her an amused wink. ‘Hasta mañana, until tomorrow.’ Thereupon he turned on his heel, jogged down the steps and out of the gate.
Luna closed the front door and pulled back the sliding window to let in the soothing night air. She needed to sit down. Taking a deep breath, she tried to think, but confused thoughts bumped against each other in her overexcited brain. Her limbs were trembling, the sensation of quivering heat still coursing through her body. She leant her head against the back of the sofa, closed her eyes and though she knew she should not, she let her fantasy run free.
Ruy hadn’t left. She invited him in for a drink – red wine. She brought the bottle and a couple of glasses on to the terrace, where he was waiting for her, looking out to sea. The full moon was shining, turning the restless ocean to silver and the rocks at the side of the bay to velvet. He turned, and moonlight fell on his handsome face. His eyes were dark and intent, charged with pent-up feeling. All for her.
They sipped their wine, never taking their eyes off each other. He took the glass from her hand and put it down on the table. Words were irrelevant. Electric crosscurrents of emotion seemed to spin and spread between them with the intricacy of a spider’s web. Then he was kissing her with single-minded urgency – his lips, his hands, tasting, touching, exploring, purposeful and possessive in their relentless hunger. As excitement undulated through her in delicious waves, she felt dizzy with yearning, eager to be totally possessed by him, until her body and his were one …
Suddenly Luna was startled from her sensory dream by a dull thump on the sofa next to her. She smothered a scream and her hand flew to her chest as she stared into the yellow-green eyes of a large black cat, a beautiful creature with a bushy tail and a small white patch on his chest. He must have come in through the open window.
Once she had recovered from her surprise, Luna noticed he wore a collar around his neck with a silver medallion. She peered closer and read Gitano-Negro, black gypsy, with a telephone number underneath. ‘Your owners must be looking for you,’ she whispered to the creature, which was watching her now with half-closed eyes.
She lifted herself up from the sofa, still a little dazed from her erotic reverie, and staggered to the telephone. Then she glanced at her watch. It was not yet ten o’clock and, by Spanish standards, still early. Luna dialled the number and let it ring for a few seconds, but there was no answer. She looked at her uninvited guest. ‘I suppose I could put you up for the night. I’ll bring you some milk and then we’ll both turn in early. What d’you think?’ The animal scrunched up its eyes a few times, hopped off the sofa and followed her into the kitchen.
Milk was a good idea. She wasn’t hungry enough to eat anything more than a few biscuits, and needed something soothing to help her to sleep. The day had finally caught up with her and, although she was now tired, part of her mind was still whirring.
Luna heated some milk for herself and filled up a bowl for Gitano-Negro. ‘Come on, cat,’ she said, turning round, but he had deserted her. She went back to the living room, but he was not there either so she called out his name. No sign of the creature. Sighing, she looked for him upstairs and again on the ground floor.
This was the sort of aggravation she could do without. The house was compact; there weren’t many places to hide. He must have gone back to his home, she thought. His owners were probably inhabitants of one of the cottages further down the beach.
Luna closed the window and made sure the shutters were securely shut. That’s taught me a lesson. She should be careful not to fall asleep with the ground-floor windows open. What had got into her? She would never have taken that kind of risk before. This time the intruder was a cat, next time she might not be so lucky. Both Ruy and the estate agent Diego had commented on her living alone in such an isolated place. Still, she loved this house and if she only remembered to be vigilant about security, she’d be fine.
Her milk was lukewarm by now, but she was too weary to heat it up again. She carried it to her bedroom, and once upstairs turned on the alarm.
Luna ran a bath and lay in it for half an hour, delighting in the gentle strokes of hot water on her tense body, feeling the strain of the evening gradually seep away. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering back to the erotic daydream she’d had after Ruy’s departure. She had never fantasized in this way before. Every detail was still alive in her memory, the yearning and the intense ache in her loins. A heat suffused her body that had nothing to do with the bathwater, and she was aware that it would not take long for her to conjure up those forbidden delights again; they were still quivering on the edge of her imagination, alive in every erotic detail … but to what end? Even if Ruy hadn’t been off limits, he still would not be there to satisfy her hunger. Oh God, what use was there denying it? How she longed to make love with him. She made a determined effort to push away images of his tanned skin sculpted with muscle and the bulge of virility between his thighs, enhanced by the formhugging shorts stretching tight across it, where more than once her eyes had fallen quite inadvertently.
It was extraordinary how something always seemed to conspire to make the two of them meet again. She was almost tempted to believe there was such a thing as fate that played with people’s lives like pieces on a chessboard. First, the nightclub in Barcelona, quite off the beaten track, to which she had not planned to go. Then he had turned up at the conference the following day. The next thing she knew, he was claiming a seat next to her on the plane to Cádiz; and to top it all, when she arrived at her new job, he turned out to be Dr Rodrigo Rueda de Calderón, the man whom she’d been sent to Spain to investigate.
Luna put a soapy hand over her eyes and groaned. This was truly terrible. She’d had fears enough about getting mixed up with such a dangerously attractive man before she even knew who he was. How could she possibly get involved now?
Expect the unexpected – that’s what she should have warned herself when it came to Ruy. That way, perhaps she would have been less dumbstruck this evening at their chance meeting on ‘her’ stretch of beach. The probability of this happening again was low, her logical mind reasoned, rinsing herself off, stepping out of the bath and enveloping herself in a soft, fluffy towel. Yet everything about Ruy – and her reaction to him – was intriguing. Even his invitation to a masked ball added ambiguity and mystery to their encounter. She felt reckless. Within her there was a surging, oblivious excitement over which she had no control. Somehow, she was being drawn into a game, the rules of which she didn’t know, but for the first time in her life, Luna found she didn’t mind at all.
* * *
After leaving La Gaviota, Ruy had jogged briskly up the beach road to his car. He had a free evening and, although it would have been wise to get straight behind the wheel and drive away from there, he hadn’t fancied going home just then. Besides, when had he ever done the sensible thing? It had grown chilly. He’d put on the tracksuit he always kept in the boot, let out his black cat from the back seat where it often liked to doze and strolled back to the beach with the creature at his heels. He’d sat down on the sand, gazing at the glittering path of moonlight on the ruffled waters of the bay, not far from Luna’s house, though far enough for her not to see him if she came on to the terrace. He had a strange need to be close to her.
Ruy breathed in the spicy sea air and gazed into the dark sky, streaked with silvery-edged clouds. He thought he’d reached some kind of equilibrium these days, made more bearable by the easy solace of forgettable women. The past was a shadow that always followed him, but kept an obedient distance. For the first time in his life, a light had pushed through that darkness, and its delicate flame was glowing invitingly. It was so clear. He wanted it; he wanted her.
Yet Luna puzzled him.
He knew without doubt that she was aware of the irresistible attraction between them and felt threatened by it. Perhaps it was just professional prudence, as she claimed.
Maybe she had a point, as they would be working closely together. Yet, why had she persistently held him at arm’s length before she’d even found out they were to be colleagues?
Was she a private person, cautious or just shy? Perhaps all three … No, shyness was not one of her traits, he decided, remembering her challenging talk at their every encounter. Still, intuition told him there was more to this startled rabbit manner than met the eye. One minute there was a spark of warm humour in her eye or the darker promise of flickering passion beneath; the next, those same bright amber eyes were edgy, vigilant … almost fearful, it seemed. He had learned to look beyond typical characteristics when analyzing a person; human beings were ambiguous and complicated creatures, personalities multifaceted.
Luna was a bundle of contradictions – a shapely and bewitching one that had begun to haunt him.
He ran a hand through his hair. It had been foolish to try to kiss her; it was too soon. Though she had thawed towards him tonight, he sensed she was still wary. Professional partnership or not, he had to see where this unfamiliar, exciting feeling would take him. He needed to spend more time with her; get to know her better. Now that he had manoeuvred it so that her office was next to his, that would make it easier.
He evoked her delicate features: the pert nose, that lovely mouth, so sensitive and perfect it might have been carved by a sculptor, yet so curved, soft and inviting … he really had to get a grip on his urges. If she had let him kiss her, what would she have tasted like? Of simmering wildness, and sweet honey. Those almond-shaped golden eyes that had looked up into his, so warm and limpid, had stirred him more than if she had been lying naked at his feet. Luna naked … It was an image he was becoming used to picturing during restless nights. Naked beneath him while he threaded his fingers through her long silken hair, spilling over her breasts. He wanted her so badly, he ached. Ruy shuddered with frustration.
The temperature had dropped even further. It was time to go home.
He looked for Gitano-Negro. ‘Damn the cat!’ he muttered softly. What was he up to now?
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