She pulled out of his grasp and turned away to look out over the garden. A fortnight in Brazil was a tempting idea. She had taken very little in the way of holidays lately. James was probably fit enough to take over the reins again by now, and his wonderful Judith would help out. An opportunity like this would never happen again in her lifetime. Her mouth tightened. Nor could she let it happen now. It had been against every principle she possessed just to let him pay for the shoes, so a fortnight’s holiday in Brazil at his expense was right out of the question. And even if she were mad enough to give in to him it would be hell afterwards to fit into her normal way of life again. A life without Roberto Rocha Lima Tavares de Sousa.
The period before Katherine left the Quinta das Montanhas was dominated by constant persuasion from Roberto, who never let up with his demand that she fly to Brazil with him even though she was equally immovable with her refusal.
The plan to close up the house was carried out with military precision. As soon as the security firm had set up its base at the Quinta the following morning, Lidia’s brother would arrive to take her with Pascoa to stay at his house in Braga. Jorge would then drive Roberto and Katherine to Porto for her flight to the UK, and afterwards take Roberto to Lisbon for his flight to Porto Alegre. During that eventful last day, while Roberto was involved with the cancellation of his medical and physio appointments, and giving notice of his intention to the Guarda Nacional, Katherine spent time on her own phone, informing those who needed to know that she was returning as scheduled.
When Katherine reported to James that she would be back in work on Monday she asked him about the Gainsborough. ‘How does it look now, boss?’
‘Nearly finished and looking good. It would arouse huge interest at auction, but de Sousa is adamant that I just ship it off to Brazil when it’s ready.’ He paused. ‘Katherine, take a day off to recover and start on Tuesday. You sound tired.’
Due to sleep deprivation, amongst other things. ‘It’s been an eventful few days here.’
‘Was the client a problem? I was a bit worried once I looked him up. Did you know he’s actually Roberto Rocha, one-time glamour boy of the racing car circuit?’
‘Not until I looked him up. Why were you worried?’
‘Judith saw the shot of the chap in his glory days on my computer. My unimpressionable wife was bowled over.’
‘Well, I wasn’t,’ she lied. ‘See you Monday.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
ROBERTO elected to occupy the room next to hers that night instead of sharing her bed again, but after Katherine had tossed and turned for an hour her door opened and closed again softly and Roberto slid into bed with her, his naked body hot and hard against hers.
‘I could not sleep,’ he whispered.
‘Neither could I.’
‘I lay awake, wanting you very badly, Katherine.’
Since she had been doing the same, she responded with passionate fervour to his kisses as he slid her beneath him.
‘I have been longing for this—for you—for a whole hour,’ he said against her parted lips. ‘I can wait no longer, amada.’
Neither could Katherine. No foreplay was required or necessary. Her body had been ready for him the moment it came into contact with his, and she gave a visceral little groan of satisfaction as he thrust home into her tight, welcoming warmth. The sorcery of her clenching inner muscles incited him to a wildness which left her revelling in the surprise of her own power, then regretting it when culmination left them shaking in each other’s arms all too soon, stunned by the force of it.
‘Desculpe-me, querida,’ Roberto panted, raising his head a fraction. ‘I was too fast.’
She shook her head vehemently. ‘Tonight I wanted fast.’
‘Our loving will always be fast when you caress me in such a way!’
She smiled up at him jubilantly. ‘Never knew I could do that!’
He chuckled and kissed her nose, then turned her in his arms. ‘Perhaps now we can both get some rest.’
Dazed by the force of their lovemaking, Katherine slept heavily in the warmth and security of Roberto’s arms and woke early and heavy-eyed in the morning.
Roberto, however, looked annoyingly chipper. ‘Bom dia, linda flor.’
She shuddered, feeling nothing remotely like a beautiful flower. ‘Are you always this cheerful in the mornings?’
‘No. But how could I not be happy after last night?’ His arms tightened, his eyes bright with sudden demand. ‘Now you will change your mind, Katherine, nao e? You will come with me today.’
She eyed him suspiciously. ‘Is that why you stole into my bed last night? To change my mind?’
He shook his tousled head. ‘I came because I could not exist another moment without you.’ He gave her a kiss so soft and sweet she wanted to cry. ‘Hurry through your bath. We shall breakfast together before the security people arrive.’
Lidia arrived with tea while Katherine was dressing. ‘I cook hot meal today,’ she said in a tone that brooked no argument. ‘Dez minutos,’ she added, holding up her hand twice.
‘Thank you, Lidia.’ Katherine smiled warmly. ‘Are you happy about staying in Braga for a while?’
‘It make Senhor Roberto happy, so I am happy,’ said the woman simply. ‘I help pack?’
‘Almost done, thanks. I won’t be long.’
Ready for travel in the black trousers and white shirt of their first meeting, Katherine hurried down to join Roberto.
‘Ah!’ he said with appreciation as he drew out her chair. ‘Last night you were temptation in my arms, this morning you are severe Doutora again. I like this look, it is very sexy!’ He sniffed the air as Jorge brought their breakfast. ‘Lidia has made a hot meal this morning. She goes to Braga after you eat?’
‘Her brother comes at eight,’ Jorge informed him, and took the covers from the dishes. ‘Lidia says please to eat everything.’
Katherine was only too happy to. Who knew when she’d be eating another meal? Up to date she’d never managed to eat much on a plane. At the mere thought of leaving Roberto to fly in the opposite direction, her heart contracted. ‘Is yours a non-stop flight?’
He shook his head. ‘There is a brief stop in Paris, then a longer one in São Paulo, where I must change to Congonhas Airport for the rest of the journey to Porto Alegre. There I board a smaller plane to reach the Estancia.’
She eyed him with sympathy. ‘That’s a very long time for you to stay immobile. How far is the road journey to Lisbon?’
Roberto moved his chair nearer and took her hand. ‘Two hundred and forty or so of your British miles.’
‘It’s a lot of driving for Jorge today, too,’ she said anxiously.
‘He will have a break at Porto, since you insist on leaving me there. Afterwards, if I can persuade him, I will drive to Lisbon. You are thoughtful, Katherine Lister, but do not worry. Jorge enjoys driving as much as I do.’ His eyes shadowed. ‘Or I used to.’
‘And still do, Roberto! The minute you’re behind the wheel of your car you’re a happy man.’
He smiled. ‘You are right. I would drive all the way today from choice, but it would not be wise before a long flight.’
Katherine winced. ‘When you get home, what will you do about your physio and exercises?’
‘The pool is ready, and I know the exercises—Deus, how well I know them! I shall continue with them when I get to Estancia Grande.’
Knowing how constricted she felt on a plane with two legs in good working order, Katherine eyed him anxiously. ‘How will you manage with your leg during the flight?’
‘In first class, I will have room to stretch out.’ He smiled. ‘And I will be so brave the attendants will pay much attention to me.’
She could just imagine it, and busied herself with filling cups to hide a pang of jealousy.
‘If you were with me,’ he said softly, ‘I would not mind the pain. Change your mind, Katherine. Come with me.’
‘I can’t!’ She mopped qu
ickly at a stray tear as Lidia came to say goodbye.
She gave Katherine a sharp look. ‘You are sad to leave, Doutora?’
‘I am indeed.’ Katherine got up and kissed the woman’s cheek. ‘You’ve been so kind.’
Lidia smiled shyly and squeezed her hand. ‘O prazer e meu, Doutora. Come back soon. My brother waits, and Pascoa is in the car, so I go now. Adeus.’
‘She said the pleasure was all hers, Katherine,’ said Roberto after he returned from seeing Lidia off. ‘She says you must come back for another holiday one day.’
‘I came to work, not for a holiday,’ she reminded him.
He nodded in satisfaction. ‘And I am most grateful to Mr Massey for sending you to me.’
‘You weren’t very pleased about it when you first saw me!’
‘E verdade. You looked so daunting in your severe clothes and spectacles,’ he demanded, taking her hand.
‘Normally, I only wear those for computer work, but I thought they might impress you with my competence.’ She smiled. ‘Did it work?’
‘Sim, senhora. It worked perfectly.’
‘You weren’t very friendly.’
Roberto looked her in the eye. ‘I had no wish for a woman in my house while I look like this.’
Katherine leaned forward and planted a series of little kisses along the ridged flesh of his scar, and received a series of kisses on her mouth as response.
‘You soon changed your mind,’ she pointed out when she could speak.
His eyes gleamed. ‘I was seduced by your intelligence!’
‘Were you indeed?’ she said wryly.
He raised her hand to his lips, his eyes suddenly very serious. ‘So change that informed mind of yours, Katherine. Come to Brazil with me.’
This wasn’t fair, she thought in despair. Roberto was making it harder by the minute to say goodbye to him. It was almost a relief when the doorbell clanged and he went to speak to the head of the security firm.
While he was gone, Katherine took a wistful look over the gardens, then went upstairs to get her belongings together. She checked she’d left nothing behind and carried her suitcase downstairs.
‘You should have waited for Jorge to do that,’ Roberto said with displeasure.
‘I’ve left the heavy stuff to him. Is everything arranged?’
He nodded. ‘The men will keep a low profile by day and make regular rounds by night. Any intruder will meet with a nasty surprise.’ Roberto picked up his stick. ‘Now there are men to guard us, will you walk with me in the garden for a while, carinha? It will be good to exercise my leg before the journey.’
‘I’d love to. I’ll take my camera.’ Katherine gave him a worried look as they went down the veranda steps. ‘Will you manage some kind of exercise on the plane?’
‘I will annoy the other passengers by much walking in the aisle.’ He slanted a gleaming look at her. ‘Perhaps a female flight attendant will hold my hand.’
She raised a cynical eyebrow. ‘They’ll be falling over themselves for the privilege.’
‘You are so good for me!’ He caught her in his arms and kissed her. ‘Querida, it is so hard to part with you.’
Katherine’s throat was too thick with tears for speech. Get a grip, she told herself. Behave like a grown-up.
They both fell silent as they made their slow way back. Katherine paused to take some shots of the beautiful house, and asked Roberto to pose for her.
‘And don’t turn your good side to me,’ she ordered. ‘I want you just the way you are.’
She took several shots of him, and then let him take some of her, feeling as though her heart was being torn in half. Roberto was right. It took no time at all to fall in love. She’d managed it the first time she’d set eyes on him, something she’d previously believed happened only in fiction. But it was no reason to go haring off to Brazil with him. Roberto wanted her, she knew only too well. But whether his heart was in tune with his body was a different matter. Roberto Rocha was long accustomed to girls who took one look and fell in love with him. Or at least fell into bed with him.
When they finally set off Katherine craned her neck to take one last look at the house as the car moved down the winding drive. Her time at the Quinta das Montanhas had been short, but it had changed her life.
Roberto slid an arm around her and drew her close. ‘Do not look so sad, amada. I will bring you back here one day, I promise.’
Not going to happen, thought Katherine miserably.
‘When you reach Heathrow, please seek help with your luggage,’ he ordered.
‘I’ll take a taxi and text Rachel. She’ll be waiting as I get home.’ Katherine smiled brightly. ‘She’s a journalist, by the way, so she’ll want every last detail about my stay here.’
‘Will you tell her about me?’
‘Of course. But only about your home and past career, and the painting, not—’
‘That I am your lover?’ He put a finger under her chin to bring her face close to his. ‘Because that is exactly what—and who—I am, linda flor,’ he whispered against her parted lips, and kissed her with a heat she returned in kind. ‘I will not make a spectacle of you at the airport,’ he said unevenly, ‘so this must be our goodbye. When I get home to the Estancia there are things I must do. When I have achieved them, I will come to you.’
The drive to Oporto ended all too soon for Katherine. When they arrived at the Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport Jorge stacked her luggage on a trolley and shook her hand very formally.
‘Boa viagem, Doutora.’
She smiled warmly. ‘Goodbye, Jorge. You and Lidia have been so kind.’
‘Sempre as seus ordems,’ he assured her, and with tact left them alone together.
Roberto took Katherine’s hand, his eyes holding hers. ‘I may come no further with you, amada, so go. Go now, before I drag you back to the car and take you to Brazil.’
She chuckled, as he intended her to, and laced her fingers with his. ‘Goodbye, then.’
He raised her hand to his lips to kiss it, then with a sudden groan pulled her into his arms and kissed her mouth as though his life depended on it. ‘Ate logo, Katherine. I refuse to say goodbye.’ Roberto put her away from him, breathing hard. ‘Now go, por favor. And do not look back.’
Katherine obeyed blindly. The sheer physical pain of parting with Roberto left her feeling numb, not only during the longueurs of Security and Check in, but throughout the entire time she sat pretending to read a book while she waited to board the plane. It was only when she accepted tea later from a stewardess as the plane cruised towards Heathrow Katherine realised she’d sat through takeoff and the climb to altitude without even noticing. She shook her head in astonishment, surprising the man sitting next to her. Falling in love had strange side effects. But now she’d done so at long last, why couldn’t she have fallen for someone who at least lived on the same continent?
Rachel came hurrying out of the house in Parsons Green when the taxi arrived and took charge of some of the luggage as Katherine paid the driver. Once everything was hauled inside the flat, Rachel gave Katherine a hug, eyeing her closely.
‘I’ll put the kettle on. Alastair’s playing golf with Hugh, so we can chat in peace over tea and cakes.’
‘Thanks, Rachel. The unpacking can wait.’ Katherine yawned. ‘I feel very lazy.’
‘You look shattered. Surely you’re not going straight back to work tomorrow?’
‘I’ll see how I feel in the morning.’
‘But exactly how do you feel?’ demanded Rachel. ‘I’ll make tea before you tell all. And I do mean all!’
Katherine curled up in a corner of the rubbed old leather sofa of her childhood while Rachel was busy in her kitchen and gratefully accepted the tea, but turned down the pastries. ‘Could I postpone those until later?’
Rachel smiled in sympathy and sat opposite in the matching armchair. ‘Bad flight?’
Katherine shook her head. ‘Just tiring.’
‘Y
ou look done in,’ accused her friend. ‘Was it hard work restoring the painting?’
‘No.’
‘Just no?’ demanded her friend. ‘Come on, Dr Lister. Give. What’s wrong? If you don’t tell me I’ll explode.’
‘I had such a lovely time it was a wrench to leave the Quinta das Montanhas,’ said Katherine with perfect truth.
‘The house of the mysterious Mr de Sousa! What’s he like?’
‘Charming.’
Rachel’s eyes narrowed. ‘Come on, I want more than that. I take it he has money if he paid for your services, Doctor, but is he young, old, single or attached, thin, fat, bald—?’
‘Divorced. Early thirties, slim, dark curling hair.’
Rachel was small and delicate-looking, but with a shrewd brain under her stylish blonde bob, and she’d known Katherine since they were teenagers. ‘You liked him a lot.’
‘Yes.’
Rachel’s blue eyes narrowed in frustration. ‘Talk to me. Tell me what happened to make you look so down. I’m worried!’
Katherine obediently gave an account of her stay at Roberto de Sousa’s glorious house, beginning with the first encounter.
‘He was expecting a man?’ Rachel chuckled. ‘You must have been a nice surprise, then.’
Katherine shook her head. ‘Not at all. Roberto didn’t want a woman. Particularly a starchy art historian in glasses, with hair scraped back and so on.’
‘You were on first name terms from the start?’
‘Almost. He insisted on it.’ Katherine went on to describe her excitement as she identified an early Gainsborough, followed by excitement of a different kind when she discovered that her host was better known as Roberto Rocha, one-time star of the racing circuit. ‘But motorsport is not my thing, so I’d never heard of him.’
‘What? You’re kidding!’ Rachel’s eyes widened. ‘I once had a fling with a sports journalist who wept when Roberto Rocha retired so young. Damn it, Katherine, I wish I’d been there with you to interview him—sorry, love, keep going.’ She listened without interruption until Katherine finished, and then shook her head in wonder. ‘It’s happened, hasn’t it? You’ve fallen hard for a man at last. Are you going to see him again?’
Under the Brazilian Sun Page 9