would die away.
He studied her through his lashes as she smiled. The man who did end up with her would have to share her—the woman loved the whole world, and paella.
He watched as her smile had a predictable effect on a group of young men who stood a few feet away, staring. He could almost smell the testosterone from here; she remained cheerfully oblivious to the effect it had on them.
Rafael’s clenched teeth were starting to ache.
If that smile had turned out to conceal a mean and spiteful agenda he might not be feeling this uncharacteristic guilt.
He had nothing to feel guilty about.
So why do you feel the need to remind yourself of that so frequently?
‘You are not counting carbs, then?’
The sardonic observation made Maggie lift her chin. ‘Sorry if that offends you,’ she said, sounding anything but.
‘It was not a criticism.’
Almost certain that, despite this reassurance, it was exactly that, Maggie paused, her fork in the air. The furrow between her brows deepened as she studied his dark face. His entire attitude since they had arrived had been offhand and she was getting the impression he had regretted bringing her.
She ought to be regretting it too, but the hormonal rush she got every time she looked at him had an addictive quality. Then there was the smell of his skin and the way he. She inhaled deep, closing down this chain of thought, which could, if left unchecked, go on for a long time—there was a lot about him she found fascinating!
He might be her hormonal Achilles’ heel, but she was not about to apologise for liking food. She had been there, done that before.
‘I tried dieting.’ Simon had bought her a number of very useful books on the subject of healthy eating. ‘It made me cranky and I almost fainted running for the bus.’
A look of astonishment crossed his face. ‘Why would you diet?’ His eyes dropped, sliding appreciatively over her lush curves; by the time he made the return journey to her face Maggie’s cheeks were burning and her heart was slamming hard against her ribs like a trapped bird.
She was trapped, trapped by the sheer strength of the sexual awareness that had invaded every cell of her body.
‘I know I could do with losing my hips and my bottom is a bit…’
A hoarse rattling sound emerged from Rafael’s throat. ‘You have a magnificent body.’
Heat flashed through her body as their eyes meshed, the sweet sharp ache between her legs made Maggie shift uncomfortably and feel acutely embarrassed—but mingled with the embarrassment was a strong element of dizzy excitement.
‘Clothes hide a multitude of sins,’ she joked, trying to lower the sexual temperature, she was mortified by the thought of anyone listening in to this conversation.
‘It depends on your definition of sin.’ His slurred drawl made her shiver. ‘Would you like to compare notes?’
Maggie swallowed, the fork slipping from her nerveless fingers. His smoky eyes were eating her up.
‘I would really like to know what sinful thoughts are going through that beautiful head right now.’ His finger trailed down her cheek.
Maggie gasped and pulled back breaking the spell that held her in sexual thrall. ‘I’d really like to dance.’
Rafael laughed at the change of subject and thought I would like to see what those clothes are hiding. ‘This is not my sort of music.’
‘Your foot was tapping.’ Perhaps it was just her he didn’t want to dance with?
He heaved a sigh, there was time to ring Angelina and warn her later.
And why should he pass up the opportunity to legitimately hold that soft warm body next to his own?
It looked as if he was not the only person to have this idea.
Recognising the young man who, egged on by shouts from his friends lining the makeshift bar, was approaching, Rafael acknowledged him. ‘Enrique.’
The friends, who clearly had not really thought their friend this bold, fell silent.
Maggie watched as the two men spoke; the young man with the bold eyes and macho swagger kept flashing her smouldering looks that made her want to laugh. Despite the physical dissimilarities—he was dark and not very tall; Sam and Ben were tall and fair—he reminded her of her brothers.
When Rafael showed any inclination to smoulder in her direction she felt no desire to smile—in fact her reaction was worryingly close to throwing herself on the floor and screaming, Take me!
There had to be a logical reason for her bizarre behaviour. That fish last night had tasted funny…?
‘Enrique wants to know if you’d like to dance.’
‘And you don’t mind?’
His brows lifted at the question. ‘Why should I mind?’ Rafael shrugged, displaying zero reluctance to relinquish her to the care of the flashing-eyed young man, and said, ‘Have fun.’
Maggie looked at him with narrowed eyes. Weren’t Spanish men meant to be possessive? Clearly if they were Rafael was the exception to the rule because, far from objecting to the handsome boy—actually he was more than a boy; now she looked more closely she could see he was probably nearer her own age than her brothers’, but next to Rafael there was something immature about him—
‘Don’t worry, I will,’ she promised, taking the young man’s hand and allowing him to lead her out onto the dance floor.
CHAPTER SIX
RAFAEL drummed HIS fingers impatiently on the table-top as he waited for Angelina to pick up. He felt a jolt as Maggie, who appeared to be rapidly losing her inhibitions, turned her head and smiled at him.
He smiled back, then scowled as she was whirled away by her laughing partner, her dark hair streaming behind her like a silken cloud, her laughter floating on the air as Enrique, his shirt unfastened to reveal a bronzed chest, pulled her closer to demonstrate a complicated step that she copied with ease.
She was very graceful and her laughter and her lack of inhibition made him feel unaccountably annoyed.
Above the sound of her warm laughter he heard Angelina’s voice.
‘Rafael, are you at a party? Is that why you deserted us so early? Alfonso said you were avoiding the photos.’
Rafael forced his gaze from the dancing couples.
‘I’m planning on staying at the castillo tonight. Is Alfonso there?’
‘Yes, do you want to speak to him?’
‘No. Don’t talk, just listen.’ I’m about to turn your perfect day into a nightmare. He expelled a deep breath and said,
