Page 35 of A Diamond for My Forbidden Bride

He stopped, barely inches away, surrounding me with the seductive heat of his body and scent of cinnamon and salt. Reminding me that he was all man, and that I was all woman, and that I wanted him. No matter what I told myself about distance, I wanted him.

He said nothing, reaching out and taking the front of my silk tunic between his hands and jerking it apart. The silk tore soundlessly, the halves falling open, leaving me naked.

Heat and desire burned hot in his eyes as his gaze raked over me, and I didn’t flinch from it. I let him look. Because it came to me that I had a power I hadn’t fully understood until now. A uniquely feminine power that I’d always underestimated and dismissed.

The power of sex.

He wanted me. But he couldn’t have me unless I let him.

He reached for me.

‘Don’t touch me.’ I held his gaze, letting him see that I wasn’t going to give in; giving him a taste of his own medicine.

His hands stopped where they were, halfway to reaching for my hips. Fury lit in his eyes as I saw him battle with his better self.

‘What is this?’ he growled. ‘A test?’

‘No. It’s an ultimatum. If you want me again, you have to promise to let me go. And then you’ll fly me back to London so I can marry Constantine.’

He cursed under his breath, something harsh in Spanish. ‘You should know that I do not take kindly to ultimatums.’

‘Too bad, because that’s what you’re getting.’

His eye gleamed like a furnace. ‘It never worked for Domingo. Why would it work for you?’

‘Because I am not Domingo.’ I reached out and placed my palm against his rock-hard chest, tempting fate. Tempting him. ‘Enjoy your cold bed.’

Then I turned on my heel and walked back naked to the villa.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Valentin

ISATONthe jetty all night, gritting my teeth and seething. Fighting my rage.

Towards dawn, I flung myself into the sea to get rid of the heat burning ferociously inside me and then stalked back to the villa.

I went to my bedroom. The bed sheets were still rumpled from making love to Olivia. I could still smell her on the air, sweetness and feminine musk. It made me even harder than I already was, which didn’t help my temper.

I dumped my clothes and then went into the shower, turned it to cold and stood under the water, letting it fall like needles of ice on my hot skin.

She’d been so very beautiful standing there on the jetty the night before, unflinching as I’d torn the silk of her tunic apart. She’d stood her ground, naked and proud, like a goddess made of starlight.

Telling me, no. Telling me that, if I wanted her, I’d have to let her go.

No one told me to do anything. No one. Not since Domingo.

How could I let her go, anyway? Let her go and marry another man? A man I’d done my best to protect.

My brother. My twin.

I’d wanted to ignore her, to grab her, to show her how easily her will could be broken with just the touch of my hand. I could have had her on the jetty, gasping and begging for me. I could have had her warm and wet and willing. I could have made her forget all about that stupid ultimatum of hers.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d flung at me—about how she couldn’t let down her guard with me—because I’d been manipulating her ever since we’d got here. And I hadn’t been able to take that last step. A boundary had sprung up inside me and I hadn’t realised I had it.

She’d said not to touch her, and I couldn’t. Just as I couldn’t ignore what she’d said about using her favourite foods and those memories of our childhood to manipulate her.

I hadn’t thought about it at the time. I’d just done what I’d had to do to get what I wanted. And, yes, looking at it like that, Ihadmanipulated her. I’d wanted her to remember what we’d had as children, what we’d been to each other... Yet, as she kept saying to me, she wasn’t that child any longer. And neither was I.

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