The Vásquez Mistress

‘I don’t have family.’

The doctor glanced at her and then at Raul. ‘I suppose—’ He coughed nervously. ‘Well, over to you, really.’

‘That’s it? Are you just going to stand there and let him bully you?’ Faith glared at the doctor and when the man didn’t reply she made a sound of disgust. ‘You’re all spineless. I’m telling you, he’s not my family. If I was the last woman left on the planet and he was the last man, then the human race would die.’ Having drawn the battle lines, she turned her head back to Raul and her eyes locked with his in fierce combat.

Raul felt a surge of relief because for a moment he’d wondered if her lack of spirit was something to do with the head injury. But the dangerous shimmer in her eyes reassured him that her accident hadn’t done any permanent damage and despite everything that had happened between them he felt the instantaneous response of his body.

Passion. Hot, searing, blinding passion.

It was always there between them, whatever they were doing.

And that was the problem of course. Their astonishing physical compatibility had made it all too easy to overlook the truth.

They were two people who should never have been together.

Both of them had known it, but the extraordinary chemistry had bound them together when common sense should have dragged them apart.

She was entirely wrong for him. He was entirely wrong for her.

Somehow that hadn’t made a difference.

Aware that the medical staff were rooted to the spot, staring, he rose to his feet and took charge.

‘She has family,’ he said in a driven tone. ‘I’m her husband. And I’ll take over from here.’ Detaching himself from the emotional, he concentrated instead on the practical, his mind shifting into problem-solving mode as he reached into his pocket for his mobile phone.

‘Oh, here we go,’ Faith muttered. ‘Let’s just make another million while we’re hanging around.’

Having accessed a number with a decisive stab of his finger, Raul turned with a mocking smile. ‘I wouldn’t bother switching the phone on for a million, cariño. You should know that by now.’

The doctor cast them both a despairing glance. ‘The two of you clearly have some problems.’

Rising to his feet, Raul dealt the other man a glance that would have silenced a football stadium in full voice. ‘Unless you’re adding psychiatry to your list of questionable medical skills, I suggest you don’t tread where you are bound to lose your footing. She is no longer your responsibility. I’ll be removing her from this place in the next ten minutes.’ Having delivered that missile directly to its target, Raul turned his attention to the man on the end of the phone and switched to his native Spanish.

By the time he’d ended the call, the nurse had retreated and the doctor was sifting through paperwork with shaking hands, clearly worrying about his own position.

‘If you’re taking her then you’ll have to sign something. I won’t be held responsible if anything happens to her. She needs to be in hospital—’

‘Maybe. But not this one.’ With one disdainful sweep of his eyes, Raul took in the state of the ward. ‘What exactly is this place and why hasn’t it been shut down before now?’

‘Shut down?’ The doctor looked scandalised. ‘This is the oldest hospital in London. We have been treating patients in this building since the time of King Henry the Eighth!’

‘It’s a shame no one has bothered to clean the floors since his last visit,’ Raul said coldly and the old lady in the bed opposite Faith clapped her hands in delight.

‘Oh, well said! I do so love a man who is dominant and handsome. These days most men have forgotten how to be real men. If she turns you down, I’m available.’

Amused, Raul turned and flashed her a smile. ‘Gracias, I will remember that.’ His response clearly goaded Faith because she gave a strangled laugh.

‘He’s the worst of a bad bunch. If you’re looking for a man who shoulders responsibility, then don’t look at this one, Mrs Hitchin.’

‘I could look at him all day,’ Mrs Hitchin said happily, adjusting her hearing aid. ‘I think he’s gorgeous.’

‘Actually he’s a sex-mad control freak,’ Faith muttered and Raul gave a twisted smile.

‘One wonders why, with that glowing opinion of my qualities, you were so grimly determined to drag me to the altar by any means at your disposal.’

Faith lifted her chin and her beautiful eyes flashed at him. ‘I did not drag you. Since when have you ever done anything that didn’t suit you? Your life is one long selfish, self- indulgent ego trip.’

‘You put me in an impossible position!’ His tone thickened, Raul felt his tension levels soar into the stratosphere. He hadn’t intended to tackle the issue here but even without spelling it out it was there in the room with them, hovering between them.

He saw that she was shaking and his eyes scanned the pale flesh of her smooth, slender arms, his treacherous mind turning to thoughts of sex. Those arms had been entwined round his neck, curved round his body as she’d urged him on. Those eyes that now flashed in anger had softened and tempted as she’d lured him on an erotic journey from which neither of them had emerged unscathed.

What they had shared was so powerful that even now he could taste it in the air. Even now, with all that lay between them, he knew that he could turn her from spitting hell-cat to purring kitten with one skilful touch of his mouth.

Only with supreme effort of will did Raul prevent himself from reaching out and flattening her against the bed.

And she knew.

She’d always known the effect she had on him. And she’d loved to tease and prolong the agony for both of them, using those jewel-bright green eyes of hers to raise the temperature from hot to raging inferno. With sideways glances, slow smiles and the sensuous swing of her hips she’d stoked the fire of his libido, pushing and pushing until his control had finally cracked. And when it had, she’d taken him into her soft, pulsing body, her desperation matching his.

In some ways their entire relationship had been a power struggle.

And for a while she’d won.

Only she was showing no signs of celebrating her victory.

‘Just get out, Raul,’ she said, and her voice held a quiver of vulnerability that he hadn’t expected. ‘It’s over. You wanted an escape, well, I’m giving you one. Get out.’

‘It would have been a great deal better for both of us had you realised that a few months ago. As it is, your timing is unfortunate. I’m your husband, cariño, although you could be forgiven for forgetting that fact, given that we were married for all of two hours before you ran away.’

‘I didn’t run away. I’m not a child or a convict. I left because I discovered what a monumental mistake I’d made about you. I wouldn’t have married you at all if I’d known what you were like.’

Remembering the circumstances of their wedding, Raul gave a bitter laugh. ‘I think we both know that isn’t the case. Anyway, you made your bed and fortunately for you it’s a great deal more comfortable than the one you’re lying in at the moment.’

‘I’m not going with you, Raul, and you can’t make me. I’m not one of your staff.’

‘If one of my staff had behaved the way you did,’ he snapped, ‘they would no longer be working for me. Unfortunately we are now legally bound, so firing you isn’t an option. Believe me, I’ve considered it.’ His phone rang and he took the call, simmering with dark, deadly emotion, his eyes on hers as he listened and then broke the connection.

‘My plane has been refuelled, a medical team is now on board and we take off in an hour from now.’

She shrank away from him. ‘I’m not well enough to go with you. I haven’t fully recovered.’

‘Then you can complete your recovery in the sunshine by my pool,’ he returned in a cool tone and she flopped back against the pillows, looking drained and exhausted. Raul wondered grimly whether her pallor was a reflection of the effort the confrontation had required, or the fact that she was contemplating the reality of being back in a marriage that she never should have entered in the first place.

You wanted a war, my beauty, he thought bitterly, and you fired the first shot. Now live with the consequences.

CHAPTER FOUR

TWENTY-FOUR hours later, Faith was lying on a sun-lounger under the shade of a huge umbrella. In front of her lay the perfectly still waters of the most stunning pool she’d ever seen and all around her a profusion of exotic plants and trees gave her the impression of being deep in a lush rainforest.