THE VALQUEZ SEDUCTION(45)

                She opened her eyes and looked at him with a smile. ‘It didn’t hurt a bit.’

                ‘Not yet, but it might.’ Luiz took one of her hands and pressed a kiss to the middle of her palm. ‘I’ll take it slowly just in case.’ He reached past her to retrieve a condom from the bedside drawer.

                She turned her head to watch him. ‘How many do you have in there?’

                ‘Enough.’

                ‘I suppose you buy them in the hundreds.’

                He glanced at her to see if there was any sign of censure in her expression but, surprisingly, there was none. Unless she was doing her best to disguise it, which was more likely. ‘It’s not good to hold on to them for too long. They have a use-by date.’

                ‘Like your partners?’

                He searched her gaze for another moment. ‘Yes. Exactly like them.’

                She trailed a fingertip down the length of his forearm. ‘What’s been your longest relationship?’

                ‘Two weeks.’

                Her brows lifted. ‘That long?’

                Luiz gave a rueful twist of his mouth. ‘Yeah, it’s a record. It was when I was a teenager. I fell madly in love at sixteen. She was a year older and had much more experience.’

                ‘Who broke it off?’

                ‘She did.’

                ‘Ouch.’

                He traced a slow circle on the back of her hand. ‘She had a boyfriend she forgot to tell me about.’ He met her gaze again. ‘I was a fling to make him jealous.’

                She frowned. ‘That was pretty mean of her.’

                ‘Quite.’

                She lifted her hand to his face, stroking his lean cheek, her blue eyes holding his. ‘So you’ve used women ever since.’

                He pulled back from her hand and frowned. ‘I don’t use women.’

                ‘Yes, you do. You hook up with them for sex. You don’t spend any time getting to know them. If that’s not using then I don’t know what is.’

                He pushed up off the bed and got to his feet, slamming the bedside drawer on the way. ‘No one’s complained so far.’

                ‘No, because you buy them off with a flashy bit of jewellery or flowers.’

                He sent her a cutting look. ‘I see you and Mr Google have been getting up close and personal. What else have you found out about me?’

                She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest, her teeth giving her lower lip a chew, her eyes now downcast. ‘I think I just ruined the moment… Sorry.’

                Luiz found it impossible to be angry with her. He let out a slow breath and came back to the bed and sat beside her. He took her hand and turned it over in his, playing with each of her fingers in turn. ‘You don’t approve of my lifestyle, do you?’

                Her blue eyes were clear and open and honest as they met his. ‘I don’t know much about it, other than what I’ve read. You might have a completely different take on it. But one thing I do know. You can’t live your whole life without connecting with other people on more than a physical level.’