A Spanish Engagement (14 page)

A warm breeze ruffled the flames of the candles, making them flicker and dance. And again she found herself remembering his words earlier.
‘Shall we make love and see where it leads us?’

She remembered the thrill of his lips against hers, and the way she’d felt when he’d touched her body. If Carmel
hadn’t interrupted them she would have said yes to him…she had wanted him… Still wanted him.

Hastily she reached for her glass of wine, telling herself firmly that she should just be shrugging those feelings away as a moment of madness. There was a danger in feeling so passionate about a man…especially a man who was a fluent liar just like her ex-husband.

Lovemaking was probably just a game for him. Oh, yes, he’d kiss her, and if the opportunity presented itself he wouldn’t hesitate to make love to her with fire and passion, but with no real feeling in his heart. And then when it suited him and this arrangement had outlived its usefulness he would calmly walk away without so much as a backward glance.

Carrie wasn’t naive; she had learnt her lessons the hard way.

An appetiser of tiger prawns and crisp green salad was placed before her, and she tried to turn her attention away from her innermost thoughts and onto the conversation around her.

Bob and Max were discussing the wine business.

‘There is more and more competition these days,’ Max was saying casually. ‘Award-winning wines have got to have a good sales base and market skills are very important. That’s why I’m so pleased to have Carrie organising the advertising for us. She’s come up with some brilliant ideas and it’s the first major step towards modernising the vineyard.’

He smiled at Carrie as their eyes met briefly.

‘You very nearly didn’t use
Images
advertising services,’ she said, remembering how he had deliberately held back from signing the contract…how he had threatened to go somewhere else. They were facts she had to
keep firmly in her mind. ‘You were almost going to go somewhere else.’

He smiled at that. ‘I would never have gone anywhere else, Carrie,’ he said softly.

‘You mean you were bluffing?’

‘Of course.’

Carrie held his gaze for a long moment, wondering if that was the truth or if he was just playing to the gallery.

He sat back in his chair, perfectly at ease. ‘A man needs a few tricks up his sleeve when he is pursuing a beautiful woman.’ He glanced over at Bob. ‘Isn’t that right, Bob?’

‘Certainly is.’ Bob laughed.

Max was definitely playing to the gallery, Carrie told herself crossly. Then he looked back at her and smiled and the element of doubt crept back in. When he smiled at her like that suddenly she wasn’t sure of anything…even her own name.

The conversation centred on advertising for the vineyard for a while. Usually Carrie would have joined in enthusiastically to discuss the project. But right at this moment she found that business was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

And suddenly she was wishing that Carmel and Bob weren’t with them, that she could have Max all to herself. And what did it matter if a love affair between them didn’t last? At least she would have enjoyed herself…life was short. They were both single; it wasn’t as if they would be hurting anyone else by getting involved.

Carrie reached for her wine and took a gulp as she realised the dangerous direction her thoughts were taking.

The main course was served and the conversation moved from sales of wine to life in Australia.

‘You and Carrie must bring Molly over for a family holiday some time,’ Carmel told Max.

‘We’d love to.’ Max glanced over at Carrie. ‘Wouldn’t we,
querida
?’

A family holiday
—the words had a pleasing ring to them. But they weren’t a family and they never would be, she reminded herself sternly. From somewhere she managed to murmur a token acceptance. ‘That’s very kind of you, Carmel.’

The storm outside rumbled closer and Carrie looked out towards the terrace apprehensively.

‘I take it you don’t like electrical storms?’ Max asked gently.

‘I’m not scared of them,’ she said quickly, then caught his eye and grinned. ‘But, put it this way—if I was at home I’d be running around pulling out plugs now.’

He smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll look after you. If it comes any closer I’ll plunge the place into darkness,’ he promised.

Carrie looked across at him and smiled back.

Carmel and Bob were talking about the best time of year for a visit to their place, but the words seem to drift over Carrie. For a moment it seemed that everything narrowed in the room and it was just her and Max. Even the storm outside seemed to fade to oblivion.

Carrie found herself imagining what it would be like to go upstairs with him. She remembered again the way he had kissed her by the pool and the intense feeling of sensuality as her body had briefly touched against his. If he could turn her on like that just with a kiss, imagine what he could do if she threw caution away.

‘Carrie…?’ Someone’s voice seemed to be coming from a long way away.

‘Sorry?’ She looked around and saw that the housekeeper had cleared their dishes away and was offering her coffee. ‘Oh…yes. Thank you.’

Carmel smiled. ‘I was just saying, if you don’t mind I think Bob and I will skip coffee and turn in early. We are both exhausted, and Bob still hasn’t recovered from the flight.’

‘Oh! No, of course not,’ Carrie said. She felt herself starting to burn with embarrassment as she realised she hadn’t heard a word anyone had said because she had been too busy gazing into Max’s eyes. ‘I’m going to have an early night myself.’

‘I thought you might,’ Carmel said with a grin. Then laughed as she saw the disconcerted look on Carrie’s face. ‘Oh, don’t worry, I’m a woman of the world,’ she said, waving a hand in airy dismissal. ‘And besides, you will be getting married soon. You two lovebirds enjoy yourselves.’

‘Really, Carmel, you don’t have to rush off on our account.’ Carrie was mortified, and she didn’t dare look across at Max to see what he made of this conversation.

Carmel laughed and pushed her chair back from the table. ‘Anything past ten is a late night for us these days. No, if you will excuse us, we will retire. Thank you for a lovely day, Max.’

‘You are very welcome,’ Max said with genuine warmth. ‘I’ve enjoyed your company.’

‘Will you just put your head around the door and check on Molly for me?’ Carrie asked as the couple headed for the door.

‘Of course we will.’ Carmel smiled at her reassuringly. ‘See you in the morning.’

As the door closed behind the couple Max reached and topped up Carrie’s wine glass. ‘I told you Carmel was a modern woman,’ he said with a grin.

Carrie felt herself heating up again. ‘She was just being diplomatic because she thought she had embarrassed me.’

Max raised his glass towards hers. ‘Anyway, I think it went very well this evening,’ he said smoothly.

‘Yes, they are a pleasant couple.’

‘They are. And very understanding too.’ Max grinned at her, a wickedly teasing glint in his dark eyes.

Instead of reaching for her wine, she took a sip of her coffee, hoping that the caffeine might help bring her back to her senses.

But as she looked across the table at Max the wild idea of how good it would feel to be in his arms persisted.

The candlelight flickered in a sudden breeze, casting dancing shadows across the table and over his features.

It was starting to rain outside now, and several wild flashes of light lit the night sky followed by a sudden roar of thunder that hung threateningly in the air.

Max leaned back and unplugged the lamp on the sideboard behind him, plunging the room into darkness except for the candlelight. ‘Is that better?’ he asked softly.

Carrie wasn’t sure if it did make her feel better. The darkness that surrounded them now made the warm circle of candlelight enclosing them much more intimate. But she managed to smile coolly. ‘Yes…much better.’

‘If you’d like we can take the candles and our coffee into the lounge and make ourselves more comfortable?’

It seemed like such a logical invitation and yet the atmosphere between them was anything but.

‘No, it’s getting late.’ Carrie dragged her eyes away from his with difficulty. ‘It’s been a lovely evening but I should really turn in myself.’

But the truth was she didn’t want to leave now. It was very odd but something had happened over dinner…something that made her reluctant now to break the feeling of intimacy that danced between them in this golden circle of candlelight.

Telling herself firmly not to be so foolish, she tried to push her chair back from the table but she found she didn’t want to move.

‘Carrie?’

She looked over at him hesitantly.

‘You know you’ve been driving me crazy ever since I set eyes on you…don’t you?’

The huskiness of his tone seemed to tear into her consciousness. Her heart was beating with even greater force now. ‘I…I think it would be a mistake for us to get fact and fantasy mixed up…’ She said the words swiftly, as if by conjuring up sensible words it would break the spell of desire.

He reached out and took hold of her hand across the table, his thumb stroking across her skin. The gentle caress sent whispers of need shivering straight through her.

‘But the fact is I want to make love to you…and I think…no, I know that you want me.’

His eyes were mesmerising; they made her feel almost light-headed with yearning. She found her eyes drawn to the softness of his lips as she remembered how good they had felt against hers.

‘Maybe I do,’ she murmured, completely lost now in the sensations that seemed to be drawing her closer and closer in towards him.

A smile of satisfaction curved his lips. She noted it and it made her temperature rise. ‘But it doesn’t mean anything,’ she added hastily.

There was a moment’s silence. A moment when the storm outside seemed to intensify, and the thunder roared as wild and as untamed as the beating of her heart.

Somehow she forced herself to get to her feet. He also stood up.

‘Anyway, thank you for a lovely evening.’ She was desperately trying to hang onto a shred of sanity.

He came around the side of the table. Then slowly but with deliberation he caught hold of her arm.

She looked up at him questioningly.

Then he lowered his head and kissed her.

His lips were gentle at first; they played with her in a tantalisingly provocative way that made her hungry for so much more.

The wild, untamed roar of thunder outside seemed to echo the feelings that were suddenly racing through her. Her hands curved up and around his neck as she moved even closer, loving the feeling of his arms wrapping around her, so strong…so passionate.

Their kiss deepened, his mouth exploring hers with a skill that shook her to her core. Sensations raced through her body, wild and frantic emotions that she had never experienced before.

She wanted this man. No, she more than wanted him—she craved him, she needed him—her whole body cried out for more.

Her breathing was ragged and uncontrolled as he pulled back slightly.

‘I think we should continue this upstairs, don’t you?’ The quietly confident question should have restored some sense of sanity, but as she looked into his eyes she knew that the last thing in the world she wanted was to pull back from him now.

But at the same time she still wanted to hold onto her pride. ‘You mean you think we should put my theory to the test?’ she murmured huskily. ‘Sate our desire and let this need we feel for each other burn itself out?’ She angled her chin up so that her eyes could meet with his.

He reached out and touched her lips with his fingers,
stroking across them in a way that set all her senses racing wildly, wanting to feel his hands against her body.

Then he spoke to her in Spanish.
‘Let’s just take this one step at a time…one moment at a time.’

Carrie’s heart was thundering wildly as he took hold of her hand and turned to lead the way upstairs.

A
S
M
AX
led Carrie into his bedroom he reached to put on the overhead light and she stopped him, putting her hand over his.

‘Let’s leave the light off, Max,’ she whispered softly. Suddenly she was feeling extremely nervous. What was she doing? she wondered. Was she getting fact and fantasy mixed up in her mind? Because the fact was that her arrangement with Max was just a business pact; the engagement was nothing more than a sham. She hardly knew this man, and she had never indulged in casual sex in her life before.

Max did as she asked and left the light; instead he moved to close one of the windows, dulling the sound of the lashing rain. Although the room was in darkness it was lit every few moments by the sudden luminosity of the storm. It showed the surroundings in a succession of flickering pictures, revealing the four-poster bed swathed in its misty web of white gauze curtains.

‘Are you okay?’ Max turned to look over at her and she realised she hadn’t moved a step from the door.

‘Yes…but it’s warm in here.’ She felt as if she was burning up, but she didn’t know if that was nerves or the actual temperature.

Max flicked on a switch beside the bed and a wooden fan on the ceiling started to whir, throwing out a deliciously cooling breeze.

‘Is that better?’ He moved towards her and she felt her heart starting to race again.

‘Yes, much…’ Her voice sounded huskily unsure.

‘Are you having second thoughts about this?’ He was so close to her now that she could feel his breath against her skin.

When she didn’t answer him immediately he reached out and touched her face, tracing his fingertips gently over her skin, tracing the delicate heart-shaped contours and high cheekbones as if he were reading her using Braille. His touch was whisper-soft, yet it sent delicious shivery sensations shooting through her entire body.

‘Carrie, have you changed your mind about this…?’ He whispered the words as if he didn’t want to say them but was forcing himself to hold back.

She looked up at him, and her doubts started to melt away, and suddenly this didn’t feel wrong; suddenly it felt as if it was her destiny to be here with him in this room.

‘No, I haven’t changed my mind.’ She stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips against his, tentatively at first, and then as he kissed her back with a deep, sweet gentleness passion ignited in a blaze of almost primitive heat. It was so incredibly strong that it made Carrie’s senses reel.

His hands moved from her face down the slender column of her neck, then she felt his fingers on the buttons at the back of her dress. He unfastened them with ease, at the same time kissing her throat, her shoulders. Then he pushed the dress down so that it slithered to the floor, leaving her standing before him in just her lacy bra and pants.

He whispered huskily to her in Spanish, his fingers caressing the curves of her breasts, tracing the imprint of her nipples through the lace of her underwear. The sensation was unbearably erotic. She pressed herself closer to him with a fierce, hungry need, welcoming the touch
of his hands, impatient for her underwear to be totally discarded and to feel his fingers against her naked flesh.

Carrie had never been so feverishly impatient for any man; her body and her senses were completely out of her control.

He captured her lips again, his tongue exploring her mouth now with a slow, masterful sensuality. She felt her stomach flip inside with wild excitement. Max’s caresses were tormentingly slow, his responses measured to give maximum arousal, making her gasp even more with need. He was very much in command of the situation, playing with her as a panther might toy with its prey, enjoying the power he was able to exert over her.

His hand moved to span her waist, then moved to her lower back, running smoothly down to her bottom, caressing over the lace of her pants, feeling the smooth, firm curves of her body, pulling her in closer so that she was aware of just how much he wanted her.

The strength of his arousal made her heart dip wildly.

‘Max, I want to feel you inside me.’ Her voice when she found it was a low cry of need.

This wasn’t a state she had ever been in before and she was totally bewildered by it. Disorientated by the strength of her emotions. She clung to him like a child as he picked her up to carry her to the bed. But as she felt the cool sheets beneath her back and felt his body covering hers she had never felt so womanly in all her life.

He pushed her bra to one side, taking her nipples into the warmth of his mouth, licking at the raised hardness. Carrie heard someone moaning and realised it was her… She had never made noises like that before; she tried to stop, but couldn’t.

He was kissing her all over now, her shoulders, the flatness of her stomach. She writhed in ecstasy. Then he
moved away. Pushing the net curtain on the bed back, he stood up. For an awful moment she thought he was leaving.

‘Max?’ She sat up slightly, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. Then saw that he was taking his clothes off. She watched him with greedy eyes, taking in the perfect proportions of his body. It was like watching a flickering film, as one moment he was in deep shadow, the next she could see him clearly in the white light from the storm.

He had a most fabulous physique, strong and lean, wide shoulders tapering down to narrow hips and a perfectly flat stomach. Carrie had never thought of a man’s body being beautiful before, but his was. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

When he joined her on the bed again he smiled down at her and spoke in Spanish.
‘You’re beautiful, Carrie, so beautiful…’
The words made her stomach tighten with pure sexual need.

He kissed her full on the lips, slowly, with tantalising sweetness, reaching behind her to unhook her bra. So now she only wore her pants.

Then slowly, with deliberately teasing fingers, his hands stroked down over the lace of those pants before pulling them down.

‘Tell me again that you want me…’
The rough, husky command was made in a low growl that sent answering shivers of excitement rushing through her.

‘I want you so much,’
she answered him in Spanish and reached to touch him, and heard his gasp of pleasure.

Then his body moved to cover hers. The contact of his naked skin pressed against hers made her senses sing with pleasure. He laced his fingers through the silkiness of her hair and as he looked deep into her eyes his body took full possession of hers.

She gasped with the sudden shock of pure ecstasy. The feelings flooding through her body were wildly exhilarating and her body flexed and moulded against his. It felt as if this was so right, as if someone had designed their bodies to make a perfect fit.

Their hands laced together behind her head as he moved against her. It was as if they were dancing together, caught up in their own private world that matched the force of the thunderstorm that still roared outside with deafening might.

He whispered in Spanish against her ear, tormenting her with such ease, as if her cries of pleasure turned him on to even greater passion. Their movements became wilder and wilder; she was crying now, her whole being caught up in a tempest of desire that knew no bounds. Just when she knew that she could hold back no longer Max brought her to climax, coming with her in a fierce thrust of dominance that made her cry out.

Afterwards he cradled her to him, his strength turning to a tenderness that for some reason also felt unbearably erotic. Carrie had never felt so cherished, so safe in all her life as he held her against his chest. Such intense emotional joy after sex was wildly unexpected. Carrie didn’t understand what was happening inside her and she didn’t want to analyse it in any way in case she spoilt the moment. So she just curled up against him, enjoying the sweet peppering of kisses that he rained down on her face, neck and body.

As they lay entwined in each other’s arms the rain still pounded down outside and the flashes of light still flickered through the room like the headlights of passing trains.

She slept so deeply and soundly that when she next opened her eyes she couldn’t think where she was.

Early-morning sun streamed through the windows and there was the sound of complete silence from outside. Usually she could hear the distant roar of traffic when she lay in her bedroom at the flat and the tranquillity of the morning disconcerted her. Something was different.

It was only when she looked across at the empty space next to her that reality rushed back in, and with it vivid memories from the night before.

What on earth had she done? Carrie sat up in the bed and looked around the room, but she was on her own. Max had gone. Last night might all have been some crazy dream except for the fact that her dress lay in a rumpled heap on the floor, and wild recollections were flicking through her mind with searing clarity.

Carrie had never given herself so freely, so wantonly to a man before, and she couldn’t understand what had happened to make her so needy…so
reckless
. Even when she had made love with her husband she hadn’t felt such an overwhelming rush of complete need…had never been completely out of control…and she had thought she had loved Martin.

She leaned back against the pillows and put her hands over her eyes, trying to blot out the memories that blazed defiantly through her mind. The touch of Max’s skin against hers, the taste of his lips; the way he had stroked and caressed her until she was begging for complete fulfilment. The mere recollection made her heat up inside; it also caused a rush of renewed longing…a wish that he were here beside her now.

So much for the hope that a night of passion might sate her desire, she thought angrily. It seemed to have had the opposite effect; it seemed to have increased her need for Max. And where was he? Probably he had stolen away as soon as she had fallen asleep, his desire satisfied. It
had just been sex, nothing more, so why should he have stayed around and woken up with her?

She got out of bed, annoyed with herself for caring. Last night had just been a momentary aberration…and she wouldn’t give it another thought, she told herself. Wrapping herself in her robe, she crossed to look through the doorway into Molly’s bedroom. The child was still fast asleep; she might just have time to shower and dress before she woke.

Carrie headed quickly into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Then stepped under the forceful jet of water. As she soaped her body she tried not to think about the way Max’s hands had caressed her all over last night.

She turned her face up to the warm water, allowing it to flow over her completely, as if it could wash away every trace of Max’s hands and lips, every memory of how good it had felt to lie beside him. It had just been sex, that was all. It hadn’t meant anything. These were modern times. People enjoyed a night of passion and didn’t get hung up or embarrassed about it; they just forgot about it. Max would forget about it. She should do the same. Trouble was, she had never been completely at ease with that casual view of sex…had never indulged in a one-night stand in her life.

Yet last night she had given herself without any reservation to Max. She had held nothing back; her responses had been totally and utterly uninhibited.

So why had her behaviour been so out of character?

Then suddenly out of nowhere she was remembering the way he had held her after they had made love, that feeling of warmth and tenderness and being completely cherished. The memory was like an electric shock going through her.

Had that feeling been in her imagination? Probably.
After all, Max had told her categorically that he didn’t want a serious relationship. In fact that was one of the pluses of their arrangement…
no strings
. He had specifically said those words to her. He liked the fact that she wasn’t the type to get carried away with their deception.

So last night had definitely just been about sex. She squeezed her eyes tightly closed and told herself not to analyse what had happened between them any further, but to leave it under the category of enjoyable.

Instead she tried to concentrate on the day that lay ahead, meeting Max’s parents and pretending to be madly in love with their son.

The prospect had seemed daunting yesterday, but today it took on an even more nerve-racking prospect.

She had never been any good at lying; everyone would look at her and they would know the truth.

They would look at her and they would know…that she was deeply, madly in love with Max. And that it was a love more intense, more staggeringly real than anything she had ever felt before.

The truth crept into her consciousness unexpectedly and quietly and caused Carrie to freeze with panic. She snapped off the shower and stood for a moment going over the words again.

I love him, she thought…I
really
love him.

The knowledge was mortifying, especially as she knew the score. Last night meant nothing to Max and this engagement also meant nothing. When her part of the bargain was fulfilled and his parents were happy their association would be finished. He would probably never even see her again.

The pain of that reality seared through her.

‘Carrie?’ Max’s voice coming from the bedroom caused a flood of apprehension and emotion to race
through her body. How was she going to face him with any kind of dignity? How was she going to hide her feelings and keep her pride intact?

‘Carrie?’ He was immediately outside the bathroom door now.

‘Won’t be a minute. I’m just getting out of the shower.’ Hastily she stepped out and reached for a towel to wrap around her body. Her hands were shaking; in fact her whole body was shaking with reaction.

‘I’ve brought you a cup of coffee.’

‘Thanks, put it down on the table out there.’ Carrie leaned back against the door and closed her eyes. ‘Hey, if you are lucky you might bump into Carmel as you leave the bedroom. Add some more credence to our mock engagement.’ She forced herself to sound light-hearted—but it took every ounce of self-possession.