The Vásquez Mistress. Sarah Morgan

doctor looked taken aback. ‘But—she doesn’t appear to remember you.’

      Raul’s mouth tightened into a grim line and he transferred his gaze to the frozen profile of the woman on the bed. ‘Oh, she remembers,’ he said softly. ‘If her memory was impaired, she wouldn’t be ignoring me. She’d be firing sparks and demanding to know why I took so long to get here. The reason she is refusing to look me in the eye is because her memory is perfectly intact and she’s suffering from a severe attack of guilty conscience, isn’t that right, cariño?’

      Her head turned at that, her gaze locked with his and although she didn’t say a single word her eyes sent him straight to hell.

      The past swirled and bubbled between them like a dangerous beast just waiting to swallow them whole.

      Then she looked at the medical staff. ‘I don’t know who he is,’ she said, her voice remarkably steady. ‘I’ve never seen him before in my life and I don’t like the look of him. It would be quite wrong of you to release me into his care.’

      Raul gave a bitter laugh. Ignoring the notices about not sitting on the bed, he settled his powerful frame only inches away from her body. ‘They have no choice but to release you into my care. I’m your only family.’ He thought her eyes grew brighter but when he looked more closely she was staring straight ahead, still studiously ignoring him.

      The doctor cleared his throat. ‘You have to admit that her memory seems cloudy where you’re concerned—’

      ‘I’ve discovered that Faith’s memory is most adaptable,’ Raul drawled. ‘Occasionally she can forget the most important facts. Like an agreement between two people.’ His words had the desired effect and he watched with grim satisfaction as the last of the colour drained from her cheeks.

      ‘There was no agreement. I am not one of your business deals. I wish I’d never met you. I hate you, Raul. You are a heartless, cynical, insensitive…’ Her voice tailed off and the doctor gave a small, embarrassed cough.

      ‘Well—it does appear that she at least knows your name so that’s good. And—er—a little bit about your personality. She told us that she had no family—’

      ‘I don’t have family.’

      The doctor glanced at her and then at Raul. ‘I suppose—’ He coughed nervously. ‘Well, over to you, really.’

      ‘That’s it? Are you just going to stand there and let him bully you?’ Faith glared at the doctor and when the man didn’t reply she made a sound of disgust. ‘You’re all spineless. I’m telling you, he’s not my family. If I was the last woman left on the planet and he was the last man, then the human race would die.’ Having drawn the battle lines, she turned her head back to Raul and her eyes locked with his in fierce combat.

      Raul felt a surge of relief because for a moment he’d wondered if her lack of spirit was something to do with the head injury. But the dangerous shimmer in her eyes reassured him that her accident hadn’t done any permanent damage and despite everything that had happened between them he felt the instantaneous response of his body.

      Passion. Hot, searing, blinding passion.

      It was always there between them, whatever they were doing.

      And that was the problem of course. Their astonishing physical compatibility had made it all too easy to overlook the truth.

      They were two people who should never have been together.

      Both of them had known it, but the extraordinary chemistry had bound them together when common sense should have dragged them apart.

      She was entirely wrong for him. He was entirely wrong for her.

      Somehow that hadn’t made a difference.

      Aware that the medical staff were rooted to the spot, staring, he rose to his feet and took charge.

      ‘She has family,’ he said in a driven tone. ‘I’m her husband. And I’ll take over from here.’ Detaching himself from the emotional, he concentrated instead on the practical, his mind shifting into problem-solving mode as he reached into his pocket for his mobile phone.

      ‘Oh, here we go,’ Faith muttered. ‘Let’s just make another million while we’re hanging around.’

      Having accessed a number with a decisive stab of his finger, Raul turned with a mocking smile. ‘I wouldn’t bother switching the phone on for a million, cariño. You should know that by now.’

      The doctor cast them both a despairing glance. ‘The two of you clearly have some problems.’

      Rising to his feet, Raul dealt the other man a glance that would have silenced a football stadium in full voice. ‘Unless you’re adding psychiatry to your list of questionable medical skills, I suggest you don’t tread where you are bound to lose your footing. She is no longer your responsibility. I’ll be removing her from this place in the next ten minutes.’ Having delivered that missile directly to its target, Raul turned his attention to the man on the end of the phone and switched to his native Spanish.

      By the time he’d ended the call, the nurse had retreated and the doctor was sifting through paperwork with shaking hands, clearly worrying about his own position.

      ‘If you’re taking her then you’ll have to sign something. I won’t be held responsible if anything happens to her. She needs to be in hospital—’

      ‘Maybe. But not this one.’ With one disdainful sweep of his eyes, Raul took in the state of the ward. ‘What exactly is this place and why hasn’t it been shut down before now?’

      ‘Shut down?’ The doctor looked scandalised. ‘This is the oldest hospital in London. We have been treating patients in this building since the time of King Henry the Eighth!’

      ‘It’s a shame no one has bothered to clean the floors since his last visit,’ Raul said coldly and the old lady in the bed opposite Faith clapped her hands in delight.

      ‘Oh, well said! I do so love a man who is dominant and handsome. These days most men have forgotten how to be real men. If she turns you down, I’m available.’

      Amused, Raul turned and flashed her a smile. ‘Gracias, I will remember that.’ His response clearly goaded Faith because she gave a strangled laugh.

      ‘He’s the worst of a bad bunch. If you’re looking for a man who shoulders responsibility, then don’t look at this one, Mrs Hitchin.’

      ‘I could look at him all day,’ Mrs Hitchin said happily, adjusting her hearing aid. ‘I think he’s gorgeous.’

      ‘Actually he’s a sex-mad control freak,’ Faith muttered and Raul gave a twisted smile.

      ‘One wonders why, with that glowing opinion of my qualities, you were so grimly determined to drag me to the altar by any means at your disposal.’

      Faith lifted her chin and her beautiful eyes flashed at him. ‘I did not drag you. Since when have you ever done anything that didn’t suit you? Your life is one long selfish, self- indulgent ego trip.’

      ‘You put me in an impossible position!’ His tone thickened, Raul felt his tension levels soar into the stratosphere. He hadn’t intended to tackle the issue here but even without spelling it out it was there in the room with them, hovering between them.

      He saw that she was shaking and his eyes scanned the pale flesh of her smooth, slender arms, his treacherous mind turning to thoughts of sex. Those arms had been entwined round his neck, curved round his body as she’d urged him on. Those eyes that now flashed in anger had softened and tempted as she’d lured him on an erotic journey from which neither of them had emerged unscathed.

      What they had shared was so powerful that even