The Spanish Aristocrat's Woman (5 page)

She put her handbag on a table in the foyer before leading the way into a well-appointed den. There were floor-to-ceiling bookcases along three walls, and three overstuffed chairs and a large leather couch grouped together in front of a large walnut desk. The executive chair behind it was leather, to match the sofa. The desk had a laptop on it and two picture frames. He wondered whose photos she kept on her desk.

“Have a seat, Gui.”

She walked around behind the desk and sat down. He bit the inside of his lip at her play for power.

Instead of sitting, he leaned one hip on the edge of her desk. Her den was one of the most relaxing rooms he’d ever been in. And he realized that there was something about Kara that brought a sense of peace to him.

Peace was something he rarely experienced. “Where should we start this discussion of ours?”

“I think at the beginning. Why did you say I was your fiancée?”

Gui pushed to his feet and paced around the room. He really had no explanation. He knew only that he had needed to change the dynamic between himself and Elvira. He hadn’t thought of the impact on Kara.

He stopped in front of a floor-to-ceiling window that looked out to the east. The lights of the city spread out before him. It was a view he was used to—remote. He often felt a bit removed from life, except when he was working with the kids through his foundation. He even kept a distance from his lovers.

“Gui? Is it true that she was the one woman you loved?” She’d given up her seat behind the desk to stand near him at the window.

“Where did you hear that?”

“From Katie. She works for the Celebrity Channel.”

He shook his head. “Don’t listen to gossip, Kara.”

“I don’t. That’s why I’m asking you. What’s between you and Elvira?”

“Ancient history.”

“Is it true you and she are lovers?”

“Kara, I said leave it be.”

“I can’t
leave it be,
Gui. She’s the reason you said we were engaged, and now my family and friends want to know if I’m going to marry you. And I have no idea what to say to them.”

“What do you want to say?”

She nibbled on her lower lip, reaching out to touch the glass. “A part of me wants to say yes, I am going to marry you. Which is silly, because I don’t know you. But I’m at the age where people—Okay,
I’m
starting to wonder if I’m ever going to be married.”

He turned to her then, knowing there was no backing down. Though he’d have done it if Kara had seemed to have more doubts.

“I never planned to marry,” he said, feeling the need to be totally honest. “I’m not sure that I’m husband material, but my life is at a point…”

“I understand. Mine is, too. If we went through with this, I’d want to set up some criteria for our relationship.”

“Why?”

“Because I could easily fool myself into falling for you, Count, and I’m not really into heartbreak.”

“Neither am I. I don’t want to hurt you, Kara. But love isn’t something that I believe in.”

“But you have such a close-knit family, surely you love them?”

“I have great affection for my sisters and for my brother and parents. But that’s not the kind of love you’re talking about.”

“No, it isn’t. I mean romantic love. What did you feel for Elvira?”

“Passion,” he said, feeling he owed her some kind of explanation. “Jealousy and obsession. It was a volatile relationship. And I’m not interested in experiencing that again.”

“Well, I’ve never stirred a man’s passionate nature,” she said. And he heard in her voice that hint of longing. He stared into her eyes, just inches below his.
Sexy.
“Gui?”

“Stop saying things like that. You stir passion very easily in me. It’s just not fueled by the darker emotions.”

“You stir me, too, Gui. That’s another reason why I’m contemplating this. I’ve never really been attracted to another man.”

“You are a virgin?” he asked, a part of him pleased to think of being the first man to have Kara.

She shook her head. “No, I’m not.”

He shook off the twinge of jealousy he felt toward her unnamed past lovers. He knew it was irrational. He’d had many lovers, but he wanted her to be as innocent as she looked.

“You aren’t either, right?”

He bit the inside of his lip to keep from smiling at the way she said that. “No, I’m not. I was simply inquiring because you said you hadn’t been attracted to another man.”

“Well, sex can be about something other than passion,” she said.

“No, it can’t. Passion is the only reason a man and a woman should share their bodies.”

“And you think we have passion between us?” she asked.

“I know we do,” he said, lowering his head to capture her lips and prove to her that passion was the one thing they could both agree they had between them.

His mouth moved over hers, igniting a fire inside her body that she’d never experienced before. This was the kind of lust that she heard others talk about. Was it this way for Gui all the time? With every woman he took in his arms?

She knew better than to ask. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he angled his head for a deeper kiss. His lips were firm and sure as he moved his mouth over hers then dropped nibbling kisses along the line of her jaw and down her neck.

She shivered.

“Do you like that,
mi dulce?
”

“Hmm mmm.”

“Kara?”

She opened her eyes, meeting his hazel gaze. He hugged her close to him and she felt his erection nudge her lower stomach. She swallowed and tried to stop from rubbing herself against him but she couldn’t help it.

“Do you want me?” he asked, his voice low and sexy with that Spanish accent.

“Yes, Gui. I do.”

“I want you, too,
bebe.
”

He leaned down again and this time bit her neck softly. His hands skimmed over her sides and he drew her up into his body. With her heels on she didn’t have to stretch too much to meet his lips when they came down on hers again.

She felt the impact of his lips on hers all the way down her body. Her breasts felt fuller and her nipples tightened in the lacy bra cups she wore under her haute couture dress. She shifted against him, moving one leg apart from the other one and wrapping it around his leg.

She needed to get closer to him. She wanted to feel his hot, hard erection pressed to her center. She was moist and ready for him and all he’d done was kiss her.

They were both still fully clothed and she was going crazy in his arms. It was as if she were another person. She was both aroused and scared. The feelings Gui was evoking in her were foreign…addictive.

She felt his hands slide up her back, rubbing in a circular motion until he reached the back of her head. He tangled his fingers in her hair, spilling the pins that held her hair up in its fancy do. He took hold of her head and leaned her back so that she was arched in his arms.

His mouth moved from hers again, this time biting and kissing her neck. With his free hand, he found the zipper hidden in the side of her bodice and lowered it.

The dress gaped away from her body and Gui tugged on the fabric until he revealed her breasts. She glanced down at herself, clothing askew and her bra-covered breasts straining. She was breathing heavily.

She wanted more of Gui. He was breathing deeply, his face flushed with arousal. He traced the edge of the lacy cup of her bra. She quivered under his touch, reaching out to grasp his shoulders to ground herself in this moment.

He slipped a finger under the fabric and traced her nipple. She shivered again and felt too exposed as he stared down at her. All of her body-image issues came to the surface. Especially when he reached around her body to undo the back clasp of her bra.

He loosened the fabric and began to draw it away from her breasts, but she brought her hand up to stop him. “I’m not slim like the women you’re used to seeing.”

Gui lifted her in his arms, something no man had ever done, and carried her to the leather sofa. He sat down and arranged her on his lap.

“Kara,
mi dulce,
you are exactly as you should be. I’m not thinking of any woman but you.”

She was ruining the moment. She should keep her mouth shut, but she’d die—absolutely die—if he managed to take her clothes off and then was repulsed by her soft body. “I’m just trying to let you know that I look better with my clothes on.”

“I’m not doing a proper job of arousing you if you are worried about what you look like naked. You should be enjoying the feelings I’m evoking in you.”

She smiled up at him, lifting herself to kiss him. It was a gentle kiss. “I have never enjoyed myself more, Gui.”

He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Good.”

He lowered his head to hers again and kissed her slowly, and she thought about the lights that she’d turned on when they’d entered the room. If she could just get up and turn them off…

Gui lifted his mouth from hers and a second later she felt the warmth of his tongue on her nipple. She arched on his lap as his lips closed over it and he began to suckle her.

A restless need swept through her and she clutched his head to her breast as her legs scissored apart. She was on fire for him. Each pull of his mouth on her breast caused a chain reaction in her body.

Gui’s other hand slid up her leg and she reveled in the feel of his big warm hand against her. Then his fingers slipped downward toward her center.

He traced her shape through the fabric of her panties, ran his forefinger down the center of her. She shifted her legs and arched against his hand.

Then he moved her panties to the side and she felt the touch of his finger against her intimate flesh. She was quivering on the edge of an orgasm. And when his finger moved over her exposed flesh in the same rhythm as his mouth against her nipple, she knew she wasn’t going to last long.

She still held his head to her breast and her hips lifted up toward his hand. She felt one finger dip into the wetness inside her body. She arched into his touch, needing more of him, and his name fell from her lips as he continued to caress her. He lifted his head from her breast, blew gently on her nipple before looking at her.

“Come for me, Kara,” he said.

She shivered at the intimate command, and then he thrust two fingers deep inside her while his thumb pressed down, and she shook in his arms, her orgasm startling her. She grabbed his shoulders as he continued to hold her through the climax. She called his name and turned her face into his chest so he wouldn’t be able to see her when she felt that vulnerable.

She stayed there, wrapped in his arms, trying to remember that they weren’t the romantic love match of the year. No matter how perfect he felt to her at this moment or how much she might secretly want them to be.

And somewhere between his careless comments to Elvira and now, he’d realized that he didn’t want to lose her. She was the solution that he’d been searching for.

“Thank you, Gui.”

“For what,
bebe?
”

“For that,” she said, blushing. His hand was still between her legs, her breast still bared to his gaze, and she was blushing over a word. He knew she didn’t feel uncomfortable at this moment, because if she did she would cover herself.

Her thighs were soft and smooth and a nice pale color that contrasted with his own olive skin tone. He leaned down to kiss her.

“You’re very welcome.”

She shifted on his lap against his erection. “Um…you’re not finished, are you?”

“Finished with what,
querida?
”

“Making love with me,” she said softly. She lifted her hand and cupped his jaw. Her fingers were long and cool against his skin and he felt charmed by the way she touched him. The way she looked at him. She made him feel as if he were the only man on earth. And more of a hero than he’d ever felt before.

“For now,” he said.

She tried to sit up and draw her dress over her body at the same time, upsetting her balance, and she fell off his lap. He grabbed her arm, holding her in place.

“Stop. I’ll help you.”

“That’s okay,” she said, her voice small and tight and her expression so closed that he knew he’d done something to hurt her.

But he had no idea what. He was being a gentleman here. Did she honestly think he didn’t want to be buried inside her silky body right this instant?

He took her wrists in his hands and held them in her lap. She was shaking and he didn’t think it was with rage. “What is going on?”

“I just want to get dressed so we can get back to our discussion.”

“But you were content to lie here a minute ago.”

“Please, Gui. I need to get up.”

“Why?” he asked.

She jerked hard on her wrists. And he held her fast, careful not to hurt her. “I want some answers, Kara. Please.”

She bit her lower lip and he thought he saw that sheen of tears in her eyes again. He definitely saw that sadness that had been on her face at the cathedral earlier.

“What is it,
bebe?
I am trying to respect you, not push too hard. Why does that make you sad?”

“Is it really about respect?” she asked, then lowered her head so he couldn’t see her pretty eyes.

He cupped the back of her neck and drew her toward him, let her rest her face against his shoulder. “Of course it is. Why else would I stop now?”

“Maybe you were looking at my body and saw how flabby I am…Maybe that made you not want me.”

He shook his head. “You aren’t flabby, Kara. Trust me on this.”

“I’m a size twelve. You may not know what that size is, but it’s big. Large. I’m a large girl, Gui.”

He shook his head again and took one of her hands in his, drew it down between both of their bodies until it rested on the outline of his erection where it strained against the zipper of his dress pants.

“Does that really feel like a man who doesn’t want you?”

She caressed him through his pants and shifted on his lap so that she straddled his hips. The fabric of the dress fell over his hips and their hands. Her fingers traced the length of him, and she reached for the tab of his zipper. Before he could stop her, she drew it down.

He felt her fingers on his naked flesh and groaned deep in his throat, realizing that all his noble thoughts of stopping, of keeping this moment pure for her, were fading quickly.

He wanted her and she wasn’t saying no. So why should he deny them both what they wanted? He needed her. He didn’t question why. Kara had drawn him from the first moment he’d seen her.

She wrapped her hand around him, sliding up and down his length. When she drew her hand down she reached to lower his pants. But the fabric was still too tight the way they were sitting.

He sat up. “Kiss me while I take care of this.”

She cupped his face in both of her hands. Her lips brushed his, a simple back and forth motion that made him twitch. Then she caught his lower lip between her teeth and bit down gently, sucking him into her mouth.

He lifted his hips and shoved his pants down until he was completely free of them. Then he reached under her skirt and drew her panties down her legs. She continued to kiss him but shifted her legs so that he could remove her underwear.

Then she lifted her head and straddled him again. He put his hands on her waist and drew her down until they were pressed against each other.

“Are you sure, Gui?”

“Incredibly sure,” he said, realizing he wasn’t just talking about making love to her. He was also one hundred percent positive that he’d found the woman that he would marry.

“I guess you are turned on.” Her hand brushed over his straining length again.

“Hell, yes,” he said, pulling her to him. He lifted her slightly so that he could remove her dress. He drew it up over her body and tossed it aside, then he pulled her bra off and held her naked in his arms.

She crossed her arms over her chest and pressed into him, he was sure to cover her nakedness. “I want to see you.”

“No, you don’t,” she said. She leaned back just enough to loosen his tie and toss it aside. Then she went to work on the buttons of his dress shirt, and he helped her remove both it and his jacket. Once he was bare chested he took her wrists in his hands and drew them behind her back so that he could look at her body.

She was soft, her skin white as alabaster and supple. There was a slight bump where her tummy was and her full breasts rested against her rib cage. She was turning red from the curves of her breasts up to her neck.

“Why are you embarrassed?” he asked.

She tugged on her hands. “Why do you always hold on to my hands?”

“So that I can keep you where I want you.”

“That’s not a very attractive thing to do.”

“You’re too independent. Earlier you tried to leave me, and now you are trying to hide from me.”

She nodded at him. “I’m trying to hide because I know that I won’t match up with the other women you’ve taken to your bed. And all this talk of being your fiancée has made me consider really going through with it, so I don’t want you to change your mind.”

“Kara,
bebe,
I’d never change my mind because of this. You are incredibly lovely and turn me on like no other woman has.”

“Gui…please don’t lie to me. It’s okay to say you want me, and for us to have sex—”

He kissed her to quiet her down. He didn’t want to hear anything else she had to say right now. Words weren’t going to convince Kara that she was the woman he wanted. In fact, he was positive the only thing that would convince her was action.

He drew her forward. She bit on her lip as his chest brushed against her nipples.

“I like that,” she said.

Blood roared in his ears. He was so hard, so full right now that he needed to be inside of her body. He caressed her creamy thighs. God, she was soft. She moaned as he neared her center and then sighed when he brushed his fingertips across her. He slipped one finger into her body. She was warm and wet and her muscles tightened around his finger. He hesitated for a second, looking into her eyes.

Her eyelids were half-closed. She bit down on her lower lip and he felt the minute movements of her hips as she tried to move his touch where she needed it.

He pulled her head down to his so he could taste her. Her mouth opened over his and he told himself to take it slow, but slow wasn’t in his programming with this woman. She was pure feminine temptation and he had her in his arms.

He nibbled on her and held her at his mercy. Her nails dug into his shoulders as he caressed her spine, feathering his fingers down the length of her back to the indentation above her backside.

She closed her eyes and held her breath as he moved one hand around to run a finger over her nipple. It was velvety compared to the satin smoothness of her breast. He brushed his finger back and forth until she shifted on his lap. He wanted to give her so much pleasure, because he felt it was a man’s job to make the woman he was with confident in her sexuality. And Kara was one woman who should definitely feel confident.

Seeing the sexy, confident woman she was disappear when she talked about her body had made him angry. Women were vulnerable when it came to sex. Not in just a physical way, but in an emotional one as well, and Gui made it a point to make sure that his lovers knew how sexy and beautiful he found them.

She moaned, a sweet sound that he leaned up to capture with his mouth. She tipped her head to the side immediately allowing him greater access.

She shivered in his arms. He pushed her back a little bit so he could see her. Her breasts were bare, nipples distended and begging for his mouth. He lowered his head and suckled.

He held one hand on the small of her back and buried his other in her hair. He had a lap full of woman and he knew that he wanted Kara more than he’d wanted any other woman in a long time.

Her eyes were closed, her hips moving subtly against him, and when he blew on her nipple he saw gooseflesh spread down her body. He bit carefully at the lily-white skin of her chest, suckling at her so that he’d leave his mark. He wanted her to remember this moment and what they had done when she was alone later.

She rocked her hips harder against his length and he thrust against her. He bit down gently on her tender, aroused nipple. She cried his name and he hurriedly covered her mouth with his, wanting to feel every bit of her passion.

He rocked her until the storm passed and she quieted in his arms. He was so hard he thought he’d die if he didn’t get inside her.

He glanced at her and saw that she was watching him. The fire in her eyes made his entire body tight with anticipation.

Only an idiot would have unprotected sex without asking a woman about her sexual history. But that could break the mood so he just reached for the condom he’d put in his pocket before the wedding, knowing he wouldn’t want to be alone tonight. He put the condom on one-handed and said, “I really want you. Come to me now.”

Shifting on his lap, she invited him into her body. He put his hands on her waist and held her still, wanting this moment when he first took her to last forever.

He needed to be inside her now. Using his hands on her waist he held her still and then shifted his legs so he could thrust up into her.

“Ready to take me,
bebe?
”

“Yes, Gui.”

“Look at me this first time. Let me see your eyes as I make you mine.”

Her hands fluttered between them and their eyes met.

He held her hips steady and entered her slowly, until he was fully seated. Her eyes widened. She clutched at his arms as he started thrusting, holding him to her, eyes half-closed and her head tipped back.

He caught one of her nipples in his teeth, scraping very gently. She started to tighten around him. Her hips moved faster, demanding more, but he kept the pace slow, steady, wanting her to come before he did.

He suckled her nipple and rotated his hips to catch her pleasure point with each thrust, and he felt her hands in his hair, clenching, as she threw her head back and her climax ripped through her.

He varied his thrusts, finding a rhythm that would draw out the tension at the base of his spine. Something that would make his time in her body, wrapped in her silky limbs, last forever.

He tipped her hips up to give him deeper access to her body. Then she scraped her nails down his back. His blood roared in his ears as he felt everything in his world center to this one woman.

He called her name as he came.