muscle melted. Raul supported her and she couldn’t summon the energy to order him out. Not when he was all that kept her upright.
Then, like a blessing, a damp cloth brushed her forehead, her cheeks and throat, her dry lips. She turned her face into it gratefully.
‘Drink this.’ A glass nudged her mouth. Gratefully she sipped cool water. The damp cloth wiped her forehead again and she almost moaned in relief. She was weak as a kitten.
How could she face Raul now? Why was he here?
Tears stung as exhaustion and self-pity flooded her.
‘You’re ill. I’ll call a doctor.’ She opened her eyes to meet a worried dark green gaze. Raul looked grim.
She wanted to sit, basking in her husband’s concern, pretending it meant more than it surely did.
‘No. I’m not ill. It’s perfectly normal. A doctor won’t help with this.’
Belatedly she realised what she’d said as Raul’s brows arched. Shock froze his features as he read the implications of her nausea.
She’d meant to tell him soon. But not like this.
‘Please,’ she said quickly. ‘I need privacy to freshen up.’ She refused to have this conversation on the edge of the bath, with her hair matted across her clammy brow.
Luisa turned away, not wanting to see suspicion darken his gaze. Pain welled and she bit her lip. After seeing her with Lukas it would be no surprise if Raul questioned the baby’s paternity. He hadn’t said he believed her explanation of why she’d been in Lukas’ embrace.
Raul left the room without a word.
She should have been grateful but felt only despair that he’d been eager to go. So much for her fantasy of them bonding over their child!
Luisa took her time in the bathroom, but when she opened the door Raul was there. To her astonishment he swooped, scooping her into his arms.
‘I can walk.’ But her protest was half-hearted. His embrace was magic, even knowing it didn’t mean anything. Raul was a man for whom duty was paramount. Tending to a pregnant female would come naturally.
He deposited her on the bed, where plumped up pillows sat against the headboard. He drew the coverlet over her and reached for something on the bedside table.
‘Here. Try this.’ It was a plate of salted crackers. He must have ordered them while she was in the bathroom.
‘I’m not an invalid.’ Luisa pushed them aside and fought not to succumb to the sweet delight of being cared for. Absurdly, the thoughtful gesture made her eyes swim, despite her anger and distress.
It didn’t help that Raul looked wonderful. Faded denim stretched across his taut, powerful thighs. He wore a black pullover, sleeves bunched up to reveal strong, sinewy forearms. He was even more gorgeous than in one of his suave suits. Would she ever see him like this again? Her throat closed as she realised the answer was probably no.
The bed sank as he sat, facing her. Luisa’s heart squeezed.
‘You’re pregnant.’ It was a statement.
‘I think so. But if I am it’s your child.’ She met his impenetrable gaze defiantly. ‘It’s got nothing to do with Lukas.’
He reached out and smoothed a lock of hair off her brow. Luisa’s breath caught at the seeming tenderness of the gesture. She told herself she was a fool.
‘I didn’t think it had.’
‘Oh.’ She sank back, stunned.
‘Have you seen a doctor?’
‘No. It’s still early.’ She knew exactly when their baby had been conceived: that first tempestuous night of marriage, when she’d learned about ecstasy and heartache.
But Raul’s calm acceptance surprised her. ‘So you never thought—?’
He shook his head. ‘I can’t lie and say it didn’t occur to me.’ His eyes slid from hers. ‘But when would you have time for an affair? It’s my bed you share? My sofa. My desk.’
‘You’ve made your point!’ He didn’t have to remind her how needy she was for him. How he only had to tilt one dark eyebrow in delicious invitation for her pulse to thrum with anticipation.
She stared hard into his face, trying to decipher his thoughts. Bewildered, she shook her head. ‘I thought you’d believe—’
‘That my wife was having an affair with my secretary?’ Raul grimaced and placed has hand over hers. She felt heat, power and solidity, and she couldn’t bring herself to dislodge his hand.
‘I admit it was an unpleasant shock.’ He tightened his hold and drew a deep breath that expanded his chest mightily. ‘But I’ve come to know you, Luisa. You’d never go behind my back with another man. You’re honest, genuine and caring. You wouldn’t behave like that.’ The words fell like nourishing rain in her parched soul.
He believed in her?
Her hands trembled with the shock of it.
‘I know Lukas too,’ he continued. ‘We’ve worked together for years. How could I believe the worst, knowing you both?’
‘I—’ Words failed her. Such trust, when Raul had been so badly hurt before, and in the face of such evidence, stunned her. She’d expected a myriad of questions at the very least. Her heart swelled.
‘I thought after Ana—’
‘Forget Ana. I was a fool ever believing myself in love with her. But I got over her years ago. This is about you and me, Luisa. No one else.’
Raul’s intense stare pinioned her, even as relief flared deep inside at the knowledge the other woman was no rival for Raul’s affection. She’d worried about that so long! A burgeoning sense of lightness filled her.
‘Luisa.’ Her name was a sudden hoarse rasp that startled her. ‘I want you to stay. Here, with me. Don’t go to Sydney.’
The trembling in her hands intensified as tenuous joy rose. He believed in her! He wanted her!
It took a moment to realise why.
Disillusionment was bitter on her tongue. She tried to pull away but his grasp tightened.
‘Because of the baby! You want your heir.’ That was why he’d changed his mind about her going. This was about bloodlines. How could she have thought otherwise? She knew to her cost how important royal blood was in this place. Her heart spasmed in distress.
‘Of course I want to be with the baby and you.’
She shook her head, a lead weight settling on her chest. The pain was worse now, more intense after that single moment of hope. She almost cried out.
Despite her efforts to make a place for herself here, Luisa knew she was too impulsive, too casual,
