The Spaniard's Woman - Contemporary Romance (7 page)

‘Scoot into the kitchen, love. Quickly now.’

Dylan obediently trailed towards the kitchen, but he shot a few more interested looks at Gabriel over his shoulder as he went. Rhianna looked at the man she had been in bed with only an hour before. As soon as Dylan had disappeared, all the warmth died out of his face, leaving a cold, inscrutable mask behind. He glanced at Rhianna, dark eyes glittering. ‘
Now
it is time to talk.’

Rhianna nodded numbly, knowing there was no escape. This was exactly the situation she had most feared, ever since she had set eyes on Gabriel two nights ago.

‘I think it best if I’m present,’ Grady interjected quickly.

That made Gabriel pause. He looked at Grady. ‘No. My business with Rhianna has nothing to do with you.’

‘Rhianna is living in my house,’ Grady reminded him flatly. ‘I think I have every right to be there.’

‘If you insist, then I will speak to Rhianna elsewhere.’ Gabriel’s eyes went back to Rhianna, ‘Get your coat.’

Rhianna flushed. ‘It’s alright, Grady. I don’t need you there. I’ll be fine.’ At least, she
hoped
she would be fine. Normally Gabriel would never offer violence to a woman but this was hardly a normal situation - the anger that radiated from him was so intense there was no saying what he may, or may not, do. ‘I have a sitting room upstairs. It might be best if we talked there.’ He nodded curtly and followed her silently up the stairs.

It was dark outside now and Rhianna turned on the lamps so that the room was flooded with warm light. Gabriel remained silent. As Rhianna pulled the drapes closed across the windows, he turned and shut the door. Rhianna had been trying desperately to think of something to say, anything to break the silence. While his face might be expressionless, his eyes were anything but. They were burning with fury.

‘He is my son.’

There was no point in denying it. The resemblance was unmistakable. ‘Yes.’

‘When did you discover that you were going to have my child?’

Rhianna paused, then drew a deep breath. ‘That final day. I’d been to the doctors that morning.’

His hands clenched at his sides. ‘And yet you said nothing!’

‘I hardly had the opportunity. You didn’t waste any time, telling me that it was over between us.’

There was a long pause. Gabriel seemed to get a grip on himself. She saw his struggle for self-mastery and held her breath, waiting for whatever came next. ‘It would have changed everything,’ he said finally. ‘You must have known that. I would never have sent you away if I had known that you were carrying my child.’

‘They are rather the key words here, aren’t they?’ Rhianna observed bitterly. The memory of that last day was still so clearly etched into her memory, remembered pain very close to the surface, even now. ‘You sent me away... Of course it would have been different if you’d known I had a child. But it would hardly have changed the fact that you had decided that you’d had enough of me.’

His mouth tightened to an angry white line. ‘You had no right to deprive me of my son!’

‘I was alone and I was hurt,’ Rhianna replied, the anger suddenly draining out of her. ‘I could hardly believe that you had decided that our relationship was over. I wasn’t in any condition to make rational decisions but I’m not making any excuses. The truth is Gabriel, if you didn’t want me, what kind of life do you think our child would have had?’

‘What a fool you are…’ After a moment’s hesitation, he walked to one of the deep armchairs and sat down. Rhianna remained where she was and he gave her a hard look. ‘You may as well take a seat,’ he said tightly. ‘We have things to discuss before I leave to make arrangements.’

Rhianna eyed him warily. ‘What kind of arrangements?’

‘What do you think?’ he demanded, ‘I have to organize flights back to Spain. I suppose our son...
maldiaglo
! What is his name?’ He seemed incensed that he needed to ask.

‘Dylan,’ she said, preoccupied by what he’d just said. ‘Hang on! I’m not going -’

‘Be silent,’ he recommended grimly. ‘You will do exactly as I tell you. I suppose Dylan is on your passport?’

‘We’ve never been anywhere,’ Rhianna replied sharply. ‘So the answer to your question is no. But even if he was on my passport, we’re not going anywhere.’

‘You are.’ Gabriel said with absolute certainty. ‘You are coming home with me.’

‘No, we’re not.’ Rhianna tried to infuse as much conviction as possible into her voice. She had known ever since Gabriel had seen Dylan that this conversation would take place and knew that if she didn’t stand firm he would railroad her. Gabriel might be Dylan’s father, but he had no right to dictate where his son would live. They were not in Catalonia now. ‘Dylan’s home is here. I have no intention of going anywhere with you.’

The anger flared up again, blazing in his eyes for one brief, terrifying moment before he ruthlessly tamped it down again. ‘You refuse to allow our son to see the land of his father?’

‘I never said that,’ Rhianna objected, ‘I merely said that you don’t have the right to decide where we should go or what we should do. Dylan’s home is here -’

‘The home of another man!’ Gabriel interrupted icily.

‘Grady has been my employer for over two years.’

‘You told me he was your lover.’

Rhianna ground her teeth. ‘I lied. I was trying to find a way to stop you from... from forcing me to...’ for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. She let out a long breath. ‘Grady has been my employer for over two years. I’m his personal assistant. And yes, he has asked me to marry him but I have always said no. We don’t have any romantic attachment.’

‘Have you slept with him?’ Gabriel demanded harshly. ‘Have you allowed him to make love to you?’

Anger chased away some of Rhianna’s despair. ‘That has nothing to do with you.’

Their eyes met and locked in a battle of wills. ‘Sit down.’ Gabriel said again, voice abrupt. ‘You look as if you’re are about to run from me at any moment and I have spent enough of chasing you tonight.’ Rhianna sat cautiously, knowing perfectly well that she
might
run from him at any moment. ‘So you told me you were engaged to Grady O’Farrell to stop me from taking you to bed.’

‘Yes.’

He frowned at her. ‘Is the idea of being my lover so repugnant to you?’

‘I just dislike it when I have no choice in the matter.’ Rhianna muttered. ‘You know damn well you won’t listen to anything I say.’

‘Because I know what you want better than you do,’ he said flatly. ‘You admit that you could not refuse me which is the same as admitting that you want me. And tonight I learnt that I have a son. What is there to discuss? You will accompany me to Spain. Even in this country I believe that the father has the right to see his child. It is possible that the courts will not look very kindly on a woman who deprives a man of his son.’

Rhianna stared at him, sick to the stomach as his meaning filtered through. ‘I wrote three letters to you after Dylan’s birth. I
did
tell you that you had a son.’

‘I received no letters.’

‘I sent them to your home. You have no right to threaten me now.’

‘I’ll do whatever I must to gain access to my son,’ Gabriel replied curtly. He rose to his feet and stood looking down at her, his expression grim. ‘And make no mistake,
mi
Rhianna, I will claim what is mine. I have infinite patience and a great deal of money. If you force me, I will take Dylan and it will be
you
who will see him when I choose to allow it. Is that what you wish?’

It was exactly what she feared the most. White lipped, Rhianna felt a wave of dizziness sweep over her. ‘You
bastard
. You have no right to try and take Dylan from me!’

‘If you co-operate there will be no need for any court case, any intervention by the Spanish embassy,’ he returned smoothly. ‘Tomorrow you will arrange to have your passport updated. I will accompany you. As soon as it is possible you and Dylan will accompany me to Spain. It is time that my son was introduced to his birthright. And know this,
mi mujer,
I will never be deprived of him again.’

Chapter Six

It took ten days to arrange everything. Rhianna moved through each of them in a state of shock, going through a multitude of chores, filling out forms, her head still unable to comprehend that she was returning to Spain with Gabriel.

And
why
was she going? It wasn’t just because she knew he would pursue her through the courts. Now that he knew about Dylan, nothing would stop him.

No… the thing that had decided her, reluctantly, was the instantaneous bond that seemed to form between father and son, the moment they were able to spend some time together. A bond that tore at her heart and made her wish that the past could be re-written.

Why had Gabriel never received those letters?

Grady, quite naturally, was far from happy at the prospect of losing Rhianna. ‘Tell him to go to hell!’

‘He’s threatened to take me to court, Grady. And I simply don’t have the money to fight for Dylan,’ Rhianna had returned wearily. While she had agreed to travel to Spain, she had engaged a lawyer who was looking into custody rights. Hers, not Gabriel’s. The relationship between father and son might need to be fostered but she did not trust Gabriel not to try and take her child away from her. Rhianna was sleeping badly, waking after only an hour or so each night, tossing and turning for hours, unable to escape her thoughts or - worse still - her feelings. Since learning that he had a son, Gabriel had not tried to make love to her again and Rhianna was unsure what that signified. Despite the fact that he was with her almost every moment of the day, only returning to his hotel when Dylan was in bed at night, Rhianna had absolutely no idea what was going on in his head. It was Grady that was paying for a lawyer and she had slipped out of the house to keep the appointment while Gabriel spent time getting to know his son. The woman had been very direct with her.

‘He’s the father and he has certain rights, as do you,’ she’d told Rhianna simply. ‘And in Australia fathers, even if they are from another country, have the right to have access to their children. I don’t believe for a moment that the courts would aware him sole custody but he might apply for shared custody and succeed in obtaining it.’

‘What does that mean?’ Rhianna had demanded anxiously.

The woman had shrugged. ‘Worst-case scenario? Fifty-fifty. And then he’d probably go back and petition for Dylan to live with him in Spain. It’s a difficult situation.’

It was a hopeless situation, as far as Rhianna was concerned. When she returned from her meeting, it was in a somber state of mind.

‘I have money.’ Grady pointed out. He’d been waiting for her return to see how things had gone. ‘Use it.’

Rhianna smiled, deeply touched. Leaning down, she kissed him lightly on the cheek. ‘That’s a very sweet offer for a guy who claims to be as hard as stone.’

Grady grimaced. ‘Don’t get all weepy on me. It’s damned hard to find a good PA. You’re the only one who’s ever stuck around.’

‘This is a very touching scene.’ The voice, diamond hard and just as smooth, made Rhianna jump. Gabriel was standing just inside the door of the office, his eyes traveling from Rhianna to Grady and back again. ‘Rhianna, I would speak with you.’

‘Like I said, you really should learn to knock,’ Grady said sourly.

Rhianna squeezed his shoulder and straightened up. She felt guilty for some reason, as if she had been caught out in some misdemeanor, although she knew perfectly well that she’d done nothing wrong. Grady was an old friend as well as her employer and he was being incredibly supportive. So why did Gabriel make her feel like schoolgirl who’d been caught sneaking into class late?

Gabriel stood aside, allowing her to slip past him. As soon as they were alone he seized her wrist and pulled her unceremoniously into a small sitting room. ‘You were
kissing
him,’ he exploded as soon as the door was closed.

‘Damn you, let me go.’ Rhianna returned angrily. His grip was almost painful.

‘You will not kiss him again, Rhianna,’ he said, voice uncompromising. ‘You the mother of my son. I will not tolerate it.’ His hand did release her then, but only so he could slide it beneath the heavy curtain of her hair, his fingers curving around the nape of her neck, his thumb pushing her chin up. ‘Are we clear on this?’

Rhianna bit her lip. It was the first time in several days that she’d been this close to him and her body was suddenly as jumpy as a cat’s. ‘Let me go.’

He shook his head slowly. ‘Never again. I am not the kind of man who makes the same mistake twice.’

She knew he was going to kiss her and she was waiting for it, despite her unhappiness.
You
want this
, she thought hazily as he took her mouth with bruising intensity,
you tell yourself you don’t but you move through each minute, waiting for his touch...
The knowledge brought a sharp pang of anguish but it was extinguished almost immediately by the up rush of pleasure his mouth seemed all too capable of giving her. There was no tenderness in the kiss; it was nothing more than a man claiming what he considered his own. Gabriel pushed her back against the door, pressing his body against the length of her, consuming her softness with his own hard edges. She felt the length of his erection press against her belly and gave a soft moan, aching for him to continue, to satisfy the hunger that burned within her.

It took some time before the sound penetrated and either of them realized that somebody on the other side of the door was knocking. Gabriel raised his head, frowning as he listened.

A small voice piped. ‘Mommy?’

Rhianna was suddenly back in the room, cold reality bringing her back with a jolt. She slipped from beneath Gabriel, smoothing her shirt automatically. Gabriel closed his eyes, getting a grip on himself before opening the door. Dylan was standing on the other side. He grinned as soon as he saw his father. ‘
Hola Padre
!’ he said, pronouncing the words effortlessly.

‘Hola
,
mi hijo
,’ Gabriel replied, lifting the boy up into his arms. Dylan looked over his father’s shoulder and saw Rhianna. ‘
Hola Madre
! You see Mommy? I can talk Spanish. Papa is teaching me.’

Rhianna managed to smile, although it wasn’t easy. The aftermath of Gabriel’s kiss was still sending shockwaves through her. She looked at the dark head of her son next to that of his father. Seeing the two of them together aroused conflicting feelings within her but no matter how she felt she knew it was important for both of them that they form a bond. ‘You’re very clever, aren’t you? Do you know what you would call Enid if you were in Spain?’ Dylan shook his head. ‘
Senora
Carstairs.’

‘But we call her Enid. Do you speak Spanish too, Mommy?’ Dylan demanded with delight.

‘Your
madre
lived in Spain for a little while.’ Gabriel said, hoisting his son a little higher, ‘Now then, do you want to have a book? I think it is time for a story before you sleep,
si
?’

‘Si, Papa
,’ Dylan agreed immediately. ‘But I want Mommy to come to. She does good stories.’

Rhianna hesitated There had been so much to take care of before they left for Spain that it had either been Gabriel or herself who had looked after Dylan. Spending time together as parents felt very strange. Gabriel, sensing her reluctance, forced the issue.

‘Come,’ he murmured, ‘come and read with us Rhianna.’

Sitting in Dylan’s room, they took turns in reading a collection of his favorite stories. The afternoon was dark, the rain outside creating an early gloom that had meant switching on the lights. Looking around her, Rhianna was struck by the atmosphere of intimacy. A stranger looking into the room would see two parents sharing the task of reading to their son and would have assumed it was the most natural thing in the world. But the reality couldn’t have been more different.

Watching Gabriel, Rhianna tried to envision the life that lay ahead of her. Inevitably, she had thought about Gabriel’s wife a great deal since accepting the need to accompany him back to Spain. She wondered what the unknown woman would think of her husband bringing home his ex-lover and his son. Rhianna couldn’t believe she would be happy about it; what woman would?

There were a dozen questions Rhianna longed to ask but Gabriel’s attitude had been so forbidding that she had hesitated to speak to him about the future. The knowledge that she had no choice in what was to happen for the next few months of her life was enormously frustrating, but she could do nothing. Not yet, anyway.

There were other matters to consider as well. Where she and Dylan would say, what they would do... preschool, friends of his own age... So many issues to consider and yet she was reluctant to discuss any of it with Gabriel. Perhaps, she thought wearily, she was reluctant to hear what he would say.

Her thoughts drifted back to their earlier kiss and she sighed. What was it that drove all sense of reason out of her head when he touched her? What, Rhianna wondered, would it take to exorcise Gabriel out of her heart and out of her treacherous hormones? Was she really so physically addicted to the man that she found him impossible to resist? As if sensing her thoughts, Gabriel looked up and met her eyes and heat flared between them with all the electricity of a thunderstorm. Suddenly she was back in that sitting room, pressed against the door with his body hard against hers, moments away from seducing her... Shaken, Rhianna looked away.

Dylan, head nodding, finally fell asleep, his head drooping against his father’s shoulder. Gabriel laid the book aside and picked him up gently, laying the boy down on the bed and tucking the quilt around him. He switched off the light but remained where he was, looking down at his son. ‘He is very intelligent.’ he murmured.

Rhianna nodded. ‘His preschool teachers think that he is gifted.’

‘And you?’ Gabriel demanded softly. ‘What does his mother think?’

‘I think he’s brilliant, fascinating, funny, gorgeous... all the things mothers usually think about their children,’ Rhianna admitted wryly. She hesitated. This seemed like as good a time as any to bring up the subject of his other family. ‘What will your wife think of you returning with us Gabriel? Have you considered that?’

He was silent for a long moment. ‘I have no wife,’ he said finally.

Rhianna stared at him uncomprehendingly. ‘What did you say?’

‘You heard me. I have no wife.’ His face was still averted as he continued to look down at Dylan.

‘But... you said that you were getting married.’ Surely he hadn’t lied about that. Surely he hadn’t told her that he was getting married merely as an excuse to finish their relationship?

‘I did get married.’ It was as if the words were forced out of him, each one drawing blood.

‘I don’t understand,’ Rhianna shook her head, bewildered. ‘Did you get divorced?’ It seemed inconceivable. Divorce was not a popular choice in Spain. Rhianna couldn’t imagine that Gabriel would ever have gone through the ceremony of marriage, only to end it so soon after.

‘My wife died a year after we were married.’ Gabriel informed her tersely.

Rhianna stared at him, horrified. ‘I… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.’

‘I don’t want your pity!’ he snapped, finally turning to look at her. ‘If there was one thing marriage taught me is that women are liars who have no compunction about taking whatever they want from a man and giving as little as possible in return. You are the mother of my son and as such, I will always provide for you. But you are no better than my wife was, willing to do whatever it takes to get what you want, with no regard for others. Ana taught me that a beautiful face can hide a thousand secrets. But understand this, Rhianna.
You
will have no secrets from me.’ And with that, Gabriel turned abruptly and walked out of the room. After a few moments, Rhianna heard the front door below close.

She sat, astonished by the unexpectedness of Gabriel’s attack and stunned by the knowledge that, far from being a married man, he was a widower. And more than that, whatever had happened to his wife had obviously scarred him so deeply that he now regarded all women as the enemy, which might explain his distrustful attitude, to some extent. Rhianna shook her head. There was still so much to do. Today was Wednesday and they were due to leave on Friday morning. Rising to her feet, Rhianna moved across to the bed and, leaning down, gently kissed her sleeping son. ‘What have we gotten ourselves into, hmm?’ she breathed. Every time she tried to formulate some picture of the future, Gabriel would come along and shake things up, like a kaleidoscope that continually twisted her reality around. Rhianna had no idea what she could expect from the immediate future. She just knew it was going to take a great deal of strength to survive the coming days.

Gabriel didn’t show up again until the next morning when he appeared at Rhianna’s bedroom door. The room was in chaos, cupboard doors open, clothing strewn across the bed. Gabriel surveyed the wreckage, eyebrows raised. ‘
Mi dios
! Do you need help?’

Rhianna looked around quickly, half inside the wardrobe while searching for stray boxes for her shoes. When she saw Gabriel, she rose to her feet, wiping her hands down her thighs. She was dressed for action in faded jeans and an old pink and white top that had seen a lot of washes. The top had shrunk a little over the years and the soft fabric clung to the outline of her full breasts and showed a glimpsed of ivory skin in the gap between where the top ended and the jeans began. Her thick hair had been caught up in a ponytail. All in all, Gabriel reflected, she looked like a schoolgirl of seventeen. His eyes lingered on the top for a long moment before he pulled his gaze up to her face.