Raul's Revenge

‘I very much doubt it. It is Raul I have come to visit. Now get out of my way and tell that stupid old woman to fetch me a white wine.’

Anger turned Penny’s cool face to bright scarlet in seconds. She had never in her life met such an ill-mannered, arrogant woman and she acted without thought of the consequences.

‘Raul is not here, nor is he likely to be for some time. In his absence I am in charge and I suggest you leave immediately. Ava is the housekeeper here and she is not employed to put up with insults from uninvited guests.’

‘How dare you talk to me like that? I am Dulciana Maria Costas; my father is a government minister.’

‘Well, he should have taught you some manners. Now, if you don’t mind, Ava will show you out.’

The perfectly made-up face twisted with rage. ‘Raul will hear of this, you little English whore. I have heard all about you-Raul’s latest bed-mate. If you have any sense you will pack up and leave now. Once Raul knows I am back he will have no further use for you. That I can promise.’

Penny went from red to white to red again, with a mixture of fury and not a little embarrassment. ‘Get out,’ she spluttered.

‘I will leave—but I will be back. And if you have any sense you will take my advice. Do yourself a favour and save yourself total humiliation.’ And, spinning on her heel, the arrogant Dulciana Maria Costas marched back out of the front door.

Penny sat down on the bottom step of the stairs, her trembling legs refusing to support her. ‘Who on earth was that witch of woman, Ava?’ she asked, glancing across at the older lady.

‘Dulciana Costas; her father is in the government, but he also happens to own the adjoining ranch.’

Penny got to her feet. ‘So I have just insulted our nearest neighbour.’ She grimaced and caught an unexpected flash of sympathy in Ava’s dark eyes.

‘I am honoured you came to my defence, Penny, but I wish you hadn’t for your sake. Dulcie Costas is a bad lady to cross.’

‘She can’t harm me.’ Penny shrugged with more nonchalance than she actually felt.

‘I’m not so sure,’ Ava responded, with a worried shake of her grey head. ‘Come.’ Gesturing with one hand for Penny to follow her, she walked through an open door at one side of the hall, through the splendid dining room and out into the central courtyard.

‘I have set lunch in the courtyard, and while you eat I will explain.’

‘Explain what?’ Penny asked, sinking down on the wrought-iron chair at the beautifully set small table. The selection of attractively displayed cold meats and salads suddenly made her realise how hungry she was. She loaded her plate with chicken, ham and a lot of crisp green salad. ‘Do sit down, Ava, instead of hovering; I’ve told you before I don’t need you to wait on me.’

Ava sighed and murmured, ‘Perhaps this once.’ And, pulling out the opposite chair, she sat down primly on the edge.

‘So who is this Dulcie? Why all the mystery and heavy sighs?’ Penny demanded, swallowing a mouthful of chicken.

‘First, I wish to apologise that when you first arrived with Master Raul I was disapproving. Never had Raul brought a lady to this house to sleep in his bed. I am old; the modern times have passed me by. But very soon I realised he is in love with you, and you with him. I think you will marry and the hacienda will once again echo to the sound of laughter and children’s voices.’

‘I sincerely hope so,’ Penny said, blushing scarlet but delighted that Ava was confirming her own heartfelt belief.

‘I have never seen Raul so happy. I have known him all his life—as a baby, a young boy and as a man. I know him better than he knows himself. If he has one fault it is that he is fearful of committing himself to a woman. I do not usually gossip but I think you are entitled to know what makes him the way he is.’

Penny stopped eating and, picking up the carafe of white wine from the centre of the table, filled her glass, and, lifting it to her mouth, took a sip, her eyes fixed in fascination on Ava.

‘Go on,’ she prompted eagerly.

‘Raul was eight years old when his mother ran off with an American serviceman stationed in Spain. His father was devastated—never really recovered. Poor Raul did not understand what had happened or why his mother never came to see him again. I tried my best to take his mother’s place, but by the time he was a teenager he was very bitter. His father didn’t help by repeatedly cursing young women, and his mother in particular.’

‘How awful.’ Penny sighed, her tender heart full of sympathy for Raul as a lonely young boy.

‘True, but worse was to follow. You have met Dulcie; you have seen what she is like. Well, with the families being neighbours it was inevitable that Dulcie became Raul’s “friend”, for want of a better word. Raul went off to university in America, but they corresponded and eventually became betrothed.

‘It suited both parents, and Raul was used to looking after the girl. But I had my doubts. Dulcie was totally spoilt by an over-indulgent father, and when Raul was studying Dulcie was off to Paris, Rome—anywhere there were men and money. The rumours were rife and true, but Raul never suspected.’

Penny’s mind reeled. Raul had been engaged to the woman she had thrown out of his home. She couldn’t believe it. He had once loved that witch of a woman and yet had never mentioned it to her. Did she know him at all? She listened with mounting disquiet as Ava went on.

‘The wedding date had already been fixed when Raul’s father died and everything changed. Dulcie discovered that Raul’s father had died in debt and that there was no money to support her extravagant lifestyle, and a month before the wedding she took off with a Colombian cattle baron—though some said his business was more chemical than cattle...

‘Apparently the Colombian traded her in for a younger, more fertile model, and she returned to Spain two days ago. I am telling you all this, Penny, so you are warned. The master loves you and, given time, he will many you—of this I am sure. But beware of Dulcie; she is an evil but clever woman. Around the master she was always sweet and innocent, but you have seen how she treats people when he is not around.’

For some reason all Penny could think of was Raul and that horrid woman together. She was eaten alive with jealousy at the thought of Raul making love to Dulcie, touching the other woman as he now touched her. It was ridiculous; it had all been over years ago but she could not help feeling a certain dread. She tried a smile.

‘Don’t worry, Ava. Raul is much older and wiser; he would never allow himself to be fooled twice, and—’

‘So this is how my two favourite women spend their time when I am not around.’ A deep laughing voice cut across Penny’s. ‘Drinking wine and gossiping.’

Penny spun around in her chair. It was Raul... He was leaning carelessly against the wood frame of the dining-room door, his jacket casually hooked on a long finger and draped over one broad shoulder. A snowy white shirt open at the neck revealed the strong column of his tanned throat, and his eyes glinted with humour and something more. He looked all male and incredibly sexy. Penny jumped to her feet and in seconds had thrown herself at him.

His arms opened to enfold her. ‘You never said last night.’ She reached up and raked her fingers through his dark hair, cradling his head with her small hands. Her head tilted back to gaze up into his handsome face.

‘I decided to surprise you, querida,’ he murmured as his mouth fastened on hers.

CHAPTER THREE

RAUL’S kiss was so overpowering that Penny was lost in it in seconds; she forgot where they were and that they had an audience; she hungered for him with a desperation she had not thought possible. Once more in his arms, her tongue twining with his, she clawed unconsciously at the fine silk of his shirt, popping his buttons in her haste to feel the satin skin beneath, while Raul’s hands roamed freely down her back, cupping her buttocks, hauling her into the hard cradle of his hips, making her intimately aware of his aroused state.

‘Dios,’ he groaned against her mouth, and when he lifted his head, his dark gaze burned down into the blue depths of her passion-glazed eyes. “That was some welcome, Penny. Can I take it you missed me, hmm?’

‘Yes, every minute,’ she agreed, an ecstatic smile lighting her lovely face.

‘Did you miss anything else?’ he demanded hardly, straightening to his full height and stepping back.

‘Only you.’ She moved and, standing on tiptoe, nipped at his square jaw. It was as high as she could reach. His strong hands curved around her shoulders, holding her firmly away from him, and through the euphoric haze at seeing him again it slowly dawned on Penny that he was deliberately keeping her at a distance.

‘Raul?’ she husked tentatively as his dark eyes slid down the length of her body with a possessive arrogance, then back to her flushed face, a silent demand in their black depths. Wide, puzzled blue eyes met his narrowed, predatory gaze and a tremor of something very like fear slithered down her spine. Raul exuded a raw, animal magnetism, an aura of power and vitality that suddenly seemed oddly threatening. And what on earth did he mean? Who else could she have missed? It didn’t make sense.

‘You’re sure about that?’ he queried, the corner of his mouth twisting in a cynical smile.

‘Of course,’ she said emphatically. Surely he knew how much she’d missed him, loved him...? ‘What is it, Raul? What’s wrong?’ She twisted her hand in his shirt in agitation and another button popped.

‘Nothing—nothing at all. But unless you want to shock poor Ava completely—’ his hands dropped to catch hers at his chest, and, entwining their fingers, he lowered her hands to her sides ‘—I think you’d better stop trying to rip my shirt off.’ His dark head bent, and, his voice lowering to a husky drawl, he added, ‘Not that I mind. I seem to remember denying you a siesta in Dubai; now seems a good time to correct the omission.’

She had forgotten all about the older woman. Penny glanced over her shoulder to see Ava standing by the table, her brown eyes wide and round and ever so slightly shocked. ‘I think you’re right.’ She turned back to Raul, her lips twitching. ‘We don’t want to offend her sensibilities, and suddenly I feel incredibly tired.’ She chuckled, inwardly relieved that it was only Ava’s presence inhibiting Raul, and nothing more sinister.

Penny opened her eyes and yawned widely. The sun was setting, the last rays streaking the room with a warm rosy light. She turned on her side and smiled, a languorous sexy curl to her mouth as her gaze feasted on Raul lying flat on his back beside her. His chest rose and fell slowly in the steady rhythm of sleep.

With his eyes closed he looked younger and somehow vulnerable. The ridiculously long sweep of his dark lashes curved on his high cheekbones, almost feminine in their thick lusciousness. But it was certainly the only slightly feminine thing about him, Penny thought dreamily, and, raising up on one elbow, she studied his sprawling, nude body.

They had spent all afternoon in bed and had finally fallen into an exhausted sleep. Now just looking at Raul made her shiver with the rekindling of passion. She reached out a small hand and ran it lightly over his broad shoulder and across his massive chest, her fingers entwining in the surprisingly soft chest hair. She grazed a small male nipple and still her hand moved down.

It was incredibly sweet to have him at her mercy, to let her hand roam lower over the taut, flat stomach, to feel his hard, warm body, to linger over the muscles of his thighs. She lowered her head and kissed him softly, not wanting to wake him, simply to love him freely with her hands and mouth.

‘Woman, behave.’ Raul’s hand grasped her wrist like a manacle and in seconds their positions were reversed. Penny was flat on her back and Raul was looking down into her startled eyes. ‘You’re insatiable,’ he chuckled. ‘I never imagined when I first took you to bed what a sleeping tiger I was arousing.’

‘Tigress, surely?’ she husked, shivering in delight as his glittering dark eyes swept her naked body with a sensuous, knowing triumph. ‘You’re the only tiger around here, with your gold-flecked eyes,’ she corrected him throatily.

‘Grr...’ Raul teased, and, bending, rubbed his unshaven jaw against her soft cheek. ‘Only around you, Penny.’ He lifted his head. ‘You must know I adore you.’

She sighed as his hand trailed across her body to cup one full, round breast. ‘And I you; all you have to do is touch me and you can have m-e-e-e.’ She ended on a moan as he rolled one taut nipple between his thumb and finger, sending arrows of sensation through her ultrasensitive flesh.

‘Much as I would like to take up your offer, I can’t.’ He brushed his mouth briefly over hers. ‘I have work to do if I am to take you to London at the weekend.’

Penny beamed up at him. ‘You mean that?’

‘Yes. I promised and I am a man of my word.’ He rolled over and got to his feet, and she stared at him, her breath catching in her throat.

At that moment she loved him more than life. Raul, her lover, was back. How could she have imagined for a second that she was bored? She would spend her life waiting for Raul if she had to, but she didn’t need to. He was here and he was keeping his promise to take her to London. He did love her. Ava was right; it was only a matter of time before they married.

Her loving gaze roamed over him and a surprised gasp escaped her as he turned and smiled down at her, magnificent in his nudity. Contrary to what he had said, he could not hide his body’s readiness to take up her offer.

‘It isn’t so shocking,’ he said, his voice deep and tinged with laughter as he caught her wayward gaze. ‘My body might be weak but my mind is strong, and I do have some calls to make.’

She lifted her eyes to his. ‘I think you might have got that quote the wrong way around.’ She let her glance slide back down the long, hard length of him. ‘Weak is hardly an accurate description from where I am,’ she joked.

‘Tigress.’ And lips twitching, Raul bent down and brushed a cheeky kiss across the twin peaks of her full breasts. ‘Get up, get a shower and put something pretty on this sexy body that won’t distract me. Then come downstairs, and after we have eaten we’ll talk.’ Swinging on his heel, he walked off.

Penny sighed happily and, turning on her stomach, savoured the lingering scent of Raul and love on the crumpled sheets. She heard him moving around, dressing, but was too sated and lazy to move.

For the next few days Penny thought that life was perfect... They shared breakfast in the secluded courtyard and then Raul locked himself in the study for the morning, but after lunch he was all hers.

They spent an afternoon in the marvellous old city of Granada in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. They strolled hand in hand around the Alhambra palace, built for the Moorish rulers hundreds of years earlier.

Penny gazed in awestruck wonder at the ostentatious luxury. The walls carved with swirls of ornate stucco, the tons of white marble and coloured glass, and the ceilings, hand-carved from cedarwood, designed to represent heaven, almost convinced her that she was already there!

Later, sharing a picnic, which had been lovingly supplied by Ava, in the gardens where the constant splash of running water and dripping fountains lent a pleasant coolness to the air, Penny smiled at Raul’s reclining figure and was convinced. Heaven could not possibly be better...

Singing happily to herself, Penny descended the grand staircase. She had finished the packing, and at nine o’clock the next morning they would be on a flight out of Alicante, arriving in London Friday lunchtime. She had called Amy and arranged to call at the apartment on Sunday, to catch up on the news.

She was dressed in a simple green silk slip of a gown, tiny straps supporting the soft fabric that clung loosely to her lithe body, the hemline ending just above her knees to reveal her long, shapely legs. On her feet delicate wedge-heeled gold and green sandals glittered as she skipped lightly down the stairs.

She had left her blonde hair loose to curl enticingly over her shoulders and down her back because she knew that Raul preferred it that way. She was totally unaware of how stunning she looked. The glow of love had given her fine features an incandescent beauty, her softly swollen lips needed no lipstick, and her blue eyes sparkled with the inner radiance of a woman who knew she was loved.

‘Penelope.’ The voice was harsh.

Penny’s foot hesitated on the bottom step of the stairs; her heart thumped in her breast. Raul was standing in the entrance, elegantly dressed in a dark business suit, the sun behind him outlining his huge frame in a halo of fire. For a second he looked like the devil incarnate. His business meeting must have finished early, she thought inconsequentially.

‘Raul, you’re back.’ She moved towards him, a tentative smile pulling at her wide mouth.

‘Too late, it would seem, to stop your idiocy,’ he drawled scathingly.

‘My idiocy?’ She shook her head, her fair hair floating around her naked shoulders. What on earth was he talking about? Her eyes searched his rugged face and she shivered inside.

‘Don’t play the blue-eyed innocent with me, Penny. I’m too old to be fooled.’ And the contempt in his voice flicked her like a whiplash.

‘Please, Raul.’ She lifted her hand to his chest but he swept her aside.

‘In my study...now.’

She followed him. Noting the tension in his broad back, she chewed nervously at her bottom lip. Something had upset him, but what?

She had barely put a foot in the oak-panelled study before he turned on her, and, slamming the door behind her, he rested one hand on the hard wood and stared down into her confused face. But this was not the man who had left her a handful of hours earlier. His dark eyes were as hard as jet, and as unyielding.

‘What the hell have you been doing, woman?’ he demanded icily.

‘P-p-packing,’ she stammered, totally intimidated by the cold rage in his dark eyes.

‘Don’t be facetious; it does not suit you.’

‘I...’ Trapped against the door, with his huge body towering over her, Penny touched the tip of her tongue to her dry lips. ‘I wasn’t—’

‘Who on earth gave you the right to insult my neighbours, to order a friend from my house in my absence?’

She felt the colour drain from her face. She stared at him helplessly. The shock of being confronted in such a way by the man she loved was totally numbing.

‘How dared you do such a thing?’ A cruel smile twisted across his face. ‘On what authority?’

‘On what authority’. The words echoed in her brain. They were lovers, partners—or so she had thought. Obviously Raul’s idea of a partnership was not the same as hers.

Angry colour flooded Penny’s cheeks. The nerve of the man, yelling at her as if she were no more than a servant in his home. Not even that—he was unfailingly polite to Ava and Carlos. What was the matter with her? She was letting Raul intimidate her yet again, as he had in the beginning when she had mentioned marriage, and again in Dubai, when he had packed her off to Spain. Was she a woman or a doormat? she asked herself.

Her spine stiffening, she looked straight into his dark, furious eyes. ‘I was under the impression that we were partners, and in your absence I was to treat your house as my own,’ she said, her voice coolly measured in sharp contrast to her rapidly beating heart. ‘If I misunderstood you, I’m sorry.’

A dark flush covered his hard face and he had the grace to look ashamed at his outburst, but not for long... ‘Yes, yes, but not to the extent of insulting my neighbours.’ He stormed across the room and then swung back to face her, running his large hand through his dark hair in angry frustration. ‘You will have to apologise to Dulcie, not me.’

‘I presume you are referring to that hateful woman, Dulciana Maria Costas. She marched into the house and was unspeakably rude to poor Ava. I told her to leave, as any other right-minded person would have done, and if you think for a second I will apologise to the woman forget it.’ Penny glared at him and folded her arms across her chest.

His mouth thinned to a hard line. ‘Dulcie does not speak English. How do you know what was said?’ he sneeringly demanded.

‘Because my Spanish is good; I understood perfectly and acted accordingly.’

‘Nonsense, Penny, you must have misunderstood. I have known Dulcie all my life. Unlike you, she would not deliberately insult anyone,’ he said with cutting sarcasm.

‘Obviously you have no such qualms,’ she shot back, but his words bruised her heart. Nonsensical was she? Along with ‘dumb’ and ‘idiocy’ it all added up to a man who had no respect for her as a person. Suddenly with blinding clarity she recognised what she had become. From an intelligent, ambitious woman she had turned into a fool for love. She blinked rapidly to hold back the tears, not sure if they were tears of sorrow or pure rage.

She shook her head in disbelief, and stared at Raul as though she had never seen him before. ‘How could you take the word of an old fiancée you have not seen for years against mine?’

‘I see Ava has been gossiping.’ One dark brow arched sardonically. ‘I might have guessed. You saw Dulcie as a rival and were smitten by the green-eyed god. Really, Penny, how childish.’

He could not have said anything more likely to enrage her. Childish was she? And jealous, to boot! She had not known who the damn woman was in the first place.

‘Rubbish! I didn’t even know the woman was your ex-fiancee until later. You certainly never mentioned her,’ she spat back, her body tense with outrage and a deepening hurt that she did her best to disguise.

‘My past relationships are none of your business,’ Raul informed her with icy precision. ‘It is the present that concerns you, and in half an hour Senor Costas and his daughter will be arriving for dinner.’

Penny’s mouth fell open in surprise and she spluttered, ‘You invited...?’ She could not go on, she was so furious, her body rigid with the effort to control her rage.

‘Yes. And I expect you to apologise for your behaviour the other day, and, hopefully, we can enjoy a civilised meal.’ She caught the implacable expression in his eyes, and her breath stopped in her throat as she realised what he had said.

Slowly she moved towards him, her cheeks scarlet, her anger so livid that she was shaking with it. She registered the arrogant stance of his tall body, the hands tucked easily into the pockets of his trousers.

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