Nicola's eyes flashed. 'It sounds a very one-sided bargain to me. What would Teresita be getting in return for bearing your children and surrounding you with 'grace and serenity'? The sort of joyless, loveless relationship which your family has specialised in probably for generations?'
His mouth curled. 'You will not speak of my family in that way, señorita. Your tongue will be your downfall.'
'Don't you like to hear the truth?'
His hands descended on her shoulders, jerking her into a sitting position.
'And what do you know of truth?' he said harshly. 'You-who have acted a lie since the moment I saw you. What do you know of love? You talk a great deal, chica, but your eyes tell me that you are as untutored in passion as Teresita herself.'
His words were like a lash across an open wound.
'That isn't true,' she cried in protest. 'I've been in love-deeply and passionately in love. I love him still. That's why I decided to help Teresita to be happy. Because I knew that she deserved better than the pallid, cold-blooded arrangement which was all you were offering.'
His smile was grim. 'So you think me cold-blooded, amiga? I promise that Teresita would not have found me so. And neither will you.'
He pulled her towards him, and his mouth descended mercilessly on hers. She was unable to breathe or even think coherently. Panic rose in her, and she beat with clenched fists on his shoulders, but neither his hold nor his brutal assault on the softness of her lips slackened even for a moment. Her half-covered breasts were crushed achingly against the muscular wall of his chest, and a whimper rose in her throat as his hand twisted in her tangled hair, dragging her head back, so that his mouth could travel bruisingly down the length of her throat.
When she could speak, she said pleadingly, 'No-please!'
He lifted his head and stared down at her, his eyes glittering with mockery, and something else that she was frightened to interpret.
'Who is speaking now, chica! The experienced woman of the world in your imagination, or the frightened virgin of reality? I want the truth!'
Her throat closed, making speech impossible. She could only shake her head, staring up at him with eyes that begged wordlessly for understanding, even for mercy.
Almost gently, he lowered her back on to the mattress. Then he sat up, his eyes travelling slowly and broodingly down the slender length of her body. Nicola felt humiliated under the intensity of his gaze, but she made no effort to drag the blanket around her, or even shield herself with her hands. She deserved to feel this shame, she thought, just as she deserved every harsh word he had thrown at her, and more. Whatever her private opinion of his motives or morals, she'd had no right to interfere. He was entitled to be angry, even to exact some kind of retribution, but not-in that way. Dear God, not that.
His hand cupped her chin, forcing her to look up at him, and one finger stroked softly and sensuously across the swollen outline of her mouth.
He said very quietly, 'You have done me a great wrong, amiga. You have insulted me, and robbed me, and made me lose face. Are you prepared to make amends?'
'If I can.' She tried to sound brave, but in spite of her efforts there was a quiver in her voice.
'Oh, you can,' he said softly. 'I need a wife, as I told you. Thanks to you, the girl I had chosen is lost to me. The least you can do is take her place.'
For a moment she lay staring up at him, her mind trying to make sense of what he had just said. She began to shake her head slowly.
'No, you can't-I couldn't! You're not serious.'
'No?' he asked mockingly. 'Perhaps another display of my ardour will convince you.' He bent towards her, and her hands came up, pushing against him.
'No!' Her voice cracked in panic, and he laughed.
'Then say you will marry me, and I will wait like a gentleman until you are legally mine.'
'But you don't want to marry me. You can't want to. We don't know each other. You don't like me...' The words tumbled over each other. She knew she wasn't making any sense, but then what was in this whole crazy situation?
'You have made me very angry, I admit,' he said. 'But you inspire other emotions in me, amiga, which make fair recompense for any amount of anger. Why do you imagine I did not unmask you immediately? Why did I allow you to think I was Ramon? Because you intrigued me, chica. Because you stirred my blood. My decision to escort Teresita north myself was a last-minute one, prompted by a sense of duty.' His mouth twisted ruefully. 'I felt I owed it to the child-and myself to spend some time with her, to get to know her-perhaps, if she seemed willing, to woo her.'
'How kind of .you,' said Nicola on a little flare of bitterness. 'I'm sure she would have been overwhelmed.'
'You flatter me, chica,' he said mockingly.
But in a moment of self-revelation, she knew that wasn't the case. He was a practised seducer. If he had employed the same wiles with Teresita as he had with her, she would have been eating out of his hand by the time they reached La Mariposa. She remembered with shame her own reactions. And she knew without looking at him that he was remembering too.
After a pause, he said, 'But I must confess, I wasn't looking forward to the journey, until the car stopped outside the convent and I saw you waiting for me, chica. For a moment I was not even sure what was happening, and then you spoke and I realised that it was all a trick to fool my unfortunate cousin. The impulse to turn the tables on you was irresistible.'
She shook her head. 'But- weren't you worried about Teresita-that she might have been harmed in some way?'
'If it was that, there would have been a ransom note waiting, not a girl in disguise. No, I guessed at once that you were one of the girls with whom she was sharing an apartment, and that you were the English girl, because I knew the American spoke little Spanish. Yours is excellent. I must congratulate you.'
Nicola swallowed. 'But why did you let it-go on like that?'
'Because I was bored, I decided that you might alleviate that boredom, provide me with some amusement on the trip. Which you did, amiga,' he added cynically. 'Although only by day, to my regret. I had not envisaged that I would be spending my nights alone, but then it had not occurred to me that a girl who could lend herself to such an adventure could possibly be as innocent as you were.'
His eyes met hers, and she felt a shock run through her entire body. 'I want you, Nicola, and I intend to have you--with the bonds of matrimony or without them. The choice is yours.'
'And if I say I won't marry you?'
He gave a slight shrug. 'Then instead of La Mariposa, we'll go somewhere else. To my house near Acapulco, perhaps. At night, the bedroom is full of the sound of the ocean.'
'Fascinating,' she said, conscious that her heart was beating wildly. 'I'm sure that all your lady loves find that a terrific turn-on. Only I won't be joining them. Isn't there any other choice beside the two you've mentioned?'
'Oh yes. There is the little matter of the stolen truck. We still operate the Napoleonic code in Mexico, querida. You would have to prove your innocence of the theft. Our jails are not comfortable places, as you would have a long time to find out. On the other hand, the truck could be retrieved, and the driver handsomely compensated for the trouble and inconvenience you have caused him. I could probably persuade him to bring no charges against you-or I could wash my hands of the whole affair and allow justice to take its course with you.'
Dry-mouthed, she protested, 'But I didn't steal it! I- I only borrowed it. I was going to let the driver know where I'd left it and...'
'How?' he said unanswerably.
There was a long silence, then Nicola said huskily,
'But -your family. What will they say? They know you intended to marry Teresita.'
'Si,' he agreed. 'There was a small sensation earlier today when I informed them that I had changed my plans. My aunt was overjoyed, taking it as a sign that I am about to gratify her by proposing to my cousin Pilar.' His mouth twisted. 'But I am not. I therefore blighted her hopes yst again by requesting her to have a room prepared for you. It was not long afterwards that I received an agitated phone call from Lopez.'
'Oh,' she said guiltily.
'Oh, indeed, chica,' he agreed rather grimly. 'I still do not understand how he can have been such a fool, especially after I had warned him to be vigilant. The tickets and itinerary in your bag made your intentions perfectly clear.'
She bit her lip. 'But you've told your family about me. And about me running away?'
'Some of it,' he said. 'Not the whole story.'
She spread her hands. 'Then you must see how impossible it is. They would never accept me as-as a suitable wife for you.'