Counterfeit Bride(14)

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.'