Free Valaquez Bride by Donna Vitek Page B

her back, his thumb brushing the
cushioned slope of her breast.
    A shiver danced over her skin. Her fingers clutching his
shirtfront spread open over his chest, warmed by the compelling heat of
his flesh, felt even through the fabric. Her senses spiraled as she
inhaled the mingling scents of lime and tobacco. And as she intuitively
moved nearer, his mouth took complete possession of hers. Startled yet
aroused by the touch of his tongue tasting hers, she was swept upward
in the tumultuous dawning of desire. Last year, she had often
daydreamed of Raul kissing her but even her wildest erotic imaginings
hadn't prepared her for this. His kiss was a deliberate seduction, an
intimate searching possession that made her ache to be much closer to
him. Now, only this moment mattered; everything else, even his
tyrannical unfair behavior toward her, ceased to exist. Beyond rational
thought, she surrendered to emotions far stronger than any will to
resist. Her small trembling hands fluttered hesitantly upward to
encircle the strong bronzed column of his neck, her thumbs grazing over
the contouring tendons.
    "Juliet," he whispered, his voice excitingly low and rough
as he gathered her closer still with swift undeniable urgency. As her
softness yielded to the harder stronger masculine line of his body, one
questing hand slipped up to cover the mound of one breast and when the
firm warm flesh surged responsively against his palm, he groaned softly.
    His touch was electric. As Juliet's slender bare arms went
around his neck, she delighted in the shafting awareness that shot
through her body when strong fingers curved into her throbbing
cushioned breast. Other men had tried to bestow such familiar caresses;
Pablo had tried often but she had always brushed his hand away with
mild irritation. Raul's touch was different, so very different. She
liked it. The demand his hard lean hands conveyed sent shivers dancing
over her skin and aroused a central throbbing aching inside her. Her
soft lips parted wider and were captured by the firm yet sensuous shape
of his. Her mouth opened slightly, invitingly. His kiss hardened, then
became a deepening, spellbinding exploration that weakened her limbs
with intensifying warmth. And as his fingers tangled in the thick hair
on her nape, she was kissing him back with a passion that was rising to
meet his.
    It was the clatter of footfalls on the tiles around the
fountain that brought Juliet back to the real world a moment later. And
when she heard a tour guide droning on in memorized English, she dragged her lips from Raul's with a
breathless murmur of protest. Still cradled in his arms, she opened
drowsy amber eyes, met the debilitating triumphant gleam in the green
depths of his and blushed crimson. When she struggled to escape his
arms, he released her immediately and she sat up, her head bent, her
silken hair falling forward to conceal her face. She felt thoroughly
confused and somewhat ashamed and when Raul's fingertips feathered over
her nape, she jerked away.
    "Let's not play games, Juliet," he said softly. "You're a
very responsive young woman and you've been without a lover too long.
We could have a very satisfying relationship while you're here in
Granada."
    Juliet scrambled to her knees, the color draining from her
face as she stared at him. "Are you suggesting that w-we have a casual
affair?" she stammered. "Wh-what kind of person do you think I am?"
    "I think you're a very modern young woman and I don't want
you to be lonely while you're here," he said with provoking calm, as if
he were deliberately baiting her. "So my suggestion that we keep each
other company wasn't meant as an insult."
    "Well, I
am
insulted!" she retorted
recklessly. "And you can just go straight to hell! I wouldn't choose
you to keep me company if you were the last man on earth. And I haven't
been without a lover too long. I've never had…" Her words
halted abruptly. She couldn't tell him she'd never had a
lover—that admission