Blackmailed by the Spaniard

by Clare Connelly

  “Such as, mother?” Guy drawled, but he seemed relaxed enough, so Addie took a breath and calmed her fluttering nerves.

  “Well, this is all very new, and yet I understand you’re serious about one another?”

  “Luciana,” Carlos laughed good-naturedly. He lifted his eyes heavenward as he addressed Addie. “You’ll have to forgive my wife, Ava. It’s been a long time since our son has shown any interest in a woman for more than a month.”

  A month? The harmless throwaway explanation brought a frown to her face. They’d dated for a month, and to Addie, it had been a life-changing collection of days and nights. But was that his usual degree of interest? Might he have bored of her soon enough, even without the discovery of her ruse?

  He’d been so hung up on her dishonesty and yet, what did she know of him? What did she know of his dating past? She certainly knew she’d been replaced quickly enough – he’d thrown that little tidbit in her face himself.

  Shame at the way she’d fallen apart at his touch filled her now. He’d looked at her and her insides had slicked with heat and lust – fueled by the foolish love that clung to her soul – had made her responsive, when she should have been cool. Cautious, at least.

  “It’s only natural that I should be curious,” Luciana’s response was defensive. She didn’t realise, obviously, that Addie’s own hackles had been raised by Carlos’s throwaway comment.

  “Of course,” Addie murmured, distracted.

  Beside her, Guy reached for her hand, lifting it to his lips. His kiss shot fireworks under her skin, all the way through her body, but she resented that quick response.

  Would it always be like this for them? That instant, soul-searing responsiveness?

  Only for another week, her inner-voice remonstrated. A week. No, not even. Her heart thumped wearily against her chest. She’d been so confident that she could win Guy back, but now? She wasn’t so sure. And the idea of leaving him again made her feel like she was suffocating.

  “How did you meet?”

  Addie swallowed. That part was easy. “At a party.”

  “Surrounded by singers and film stars and Ava outshone each and every one of them,” Guy drawled, only Addie could detect the feint hint of disparagement beneath the apparent praise.

  “I was there with my cousin,” Addie murmured. “I definitely wasn’t looking to meet anyone,” her eyes flicked to Guy’s, and she wondered if he could hear the conviction of her words, if he could understand the truth in what she was saying.

  “But dressed like you were, it was inevitable,” he said simply. Desire spun around them like a web they were both powerless to cut through.

  “And you were definitely impossible to resist.”

  He arched a brow, his smile perhaps only visibly mocking to Addie, who knew his sarcastic side so well now. “I’m so glad you think so.”

  “I did try, you know,” Addie murmured, almost forgetting for a moment that they were surrounded by his family, who were watching the byplay with undisguised interest.

  “I don’t remember that,” he said.

  “You have a selective memory.”

  “Perhaps,” he shrugged his shoulders and then, out of nowhere, pressed a kiss to her forehead. His smile was the last word in devotion. “In any event, it is all water under a very happy bridge now, no?”

  Her throat was thick. She nodded jerkily, her own smile heavy on her face.

  “And what business are you in, Ava?” Carlos asked.

  Santiago spoke before Addie could. “She’s an actress.” Was Addie imagining the pride that tinged his words? The admiration?

  She cringed inwardly. It was a lie. A lie she had told Guy when she’d been pretending to be who she really wanted. Turning down the scholarship position at the Bristol Old Vic had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. But what choice did she have? She couldn’t leave her mother on her own. Besides, with a credit rating as bad as hers, she’d never have been able to rent an apartment, much less open a small credit card to help with her expenses.

  She’d made her peace with that decision over the years, but immersing herself in the role of Ava Peters, theatre actress, madly in love with Guillem Rodriguez was like dousing an open wound with a bucketful of salt.

  She was aching all over. She so desperately wanted this – all of it – to be true.

  “How glamorous!” Luciana clasped her hands together.

  “She works in the theatre,” Santiago continued. “And likes modern playwrights.”

  Addie cocked a brow at the older man, her lips tingling with a repressed smile.

  “Have you seen her perform?” Luciana asked, reaching for a stuffed olive and holding it between her thumb and forefinger.

  “Oh, yes,” Guy murmured softly. “Many times. She’s very skilled.”

  “Thrilling,” Luciana declared, biting into the olive, her eyes meeting Carlos’s with a knowing smile.

  “What was it that drew you to acting?” Carlos asked, apparently as fascinated by this news as his wife.

  Addie felt the past chasm in her mind, pain lashing her. The dream she’d cherished from girlhood, that simply wasn’t to be. “I was always theatrical,” she said softly, remembering the plays she’d performed as a child, the way her father had drawn her into his love of drama and the stage.

  “Do you study to become an actress?” Luciana asked, her head tilted slightly, in a manner that reminded Addie so strongly of Guy.

  “Yes,” the word was slightly croaked, the lie hurting her to offer, for how close it had been to becoming the truth. She cleared throat.

  “In America, I suppose?” Carlos asked now.

  “Not for stage, necessarily,” Addie said with a small shake of her head. “I was fortunate enough to gain a position at the Bristol Old Vic.”

  “I have not heard of it,” Luciana said with a lift of her slender shoulders.

  “It’s a top drama school.” Addie smiled to cover the wistful tone in her voice. “This food is beautiful,” she changed the subject willingly, glad to avoid any further fibs to Guy’s family.

  He’d said he wanted Santiago to be reassured, to stop worrying about Guy’s lack of commitment to a woman. To be content that marriage and an heir were in the foreseeable future. But Addie couldn’t detect anything but admiration and love between the grandfather and grandson. She found it hard to imagine Santiago ever pressuring Guy to do anything, least of all settle down.

  Hell, she found it hard to imagine anyone pressuring Guy to do anything he didn’t want.

  But particularly not this man, with whom he shared such a bond.

  And as for his parents? They seemed completely lovely. Lovely. The same word she’d used the night before to describe Santiago. But it was true! At least in Santiago she could see a hint of the same ruthless determination that fired Guy’s blood through his veins, but Luciana and Carlos were soft, somehow. Gentle.

  “Ava?” Guy prompted, and she startled out of her reverie, colour suffusing her cheeks.

  “Sorry,” a mumbled apology as she sat up straighter. “I was miles away.”

  Carlos leaned closer. “I was asking if Guillem has told you about the caves?”

  “No,” she shook her head, intrigued.

  “Oh,” Luciana said with exasperation. “You are impossible, Guy. Don’t tell me you are still protecting their secrets, like the seven year old you used to be?”

  His laugh was something Addie had desperately been missing. The gentle sound had her jerking her head around, staring up at him. But he was so close that her lips almost buzzed his jaw. Her heartbeat ratcheted up a notch, slamming hard inside her chest. “Are you holding out on me, Guy?” She asked, the words softly teasing.

  His eyes met hers, and heat zapped between them. “Oh, you’d better believe it.”

  “They’re pirate caves,” Luciana said after a moment, and Addie had to drag her attention away from Guy, to break the magnetic connection holding them glued together. “Hundreds of years
old. Corsairs used to store their loot in them, hiding it from authorities until it was safe to retrieve.”

  “Seriously?” Addie’s eyes were huge in her face.

  “Their bodies too,” Guy said, his voice teasingly ominous. “And those of their victims.”

  “Don’t scare her,” Santiago said with a shake of his head.

  “I’m not scared,” Addie assured the older man. “I’m fascinated. How many caves? How old are they? What kind of loot?”

  “I’ll show you them tomorrow.” His eyes roamed her face, his lips twisted in amusement. “Answer any questions you might have.”

  It wasn’t hard to smile at Guy, especially when he was being so charming. “I’d like that.”

  “And we shall expect a full report at dinner tomorrow night,” Carlos said with a satisfied nod.

  “Not tomorrow night,” Luciana said with a shake of her head. “Remember? We are taking Santiago to the mainland for the show.”

  Santiago pulled a face and Addie had to stifle her smile behind a napkin. The older man clearly didn’t relish the idea of the night out Luciana had planned.

  Guy apparently picked up on the same silent grimace for help Addie had seen. “Are you so sure it’s necessary to drag Santiago all over the country?”

  “It’s a one hour flight, by helicopter,” Luciana corrected, her lips pursed. “Hardly a form of elder abuse.”

  Addie’s smile threatened to give way to a laugh at the clearly well-established dynamics between the various members of the Rodriguez family. She settled back into the armchair, her eyes lifting to the sky. It was a vibrant mauve colour, and stars littered it like frantic bursts of diamond dust. The sun was almost gone, just a fierce red ball on the edge of the ocean.

  “Elder abuse,” Santiago said with a shake of his head. “I’m eighty five.”

  “Not yet. Not until Saturday.”

  “Even better – I’m eighty four. I do not think I qualify for ‘elder’ abuse, do you?”

  “Oh, stop arguing, old man,” Luciana said, tapping his knee lightly. “You’d do anything to get out of having to wear a tuxedo and smile at other people for a few hours, but everyone wants to see the billionaire recluse, as you’re coming to be known. So you’ll dress up, put a smile on, and what’s more you’ll enjoy yourself.”

  “Fine,” Santiago said with a shake of his head. “You two will join us?”

  “No,” Guy’s rebuttal was swift. Too swift. For a moment, the veneer of their performance cracked through. “I have to catch up on some work.”

  “Work?” Luciana said with a shake of her head. “Darling, I hope you’re not neglecting Ava.”

  It was a misstep. Guy had let his performance drop and Addie could already see speculation in Luciana’s eyes. Did she think Addie wasn’t holding Guy’s interest? Did she believe Addie would soon fall by the wayside? Of course, that was true, but Guy had brought her to the island to convince his family this was the ‘real deal’. She needed to do something.

  “I work beside him,” Addie said with a reassuring smile, moving closer to Guy, placing a hand on his knee in what she hoped passed as a gesture of affection. “I have scripts to read. We like to work side by side. Don’t we, querido?”

  She felt him stiffen, and her stomach flipped over. The sense that they were so far from what they used to be made her ache. But her smile didn’t falter for a moment.

  “You are very lucky she is so understanding of your one-eyed work ethic. I do not think there are many women who would put up with being ignored for a stack of boring documents,” Luciana commented with a shake of her head.

  “Believe me, mother, I do not ignore Ava.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ONLY HE DID IGNORE her. He ignored her in the golf cart, on the way back to the boat. He ignored her when it pulled up on the sand near the jetty, and when the suited driver opened the door to let them out. He ignored her as they walked, side by side, neither touching the other, up the ramp to the boat, and he ignored her once they were finally alone.

  Addie looked at him from beneath shuttered eyes, confusion making her quiet when she was full of questions. Questions about his mother and father, about their relationship with Santiago, about Guy’s closeness to them. Questions about the island and its caves, and his time here as a child. About the games he’d played and the exploring he’d done, about all the things she’d never known about him.

  Curiosity was a beast within her, begging for release, thrashing its way through her nervous system. But anxiety caged it.

  “Are you okay?” She heard herself ask quietly, all her doubts evident in the single, softly-voiced question.

  “Si.”

  “Guy?” She moved to stand in front of him, a frown spreading across her face. “What is it?”

  His eyes might as well have been cast from ice. “Nothing, querida.” This time, he spat the word at her as though it were venom in his mouth. “What could possibly be bothering me? Not your acting skills, certainly.”

  Addie’s brows knit closer together. “You’re pleased with how tonight went?”

  “Oh, yes,” the words were filled with anything but pleasure.

  “Then why are you behaving like…”

  He stared at her for a moment, and her heart skidded in her chest, bumping to a stop. She tried not to focus on the depth of his eyes, eyes that were devouring her, that she wanted to read like a book.

  “The ease with which you lie is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

  Addie’s frown was just a slight smudge on her face. His words hurt , but she wasn’t offended. She knew nothing about the evening had been a lie – not for her. “Isn’t that why you brought me here?”

  “Yes,” he nodded, turning away from her and shrugging out of the jacket he’d worn to dinner. “I just didn’t believe I could think less of you than I already did.” The words were scathing.

  Addie’s blood gushed at the indictment. “That’s highly unfair.” She said after a moment’s pause. “You told me I had to give a stunning, realistic performance or else our deal would be off.”

  “So I did.” He angled his head, so that she could see his profile. “It certainly makes me see our ‘relationship’ through new eyes.”

  “You know that’s different. I wasn’t pretending then.” I’m not pretending now. The words hovered on her tongue, but she didn’t say them. Fear kept them locked inside of her.

  “You’ll understand why I find that impossible to believe.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, Guy, because that month in London was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever experienced. Being with you…”

  “Stop,” he spun around to face her, and his chest moved in time with the force of his breathing. His eyes, cold and angry, locked to hers, pinning her to the spot, and tension arced around them, splicing Addie’s nerves in two. She pressed her fingertips into a nearby bench for support, but she didn’t look away. She didn’t move away.

  Fear was welling inside of her, but she knew how important it was to make Guy believe her. To speak the truth.

  “Guy,”

  “Do not talk about the past,” he interrupted warningly. “It is the last thing I wish to discuss.”

  “Fine,” Addie murmured, concealing – with difficulty – the frustrations that were slicing through her. She took a step closer, her eyes unflinching as she moved nearer to this impossible brute of a man. “Let’s talk about the present.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, and said nothing. She took this as an invitation to continue. Yes, she was terrified, but fear was no barrier to imperative, and she needed to convey her feelings to Guy. To help him understand.

  “You were angry at me when you left London.”

  A muscle throbbed at the base of his jaw. “That’s something we have already addressed.”

  Addie’s eyes were silently pleading. “Let me finish.” She bit down on her lip for a moment, focusing on his mouth, a mouth that was so beautiful and capable o
f giving pleasure. “You were angry with me, but I wasn’t angry with you. Not at all.”

  “Why should you have been?” He demanded, his nostrils flaring as he examined her with ruthless disinterest.

  Addie pretended he hadn’t spoken. “Nothing changed for me, that night. Everything I felt then,” she sucked in a wavering breath, telling herself to be brave, “I feel now, Guy.”

  His eyes narrowed, his expression laced with rejection – almost humour. “I’m sure you do.” It was a delayed response, drawled through a jaw that was clamped like a vice.

  Addie frowned a little. “I mean it, Guy. I fell in love with you the night we met…”

  “Don’t.” The single word hissed from his lips. “Don’t you dare make this about love.”

  His anger was like an electrical storm, filling the room with cracks of lightning. “Why not? Why pretend that’s not what I feel…”

  “Because pretending is what you do, Ava. You pretend until you’re tied up in knots, not knowing what way is up.”

  “No,” somehow she dredged a smile to her lips, but it was awkward and heavy. “You’re wrong about me. I didn’t plan to fall in love that night…”

  He made a guttural noise of rejection. “Love? Love?” His hands curved around her arms, pulling her to him, holding her body pressed to his. “We were never love. We were sex and lies.”

  His lips shattered whatever she’d been about to say, crashing down to hers, ripping apart her equilibrium as desire took its place, hot and urgent, desperate for acknowledgement. Desperate for release. A noise of fight and surrender burst through her. Surrender to this, but fighting his suggestion that this was all they were.

  Her hands lifted to his shirt, pushing at it, too impatient to bother with the buttons. She fumbled one and then ripped, needing to see him and feel him more than she’d known it was possible to feel a need for anyone. She made an exhilarated sound of success when the shirt gave way, opening to reveal his tanned chest, sprinkled with coarse hair that ran down his middle, all the way to his impressive manhood.