Page 39 of Spanish Marriage Solution

Her gaze flickered, as if something about his response had disappointed her, though he wasn’t sure what it had been.

This is how it starts. Failing her.

No, he wouldn’t. This time it would be different, he’d make sure of it. Love wasn’t a possibility but he’d give her everything else. A home. Children. Comfort. Companionship. He’d support her career too and anything she chose to do. She could have just about everything she wanted.

They could have it.

And if she wants more?

But she didn’t want more. She’d told him back in Spain that she didn’t want love, that she felt the same way he did about it, and besides, she’d agreed to marry him. He’d told her what to expect and she’d still said yes.

Doesn’t she deserve love, though? After everything she’s lost?

Oh, she did. She deserved to be loved completely and utterly, but he wasn’t going to be the one to give it to her. And if that meant she’d eventually leave him and find someone else who would, then he’d have to deal with that. He would never get in the way of her finding happiness, even if that was with another man.

Even if that thought makes you feral with rage.

He ignored the thought, shoved it away. That was a thought his father would have, one of those jealous, vindictive thoughts and he wouldn’t be like him. Ever. If Alice wanted to leave him, he’d let her go, but... That didn’t mean he couldn’t make the decision a difficult one. In fact, he’d make it as hard for her to leave him as he could.

He turned her in his lap so she was facing him, her thighs spread on either side of his hips, the soft, damp heat of her sex pressing against his aching shaft. She gave one of those delicious little shivers that she always did whenever she was aroused, the darkness of her eyes seeming to glow and get molten.

‘Of course you do,’ she murmured. ‘I want all those things for him too.’

‘I know you do.’ He settled one hand on her hip while he slid the other between her thighs, stroking the hot, soft folds he found there, making her gasp. ‘But that doesn’t mean that there can’t be anything for us.’

She moaned, her hips flexing, arching against his hand. She was already wet for him, her nipples hard, her skin flushed. ‘Such as?’ she asked, her voice husky.

‘This.’ He moved his hand and gripped her other hip, sliding into her in one long, slow, deep thrust. ‘And it’s not just sex, mi cielo...my sky.’ His voice had roughened at the tight clasp of her sex around his. ‘It is more. We have a connection and it’s not only physical.’

She slid her arms around his neck, her lovely body pressing hard against his. Her eyes had gone very dark, inches from his own, and he was captivated by the currents in them, light and shadow like the sun moving over a dark river.

‘What else is it, then?’ she asked softly. ‘Tell me.’

He couldn’t look away from the emotion shifting in her gaze. He began to move, watching as the building pleasure became part of those currents, turning into something powerful and deep, glowing in her eyes. ‘It is emotional too,’ he said, his voice even rougher. ‘And I will be there for you, understand me? I will give you everything you need to be happy. Because your happiness is as important to me as Diego’s.’

She stared back at him, unflinching, those currents in her eyes shifting and swirling. But she didn’t speak, she only leaned forward and kissed him, her mouth hot and open and sweet. Yet he could also taste desperation, though he wasn’t sure what she was so desperate about.

Are you certain? Are you certain you don’t know?

But he pushed that thought aside as the pleasure began to get deeper, wider, and soon he wasn’t thinking at all. There was only the rhythm between them and the friction that drove him out of his mind, the heat and the blazing passion that always seared both of them down to their souls.

And if a small, nagging doubt crept into his heart, it was soon lost under the relentless tide of ecstasy, as it washed over both of them and carried them away.

CHAPTER TEN

ALICE WALKED SLOWLY over pristine white sand still warm from the heat of the day, her hand held securely in Sebastián’s as he walked beside her. They’d taken to having evening strolls along the beach to watch the sunset, sometimes talking idly about their day, sometimes not speaking at all and just enjoying each other’s company.

It was peaceful and usually she relished this time with him. But tonight was their last night on the island. Tomorrow they’d be returning to Spain, and she couldn’t shake the tension that coiled inside her.

All this would be ending and she didn’t want to think about how it would be between them once they returned to the hacienda. Back to her life as Sebastián’s wife in every way, except one.

Abruptly, he came to a stop and let go of her hand, bending to pick something up off the sand. ‘For you, mi cielo,’ he murmured and held it out to her.

It was a shell, polished by the sea and the sand, gleaming in the light of the setting sun, its smooth white surface stained pink and gold and red.

‘Oh,’ she breathed, taking it from him and turning it over in her palm to examine it. ‘It’s beautiful.’

He smiled, genuine and warm, his eyes full of the familiar heat that always stole her breath clean away. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘it is.’

---