Free The Twelve-Month Marriage Deal by Margaret Mayo Page A

uneven pulsing of her heart. This was the hardest thing she had ever done. But once he was asleep then she too closed her eyes and drifted into unconsciousness.
    Vidal could not believe that he had slept with a woman and not made love to her. Especially on his wedding night. What sort of a fool was he? Wasn’t he man enough to have persuaded her into letting down her defences? He didn’t blame her for what had happened, even though he couldn’t truly understand it, but perhaps he ought to have coaxed and teased her into submission.Why had he let her get away with it? This was like nothing he had ever done before.
    He’d woken just as dawn was breaking and stood a few moments looking down at Elena. In sleep her face was relaxed, the early-morning light touching her with an ethereal softness. She looked like an angel, her dark hair tousled as though she had spent the night tossing and turning, a faint smile on her lips. Maybe she was dreaming a beautiful dream. Maybe she was dreaming that he was making love to her!
    The thought caused everything inside him to tighten. Dios, how he wanted her!
    She had already given away the fact that he had the power to arouse her—beautifully. All that had stopped her letting him make love last night had been her conscience. What he needed to do now, if he wasn’t to spend the next year sleeping alone, was to persuade her that everything would be okay.
    But he would be patient, he would let her come to him in her own good time. Not that he wouldn’t try a little gentle persuasion. What fun would there be in being married otherwise?
    By the time he had showered and dressed Elena was awake. She looked at him shyly as she got out of bed and he wondered whether he was the first man she had ever slept with. It made him realise how little he knew about her. And he surprised himself by wanting to know more.
    He had thought, when he had agreed to their marriage, that it would simply be a case of them sharing a bed. It was the only direction his thoughts had gone. He had wanted her body and wasn’t interested in her for anyother reason. But now, conversely, he wanted to find out every single thing about this woman who was giving up her life to help her parents.
    ‘Good morning, Elena. How are you feeling?’
    Her finely shaped brows shot up, as though she hadn’t expected such courtesy. She pulled her robe more tightly around her. ‘I’m well, thank you. I’d like a shower.’
    ‘Of course.’ His stomach muscles tightened. He wasn’t used to fully clothed women this early in a morning. Usually they were more ready to disrobe than cover up. And he certainly wasn’t used to someone who looked as though she would prefer to be anywhere but in the same room as him.
    ‘Meanwhile I’ll order breakfast,’ he said, aware that his tone was suddenly curt and despising himself for it. But how did she expect him to behave when he had spent the night next to her in bed?
    He wasn’t made of stone—though at this moment he wished that he were. And when Elena rejoined him a few minutes later, her damp hair clinging to her cheeks, her velvet-soft skin flushed, her wide golden eyes troubled, he wanted to take her into his arms and assure her that everything was going to be all right.

Chapter Six
    ‘T HIS is where you live?’ Elena queried, her beautiful eyes even wider than ever as Vidal drove through the electronically controlled gates of an impressively styled manor house.
    Her parents’ house was luxurious, and her own place in LA was pretty smart, but this—well, it surprised her by its size. It was twice the size of his father’s house, tucked into the Andalucian countryside, a huge square two-storey property with stables and outbuildings and even what looked like a separate cottage.
    Why would one man live in a place like this? she asked herself. Unless, of course, he did a lot of entertaining—in which case it would certainly be good for his image.
    ‘And yours for the duration of our