At the Spaniard's Pleasure (17 page)

Rather than
the lying, lecherous apology of a man
she had called Nick. He was a hero; he had very probably saved her life or saved her from a beating. She knew everything he had done he had done for her, to protect her name and her reputation.

With the exception of the sex, she amended wryly, but Nick was a powerful, virile man; he had asked and she had
agreed. And where was it written that a hero had to be celibate?

Night after sleepless night, Liza had been tormented by the memory of his lovemaking, her body hot and aching with frustration. She had let Nick think she was sophisticated about sex. She had been determined not to fall in love with him, because she was afraid of being hurt, convinced he was not the type for commitment. But now she was haunted by the thought that perhaps they could have had more than a brief affair if she had been more honest with him.

Very soon she would find out… Over the past three days Liza had spent hours preparing a speech of apology and thanks, and she was determined to deliver it in person to Nick if humanly possible; as for the rest, she could hope…

‘I'm fine.' Flashing her mother a brief smile, Liza settled back in her seat, but her stomach was churning with fear and anticipation. In a few hours she would be back in Nick's family home, and hopefully see the man himself.

 

Seated in the small sitting room that Anna Menendez kept as her own, the greetings over, and having finished the tea that had been offered, Liza took little part in the conversation.

Her mother and Anna were so obviously delighted in each other's company she felt a bit like a third wheel. She was dying to ask if Nick was around, but did not dare.

‘This must be boring for you, Liza.' Anna smiled across at her from her position next to her mother on a comfortable sofa. ‘Why don't you go and freshen up, have a rest, or look around? It's a nice, sunny day.'

‘Well, if you don't mind.' Liza got to her feet with alacrity; perhaps she might bump into Nick if he was here, or subtly question Manuel as to Nick's whereabouts. In her present state of nervous tension, anything was better than sitting doing nothing.

‘You are in the blue room again, Liza. Manuel has al
ready taken your luggage up. You run along; Pamela and I have a lot of gossip to catch up on.' The two older women shared a smile. ‘We will see you back here about seven for drinks. Dinner is at eight. I thought a quiet meal for your first evening. There will only be the four of us, that is if Niculoso ever arrives. I have hardly seen him in the past few weeks,' Anna confided with a slight grimace.

Liza's heart missed a beat and she had to battle down a blush at the mention of his name. ‘Well, he is a very busy man,' she murmured. But the uppermost thought in her mind was that she would see Nick tonight…

‘So he keeps telling me, but aren't we all?' Anna turned to smile at Pam.

Knowing she would not be missed, Liza said, ‘If you will excuse me,' and headed for the door.

With her blonde hair swept up into a twist on the top of her head, a few stray tendrils teased around her face and neck to soften the style, Liza donned a blue silk sheath dress. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror; spaghetti straps supported the bodice and the fabric skimmed her shapely figure to end just above her knees. Not bad, she told herself, and, slipping her feet into high-heeled sandals, she was ready.

She drew a deep, steadying breath, and left the room. Manuel directed her into the small sitting room, and she stopped. Nick was there and pouring the drinks, impeccably attired in full evening dress, his international-playboy image on display. His awesome masculine presence took her breath away, and for a moment she was unable to think of anything over the pounding of her heart.

‘Ah, Liza.' Anna spoke. ‘You look lovely.'

Recovering her shattered poise, Liza glanced around. Anna and her mother were seated on matching armchairs, leaving only the sofa free. ‘Thank you,' she mumbled, making for the sofa and sitting down before her trembling legs betrayed her.

‘Niculoso.' Anna addressed her son. ‘Doesn't Liza look lovely?'

Liza lifted guarded eyes to where Nick stood by the drinks trolley. His hard dark gaze slid insolently over her, lingering for a moment on the exposed curve of her breasts before meeting hers.

‘Liza.' No ‘hello'—just the briefest inclination of his proud head. ‘Yes, you do look beautiful.' And he stared at her so coolly she knew the compliment was for his mother's benefit, not hers. ‘Would you like a drink? A white wine?'

‘Yes,' Liza husked, and watched as he filled a glass with sparkling wine, looking so cold and remote that her heart sank. Then in one lithe stride he was in front of her, holding out the glass; she took it and the brush of his fingers against hers made her hand tremble.

Liza murmured, ‘Thank you,' and then, gathering up what little courage she had, she added quietly, ‘I would like to talk to you, Nick.' Her mother and Anna had started reminiscing yet again and it might be the only chance she had.

Lowering his long length onto the sofa beside her, his thigh inches away from her own, he relaxed back against the cushions. ‘So talk.'

‘I want to apologise for—' she began her speech.

‘Apology accepted for whatever…' he replied curtly with a dismissive wave of one elegant hand. ‘Drop the subject; it is no longer of any interest to me.'

In other words, Liza realised dismally, she was no longer of any interest to him.

Dinner was a disaster. Nick was charming to Pamela and Anna, but every time he spoke to Liza he was polite and even smiling, but the smile never reached his eyes.

Liza was relieved when the meal was over and they returned to the sitting room for a nightcap, but not for long. Within minutes her mother and Anna declared their inten
tion of going to bed, and Anna's parting comment made Liza blush scarlet with embarrassment.

‘Nick, you'd better stay the night—you have had far too much to drink and drive. Liza, I am depending on you to make sure he doesn't have any more.'

Nick laughed out loud at his mother's comment. ‘I can look after myself, Mamma. Goodnight.'

‘I don't think that was very funny,' Liza commented as soon as the two older women left the room. ‘Your mother is worried about you.'

Nick stared down at where Liza sat, looking coolly beautiful and infinitely desirable, and he was filled with an all-consuming anger. She had turned his life inside-out, filled him with feelings he had never thought existed. He had spent the last few weeks driving himself crazy over her. He couldn't sleep or work for thinking about her. He was drinking far too much, risking far too much, and it was all her fault. Yet she sat there looking so exquisite, so calm, as if she had never had a sleepless night in her life, and so bloody sanctimonious, when he knew she could not give a fig if he broke his neck. He wanted to throttle her, but even more he wanted to lose himself in the wondrous, welcoming heat of her delectable body.

But nothing of his angry thoughts showed on his starkly handsome face as he replied, ‘I thought you English were fond of irony. Does it not strike you as laughable that my mother should request you to monitor my drinking, when the last time we met you damn near killed me?'

‘I said I was sorry. I want to apologise for all the awful things I said.' Liza began her speech again, horribly embarrassed and desperately ashamed of her own actions but trying to stay cool. She had to do this; she owed him big time. ‘Also I want to thank you…'

Nick looked at her with hard, assessing eyes. No way was she getting away with a simple apology, not after the strain she had put him through; his pride alone would not let him accept it.

‘You want to thank me,' he drawled mockingly. Their eyes met and she cringed under the savage intensity of his gaze. ‘Then feel free.' His autocratic face hardened in a smile of masterly cynicism. ‘But as another drink is not an option I am going to my room; you know where it is.' And with that parting shot he walked out. Nick strode along the hall, a deep frown marring his handsome face.

He had never felt so relieved when the police informed him that Liza was totally innocent. At least the scumbag Brown had had the decency to exonerate her. Not that Nick had ever doubted it really, but it meant she was free on her own merit, rather than all the strings he had had to pull to get her back to London.

He should have been happy seeing her again, but instead he had been furiously angry, and now unless she came to his room, which was highly unlikely, he had blown it again.

At first Liza was shocked into immobility, and simply sat on the sofa staring at the closed door. He had walked out on her and never even said goodnight. How could he be so rude? Then she realised how dumb she was being. Nick was a proud man. He had spent his time, and money, according to Mr Stubbs, rescuing her from the folly of her own actions, and she had fought Nick every step of the way, even to hitting him, while quite blatantly enjoying his body.

He was entitled to be offhand. What had she expected—that he would welcome her with open arms, and say all was forgiven, and declare his undying love? In her dreams maybe. But in reality it was up to her to make him listen and beg his forgiveness. She had read him so wrongly.

Her mind made up, Liza slowly got to her feet. Nick had laid down the gauntlet, and she had a quizzical notion, a bit like a knight of old, and it was up to her to take it up.

T
HERE
were butterflies in Liza's stomach as she reached for the door handle and, turning it, she walked in. It was a large room, and two bedside lamps illuminated a huge bed. Liza swallowed hard and stepped forward, her gaze swinging around to where a fireplace dominated one wall; the fire was lit and cast haunting shadows on the plain white walls.

Nick was standing by the window, his back towards her; he had shed his jacket and she recognised the fierce tension in his wide, taut shoulders.

‘Nick.' She murmured his name and stopped a few feet away.

‘So you came.' Nick turned around and rested sardonic eyes on her. ‘What for, Liza?' and stopped. He had thought he wanted his pound of flesh, but as he saw her standing before him, her beautiful face pale, and her brilliant blue eyes skittering nervously around the room, glancing anywhere but at him, all he wanted to do was to reassure her. It was the same protective instinct he had in spades around her coming back with a vengeance.

‘Because I want…' she almost said ‘you', but stopped herself in time ‘…to apologise properly for all the terrible things I said to you.' The sight of him, black hair ruffled as though he had been running his hand through it, and his shirt unbuttoned to the waist, revealing the dark line of body hair vanishing beneath his low-slung trousers, captivated her senses, and she fought to remember the speech she had prepared.

She jerked her head back up to his face. ‘I also want to thank you for rescuing me from a very nasty situation.'
Concentrate on his face, she told herself, but when her eyes met his she had difficulty remembering what she was going to say. ‘I…I…' she stammered, stunned by the smouldering gleam in his gaze, but, lifting her chin, she continued courageously, ‘I know you probably did it more for the friendship between our mothers than for me.' She had worked that out in the long hours of soul-searching before coming here. ‘But I really did not know there were diamonds in the package Henry Brown asked me to deliver, and that is the honest truth. If I am guilty of anything, it is being so gullible as to do what Brown told me. A free holiday—I can't believe I fell for it.' She shook her head. ‘All I can say in my defence is I had only ever worked for Mr Stubbs before, and he is a real gentleman. I naively thought Henry Brown was basically the same.'

How dumb did that make her, she thought, looking at Nick. He was her champion, her hero, and she needed to let him know his action in protecting her had not been misplaced. But, more, she needed him to believe her… She felt her hands perspiring and nervously rubbed the damp palms over her hips as she waited for his response.

Nick looked into her wary blue eyes. He was a proud man, but he wasn't a stupid one… Liza had come to him… Neither was he blind; his eyes darkened as he traced the action of her hands down her slender hips, pulling the fine fabric tight over her luscious body, and moved slowly back up to her face, missing no delectable detail on the way.

It was what he loved about her, her courage in facing him, with the same impulsive fervour she had always had, and he would not have her any other way.

‘Take a seat, Liza. Relax.'

Liza breathed a little easier and sat down in the nearest armchair beside the fire and watched as Nick strolled to a cabinet against the wall and opened it.

‘Would you like a drink? A nightcap?' he offered.

‘Is that wise?' Liza felt bound to say.

‘I have rarely been wise around you,' Nick said quietly,
and, filling two glasses with amber liquid, he walked over to her and handed her one, before lowering his long length into the chair opposite and lifting the crystal glass to his mouth.

Liza eyed him warily, and tentatively took a sip of her drink before placing it on the table. She leaned forward. ‘I want to explain,' she said earnestly, trying once again for her speech. ‘I really had no idea Henry Brown was a thief, Nick, and when you brought me here…I actually thought it was for your mother's benefit. But I want you to know, I'm not a complete idiot. I did suspect there was something wrong. And all I can say is after I got back to London and Mr Stubbs told me the full story I was mortified.' She took another drink of the brandy, to give her the courage to go on, and looked back at Nick.

‘I now know not only did you save me from a possible prison sentence, you also probably saved my life, when you had no real reason to trust me. So I want to thank you from…' the bottom of my heart, she had been going to say but never got the chance.

‘Stop right there, Liza,' Nick cut in, his dark eyes capturing hers. ‘First I don't think I ever really believed you were a thief, Liza. When your name appeared on a report from a security agency of mine that was investigating the diamond theft, my immediate reaction was to fly to Lanzarote and question you for myself.' Nick told her honestly, ‘I admit, I did it in a slightly devious way, but that was because I had to protect the interests of Carl Dalk, and, though you didn't know it, you had information that was vital to solving the case.'

‘You're right. I never knew.'

‘I know.' Nick rose to his feet and moved to stand in front of her, looking down into her beautiful, slightly pink face. He should not have given her the brandy on top of the wine she had already drunk, and, reaching for her hand, he pulled her to her feet.

‘I brought you back to Spain with me to keep you out
of harm's way, and also because I wanted you. I also know, when I was driving you up to the cabin, I have never been more terrified in my life for your safety, nor more certain you were absolutely innocent.' Liza was still reeling from his casual admission
I wanted you
when he continued. ‘We both made mistakes, so what say we call a truce, forget about the criminal case altogether and see where we go from here?'

‘A truce.' Liza swallowed hard; it couldn't be that easy. ‘Yes. OK.'

‘Sealed with a kiss,' Nick prompted. His arm went round her back and arched her body to meet his as his lips met hers in a burning open-mouthed kiss. Nick made a husky sound, almost a groan, and Liza quivered helplessly under the insistent pressure of his savagely hungry mouth. She closed her eyes, and reached for him, her hands curving around his broad shoulders. She could not deny the need, the desire scorching through her, didn't want to, as she silently admitted what she had been trying to deny for months—she loved him…

‘Dios,
Liza,' Nick muttered, his palm cupping her breast, a thumb stroking her nipple through the fine fabric of her dress, and a low moan of pleasure escaped her. ‘Have you any idea what you do to me?' he queried softly, his hand sliding down her thigh and urging her against his strong, hard body, making her achingly aware of just how much he wanted her.

Black eyes gleaming with sensual amusement held hers. ‘Do you think you are brave enough to get over
two
mothers in the house, or are you going to make me wait until we can get away for a night or two?' Nick drawled hardly.

As the import of his words sank in Liza felt the shock drain the heat from her body. She stiffened and pulled back. ‘Wait.' She placed her hand against his chest, pushing him away.

Nick was doing it again—
apology accepted, OK, let's go to bed
. No mention of a future, no mention of love. Twice
he had seduced her into his bed and she was not falling for it a third time. She was worth more than that.

She had spent weeks getting up the nerve to face him, and tonight over dinner he had virtually ignored her. But still she had got up the courage to face him in his room, at his request, because she thought she had hurt his pride and owed him a proper apology. He might have saved her life, but that did not mean he could use her.

‘You aren't really going to make me wait.' Nick reached for her, and she slapped his hand away.

‘Liza.' Nick's dark eyes clashed with hers. ‘What's going on here?'

‘Nothing. I came to apologise and I have.' She saw the incredulous look on his face, the flash of fury in his eyes, but she refused to be intimidated. ‘Thanks for your offer, but no.'

‘But you want me; your body doesn't lie and you know how good we are together,' Nick growled, flicking a glance at the taut outline of her nipples against the fabric of her dress. He wasn't mistaken—a moment ago she had melted in his arms, so what had gone wrong?

‘Maybe, but I find I want more from a relationship than just hot sex, and you're not the type,' Liza said flatly, ‘but I'm sure we can remain friends for the sake of our mothers.' She looked up and for a second she thought she saw a look of pain in his night-black eyes.

‘So be it.' And with a shrug of his broad shoulders Nick walked to the door and held it open. ‘Run along,
friend
,' he drawled sarcastically.

She had done the right thing, Liza told herself an hour later, tossing restlessly in her own bed. The only trouble was she could remember all too vividly Nick making love to her in the same bed, and she burned with frustrated desire until finally she fell into a troubled sleep.

In the room next door Nick downed another brandy, and, slamming the glass down on the table, he muttered, ‘To hell with it.' Liza was never going to be his again; she had
made that very plain—
he was not her type
. No woman had ever told him that before. It was ironic it had to come from the one woman he truly wanted.

Never mind, he would do what he had planned to do before he knew she was coming. He was flying to Switzerland tomorrow, to take part in the Verbier run.

 

Anna and her mother were halfway though their breakfast by the time Liza made it to the dining room.

‘You look like hell,' her mother said.

‘Thanks, Mum. Good morning, Anna,' she greeted the pair of them and sat down at the table, but she wasn't hungry.

‘There is nothing good about it,' Anna said bluntly. ‘I thought when Nick agreed to come to dinner last night with you and Pam, he might have given up on the Verbier run tomorrow, though I knew he had entered it.'

Liza's face paled; the Verbier run—she had heard of it and seen it on television. It was a death-defying snow-boarder's race in the Alps at the end of the extreme-sport season. ‘Oh, no.'

‘Exactly, Liza.' Anna's brown eyes met Liza's appalled blue. ‘He left here this morning hell-bent on taking part; he is flying to Switzerland this afternoon. I told him not to be so crazy.' She shrugged. ‘But he takes no notice of me. I don't know what happened between you two last night, but you must have said something to upset him.'

‘Me, upset him?' Liza exclaimed.

Her own mother chipped in, ‘Anna and I went to bed at a ridiculously early hour so the pair of you could be alone, so what went wrong?'

Liza could not believe what she was hearing. ‘You… She…' She looked from one to the other, and they both stared back at her with bland faces. ‘You tried to set me up? To set
us
up?'

‘Certainly. I know what has been going on between you, Nick and Carl Dalk,' Anna said firmly, and Liza's face
turned scarlet. For a moment she thought his mother knew they were lovers, until she added, ‘My son is not the only one with friends in high places.'

‘You know about the diamond theft?' Liza asked hesitantly, hoping that was all they knew.

‘Yes, and don't worry, your mother knows as well,' Anna confirmed. ‘And from what I can gather Nick rescued you from a very awkward situation. All your mother and I were doing last night was giving you a chance to thank Nick in person, because according to my chauffeur, Lancio, you and Nick did not part on the best of terms.'

‘You should have told me Liza,' her mother cut in. ‘And I do hope you have thanked Nick properly.'

‘Yes, I did, Mother,' Liza murmured, and she wondered what her mother would say if she told her the truth. Nick did not want to be thanked properly, but very improperly, if the scene in his bedroom last night was anything to go by.

‘Leave the poor girl alone, Pam. Can't you see she is embarrassed?' Anne prompted and reaching across the table took Liza's hand in hers.

‘I know my own son, he is a hard man, he allows very few people to get close to him. But has a soft spot for you, Liza, or why else would he have helped you out of that mess in January? So I was wondering if you would try and talk Nick out of going to Verbier? Myself, Manuel, everyone has tried, and the stubborn fool takes no notice. I have no desire to see my only child, dead or paralysed in the name of sport. You are my last hope, Liza, and you will be doing me a huge favour if you can stop him.'

Her imagination running riot, a vision of Nick's magnificent body crushed and broken at the foot of a snow-covered cliff filled Liza's mind. And she knew she couldn't bear it if anything happened to him. Whether she was with him or not, it didn't make any difference. She should have realised that when she watched Nick para-skiing, and decided not to let herself love him. Love was not something
you could take or leave. It was inside you, filling every atom of your being, and if you were really lucky your love was returned.

Nick had not offered her everlasting love the night before, but he had offered her a relationship of sorts and she had turned him down, too frightened of getting hurt. Yet she was a hundred times more terrified of Nick getting hurt, and the realisation made everything clear. She loved him totally unselfishly. Whether he was with her for a day or a lifetime, she was going to take a chance.

‘I'll try,' Liza said; she had been a coward for far too long, hiding her emotions. If she wanted Nick's love she had to take a chance and ask for it. ‘Just tell me how to find him.'

‘We can do better than that,' her mother said, giving her a gentle smile. ‘Manuel is waiting with the car to take you to the airport. Nick's plane is scheduled to leave at one.'