The Secret Spanish Love-Child (11 page)

‘Look—’ Alex gave it another shot, although she had to angle her body awkwardly just to avoid addressing his back ‘—there seems to be a misunderstanding here…’

Tall though she was, he was, however, taller and broader and she was forced to watch helplessly as the troops departed and she was left standing in the room with Gabriel, who slowly closed the door behind him and turned to face her.

‘I thought that went well. Better than expected, in actual fact.’ He strolled towards the window and glanced outside before turning to perch against the broad window ledge, on which were arranged a pair of solid black marble sculptures of galloping horses.

‘What’s going on?’ Alex demanded, folding her arms, refusing to be drawn into polite chit-chat and infuriated by his attitude of casual indolence when she was itching for answers.

‘I don’t get you.’

‘Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about, Gabriel!’ Alex resorted to an explosive outburst and pointed at the stack of cases on the floor. ‘Why has your bag been put in the room I’m supposed to be sleeping in?’

‘Because this isn’t
your
room; it’s
our
room. And I am as surprised as you are. I wouldn’t have thought that my parents were quite so liberal minded. Then again, today has been full of surprises.’

Alex looked at him in seething silence. ‘I’m not sharing a room with you,’ she said through angrily gritted teeth.

‘You haven’t got a choice.’ Gabriel spoke with utmost politeness. When she bent down to reach for her two nylon suitcases, he was at her side before she could straighten and this time there was an implacability on his face that sent shivers down her spine. As did his proximity. As did the intimacy of their situation, with that hulking great bed behind her, significant and shockingly evocative.

‘What do you mean? Of course I have a choice! Luke’s room is big enough to hold a small party! It’d be no problem if I slept with him tonight until this misunderstanding is sorted out!’

‘Didn’t I mention to you that my parents are ultra-tradi-tional?’ His voice was like dark chocolate swirling around her, suffocating her ability to think on her feet. ‘They haven’t considered the possibility that there is no relationship between us.’

‘But didn’t you tell them…?’

‘Tell them what? That you are happy for Luke to remain illegitimate? So that you can
do your own thing
? That they will only see their grandson when visiting rights are allowed? That he will be the innocent victim of an unstable background? Surprise, surprise. I thought that delicate matter should be addressed to their faces and by both of us. In the meantime, they have reached their own conclusions.’ He spread his hands wide. ‘Shall we interrupt their enjoyment with Luke so that we can break the news to them that they’re still in the Dark Ages and that single parent families are the done thing?’

‘That’s not fair!’

‘Right now, it’s all we’ve got. We can think of a way ahead in the morning. In the meantime, it’s been a long few
days and I am not inclined to stand here arguing with you. The bed’s big enough for the two of us. And now I’m going to take a shower. I suggest you get down to the business of unpacking…’

G
ABRIEL
took his time in the shower. Alex wouldn’t be going anywhere. Firstly, she didn’t know the layout of the house and, secondly, she would never want to risk the deluge of questions that would be raised should she be discovered bunkering down next to Luke in the room next door. She had expected the worst and, having been showered with warmth, she wouldn’t want to risk destroying it all by creating a scene. At least not tonight. Tomorrow was another day and he would cross whatever bridges required crossing when they appeared.

Right now, he would give her time to calm down because she had been ready to explode. In the shower, he grinned to himself. Women tiptoed around him, always desperate to get on his good side. Alex did the opposite. He wondered how it was that although she was the least girly girl he had ever met, she was also one of the most maddeningly feminine.

He felt revived after his shower and utterly relaxed, despite the disruption to his highly well organised and well oiled everyday life. He had left his computer downstairs and he decided to forgo the joys of being on constant call in favour of whatever the evening had in store for him.

Which appeared to be nothing when he finally emerged from the steamy bathroom with only a towel round his waist. The bedroom was conspicuously empty, although a quick check told him that the suitcases were all still intact.

Without bothering to go through the hassle of trying to find something suitable to wear to bed, Gabriel headed for Luke’s bedroom and, sure enough, there she was, sitting on the side of Luke’s bed and in the process of finishing a story in a low, soothing voice to a child who was fast asleep.

‘The sleep of the innocent,’ he murmured and Alex gave a little squeak of surprise because she hadn’t heard him coming in.

And little wonder why! She looked down at his bare feet and her heart skipped a beat. She had come to check on Luke, make sure that he had brushed his teeth because there was no way that she intended to wait in the bedroom for Gabriel to emerge from his shower. She hadn’t banked on him following her through to Luke’s bedroom, least of all with…

Her eyes travelled upwards and she released a little sigh of relief at the sight of the fluffy towel wrapped round his waist.

‘Couldn’t you have got dressed?’ she snapped, rising to her feet and depositing the book on the little bedside table.

Maria hadn’t quite been telling the truth when she had said that they had done what they could to Luke’s room, given the short notice of his arrival. The bed was in the shape of a racing car and every picture book imaginable had been provided on a bookcase that was cleverly designed in the format of a cartoon character. A giant faux fur beanbag rested in one corner of the room, right alongside an electric racetrack, complete with miniature sports cars and remote controls. Lord only knew how they had managed to kit out a child’s bedroom to such an exquisite standard in the space of a couple of days but that, Alex assumed, was how money talked.

It was spoiling taken to extremes but she didn’t have the heart to tell them off because they were so conspicuously thrilled to have a grandson, even one they hadn’t planned on.
They had been gracious and charming and at great pains to conceal the bitter disappointment they must surely be feeling and for that she was grateful.

‘I wondered where you were.’ Gabriel lounged against the door frame, beautiful, indolent and off-putting, and waited for her to join him. ‘I thought for a minute that you might have scuttled off to some far-flung corner of the house but then I spotted the cases on the floor and figured you had come here.’

Alex brushed past him and shut the door quietly behind her. The temptation to feast her eyes on that magnificent body was making her feel a little weak but she was heart-stoppingly aware of him as he fell into step alongside her and even more heart-stoppingly aware of their bedroom door closing behind them.

The room was big. In fact, vast by any standard. But not so vast that she could possibly direct her eyes to a safe spot. She reluctantly turned around and looked at him and her skin tingled and her pulses raced and she had to fight down the inappropriate desire to swoon. She wished he would just put something on but there was no way that she was going to repeat that simple request for fear of him jumping to the conclusion that she was affected by the sight of him. Which he would, in a heartbeat. Gabriel was anything but dim when it came to reading female responses.

Then another thought struck her. Did he even
possess
pyjamas? He never had when she had known him. Of course she had loved nothing more than that, back in those heady times, but, in their current situation, she could think of nothing worse for her peace of mind.

‘You’re staring,’ Gabriel drawled. ‘Should I feel flattered?’

Alex bristled. His behaviour had been exemplary over the past few days. She had demanded a businesslike approach to their situation and he had obliged. But this was his home turf and she suddenly felt very vulnerable.

‘I hope you brought something…
decent
…with you…’

‘Something decent?’ Gabriel’s brows knitted together in a perplexed frown. ‘What does that mean?’

‘Pyjamas. Long johns. Something of that nature.’

‘Why would I have done that? It’s not as though I was actually expecting my parents to put us in the same room.’

‘Which they wouldn’t have done if you had had the common sense to explain the situation to them.’

‘Old ground, Alex. We’ve been put in the same bedroom. Get over it.’

‘Fine!’ She folded her arms and glared at him belligerently. The naked torso was really getting under her skin. As was the way he was deliberately making no effort to conceal it. ‘But, just so that you understand the ground rules, I didn’t have to come here and sharing a room with you wasn’t my choice! I have no option but…but…’

‘But I’m to keep my wandering hands to myself. Is that it?’ Gabriel asked in a cool, amused voice. He strolled very slowly towards her and felt her exerting every ounce of willpower in her body not to cringe back. Cringe back
in what
?…he wondered. Fear? Repulsion? Did she think that he was going to do something to her against her will? He had had the foundations of his entire world thrown into chaos and yet he had risen to the occasion and done his utmost to make life easy for her. And his thanks?
This.

Her silence confirmed her mute agreement with his question.

‘Let’s get one thing straight, Alex. I am not in the habit of making a nuisance of myself as far as women are concerned.’

‘I never said that…’

Gabriel held up one peremptory hand. ‘What gives you the idea that you are so fantastically irresistible that I wouldn’t be able to pass a few hours in the same bed as you without trying to make a pass?’

‘Nothing,’ Alex muttered, turning scarlet. ‘I just thought I should put down some boundaries.’

‘Have I given you any reason to think that I am not a man of honour?’

‘No, but…’

‘You presented me with a son years after the event. I did not question paternity. Nor did I threaten to take you to court to win custody. In fact, I did the opposite. I offered to legitimise our relationship for Luke’s sake. You turned me down because you felt your own needs and desires overrule the well-being of our child. Fine. You want a detached, amicable relationship. I have granted your request. Moreover, I have done my very best to protect you from aggressive and unwanted paparazzi by bringing you both over here, where I can offer seclusion of the highest order until our news becomes tomorrow’s fish and chips newspaper. My parents have not censured you. They have not asked questions. They, too, have accepted the fact of Luke’s appearance with grace and dignity and have welcomed him to their hearts. And assuming, mistakenly, that this is more than just a simple business arrangement for us, they have overcome their own natural prudishness and stuck us in the same bedroom, thinking no doubt that they were doing us both a favour. And, bearing all that in mind, you have the cheek to stand there and treat me like a sex-starved teenager who can’t wait to jump you.’

Alex felt as though she had been assaulted by a mental battering ram. His choice of words was contrived to demolish
her defences. He had been nothing but reasonable, fair and frankly second to none, his little speech implied, and yet she persisted in treating him like a common criminal.

He had managed to take the wind out of her sails as effectively as a pin applied to a balloon, even silencing the little voice in her head that reminded her just what Gabriel was like. One hundred per cent red-blooded male with more than his fair share of an enthusiastic libido. But, hard on the heels of that little voice, came another, telling her that perhaps she was no longer the target for that enthusiastic libido.

Now she felt an utter fool. He was probably repelled at the thought of sharing a bed with her but had been big enough not to make a deal of it. He respected and loved his parents and wouldn’t throw their good intentions back in their faces.

She opened her mouth to tell him that they should set the matter straight with his parents so that they didn’t have to endure a full two weeks in the same room, but knew that he would see no point in doing any such thing. At least not when they were obviously in their honeymoon period of misguided delusions. After all, resisting her would prove no problem for him, so why bother with the fuss?

‘What do your parents think…um…our relationship is?’ Alex enquired tightly.

‘Naturally, they imagine that their son would have done the honourable thing and offered marriage.’

‘They
said
that?’

Gabriel gave an eloquent shrug of assent. Not in so many words, he thought to himself, but they had jumped to that conclusion. He was sure of it. They would not have conceived a situation of shared custody and visiting rights. How he disillusioned them of their fanciful notions remained to be seen.

‘What on earth are we going to do about that?’ Alex asked aloud and Gabriel frowned. It still angered him that she found it so outrageous that he had asked her to marry him. Five years ago she would have leapt at the idea.

‘We are going to do nothing about it at the moment,’ he told her baldly. ‘They’re old. They deserve one or two illusions, at least for the time being. So get your head around the shared bedroom scenario and rest assured that your body is safe as houses with me.’

‘Okay.’ Alex lowered her eyes because he was just too much in her face for comfort. ‘I’m going to have a bath.’ She hoped that by the time she finished he would be asleep, and preferably would have done the decent thing and removed himself to the sofa. It might be uncomfortable and his feet might have to dangle a bit over the side, but needs must.

Gabriel watched as she flounced off to the adjoining bathroom and he heard the meaningful click of the door being locked behind her.

She would take as long as she possibly could in there. Hours, if she could pull it off. Anything to avoid the darkened room and the intimate silence. But face both she would have to and, outraged as he was that she would think him loser enough to try it on when she was a reluctant recipient, he was still in a pleasantly contented frame of mind as he unpacked his suitcases, whistling as he went and then, eventually, chucking the towel over a chair and slipping under the duvet.

With true gentlemanly consideration, he switched off the overhead light so that when she finally emerged from a bath that could go down in the record books as the longest ever, she was obliged to feel her way to the bed.

Having not foreseen a scenario in which she would be forced to share a room with Gabriel, Alex had given absolutely no thought to her sleepwear or else she would have bought
something suitably hideous. As it stood, she was in her normal garb of a pair of small shorts, which left an awful lot of leg exposed, and a vest.

But at least Gabriel appeared to be asleep. She slipped into the bed, huddling as far to the side as she could without falling off and when, after fifteen minutes of barely being able to breathe for fear of waking him, she was still wide awake, she discreetly got out, found her way to the cushions on the sofa and quietly began stacking them on the bed into an impromptu partition format.

Watching her from under his lashes, Gabriel wondered how long he should remain silent and motionless before he got rid of the ridiculous barrier between them.

No time, he thought, like the present.

Without warning, he heaved himself onto one elbow and, with his free hand, he casually tossed every single carefully arranged cushion on to the floor and focused his eyes on her appalled face. His eyes had long adjusted to the silvery darkness in the room and he had fully appreciated the spectacular view of her fumbling her way to the bed clad only in the brief-est of nightwear imaginable. It was the sort of nightwear that would have sent a shudder of horror racing down Cristobel’s spine. No lace, no ribbons, no silk. The sort of nightwear that he would have considered highly unsexy on any other woman on the face of the planet, but on her rangy, leggy body looked amazing. She might not have had the long swinging hair or the drop dead good looks, but there had always been something curiously appealing about her and his body reacted to that
something
with knee-jerking intensity.

‘Forget it,’ he drawled. ‘I’m not having my space restricted by a pile of cushions.’

Having thought him to be safely ensconced in the land of nod, Alex could only stare at the beautiful angles of his face as he looked at her. The super-king-sized bed was suddenly
reduced to the suffocating dimensions of a carrycot. He was propped on one elbow and the duvet left her in some doubt as to whether the towel had been replaced by anything suitable. Or anything at all, for that matter. She could spy the sleek, muscular curve where his waist dipped to his hip, even though her eyes were strenuously averted.

‘Why aren’t you asleep?’ she snapped accusingly.

‘Is this another of your crazy rules?’

‘My rules are
not
crazy!’ Which was more than she could say for her misbehaving body!