tried to remain focused as she looked up at him, hating the way excitement sparked inside her as his dark eyes travelled down her body, making her display of cold demeanour extremely difficult. She stood boldly as his gaze seemed to rip the black fitted skirt and businesslike white blouse from her. Each second that ticked by increased her vulnerability, raising it higher than it had ever been, and the urge to fight back kicked in. If he was going to blatantly inspect her, she’d return the compliment.
With huge effort she dragged her gaze from the black depths of his eyes, taking in the clean-shaven face, then to the strong neck encased in a pristine white shirt collar, intensifying the olive tones of his skin. His hair was thick and as dark as coal and his broad shoulders gave her the impression they were strong enough to carry any problems. His arms flexed tantalisingly beneath the fine cloth of his suit as he stood and leant slightly on the back of the chair, his cold stare barely masking his irritation.
How would it feel to be held within the strength of those arms? Her pulse leapt at the thought and she fought hard again to quell the instant attraction that had stirred the woman in her she’d long since hidden away. This was not the time to indulge in silly romantic notions and most definitely not with this man, one who’d made his thoughts of her plain many years ago.
‘If this meeting was as important as you led me to believe, you would not have been late, Mr Valdez.’ Her anger at the way her body had reacted as she’d taken in every detail of this man, and the thoughts that had raced through her mind at the idea of being held in those strong arms, made her voice crisp and sharp.
That impressive control didn’t waver.
‘You and I are in a position which I am certain neither of us want, Miss Carter-Wilson, and, as I have the solution, I suggest you sit down.’ She saw his jaw flex as he clenched his teeth, the only sign she was challenging his outward display of patience.
‘The position we are in? You mean the bizarre conditions your father attached to the contract he forced my father to sign?’ That sensation of helplessness she’d been fighting for several weeks surfaced again and her voice rose rapidly with each word.
‘Exactly that.’ The calmness of his voice, together with the silky rich accent, jarred her senses, increasing her wildly overactive anxieties.
‘There is no way it can be enforced.’ She knew she was beginning to babble, the panic of everything almost too much, and she bit back further words. He had to think she was calm and in control, had to think he’d met his match. His equal.
‘If you sit down we can discuss this rationally.’ He gestured to the chair, his brow rising in question—or was it amusement?
Unable to keep a sigh of discontent from escaping, she sat down. The need to be in charge, to control the situation she was virtually drowning in, forced her to speak again before he’d sat opposite her at the small and inappropriately intimate table, complete with a red rose and candle.
‘I think you need to explain just what kind of business contract your father tricked mine into signing. It is inconceivable that in the twenty-first century two people can be forced to marry because of such devious tactics.’ She took a deep shuddering breath, hardly able to comprehend that this nightmare was actually happening.
‘That is why I’m here—’
Lydia cut across him, angry at the stupidity of her father for signing a contract with such dire conditions and, even more so, at this cool specimen of male splendour for being so calm and pragmatic about it. ‘Mr Valdez, I don’t care what is in the contract. I’m not going to marry you. Not ever.’
His dark brows rose and she thought she saw a hint of a smile on his lips. Even worse, his reaction sent a skitter of something she’d never experienced hurtling through her and her pulse leapt just from having that sexy hint of a smile, which had sparked briefly in his eyes, directed at her.
‘At least we agree on that.’ He sat back in his chair, his dark eyes locking with hers, full of challenge. ‘You may be assured I have absolutely no desire to make a spoilt little rich girl my wife.’
So his opinion of her hadn’t changed. ‘I am no such thing.’
She fought hard to resist the urge to jump up and walk away; only the fact that her solicitor had told her the terms of the contract her father had signed with Banco de Torrez, however bizarre, would stand up in court, kept her from doing just that—for now.
‘What about all the properties? Many of them are worth millions. Your father hid them by putting them in your name as he defaulted month after month on the agreement he’d signed with my father.’ He folded his arms across his chest, serving only to emphasise the strength in them as the dark grey suit pulled over his biceps. Since when did she ever notice such things about a man?
‘That is something I had no knowledge of, but, if they are in my name and worth that much, I will sell them to clear the debt.’ The discovery several weeks ago of what her father had done had been just another bit of her life falling to pieces. Angry at the man who was supposed to protect her, she’d maintained a stony silence with him, to show him her disappointment and anger that once again he’d risked everything, including this time her future, her happiness.
Raul looked at her and she knew he didn’t believe her. The cold lack of interest was too obvious. Was he really as ruthless in business as those reports she’d read on the Internet implied? She had hoped to strike some sort of deal with him. After all, a man who rarely dated the same woman twice was as unlikely to want marriage as she was.
‘I would be more than happy to accept such an offer—’
‘Good.’ She stood up, content that this absurd conversation was over. ‘Then you can liaise with my solicitor over the matter.’
‘Do you always talk over people?’ His question stopped her as she was about to leave for the second time and she looked down at him, stunned into silence, and the elusive sensation of being in control slipped further away with each erratic heartbeat. From the moment he’d arrived and their eyes had met, she’d lost that control.
* * *
Raul had never known such self-assured insolence from a woman as beautiful and alluring as the prim and proper Lydia Carter-Wilson. She certainly didn’t want to hear what he had to say and wasn’t prepared to listen to his suggestion for dealing with the situation they were both now in. A solution he was certain would be acceptable. Yet it was blatantly clear all this fiery beauty cared about was herself. She hadn’t changed a bit since he’d met her ten years ago. Granted, she’d become a beautiful and sexy woman, but she wasn’t any different. She was still a spoilt little rich girl. Daddy’s princess—and a liar.
He pushed down the irrational anger that engulfed him every time he thought of what his father had done. That last meddling dig at the son he’d never wanted threatened to unleash all the bitterness and contempt he’d kept hidden since his father had died five months ago. The devious old man had even known he was terminally ill and changed his will to get at him one last time.
‘No, I don’t, but then I’ve never had the dubious pleasure of lunch with a man like you.’ The hot retort fired at him and he couldn’t help but smile. It was definitely an inconvenience having to extricate himself from such an agreement with this woman, but he’d certainly not expected to find it so entertaining. She was a bundle of hot sparks and defiance. Just the mutinous tilt of her chin and the rapid rise and fall of her breasts as she glared at him fired something deeper than merely lust. Something he had no
