Another roar made her blink and focus on the scene ahead.
Crowds massed behind the fence at the edge of the tarmac. Maritzian flags waved and excited voices called out. Luisa’s Maritzian was rusty so all she could make out was Raul’s name. And hers.
She stumbled to a stop on the narrow stairs and only Raul’s firm grip saved her. Adrenalin pumped hard in her blood. From the near fall or perhaps from the impact of meeting his intent scrutiny head-on.
‘What’s happening?’
He shrugged and she felt the movement against her as he kept a tight hold of her waist.
‘Well-wishers. Nothing to worry about.’
Luisa frowned, battling a rising sense of unreality. ‘But how do they know my name?’
Something flickered in his eyes. ‘Your identity isn’t a secret. Is it?’
Dazedly she shook her head, beginning her descent again at his urging. ‘But it makes no sense. How could—’
The sight of a placard in the throng cut off the words mid-flow. It showed her name and Raul’s, linked in a massive love heart topped with a crown.
She swung round and read satisfaction in his face.
‘What have you done?’ Every muscle tightened as she fought the impulse to run back up the steps and hide in the royal jet.
His brows arched. ‘I authorised my staff to confirm your identity if queried. Now, it’s time we moved.’
Mutinously Luisa stared up at him, her hand tightening on the rail.
His eyes flashed, then his lips tilted in a one-sided smile that obliterated the grimness engraved around his lips, making him look younger. ‘As you wish, madam.’
He bowed. But it wasn’t a bow, she realised as his arms circled her.
Seconds later he hefted her up against his chest. The noise of the crowd crested in a swell of approval. But Luisa barely heard it over the thunderous beat of blood in her ears.
She should hate being manhandled. She did! Almost.
‘What are you doing?’ she demanded, trying not to focus on the feel of tough muscle and bone surrounding her.
His smile deepened and something flipped over inside Luisa’s chest. He shrugged again and this time the movement rippled around her, drawing her closer.
It scared her how much she enjoyed being held by Raul.
‘Carrying my bride down the stairs.’
CHAPTER FIVE
LUISA walked across the tarmac towards the crowd. It was daunting. So huge, so excited. For an insane moment she wished she were back in his arms. To her consternation she’d felt … safe there.
Her knees shook with every step. His arm around her waist was both a torment and a support.
She swallowed hard, nervous at what she faced. And furious.
‘Don’t faint on me now, Luisa.’
‘No chance of that,’ she managed through gritted teeth as instinctively she tried to respond to the broad smiles on so many faces. ‘I’m not going to swoon in your arms. Even for the sake of your audience.’
‘Our audience.’
A barrage of flashes set up around them. He raised one hand in acknowledgement and the crowd cheered harder.
The information she’d found on the web mentioned his dedication to his country but she hadn’t realised how popular he was. Cynically she did a quick survey of the crowd and noticed women outnumbered men three to one. That explained some of the excitement.
It would be easy to fall for Raul if you didn’t know the man behind the gorgeous exterior.
He swept her towards a gleaming limousine. No lengthy wait for passport and customs checks for him.
They’d almost reached the car when Luisa saw what had provoked such interest. Someone held up a page from a newspaper, with a blown up photo of a couple embracing so passionately it felt voyeuristic to look at them.
It took a moment for the truth to slam into her. The man staring so intently down at the woman he held possessively was Raul. His face was harsh with stark sexual hunger. Or intense calculation.
And the woman with her kiss-swollen lips, apparently swooning in his arms, was her!
Luisa’s skin crawled in horror. Bile rose in her throat and she swallowed frantically. She felt … violated at the knowledge anyone else had seen that moment. Had viewed her vulnerability. Bad enough Raul knew her appalling weakness, but to have others witness it, splash it in newsprint.
She gasped, her breath sawing painfully in cramped lungs.
‘Come, Luisa.’ Raul urged her forwards. ‘Don’t stop here in front of the cameras.’
The mention of cameras moved her on till she found herself seated, shivering, in a limo. Her brain seemed to have seized up and her teeth were chattering.
‘Luisa?’ Warm hands chafed her icy ones. Dazedly she heard a muttered imprecation, then her knees were swathed in warmth as Raul tucked his jacket around her legs.
‘I don’t need it. I’m fine.’ Her voice sounded overloud in the thick silence now the privacy screen had been raised. But a chance glance out of the window to the people milling about, watching their vehicle, made her shrink back into the soft leather.
‘You’ve had a shock. I apologise. I should have warned you.’ Luisa could almost believe that was genuine regret in his deep voice.
But her brain was branded with the memory of his expression in that photo. She wasn’t stupid enough to believe he’d been overcome by passion. He’d recovered too fast and too completely. He’d probably been calculating how successful his seduction had been. Assessing how compliant she’d be in future.
Fury pierced the fog of shock.
‘You did that!’ She rounded on him, too angry to feel more than a tremor of surprise at how close he sat, his thigh warm against hers. ‘You set me up for that photo.’ How could she have forgotten her suspicion last night when he’d suggested taking her out? She should have guessed he was up to something.
Hauteur iced his features.
‘I don’t do deals with the paparazzi.’
Luisa shook her head. ‘Someone did! They were there, waiting for us. You can’t tell me—’
‘I do tell you, Luisa.’ His voice held a note of steel that silenced her. ‘I have nothing but contempt for the media outlets and the photographers who spend their time beating up such stories.’ His jaw tightened and Luisa found herself sinking back into her seat.
Gullible she might be, but everything from the set of his taut shoulders to the glitter in his dark eyes convinced her he was telling the truth.
‘The press are always on the watch for photo opportunities. They follow constantly, though given my security detail, usually at a distance. It’s part of being royal. A fact of life.’
‘I don’t think much of being royal then.’ Her stomach was painfully tight after the sudden welling nausea.
To her surprise, Raul’s mouth lifted in a rare smile that made something inside her soften. ‘I don’t either. Not that part of it.’
His hand enfolded hers and for an instant she knew a bizarre urge to smile back, sharing a moment of intimacy.
Except it was a mirage. There was no intimacy.
‘I regret the photo, Luisa. If I’d realised we were visible …’ He shrugged.
To her amazement she found herself wanting to believe him. ‘But even if the press had reported our—’ she swallowed, her mouth dry as she remembered his kiss ‘—our trip on the river, I don’t see why the crowd would be excited about my arrival. Surely they don’t turn out to see all your … girlfriends.’