Public Marriage, Private Secrets - By Helen Bianchin Page 0,32

to devouring each other. And enjoying it.

Ohmigod. This wasn’t happening. She was lost in a dream from which she’d soon awake.

Except the scene was startlingly real, and she blinked rapidly as if to clear her mind.

‘We must all share a celebratory drink,’ their hostess bade cheerfully as she indicated the French doors.

Gianna’s denial rose and died in her throat as she gave Raúl a beseeching look that had no effect whatsoever.

You can’t do this.

Did she speak the words aloud?

Apparently not. And seconds later she stood in the doorway, anchored close to Raúl’s side, with their hostess calling for everyone’s attention.

Say something. Anything. Just stop this farce before it begins.

Except the words wouldn’t form…and then it was too late.

‘I have a special announcement to make. It is my great pleasure to inform you that my dear friends Raúl and Gianna Velez-Saldaña have decided to reconcile. Let us all wish them well, and drink a toast to their future.’

Champagne appeared, and staff quickly assembled flutes and distributed them among the guests.

Somehow Gianna managed to smile as guests she knew and some she didn’t came by to express their good wishes…Even Sierra leaned in close and voiced in a hideous whisper, ‘Watch your back. It doesn’t pay to be too clever.’

Gianna barely refrained from a pithy rejoinder, aware silence was the better option.

Raúl was a constant presence, playing the part a little too well. A vivid reminder of how it had used to be between them. The musing smile that promised much once they were alone. A light touch of his hand at her waist the trail of his fingers down the length of her spine to rest low and brush back and forth in a gentle movement guaranteed to stir her senses.

Revenge, when the opportunity presented itself, was sweet, and she uttered a few words so quietly he angled his head down to catch them.

It would have appeared to any onlooker as an endearing moment…except the light brush of her mouth hid the deliberate nip of sharp white teeth to his earlobe. Only she caught the faint hiss of his expelled breath, and glimpsed the sudden dark gleam in his eyes promising retribution.

Eventually the evening drew to a close, and Gianna waited until the car cleared the gates before turning towards him.

‘Explain, please,’ she demanded with barely controlled anger, ‘why you didn’t correct Ana’s assumption?’

The mountain road was narrow by any standard, winding, and required concentration.

‘I was more concerned in protecting you.’

His slightly amused drawl merely ratcheted up her anger another notch.

‘Don’t toy with me. I’m a hair’s breadth away from hitting you.’

‘At least wait until we’re off this road before you try.’

She bit her lip to restrain the words she longed to hurl at him. Words which flowed the instant Raúl reached the main route leading to Teresa’s villa.

‘What in hell were you thinking back there?’

‘In reference to…?’

She shot him a venomous look which would have felled a lesser man. ‘We are not reconciling.’

‘Then perhaps you can explain why you were totally with me in every sense of the word.’

The thing was she had been…so totally lost she’d had no awareness of anything except him.

Be honest. She’d wanted to tear his clothes off and eat him alive.

‘So, you kiss very well.’ It was a totally inadequate protestation, and she heard a husky sound emerge from his throat that sounded suspiciously like subdued laughter.

‘You choose to imagine that’s all it was? Sensual expertise?’

No, she admitted wretchedly. It was so much more than that, and the knowledge blew her mind.

‘Yes.’

The car slowed and he used a remote to open the gates, then again to open the garage. As he cut the headlights, the garage lights sprang on and the exterior door folded down.

In one smooth movement he released his seat belt and turned towards her.

‘Liar,’ Raúl accused quietly as he cradled her face and covered her mouth with his own.

Her initial protest died as he coaxed her lips apart and began exploring the soft tissues with gentle expertise.

Warmth invaded her veins, firing her nerve-ends until she felt every cell bloom sensually alive, and with a faint sigh she simply gave herself up to the magic only he could create.

The kiss deepened, becoming more urgent, and she was barely aware of his hand caressing her thigh while the other shaped her breast.

She was unaware of her hands reaching for him, sliding the buttons free from his shirt as she sought warm skin and taut musculature.

‘Let’s get out of here.’ Deep husky words filled with