CHAPTER TWELVE

WHAT if she was wrong?

What if Raúl wasn’t working late at his city office? Oh, God, don’t think.

This is what you want, she reiterated silently as the taxi slid to a halt outside the entrance foyer of the tall office building.

‘Wait…please,’ Gianna instructed as she slid from the taxi’s rear passenger seat and crossed to the security intercom system.

Simply press the security buzzer, wait for video recognition to gain entry, then walk to the bank of elevators—one step after the other. How difficult could it be?

Are you kidding?

Except the memory of his touch, the way he kissed her…She momentarily closed her eyes at the vivid recall of their lovemaking. It was more than sexual coupling…so much more.

Dammit, she uttered beneath her breath. What are you waiting for?

Do it.

For a long moment nothing happened, and despair swept through her body. She was about to turn back to the taxi when the security guard’s voice issued with polite warmth.

‘Señora, Señor Velez-Sandaña is currently at his apartment. You wish me to telephone ahead and relay you are on your way to see him?’

‘No.’ She nervously lifted a hand and tucked a stray tendril of hair behind one ear. ‘No,’ she reiterated. ‘I’d prefer to surprise him.’

‘Very well. Buenos noches.’

Traffic at this time of the evening flowed fairly freely, and Gianna was aware of increasing tension with every passing kilometre that closed the distance to Raúl’s apartment complex.

You can do this. The silent affirmation strengthened her resolve, and when the taxi drew to a halt in the sweeping forecourt she paid the driver, added a generous tip, collected her bag, then crossed to the building’s entrance.

The doorman greeted her, ushered her in to the foyer, where she summoned an elevator and keyed in the appropriate floor when she entered it. She took a deep, calming breath as the electronic doors slid closed.

Passage to the high floor was swift, and she crossed with measured steps to the solid double doors guarding entry to his luxury apartment.

Don’t hesitate, a silent voice bade her. Simply press the door chimes… And wait.

For an anxious moment she wondered if he was in…maybe he’d chosen to dine out.

Then he was there, and he stood in the wide aperture, his dark hair rumpled as if he’d raked fingers through its length.

Wearing black trousers and a loose-fitting white cotton shirt unbuttoned almost to his waist, he bore a faintly piratical air…solemn, almost brooding, as his eyes seared her own.

‘I didn’t take the flight.’ Nothing quite like stating the obvious, she decided with a measure of scepticism.

Raúl inclined his head. ‘So the pilot told me. I’ve been raising hell trying to track down your movements.’

Oh, dear, she hadn’t thought of that.

‘I intended to,’ she said with innate honesty.

‘What stopped you?’

For a moment she just drank him in…the essence of who he was beneath the sophisticated façade…the man she loved beyond all else.

One word, just one. ‘You.’

‘Leaving was your decision.’

‘The wrong one,’ she managed simply, and saw his eyes darken.

For a moment she imagined he struggled with the power of speech.

Except this was Raúl…someone who could fell a person with just a look, a powerful man never known to be lost for a word in any situation.

He stood aside and gestured for her to enter…and she did, hearing the solid clunk as the double wooden doors slid shut, aware in her heart that there was no going back as she turned to face him.

Her gaze was steady, her eyes luminous with the strength of her emotions. ‘I love you.’

Raúl closed his eyes, then opened them, blazing obsidian and flagrantly emotive as he lifted a hand and brushed light fingers over the soft curve of her lower lip. ‘Gracias de Dios. I never thought to hear you say it again.’

The warmth of his smile almost melted her heart.

‘I never stopped.’ Anything else she might have said remained unuttered as he pressed her mouth closed, then lowered his head and angled his mouth over her own in a teasing salutation she returned in kind.

Together they indulged in a leisurely exploration, until the tasting wasn’t enough, and Raúl held her head captive as he increased the pressure, sweeping her mouth with his tongue as he circled it with his own in a mating dance that would have only one end.

Unbidden, her hands slid beneath his shirt to explore the taut muscle and sinew covering his chest and ribs, before moving to push the gaping edges over his shoulders in an effort to dispense with the restriction as she sought one dark male nipple with her lips, alternately caressing and nibbling the pebbled nub with her tongue…and heard his faint groan as she rolled it between the edge of her teeth.

With a sense of desperation she pulled his shirt free from his trousers and dispensed with it, revelling in the satin smoothness of his skin as she shaped him with her hands.

‘Too many clothes,’ she declared in a voice she barely recognised as her own, and heard his soft laughter as she reached for his belt, unfastened it, then worked the zip fastener free.

He lowered his head and lightly nipped the vulnerable curve at the edge of her neck as he dispensed with her jacket and dealt with the buttons on her blouse.

The bra came next, and she uttered a faint gasp as he lifted her high against him and eased her thighs around his waist, held her there with one arm while he captured her head with the other…and covered her mouth with his own in a kiss that reached right down to her soul.

On some level she became aware of being carried, the almost silent click of a door closing, then he released her to stand before him.

‘I should never have left,’ Gianna said quietly, then fell silent by the sheer expediency of Raúl pressing a finger to her lips.

‘Later.’ His mouth curved into a warm smile, and his eyes…so dark and liquid with desire. She couldn’t think of a word to say. ‘Later we talk.’ He trailed light fingers over each cheek and traced the outline of her mouth. ‘For now, I have plans.’

A faint bubble of laughter rose in her throat. ‘You do?’

‘Sí.’ He brought her close, moulding the length of her body against his own so there could be no doubt as to the strength of his arousal.

She lifted her face to his, and her eyes held an impish light as she sought to tease. ‘Isn’t it a little early for bed?’

‘I don’t have sleeping in mind.’

‘Good.’ It was a matter of simple expediency to pull his head down to her own and take possession of his mouth. Although it soon became debatable who possessed who as the kiss became something else…hungry, increasingly urgent, intensely sexual.

What remained of their clothes was rapidly discarded, and Raúl tore the covers from the large bed, then tumbled them both down onto the sheets.

His powerful body loomed over her own as he braced his weight, then he sought the sensitive hollow at the base of her throat, savoured it, and traced a path across her collarbone before slipping to the soft swell of her breast, lingered there before gifting equal time to its twin.

A soft groan in protest whispered from her throat as he trailed his lips to her navel, dipping his tongue into the indentation and leisurely circling it before moving low over her taut belly.

Her fingers dug into the sheets as he reached the soft vee guarding entrance to her feminine core, and her hips arched instinctively as he sought the sensitive clitoris, stroking it until she begged him to ease the pulsing ache deep within.

Except he was far from done, and she tossed her head from side to side as the pressure built to an unbearable crescendo… Then he sent her high in a shattering orgasm…again and again…until her body trembled beneath his touch.

It was then he trailed a tantalising slow path to her mouth, covering it with his own as he eased his length into the moist passage, inch by inch, felt the tightness as her muscles convulsed around him…and with one powerful thrust he surged in to the hilt, waited there, then withdrew, only to increase the pace until electrifying passion became all-consuming.

Incandescent, unleashed and incredibly primitive.

More, so much more than it was believed possible…a true meshing of body, mind and soul.

Only with Raúl for her there could be no other, and she thanked the deity for recognising that fact.

Her arms instinctively tightened their hold, and Raúl lifted his head, his eyes dark and slumbrous in the aftermath of passion, only to have them sharpen measurably.

‘I hurt you? Dios…’

Gianna stilled anything further he might have uttered by pressing light fingers to his mouth as she offered a shaky smile. ‘No.’

He brushed his knuckles gently down her cheek. ‘What is it, querida? Tell me.’

Honesty…there could only be honesty between them now. ‘The folly of almost losing you,’ she said quietly, and felt the well of tears build behind her eyes. ‘If it hadn’t have been for Teresa’s illness…’ She faltered to a halt as words failed her.

It was just reaction, she qualified. Emotional overload. Except there seemed no power on earth that could prevent the spill of warm liquid tracing slow tracks down each cheek.

He uttered a heartfelt groan as he soothed each rivulet with gentle lips and held her close. ‘Don’t.’

Gianna offered a damp smile as she met his darkened eyes. ‘You’re my world. Everything,’ she vowed quietly. ‘With out you, I merely exist.’

Raúl covered her mouth with his own in an exquisitely gentle kiss that tore at her heartstrings. ‘You imagine it’s any different for me?’ He traced her soft slightly swollen lower lip. ‘You, querida, only you. Always, from the beginning. Never just sex. Lovemaking. My body…yours, uniting in something so powerful, so incredibly beautiful…unique.’

He took possession of her mouth, savoured the silky inner tissue, then retreated to gently nibble her upper lip. ‘Believe, mi mujer, you are the very air I breathe. Mi vida. My life.’

 

It was well into the night before Raúl rose from the bed and ran a bath, then he returned and scooped Gianna into his arms and carried her through to the en suite bathroom.

Steam and foam aromatic with lightly scented essence filled the air, and he brushed his lips to her temple as he stepped into the capacious tub and settled her down between his thighs.

‘Mmm, nice.’ It was so good to lean back against him, close her eyes, and enjoy his ministrations as he used a sponge and began spreading scented foam across the top of her shoulders. From there he slid to her breasts, each peak still tender from his touch, then down over her belly to the intimate folds at the apex of her thighs…so acutely sensitive from his possession.

She felt his lips caress the edge of her neck simultaneously with his erotic exploration as he sought her swollen clitoris, stroking it with a feather-light touch. Heat spiralled through her body, and she arched against his palmed hand, seeking the solace he offered.

The aftermath of lovemaking filled her with a piercing sweetness…seductive, intensely sensuous, bewitching, she decided dreamily.

‘I can almost hear you thinking.’ His voice was husky, close to her ear.

Three years lost. Although she’d achieved much during that time. Dealt with her grief, grown as a person, developed the skill to view life…her life…from a different perspective

In one easy move Raúl turned her to face him, and he cupped her face and tilted it so their eyes met.

‘No more shadows,’ he said gently. ‘We have the rest of our lives. Together we’ll deal with whatever the years may hold.’

Amen, Gianna accorded silently as he lowered his head and laid his mouth over her own in a tender, evocative kiss that stirred her senses and made her ache for more.

‘Bed, I think.’ He released the bath plug and stood to his feet, then pulled her upright and wrapped a towel like a sarong beneath her arms before filching another, which he hitched at his waist. He brushed teasing fingers along the edge of her jaw. ‘This time to sleep, hmm?’

It was heaven to slip naked between the sheets and to have him pull her close in against his body and splay one hand over her stomach while the other cupped her breast.

The emotional pain which had clouded her life was gone, along with the doubts and indecision. Almost as if he knew, she felt his arms tighten and the light touch of his lips against the curve of her shoulder.

In years to come their three-year separation would count for nought—just a misplaced stitch in the fabric of their life. A slight imperfection as a reminder that nothing was ever perfect. A good marriage had trust as its foundation, faith and love…always love.

For a wistful moment she almost wanted to start over with a joyous celebration, clear of the lingering insecurities she’d harboured at their wedding.

‘Want to share?’

How did he do that? It was dark, and she hadn’t moved.

His soft chuckle curled round her heartstrings. ‘Your heart just began beating a little faster.’

It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, but one that grew with every passing second. ‘I need to think it through.’

A reaffirmation of their vows.

Held in the grounds of Teresa’s villa.

An intimate gathering with just a few close friends to share the simple ceremony, followed by a celebratory dinner. It could be the one gift Teresa would treasure for the remainder of her life.

 

Simple wasn’t going to happen, Gianna realised, as Teresa had embraced the idea with such enthusiasm no one…not even the nurse…had the heart to rein her in.

A new gown must be selected, a guest list assembled, and flowers… What did Gianna think of white roses for her bouquet?

Vast floral displays must grace the foyer, and exquisite hand-crafted lace was presented for approval to grace the bridal table—or did Gianna prefer the finest linen?

It was a delight to witness Teresa’s pleasure as selections were made, decisions reached, a date settled. Invitations were printed and delivered by hand.

A few close friends became forty in the blink of an eye, and Teresa’s smile, her light bubbly laugh, represented a loving memory that would remain with Gianna for the rest of her life.

The Velez-Saldaña name ensured every detail was accorded perfection. Teresa didn’t need to step outside the villa for anything everyone came to her.

With one exception…Gianna’s gown must be personally designed and fitted by the vendeuse of Teresa’s choice. Style patterns, photographs, material swatches were despatched for approval, selections made and examined and discussed…until they discovered the ideal combination.

Consequently the villa became host to a whirl of activity…exhilarating, exciting, with Teresa in her element as everything began taking shape.

Alerting Ben with the news had brought expressed brotherly concern.

‘Are you sure about this?’

There were no lingering doubts, not even one. ‘Absolutely.’

‘You’ve thought it through? The permanent move to Madrid? Giving up everything you have back home?’

‘Yes.’ There was no hesitation in her voice. ‘Be happy for me, Ben.’

‘My caution stems from seeing you brokenhearted and emotionally bereft after leaving Raúl three years ago. And knowing what it took for you to overcome it.’

‘I’ve been able to prove Sierra invented a tissue of lies about the hotel incident three years ago,’ she revealed quietly. ‘If I’d taken the time to employ a thorough check, and not reacted with my heart instead of my head, if I’d trusted Raúl’s word…’ She’d left the rest unsaid, and registered her brother’s empathetic response.

‘In that case, I couldn’t be more pleased for you,’ Ben assured her gently.

‘Thank you.’

They’d talked for a while, catching up on mutual news before ending the call.

Next, there was Bellissima and Annaliese…whose initial reaction was, ‘You’re joking.’

‘No. I’m perfectly serious.’

‘You’re remarrying your husband, you’ll live in Spain, and you’re offering me permanent management, with an increase in salary and a percentage of the profits?’

‘You got it.’

‘Wow.’

‘Is that a yes?’ Gianna teased, and heard a whoop by way of response.

‘Yes.’

Next on the list… ‘I don’t suppose you’d be interested in leasing a furnished apartment at Main Beach?’

There was silence. ‘Your apartment?’

‘That’s the one.’

‘I’m dreaming. This is just one of those out there dreams, isn’t it? Any minute I’m going to wake up. OK, I’ll play. How much rent would you be asking?’

‘How much are you paying where you are?’

Annaliese named a figure, and Gianna adjusted it. ‘Do you think you can manage that?’

‘Yes!’

‘Then we have a deal. I’ll instruct my lawyer to draw up the paperwork, you check it with your lawyer, sign it, and courier it back to me.’

‘Would you mind very much if I call you back and confirm this is real?’

‘Do it. You have my cellphone number.’

‘Thank you.’

Gianna cut the call, then glanced up as Raúl entered the bedroom following his shower. ‘Done?’

‘Annaliese is ringing back.’

At that moment her cellphone pealed and she picked up, chuckled a little at the husky uncertainty in Annaliese’s voice before she reiterated the details. ‘I’ll e-mail you within the hour to confirm.’

‘You won’t regret this,’ Annaliese vowed fervently. ‘I’m unbelievably grateful. Did I already tell you this?’

Only three times. ‘I’m also grateful it’s going to be such a smooth transition.’

Following a few pleasantries, she ended the call, and rolled her shoulders

‘Tired?’

She turned towards him. ‘A little. It’s been an exciting day.’

‘Then let me see if I can ease some of the pressure, hmm?’

The warmth of his smile almost undid her, and she uttered a pleasurable sigh as he rested his hands on her shoulders and began to massage out the kinks, the stiffness.

It was late, and tomorrow would bring more of the same, with last-minute dress-fittings, various checks, helping Teresa field phone calls confirming guests’ acceptances, a final consultation re the menu.

Somewhere in amongst all that Gianna needed Miguel to drive her to the elite jeweller in downtown Palma to collect the ring she intended to gift Raúl.

His hands felt so good, and she let her head drop forward as he eased the silk robe from her shoulders, then removed her sleep tank and slipped his hands beneath the elasticised waist of her cotton sleep trousers.

‘This is easing pressure?’

‘Admiring your body.’

‘With your hands?’

‘Initially,’ he promised huskily, as he teased her lips with his own.

It was nice…better than nice. She closed her eyes and breathed him in, loving the way he shaped her body, lingering with erotic intent at each pleasure pulse. Sighed when he drew her down onto the bed and began trailing his lips to each breast in turn, savouring each taut peak before tracing a path to her waist, then low to gift her the most intimate kiss of all…lingering as he sought the sensitive folds and felt her response, the quickened breathing, the faint groan as she began to soar, and the cry when she reached her climax.

Afterwards she lay there, sated and complete. ‘What about you?’ she managed huskily, and saw his smile. ‘Another time, amante,’ he said gently as he gathered her close. ‘Now you need to sleep.’