“Noah. Oh, Noah.” Louisa’s weeping only intensified as she cradled her baby against her, whispering words of love, kissing his chubby cheeks again and again. “Oh, my sweet baby.”
Rafael stared down at them. He took a deep breath. And came to a sudden decision.
“Vale,” he said through clenched teeth. “I will not separate you.”
“Thank you,” Louisa whispered.
He stared at her coldly. “It’s for my son’s sake. Not yours.”
She rocked the baby in her arms, her breath still uneven between sobs and hiccups. Rafael looked at her, then looked slowly around the room, from the sheer curtains over the window to the giraffe on the wall above the crib.
She was, he thought grudgingly, a decent mother. What she would not be—what she could never be again—was a woman he could trust.
But that didn’t stop Rafael from wanting her.
There is someone else, she’d said.
Who was the man? Rafael’s hands clenched. How many lovers had been in Louisa’s bed over the last year, while he’d tossed and turned, tormented by longing for his fantasy of her as he’d believed her to be—honest, loving, chaste?
For all these years, Louisa Grey was the one woman he’d never been able to completely possess.
Now, he wanted to punish her. To break down her elusiveness. To own her.
Then discard her like the rest.
An idea occurred to him. A cruel, perfect idea.
It would be a neat, tidy, perfect revenge.
He smiled grimly. Walking across the nursery, he placed his hand on her shoulder.
“There is just one condition,” he said brutally.
“Anything,” she whispered. “Just don’t separate me from my son.”
Lowering his head, Rafael gave her a seductive kiss. He possessed her mouth with his, luring her with his tongue. He felt her shiver in his arms. He felt her sigh, then surrender.
When he pulled away, he saw the haze of longing in her eyes, and hid a smile.
She thought she’d beaten him, but he would make her pay. He was the master of the coldhearted seduction. Soon, his possession of her would be complete.
“You will be completely mine,” he whispered. He stroked her cheek as he looked down at her, his eyes glittering in the shadowy room. “You will marry me, Louisa.”
“WELCOME to Buenos Aires, Señora Cruz.”
As the doorman greeted her, Louisa barely had time to wonder how he already knew about the marriage before bodyguards hustled her inside the Belle Époque high-rise in the exclusive Recoleta district. In two seconds, they’d crossed the lavish marble floor and were in the elevator.
Tall, hulking men clustered all around her, making Louisa feel small as she cradled her baby nervously in her arms. Worst of all: the tallest and most powerful of the men around her was Rafael. Her new husband.
When she’d woken up in Key West that morning, Louisa had never imagined she could find herself taken to Buenos Aires as the wife of a man who hated her. He kissed her so well that she almost imagined, in his arms, that he could forgive her. But when he pulled away from her, he could not hide the coldness in his slate eyes.
Within minutes after he’d demanded marriage, he’d dragged her to the courthouse. He’d somehow managed to convince the clerk Louisa was not a Florida resident and to skip the three-day waiting period. Before they’d even left Key West, Louisa had been his lawfully married wife. He’d spent the long flight on his private jet working. Ignoring her.
Now, in the elevator, Rafael’s dark eyes gleamed at her malevolently. What did he intend to do to her?
I would make you pay for trapping me into marriage. I would make you pay…and pay…and pay.
At least she still had her baby in her arms, she comforted herself. That was what mattered. When she’d thought Rafael meant to take their son away, she’d been so frightened, she’d known she would do anything—anything—to stay with Noah. And so she’d said farewell to her sister and niece, telling her she was eloping with Rafael.
Katie had been ecstatic for her. “We’ll be fine with the bakery until you get back,” she’d said joyfully. “Have a wonderful time!”
If only her sister knew the truth. Louisa feared she was never going back to that warm, loving home in Key West. Rafael would never let her go.
When the elevator reached the top floor, Rafael pushed open the double doors.
“Welcome home,” he said sardonically.
“Home?” Louisa looked around her in dismay. The old luxury apartment was old, musty and desperately in need of cleaning and refurbishment. All the furniture was covered with white sheets, which gave it a ghostly appearance. But in spite of her anger and fear, she could not help but observe the space with a professional eye and see the loveliness beneath the neglect. It had high Edwardian plaster ceilings and a view of the city through wide windows. Against her will, she could almost see how to make this apartment beautiful again. How to make it a home.
“I had no idea it was in such disarray,” she whispered.
He shrugged. “I’m not here often.”
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “I could make it nice,” she offered.
“Don’t bother,” he said shortly. “We won’t be here for long.”
Louisa shivered. Now that she was his bride, now that they shared a child, he had more power over her than ever before. After five years of obeying his orders as his housekeeper, it would have been easy to return to the habit of trying to please him. But her time living in Key West had changed her. She had finally found her voice.
“This house could be so lovely,” she said softly.
His lips twisted. “Do not fall in love. We will be here only a few days.” He pushed open a door. “You will sleep in here.”
This bedroom, at least, had been neatly tended. A small crib had been set up in the darkest corner near the large, modern bed.
With an intake of breath, Louisa turned back to him, her eyes shining. She’d wondered if he had any goodness left in his soul, but he must. Or why else would he have been so kind? “Thank you for letting me sleep in the same room as the baby. I promise you can trust me. I won’t take Noah anywhere without your permission.”
“I know you won’t.” His eyes were dark. “Because you and I will be sharing a bed.”
She looked sharply at the bed. The enormous bed. And imagined what he planned to do to her there.
She’d thought she would do anything to keep her baby…but this?
Give her body to the man who hated her? Who had such power over her? Who wanted revenge for the way she’d kept his son a secret?
She repressed a shiver, remembering the last time they’d been in bed together on the private Greek island. She’d been so happy then. He’d made her light up with joy from without and within, given her such pleasure she hadn’t