Page 22 of Shock Marriage for the Powerful Spaniard
Sofia opened her mouth to tell him that she had been touching base with her aunt but stopped herself.
She’d decided to share as little as possible, hadn’t she? She had no intention of telling him how she planned to use some of the money that had landed into her account. He had made it clear that this was purely a business transaction, that he would lead his life as he saw fit just so long as he kept the details of what he was up to to himself.
Confidences were the business of friends. He wasn’t her friend, despite what she might originally have thought.
Besides, what if he decided to have a say in where her money went? Could he do that? Did he care one way or the other? It was best not to risk anything.
She couldn’t trust him and it was just as well to remember that.
She shrugged, slipping the mobile phone into her over the shoulder bag.
‘If you have any ties you think I should know about,’ Rafael drawled, with just the tiniest edge in his voice, ‘then you should think about telling me now.’
‘Ties?’
‘I asked you once whether you were involved with anyone out there and you told me that you weren’t.’
‘Oh, I see what you mean, Rafael. Men.’ She lowered her eyes, torn between telling him the truth and protecting a life she felt he had no right to know about, just as there would be huge tracts of his life he felt she had no right to know about, whatever their marital status.
‘No men. At least...’ She thought of Miguel and hardened her jaw. ‘You don’t have to worry on that front, although if I recall you did say that we could lead separate lives...err...when it came to that kind of thing.’
She began moving away and he caught her by her arm, halting her.
‘That’s what you intend on doing?’ he asked softly, stepping fractionally closer to her.
Her heart was beating fast. Her pulses were racing and her whole nervous system was in free fall.
A passing touch and she was going to pieces! She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his mouth and the feel of his hand on her arm was electric.
‘I... I don’t know what I intend on doing,’ Sofia said breathlessly, inching away as much as she could.
‘I won’t tolerate any affair being flaunted in my face,’ he said flatly.
‘Nor will I!’ Her green eyes flashed and suddenly there was an outpouring of emotion only weakly held in check by the stern lectures she had given herself ever since she had embarked on this road. ‘Whatever you might think of me, this was never what I envisaged for myself when it came to marriage! Yes, I know all about thosemillion and one reasonsfor going through with it, and yes, I know it’s not going to last for ever and I’ll walk away with lots of money in my bank account. But it still hurts to know that I’m going to tie the knot with some guy who will play around with other women and do his own thing!’
She looked at him fiercely. She felt herself gathering momentum. ‘Furthermore, this isyourterritory. You’re established here and you don’t care what the world thinks of you or the choices you make! But I... I don’t belong here, so just try and imagine what it’ll feel like if I ever walk into a room to be confronted by some woman you’re bedding behind my back!’
‘You have quite the imagination...’
‘Have I? You might not intend on flaunting anything but are you going to tell me that that world you occupy isn’t a really small one?’
‘It’s small,’ Rafael admitted in a roughened undertone. His grasp on her arm had slackened but he had also closed the tiny distance between them so that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.
‘Women can be vicious,’ Sofia muttered, looking down and thinking of the nasty digs that had plagued her teenage years and the bitchiness of jealous girls who had always guarded their stupid boyfriends against what they’d seen as a possible threat. As if she’d ever been interested in any of them. But still she knew what it felt like to be attacked through no fault of her own.
She shuddered at the thought of having to deal with some woman Rafael might be seeing.
‘Are you speaking from experience?’ he murmured, dropping his hand to his side and stepping back as he stared down at her with his head tilted to one side.
‘The fairer sex can be anything but gentle when it comes to certain things.’ Sofia tilted her head at a challenging angle and folded her arms. Her whole body was still tingling. She felt as though she’d been touched, intimately touched, even though all he’d done was circle her arm with his fingers.
‘Especially given the way you look,’ he said, eyes roving over her flushed face. ‘I get it,cara.’
Thick silence greeted this observation. It stretched and stretched, sending her thoughts into a giddy tailspin, making her mouth dry. It was an effort not to close her eyes and reach up...just a little...enough to brush her lips against his mouth.
Her nipples, pushing against the cotton bra, felt scratchy and over-sensitive and between her legs...felt hot and damp.
Their eyes locked. His breathing was thick and fast, giving her signals she didn’t trust and didn’t want to understand. He took a step towards her, jaw clenched, his body rigid with tension.
