Free Pearls by Lisa Mills Page A

herself the right to cry. Not in front of him. Nor for him.
    Drawing a deep breath, she braced herself. His knock sounded at the door, but Isabel didn’t hurry her step. She lingered in the front room for a few moments, letting him wait and wonder. His second knock brought Maria from the kitchen, but Isabel waved her away, not wanting any witnesses to the humiliating scene that would surely follow. She felt glad Abuela had taken Manuel for a guided tour of her tropical garden. She would not need to worry they’d overhear.
    Just as he rapped a third time, Isabel opened the door. He put on a winning smile and reached for her. “ Mi amor ,” he crooned.
    Mi amor. The pet name was more an insult than an endearment after hearing him call another woman the same thing. Isabel shrugged away from his touch and moved to stand beyond the half-opened door, out of his reach. She greeted him with cold, unwelcoming silence.
    His smile faded. “Isabel? Is something wrong?” He placed a well-manicured hand against the door and pressed it open a little wider. “You look pale. Are you sick?”
    “You could say that.” She turned and walked toward the living room, leaving him to decide whether or not to follow her.
    The door clicked shut, and she heard his steps on the tile behind her. In the living room, she avoided the couch and chose a chair made for one. Her choice brought a frown to his features, one she understood all too well. He liked to touch her and hold her. Recent events had helped her realize how much he influenced and controlled her with physical contact. He would pet her and she would melt, push aside whatever concerns she had, ignore her instincts in order to keep his affection—the perfect recipe for a dysfunctional relationship. Well, no more.
    Looking mildly perturbed, he seated himself on the end of the couch nearest her. “I have been unable to contact you for days, and you’ve not returned my messages. Do you know how your absence affects me, Isabel? I am lost without you.” He moved to lay a hand on her knee, but she shifted so her legs were out of his reach. Surprise flickered over his features at her silent rebuff. “What is it, mi amor ? Why do you pull away from me?”
    She held her tongue for several minutes, allowing the tension to thicken and fill the air between them.
    “Isabel?”
    “I saw you.”
    A dark eyebrow quirked upward in question. He obviously did not understand, and why would he? He had been too busy fondling that woman to notice that they weren’t alone on the boat.
    “I came to the yacht on Sunday to surprise you, and I saw you with her.”
    His eyes widened with understanding, then his gaze dropped to the floor. For a moment, he had the decency to look embarrassed. But like all cads, he quickly recovered from the surprise and rallied. “Isabel, I am sorry you witnessed that indiscretion, but you must understand. The other women mean nothing to me.”
    Anger ripped through her, and every muscle in her body clenched with the surge. “Women? You’ve been with more than one?”
    He held his hands out to his sides and shrugged. “Isabel, this is the way of Venezuelan men. You will be thankful for my experience when you finally surrender to me. I am an accomplished lover.”
    Her disgust and fury grew. For the first time she saw him for what he was. You arrogant, unrepentant womanizer! “So am I supposed to thank you for being unfaithful to me? You did it to please me? Is that what you’re saying?” Isabel wanted to claw his eyes out. No wonder he was able to sweep her off her feet so easily. He’d had so much practice, and she was totally naive.
    “I am a man. You have denied me your full affections for months. How did you expect me to contain my passions?”
    She gasped in outrage and shot to her feet, ready to send him on his way.
    His hand snaked out and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her onto his lap. She fought against him, but his arms locked around her like a steel