style="font-size:15px;"> It had been a black, blustery night at the end of January when Raul had dashed into the shop with a prescription which he’d said was for his housekeeper Mrs Grimble’s angina. The old lady had forgotten to have it filled and he had not liked the idea of her being without her medication. Penny had thought what a caring man he was and her admiration had risen another notch when he’d declared that it was very dangerous for a lovely young girl like herself to be alone in a pharmacy at night.
They had got talking and Penny had remarked on his slight accent. He’d told her that he was Spanish and she remembered her response with a sad smile.
‘But you’re too tall to be Spanish.’
Raul had laughed out loud and gently mocked her. ‘A commonly held prejudice of northern Europeans, but may I point out Prince Felipe of Spain is well in excess of six feet? Your Prince Charles is around five-nine, no?’
Admitting her mistake, they had laughed together. But she had sensibly refused his offer to come back at closing time, to give her a lift home. The company had provided taxis for the late staff. But the following afternoon Raul had appeared again and persuaded her to have dinner with him.
That had been the start of their relationship. For the next two months, whenever he’d been in London, he’d called her, wined and dined her, taken her to the theatre, the opera, and opened up a world of wealth and sophistication that she had never thought to aspire to, and finally he had taken her to his bed.
How naive she had been! Penny thought, closing her eyes for an instant as the memory washed over her. Raul had made love to her with all the tender passion and expertise he possessed. Her passage from virgin to woman had been a revelation, a feast of the senses, an explosion of emotions that she had never imagined possible.
It had been the most perfect night of her life, and, the morning after, lying curled up against the hard heat of his male body, she had foolishly asked when they were getting married.
Raul had quickly dismissed the suggestion, declaring that because he was so much older, more experienced than she it would not be fair to rush her into marriage. She might change her mind. Most girls after their first time confused love with sex.
Instead he had suggested that she give up her job and move in with him. He had made it all sound very sensible, as if he was doing her a favour.
She shook her head, her pale hair floating around her shoulders, an unfamiliar cynical smile curving her lovely mouth. Ripe for the plucking, sprang to mind.
‘You bitch.’
Her head shot back, Raul’s snarling comment shocking her out of her reverie. His dark eyes glittered with rage and in one lithe stride he was in front of her, his strong hands grasping her shoulders. ‘I—’ she began.
‘Don’t bother to lie; your silence is answer enough,’ he growled, just before his mouth crashed down on hers in a brutal parody of a lover’s kiss.
Penny lifted her hands to the hard wall of his chest, trying to push him away. But he was too big, too strong, and, sensing her resistance, he swept one arm around her tiny waist, hauling her off her feet, while his other hand twisted the length of her hair around his fingers, pulling her face back, the better to ravish her mouth.
‘No, Raul,’ she gasped as his mouth left hers to savage her throat with hot, burning kisses.
He raised his head, his black eyes implacable in their intent. ‘No? You dare to say no?’ he grated harshly. ‘You have a lot to learn for a woman who thinks she is a concubine. They are not allowed to say no.’
Penny began to struggle in earnest, kicking out wildly with her feet, her small hands pushing at his massive shoulders, but with no effect. Raul simply hoisted her over his shoulder and stalked into the bedroom while she pummelled his back with her clenched fists in vain.
‘Put me down, you great, hulking brute!’ she screamed. She would not allow him to treat her like this, she vowed.
Suddenly she was falling backwards onto the bed, all the breath leaving her body with the force of the impact. She gazed up at the man standing over her. It was a Raul she had never seen before. He was out of control, his lips pulled back in the travesty of a smile, his dark eyes flashing fire.
His hand reached down and tore the halter-neck of her dress to her waist, revealing her braless state. She put her hands to cover herself and he tore them away, spreading them either side of her head as he bent to kneel over her, straddling her lower body with his long legs.
His fiery gaze skimmed her bare breasts. ‘No wonder the Sheikh was so charmed; you virtually displayed yourself naked in that dress.’
‘Please, Raul,’ Penny murmured, suddenly beginning to feel frightened of him for the first time in their relationship, even as her breasts hardened under his searching gaze.
‘You think I treat you like a concubine? You think I keep you as a slave? It is time you knew the difference, my sweet Penny—my sweet, innocent, flirtatious Penny,’ he snarled with savage mockery. Then, bending his head, he deliberately bit down lightly on one rose-tipped breast and then the other.
Penny jerked beneath him and felt the familiar heat of instant arousal in her loins. Raul at his worst could still excite her, even as she hated herself for it. His mouth found hers and his teeth nipped at her lips until she gave him access. His tongue plunged deep into her mouth, stroking, arousing, demanding her response, and she could not deny him.
Passion ignited between them like a forest fire run wild. Raul reared back, his hand ripping her dress and panties down and off her feet, and, within seconds of discarding his trousers, he was once more over her.
His lips found hers and she was ready for him. The heat, the aroused male scent, the hard-packed muscle were her own particular aphrodisiac. She could no more resist him than stop the ocean tide. The blood pounded through her veins; she could feel the rapid pounding of his mighty heart as she pulled at his shirt, tearing off the buttons in her haste to feel his naked flesh against her breasts. Instead his mouth found her hardened peaks and suckled each in turn as one long leg parted her thighs and he slammed into her with savage ease.
It was over in a minute—a rapacious coupling that neither could resist. Raul’s full weight collapsed on top of her and he buried his head on the pillow over her shoulder.
Penny, fighting for breath, was appalled at her own lack of control. But that Raul had so completely lost control that he had forgotten protection she found incredible.
‘Raul,’ she murmured, slipping her arm around his shoulders, her slender fingers tracing up the back of his neck and into his sweat-damp, curling hair.
He turned his head away from her; his eyes caught the flash of diamonds on the bedside table and he groaned. Moving onto his back and sweeping Penny into his arms, he said huskily, ‘Dios, I’m sorry, Penny.’ His voice was deep with remorse. ‘It’s your birthday, and I lost it completely. Did I hurt you?’
‘No. Surprised me, shocked me a little, but hurt me? Never,’ Penny reassured him softly, her blue eyes gazing up into his darkly handsome face which was dazed with the aftermath of violent passion.
‘I shocked myself,’ Raul said with wry mockery. ‘I did not believe I could feel such jealousy. Seeing that Arab kiss your hand, I suddenly wanted to hit him.’
‘Hardly
