Untamed Fire (4 page)

His finger moved slightly, gliding along her
soft lips. He noticed her bottom lip was plump and tender where the
top one lacked the ripeness of its partner. The difference
intrigued him and he gave thought to tasting the tempting plump
one.

Gaby shivered from the way his finger played
along her lips; exploring, teasing and tempting. She didn’t move;
she couldn’t. The sensation was too exquisite to interrupt.

Rafael watched her body stiffen, her eyes
glaze over. Her lips weren’t the only parts of her that were fresh
with ripeness. He smiled, took her chin and whispered. “You will
learn to obey me.”

Gaby didn’t respond. She knew he didn’t
expect her to. His hand dropped away. “Follow me.”

She placed her bundle and the flowers on a
nearby chair and trailed after him. She took several short, quick
steps next to his long powerful ones. He was well-built, his
muscles taut, his stomach firm and not an ounce of fat as indicated
by the superb fit of his garments. She could easily understand why
the women found him physically attractive. Other men paled in
comparison to Rafael Cabrillo, yet mentally he held the same
attitude as most men. Women were chattel to them, possessions they
could do with as they pleased.

Someday she would find someone different;
someone who thought of her as a person and not a possession.

“Gaby, do you often daydream and not pay
attention to what goes on around you?”

Gaby stopped abruptly and realized that not
only had they entered the study but that she would have collided
with him if he hadn’t spoken. Her face lit with a devilish grin. “I
fear I often get lost in thought when I should be paying
attention.”

Rafael was fascinated by the way her
personality could change from argumentative to joyful. She reminded
him of the chameleon who changed colors to suit his surroundings.
She appeared to change personalities to suit her opinions and
situations.

He assumed what he was about to say would
annoy her, probably spark her anger. But why should it matter to
him? “It isn’t necessary for women to think or consider on things.
Men do it for them... with much more success.”

Gaby’s grin remained devilish and her eyes
danced with merriment. “If you say so, senor Cabrillo.”

Rafael’s brow shot up and his nostrils
flared. She was appeasing him and that irritated him. Why? Did he
prefer her to argue with him?

“Rafael.” The soft voice sounded as if it
drifted into the room.

“Mother,” Rafael returned with
tenderness.

Gaby whirled around and her smile quickly
faded. She caught her reaction almost immediately and forced a
smile. She couldn’t believe that a large, vibrant man like Rafael
could have such a small, frail mother. It just didn’t seem
possible.

Rafael walked to his mother’s side and bent
down on one knee so he’d be even with the wheelchair. “How are you
feeling?”

“Tired. Always tired,” she sighed as if life
was too much for her to bear.

Gaby watched the odd exchange between them.
She was stunned that a son would allow his mother to live in such
self-pity. Dona Maria was an attractive woman. Small in stature and
not a trace of gray hair in her lustrous dark waves, she looked no
more than fifty. Yet lack of color to her complexion made her
appear in ill health, and Gaby didn’t think that was the case. She
was probably like many of the hacienda wives, who when their
domineering husbands died, they thought their lives over and
useless. After all, they had been so used to obeying how did they
possibly live without someone telling them what to do?

Rafael continued to speak to his mother,
feeding her sorrows with sympathy.

It annoyed Gaby. There probably wasn’t any
reason for her to be in that wheelchair in the first place and that
black dress she wore made her even paler, not to mention how hot
and uncomfortable it must be.

“Perhaps a blanket over your legs would
help, Mother,” Rafael said and directed Lupe to get one.

Gaby couldn’t believe her ears. A blanket in
this weather? What was he trying to do, suffocate her?

Rafael stood. “Mother, I want you to meet
your new companion.”

Dona Maria produced a weak smile as she
extended her hands to Gaby. “Come, child, let me get a better look
at you.”

Gaby knelt before her. The woman took hold
of her hands and Gaby gave a squeeze. The older woman returned a
firm squeeze. Dona Maria wasn’t as frail as she appeared.

“It will be good to have someone keep me
company throughout the day.”

“There is much we can do,” Gaby offered. “I
will read to you. We can talk, take walks and pick flowers and
perhaps even go on a picnic and —”

“No!” Rafael’s voice boomed throughout the
room.

The smile that had been noticeably growing
on Dona Maria’s face quickly faded.

“Mother isn’t well enough for such strenuous
activities.”

“Why?” Gaby asked.

“Because her health prohibits it,” he
said.

“And what is this health problem that stops
her from living? I must know if I am to look after her.”

“Her strength isn’t what it used to be and
she tires easily. The doctor has ordered rest. And you shall see
that she gets it.”

Gaby nodded. “I shall see she gets exactly
what she needs.”

“Good,” Rafael said, leaning casually
against the large desk in the center of the room.

“Shall we pick one of the books from this
vast library to read?” Gaby asked Dona Maria, pointing toward the
stacked bookcases that ran from floor to ceiling along two
walls.

“I think not,” Rafael said.

“Why?”

He answered her with annoyed impatience.
“Mother only reads the Bible. And who taught you to read?”

“Perhaps your mother should read something
else for a change and Padre Jose taught me at my insistence.”

Rafael couldn’t help but grin at her
tenacity. First it was wild flowers and now books. What was
next?

“The blanket,” Lupe said entering the
room.

Gaby took it from Lupe and placed it on the
back of the heavy wooden chair near the desk. “Dona Maria won’t
need it. It’s hot enough without that awful thing covering her
lap.”

Lupe’s eyes popped wide and Dona Maria’s
mouth parted in surprise.

Rafael stood away from the desk and sternly
ordered, “Come over here, Gaby.”

She walked over to him without hesitation,
tilting her head up slightly to look at him with a smile that
challenged.

“Put the blanket on mother’s lap.”

“She doesn’t need it. It’s too hot.”

“She’s ill and feels chilled when others do
not.”

“Did you ask her if she feels that way, or
did the good doctor tell you?”

“The doctor told me and I trust his advice.
Now put the blanket on her,” he said raising his voice.

“I will do it,” Lupe said, reaching for
it.

“No,” he snapped, stopping the plump woman
in her tracks. “Gaby will do as I say.”

Gaby nodded, whirled around and did as
directed. She hummed as she carefully tucked the blanket around the
woman’s legs. When she finished she patted Dona Maria’s hand. “All
done.”

“That wasn’t so hard was it?” Rafael asked
with a glint of satisfaction.

“No, senor,” she answered obediently.

“The servants call me Don Rafael.”

The smile at Gaby’s lips faltered some. She
had never intended to serve anyone. That wasn’t what she wanted.
But at the moment she didn’t have a choice. “Don Rafael.”

Rafael felt his name glide around him like a
warm caress, whispery soft. He shook the strange feeling away.
“Good, Gaby. You are learning. Lupe, take mother to her room to
rest before supper and then show Gaby to her room.”

Gaby followed silently behind Lupe.

Rafael shook his head as he watched them
leave the room, the door closing behind them. He walked over to the
tall, narrow window that looked out onto another courtyard. The
high noon sun had passed over it and the afternoon shadows now
shaded the areas. A large table, benches and several chairs sat
surrounded by numerous terra cotta containers with lush green
plants and bright pink and red flowers.

He focused on the calming scene, giving
thought to Gaby. Over the years he had learned to rely on his
instinct when it came to judging people. It was a necessary skill
for survival. He had known from their first encounter that she was
different than most women. The way she had dared to question his
authority, her boldness in asking him if he intended to hang her,
her insistence in picking flowers, her odd opinions concerning a
woman’s proper place... yes, she certainly was different.

He rubbed his chin in concentration. It
would take time for her to accept his authority, but she was at
least beginning to understand it was her duty. She had proven it by
obeying his command about the blanket. He could tell she didn’t
care to follow his order. He had caught her objection in the slight
change of her smile.

Actually, her whole face intrigued him. Her
features were stunning for a peasant girl; rich dark eyes, thick
even brows, slim nose, high cheekbones, sparkling white teeth. She
appeared almost perfect with the exception of her lips.

He grinned, recalling the contrast between
the upper and lower ones, slim and plump. He wanted to taste them
and discover their differences.

The workers’ busy chatter outside the window
interrupted his musings. He watched the way they so easily mingled
together. They smiled and laughed and shared common traits. Gaby
was one of them. She belonged to that fraction of society. He
didn’t.

He was of higher birth and expected to marry
within the realm of his class. And it wouldn’t be proper to take
his mother’s companion as a mistress.

He grinned wondering if she would be
obedient in bed, or if her boldness would exert itself. His grin
hastily vanished when he realized he would not be the one to find
out.

Rafael grabbed his hat and gloves off the
end of the desk and marched out of the room. He would attend to his
duties in the vineyards and set his mind on other more important
matters.

He closed the study door behind him and
walked down the hall, halting abruptly when he caught sight of the
blanket that had been covering his mother’s lap. It lay on a chair
neatly folded.

Rafael’s expression grew dark and serious.
He had broken some of the wildest stallions and mares and now they
obeyed his every command. By month’s end Gaby Alvardo would do the
same.

“I don’t want to wear them,” Gaby said,
placing a plate of scrambled eggs with green peppers on the serving
tray.

Lupe wiped her hands on her bright yellow
apron. “Don Rafael said you must wear sandals... and Dona Maria
will never eat those eggs.”

Gaby’s face lit with a determined smile.

Lupe shook her head. “You have a stubborn
nature, and it’s going to get you into trouble.”

Gaby gave Lupe a quick hug before snatching
a corn biscuit from the platter on the table. “I’ve been here five
days and have seen Don Rafael only twice. If I keep my distance
from him, he will never know.”

Lupe shook her finger in Gaby’s face. “He
knows everything that goes on at the hacienda. Last year,
Elena—she’s one of the young girls who clean the main house —became
pregnant. She is a good girl, but fell in love with the wrong
man.”

Gaby listened with interest, aware that Lupe
knew all that went on at the hacienda and was prone to gossip. But
gossip could help her learn more about her new home and about Don
Rafael.

“Anyway,” she continued while filling the
silver pot on the serving tray with coffee. “Elena was sick with
worry. The father of her child disappeared soon after she had told
him. She was too ashamed to confide in her family.” Lupe’s voice
lowered to a whisper. She glanced around the room making certain no
one was about. “She even considered taking her own life.
Madre
Dios
.” Lupe crossed herself.

Gaby felt sick for the young girl. She
should not have to bear such shame simply because she had
mistakenly surrendered to a man who had claimed to love her.”What
happened to her?” she asked with concern.

Lupe’s voice picked up its usual robust
tenor. “Don Rafael summoned Elena into his study. She thought he
was going to order her out of his home in disgrace. But three days
later she was married to one of the
vaqueros
who had lost
his wife only six months before and was left with two small
children to care for.”

“Is Elena happy?”

“Very,” Lupe grinned. “Rico, her husband, is
good to her and she loves his two little ones as he does her son.
It was a perfect union. So you see Don Rafael knows
everything.”

“Someone must have told him or he heard
gossip,” Gaby insisted folding the white napkin embroidered with
pink flowers next to the plate.

Lupe vehemently shook her head. “No. The
servants only speak in his company when he speaks to them and no
one would have dared to tell Don Rafael about Elena’s problem.”

“There is always someone willing to talk.”
Gaby smiled picking up the tray and putting it right back down as
though she had forgotten something.

Lupe laughed as she watched the young woman
go through her usual routine. Gaby rushed out the open kitchen
door, snatched a white daisy bursting in its early morning bloom
and hurried back into the house to fill a slim crystal vase with
water before slipping the lovely flower in it and then she placed
it on the tray.

“Dona Maria loves flowers,” Gaby said
recalling how delighted the woman had been with the bouquet of wild
flowers. Her face had lit with a smile and Gaby caught a sight of
the young vibrant woman she had once been.

“I know, child. Everyone should be as
perceptive to that woman as you are.”