Chapter 6 #2
He nodded, understanding what she was asking him. He’d never been in a monogamous relationship before, and he had no idea how long it would appeal to him. But his brother had made a success of his marriage, as had his father and uncles. There was no reason why he couldn’t, as well.
“If I fall in love with someone else, I’ll expect you to do the same.”
He shook his head. “No. You will not fall in love with anyone else.”
“Gui—”
“This isn’t open for negotiation, Kara. You will not look at another man or flirt with another man. Once you have committed yourself to me, you will be true to that bond.”
“Yet there is a chance you might not be?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Highly doubtful, mi dulce. But I’ve never contented myself with only one woman before…”
“Gui, you’re not doing a good job of convincing me to marry you.”
“I believe you already have decided to, and we are just ironing out the details now.”
Two days later Kara still wasn’t sure how she’d come to agree to marry Guillermo.
He’d taken complete control of planning their wedding.
She’d been wined and dined all over Manhattan, and now she was on an evening flight on his private jet to Madrid.
He insisted there was only one place in the world where he could get his favorite breakfast.
Vincent, Gui’s secretary/butler, was accompanying them, as was Cynthia, Kara’s assistant, who always traveled with her. Gui was busy at his desk on one side of the plane, answering e-mails and talking on the phone.
Kara tried to relax but she couldn’t. All of her friends thought that Gui was the most romantic man they’d ever met, and to some extent Kara agreed with them, because she was the one basking in his attention.
But there was another part of her that knew he was acting like a loving man to spin the gossip about them.
The Countess Elvira had done her best to spread some negative stories about Gui. Almost every day, another story appeared somewhere either in print or on the Web. Kara, who rarely found herself in any society article, was now being actively courted by TMZ. com and Hello! magazine.
She had promised Katie that, if she suddenly decided to be interviewed about her playboy fiancé, she’d give her an exclusive.
But Kara wasn’t interested in talking to anyone about Gui.
Most articles about the two of them focused on their whirlwind courtship and the fact that Count Gui, as the press referred to him, was so enamored of her, he was demanding they be married in two weeks’ time.
Which was precisely the truth. She and Rina were exhausting every resource they had to pull off a wedding so quickly. Even her father, who normally was nothing but reserved, commented that she’d waited long enough to find a man but that the wait seemed to have paid off.
She felt like a perfect fool. A fraud, really.
She’d agreed to every demand that Gui had.
The only thing she’d insisted on was that he couldn’t look outside their marriage as long as they were happy together.
Gui had finally consented when she’d flat-out refused to promise to not look at another man if he could look at any woman he wanted to.
She rubbed the back of her neck and pretended to look through the design book that the Sabina family had secured for her.
It was filled with exclusive, one-of-a-kind wedding dresses that were worthy of a wedding of her fortune and Gui’s.
Cynthia brought over a stack of newspaper clippings and articles that mentioned her.
One glaring headline made her want to toss them all in the trash bin.
The Spanish Aristocrat’s Woman.
For God’s sake, why did they insist on labeling her instead of using her name?
She skimmed the rest of the article and saw that it was full of inaccuracies, especially when it mentioned how she’d stolen him from his longtime lover…Elvira.
There was a photo of Elvira and her husband. She looked beautiful as always, and poor Juan looked angry and ready to deck the photographer. She wasn’t sure what was between Elvira, Juan and Gui. He still wouldn’t talk to her about it.
And she was trying to convince herself that she was okay with that. But the more articles she read that mentioned her new part in that old triangle, the more convinced she was that she needed to know what had happened between them all.
“You look tense,” Gui said as he came up to her. “Turn toward the bulkhead, bebe, and I’ll massage your shoulders.”
She did what he asked and felt his big, warm hands on her shoulders. He massaged her with deep sure strokes. Her body responded instantly to his touch. She’d become accustomed to him touching and arousing her and then making love to her.
She knew she wasn’t the most attractive woman in the world, but Gui didn’t seem to realize that.
He was enthralled with her and her body and made love to her often.
At least three times a day. She’d never had this much sex before.
Her thighs ached and her breasts felt fuller than they had been before he’d become her lover.
He leaned over her, reading the article on the top of the pile.
“Juan needs to control his temper.”
“Why is he so angry all the time?”
Gui pressed a kiss to the spot where her neck and shoulder met. “I’m not sure.”
“Gui?”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t lie to me about this. If you don’t want to say why, then just say that.”
“What makes you think I’m lying?” he asked.
She turned in the seat so they were facing each other. “Your voice slips a little lower than usual when you aren’t telling the entire truth.”
He quirked one eyebrow at her. “I hadn’t realized you’d picked up on that.”
“Well, we’ve spent the last few days with each other 24/7. I think I’m getting to know you very intimately.”
“Indeed you are, Kara. And I’m getting to know you intimately as well.”
She shook her head, because she knew this tone, too. His voice only dropped this low when he wanted to have sex. “What do you know about me?”
He leaned down close, speaking directly into her ear. “I know that when I talk to you like this, you shiver for me. And your body starts to ready itself for mine.
“I know that when I kiss you right here—” he dropped a warm kiss behind her ear, making her squirm in her seat as wetness pooled between her legs “—you get wet.”
“Gui—”
He tipped her head back and kissed her lingeringly, lifting his head only after they were both breathing heavily. “I know that you match my passions perfectly.”
And she knew he was talking only about sex, but a part of her believed she matched his passions in other ways, too.
It was a start.