She'd nearly sold her soul for a kiss.
God, how stupid was she?
Keep her comfortable and safe? Diogo would keep her and the babies like toys on a shelf, for him to take down and play with when it amused him. He would travel the world, run a billion-dollar business, and seduce a new woman every night, and forget all about the family he'd left at home!
He'd interrupted first a kiss—and then his marriage proposal—for the sake of another woman. What kind of fool would agree to be Diogo's wife under those kinds of terms?
No.
She wouldn't let him buy her. Not with his money and not with his sexy charm. She would rather be poor and free than be a rich man's toy. She would rather be a single mother than a miserable, brokenhearted wife!
But it had been so close. After such a wonderfully romantic day, she'd almost agreed to be his bride.
And knowing that, she hardly knew whom she hated more—Diogo or herself.
“I'm sorry.” Diogo was suddenly in front of her. “I had to take that call.”
“Of course,” she said coldly. “I understand. Not that I've ever had a mistress myself.”
He stared at her, and she realized part of her was waiting breathlessly, hoping he would deny everything. That small, weak part of her wanted to believe he could be faithful, even by ignoring the evidence of her own eyes.
But he didn't even try to deny it. His lips only separated into a glinty smile. “Right.” He reached for her. “Now, where were we? Ah, yes. You were agreeing to marry me.”
Humiliation once again rushed through her, leaving her body in flames. She moved before he could touch her.
“You were taking me to the airport,” she said evenly. “I want to go home. Now.”
“Now?” He stopped, grinding his jaw. His chest rose and fell twice. Their gazes locked as, all around them, couples danced provocatively, grinding their half-naked bodies in movement to the seductive music. “And this is how you keep your promise to remain here until the babies are born?”
Unwilling to trust her voice, she shrugged.
His jaw tightened. She saw him clench his hands.
“Tá bom. Just remember, querida. You left me no choice.”
Without warning, he picked her up in his arms in the middle of the dance floor.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
“Taking you to our wedding,” he growled.
“What? No!” Shocked, she struggled and cried out. The other patrons of the club were so lost in a haze of sex and pleasure and music that they hardly noticed. The few who did notice merely glanced at them with knowing, sly smiles and returned to their dirty dancing.
As Diogo carried her out of the club toward his shiny black Escalade, she tearfully looked up at him. His face was stony, as icy and unreachable as the stars above them.
“Please don't do this!” she begged.
He shoved her into the backseat. “Since you won't see reason, I have no choice.” Diogo climbed beside her and leaned forward to speak to his chauffeur. “Go.”
“But—you promised!” she sobbed.
“And unlike you, I never break my word.” His handsome face was cold as he looked down at her. “You will never be my mistress. But I swear to you now—you will be my wife.”
The night was dark as Diogo's black heart.
Their SUV was covered with mud as they traveled over a rough road into the deep of the jungle. With her window rolled down a crack, she could smell the exotic flowers of the dark forest, hear the eerie howls of spider monkeys and the call of night birds.
Ellie saw a tiny ruined church with peeling white paint that was half-swallowed by jungle.
“I can't marry you,” she said desperately. “Please!”
He didn't even glance her way. “It's for the best.”
“The best for you, you mean.”
He turned to her. His eyes were dark, half-hidden in shadow. “I don't understand why you continue to refuse me.”
“No, of course you wouldn't!” she said sarcastically. “No woman ever refuses you anything!”
“You are the first.” He leaned forward with a frown. “Why? Why do you want our children to be born without a father, without a name? Don't you know the devastation it will cause them? You want me so badly I can feel the heat from your body whenever I draw near. Why do you persist in refusing what we both want?”
“Because… Because I want more!” she cried out.
“More what? More money? More? I do not understand! I offer you what I've never offered any woman.” He sounded exasperated, even bewildered. “I've asked you to be my bride.”
“You're not asking anything. You're forcing me.” She looked away, suddenly fighting tears. “And that should be enough for a woman like me, I suppose. I'm knocked up and have no money, and you're kindly offering to take care of me. I should be grateful, right?”