The priest spoke but Luisa didn’t listen. She was thinking that at home lilies were traditional for funerals.
‘Who is that woman?’ Luisa watched the petite platinum blonde lean into Raul, her hand possessive on his arm. Her scarlet dress matched his jacket perfectly and her plunging neckline showed a stunning cleavage. She smiled up, her face hardly recognisable as the one that had scowled at Luisa in the chapel.
‘She wasn’t in the reception line,’ Luisa added.
Raul stood on the other side of the reception room, his back to Luisa, but from here she’d almost swear the woman flirted with him. A spike of heat roared through her. Heat and anger. ‘Is she an ex-girlfriend?’
Beside her Tamsin spluttered, choking on champagne.
‘Are you OK?’
Tamsin waved her away. ‘I inhaled some bubbles. I’m not used to champagne.’
Luisa knew the feeling. This evening she’d sipped some, standing beside Raul for a formal toast. The wine had tickled her senses and tingled all the way down her throat. But it was Raul’s presence beside her, like a wall of living heat, that had made her giddy. His stern expression had eased for a moment and his lips had curved in a heady smile as he toasted her. The impact had knocked her for six and Luisa had felt as if she were floating.
As if this were a real wedding and she a bride smitten with her handsome husband! Instead of a woman blackmailed into cooperating. That still rankled.
Luisa stiffened. It scared her that Raul affected her so. That she might be jealous of the woman pawing at his jacket. It should be impossible, yet …
‘You don’t know her?’
Finally Tamsin looked up. A flush tinted her cheeks.
‘Tamsin?’ Her new friend’s expression made Luisa tense.
‘The woman with Raul? No one you need worry about.’ The words came out in a rush. ‘She lives in the US now.’
‘But who is she?’
Tamsin took another quick sip of wine. ‘That’s Ana. Raul’s stepmother.’
Stepmother?
‘But she’s too young!’ She didn’t act like a stepmother. The other woman was flirting outrageously. Luisa’s only consolation came from the fact Raul stood as stiffly as he had through the wedding ceremony, though he inclined his head as if listening intently.
‘I think she and Raul are about the same age.’
Through her shock Luisa heard Tamsin’s intense discomfort. She saw Tamsin’s gaze dart away as if seeking a diversion and uneasiness stirred.
Intuition told her there was something Tamsin wasn’t saying. Luisa turned back, finally noticing how the guests kept their distance from the pair. No one had approached Raul since his stepmother had claimed his attention but they all watched speculatively. An undercurrent of whispers eddied around them.
The frisson of uneasiness grew to stark suspicion.
No! Luisa refused to draw conclusions about Raul’s relationships. No matter what her eyes told her.
Yet she couldn’t stifle a feeling of betrayal.
As if sensing her scrutiny, Raul turned sharply, his gaze skewering her. Fire seared her blood and she felt as if she’d been caught out spying on him.
But she had every right to be here. This was her wedding reception. Her day. Even if it wasn’t her choice.
Hysterical laughter bubbled in her throat. Today should be the happiest day of her life!
If she didn’t laugh at the absurdity surely she’d cry.
Holding Raul’s eyes, she lifted her chin and downed the rest of her champagne.
‘If you’ll excuse me, Tamsin, I’d better introduce myself to my mother-in-law.’ Luisa passed her glass to a waiter and picked up her skirts, grateful now for the formal dress that kept her posture perfect and made guests move aside as she stalked forward.
She was magnificent. She cut a swathe through the crowd as if it didn’t exist, her eyes locked with his.
A pulse of heat thudded deep in his belly at the sight of her: jaw angled, eyes glittering, chest swelling against the demure V neckline. She skimmed across the polished floor, her train sweeping magnificently behind her. Tiny bursts of fire peeped from beneath her hem as her jewel-encrusted slippers caught the light. It was as if she set off sparks with each step.
Absently Raul brushed Ana’s clawing hand away. He’d done what he had to—accepted her presence publicly. But he’d had enough.
He’d had enough of her eight years ago!
He barely registered her protest as he strode instead towards the woman he’d just married and pleasure surged.
All day tension had ridden him. Worries for the state. Fury at Ana’s return. Discomfort at the idea of marrying. Guilt at forcing Luisa’s hand. The need to bury his thoughts deep behind a cloak of royal calm. Now the tension morphed into something that had nothing to do with concerns and everything to do with his long-suppressed needs.
And with the challenge he read in his bride’s expression, her posture, her firmed lips.
Her eyes flashed azure fire and heat danced in his veins. He drew a breath, the first free breath all day.
He’d done his duty in marrying. Now he wanted to forget about duty, about diplomacy and building bridges with intransigent politicians and soothing the bruised egos of his father’s cronies. About his own doubts.
He wanted … Luisa.
A smile cracked his carefully schooled features.
‘Luisa, you look enchanting.’ Her pace propelled her forward and he took full advantage, stepping before her at the last moment and putting a hand to her waist, ostensibly to steady her. Through the lace and silk he felt warmth and lithe muscle and the deep exhalation of her breath.
He grasped her other hand in his and lifted it to his mouth. Her eyes blazed and he almost smiled at the provocation in her glare. Instead he turned her hand and pressed his lips to her wrist. He heard her breath catch and a satisfying tremor rippled through her. Slowly he moved his mouth, kissing her palm and touching his tongue to the erogenous zone at its centre.
Her eyes widened and he felt pleasure tug through his belly. She tried to draw her hand away but he held her.
‘Aren’t you going to introduce me to your mother?’
He read the doubt and hurt pride in her eyes and silently applauded her front.
‘You mean my father’s second wife. Not my mother.’
‘My mistake.’ She bit the words out precisely with her even white teeth. ‘You two looked so close …’
Little cat.
This was what he’d missed. Much as he enjoyed having his plans go smoothly and the tantalising sense of closeness he’d experienced with Luisa now and then, he’d missed her vibrancy. From the first she’d sparked with energy and defiance. She’d obstructed him and argued and defied him. Even consenting to wed she’d been proud as an empress.
He enjoyed her sassiness when she stood up to him. He’d grown accustomed to fireworks. He enjoyed them more than he’d thought possible. Especially when it wasn’t argument that fuelled the conflagration.
Even the hint of jealousy in her tone pleased him. Did her desire match his? A bolt of excitement shot through him. He recalled her passion, the way she melted in his arms. How she watched him when she thought he didn’t see.
He leaned forward and whispered, ‘I’m not going to introduce her. You wouldn’t like her.’
She gaped at his honesty. He wanted to kiss those lush lips till she forgot how to speak. He wanted that sizzling energy channelled in more satisfying directions.