Free NocC 005 - Caridad Pineiro - Amazon Awakening - Harlequin 2011-12 by Nocturne

area. New medicines from local plants. Fish farming along the banks of the river.” He motioned upriver to the markers. “Far from the sacred space we grow stands of Ipe wood for lumber to be exported.”
    Pride filled his tone at what they had accomplished—what he had implemented as the head of her family’s business—but she recognized that his work was a burden as well. A burden he had been primarily shouldering for some time.
    She leaned toward him, searching out his features. “What about what you want? What you need for yourself?”
    He dipped his head down, avoiding her gaze, but she insisted, bringing her face close so there was no way that he could avoid her. “What will make you happy, Rey?”
    Slowly, he faced her and said one word.
    “You.”
    She sucked in a breath at his admission and her heart hitched a beat. There was no denying the truth of his statement. But she was still battling her anger at his failure to tell her the truth about what was expected of her.
    “I’m not sure I can trust you,” she admitted.
    “I understand. I should have told you more, but there was so much you needed to know. So much to show you,” Rey said earnestly and swept his arm out to gesture to everything around them. He had helped to build this place, but he realized none of it would matter if she left. He needed her to remain here—and not just because she was the heir to the legacy. He needed her to stay because he might have fallen in love with her.
     
    “Give me another chance. Give this place a chance,” he urged her, reaching out and cupping her cheek.
    She bit her bottom lip, worrying it with her teeth. Her gaze dipped for a moment, but then she met him head-on.
    “I can’t deny that I’m attracted to you. That I felt a connection to you from the beginning.”
    “As I did to you. I can’t explain it. All I know is that I can’t imagine not feeling that link. Not exploring if this is meant to be.”
    A rueful smile peaked from the corner of her lips. “Neither can I. I want to find out if what we’re feeling is real. If I can trust you.”
    “What can I do to prove that you can?” Rey replied, determined to demonstrate in any way he could that she could rely on him.
    Paola narrowed her eyes, almost unable to believe that he meant what he said. His question got her to wondering just what he would be willing to do. That wondering grew dangerous as she spotted a loop of white rope at the edge of the dock.
    Bending at the waist, she snagged the bundle of rope and held it up for him to see. Momentary confusion filled his gaze until he realized her intent, but then a flush spread across his cheeks and worked its way down his neck.
    “You want me to trust you, but you need to trust me also.” She jiggled the rope up and down.
    In answer, he laced his fingers together and offered up his wrists. “I trust you,” he said.
    His submission created a flood of desire through her body and had her heavy with need at the thought of all that masculine power under her control. Working quickly, she bound his wrists together and then used the remaining few feet of rope as a leash, leading him away from the dock and back to her bedroom.
    Once inside, she faced him. When her gaze met his, the heat in his look nearly devoured her. “On the bed,” she commanded, eager to begin this test of trust.
    He moved assuredly, his long legs eating up the short distance to the bed where he climbed up and laid down in the center. Raising his bound arms above his head, he grabbed hold of a carved rail at the bottom of the ornate Ipe wood headboard.
    Perfect, she thought. She leaned over to tie him to the railing with the excess rope.
    Then she sat back and admired him, so large and imposing. So beautiful, she thought, as he glanced at her, his dark eyes glittering.
    “I am yours now, Paola. What will you do with me?”
    A thousand thoughts raced through her brain, but she started with the most basic. “I’m going to undress