Mistress to the Mediterranean Male. Кэрол Мортимер

had once been married somehow made him into a—

      ‘I married precisely three months after my brief relationship with Joanna was over,’ he stated forcefully as he guessed the reason for the accusation in Brynne’s gaze.

      ‘That was convenient for you,’ she replied hollowly, shaking her head slightly. ‘No wonder you and Joanna never married—you were probably already married to someone else by the time she realized she was pregnant with Michael!’

      ‘It was not like that at all—’

      ‘Wasn’t it?’ Brynne scorned. ‘Forgive me if I don’t believe you!’

      ‘I do not forgive you.’ Alejandro was every inch the wealthy, arrogant Spaniard as he looked down at her with icy grey eyes. ‘Once again you speak of things, make accusations, you do not understand—’

      ‘I understand you were married to someone else while Joanna had your baby, completely on her own!’

      ‘I did not know she was pregnant—’

      ‘And what would you have done about it if you had?’ Brynne questioned. ‘Paid for her to have an abortion? Or confessed all to your wife of only a few months and ruined her life as well? Although the fact that the two of you are no longer married probably shows that she at least had enough sense to leave you!’ She was breathing hard in her agitation.

      Alejandro had never received such insults to his honour before, from either a man or a woman, and the fact that minutes ago he had ached with wanting this particular woman only seemed to make it all the worse that the insults came from her.

      His mouth twisted. ‘My wife is dead. And there would have been no question of Joanna having an abortion! If Joanna had told me of her pregnancy, I would have supported both her and my child.’

      ‘It must be nice to be rich enough to be able to salvage your conscience so easily!’ Brynne scorned.

      ‘If you were a man I would have knocked you down for the insults you have given me tonight,’ Alejandro bit out coldly. ‘But as you are not, I instead think it best that I leave you now to give you chance to calm down. We can talk about this again in the morning if that is what you wish.’

      What she wished was that she had never met him—and her reasons for that no longer concerned Michael alone!

      Minutes ago she had known herself aroused by Alejandro. And not for the first time, either.

      What she really wanted to do right now was sit down and have a good cry at her own stupidity in allowing herself to become attracted to this complicated man!

      She could so easily have turned over on the bed a few minutes ago and pulled his head down to hers and have him kiss her until she could think of nothing and no one but him. She longed to have him caress her in all the places that ached for his touch.

      She was as disturbed by that admission as she was by learning he had been married.

      ‘I don’t know what I’ll want in the morning,’ she said dully.

      But she did know. She wanted to go home, back to England, to forget she had ever met this unfathomable man. And instead she had to stay on here, for Michael’s sake …

      ‘Please go now,’ she told Alejandro flatly.

      Alejandro looked at her bowed head, and the beautiful hair that cascaded over the bareness of her delicate shoulders like a living flame. As he stared at her endearing freckles he had longed to kiss such a short time ago some of the anger he was feeling left him.

      He had not thought it necessary for Brynne to know the details of his relationship with Joanna or the circumstances of his marriage to Francesca, and, knowing how close he had come tonight to taking her in his arms and making love to her, he believed that more than ever.

      Brynne Sullivan was the last woman he should ever make love to!

      ‘Perhaps you are right,’ he snapped.

      ‘Yes.’ She sighed, reaching up a hand to push back the thickness of her hair to look up at him with pained blue eyes.

      Alejandro looked at her for several more seconds before turning sharply on his heel and walking to the door, closing it softly behind him as he left.

      He closed his eyes as he leant back against the wall outside in the hallway, fighting the yearning he had to go back into the room, to take Brynne into his arms.

      But he had made a decision when Francesca had died five years ago that any relationship he had in future would only ever be of the transient kind, of short duration, with no emotional entanglement, and Brynne Sullivan, he already knew, with her prim morality, and her soul-destroying blue eyes, was not a woman of that type.

      Brynne felt gritty-eyed and irritable from lack of sleep the next morning. She’d found it hard to sleep after the things she had learnt about Alejandro.

      He had probably been engaged when he and Joanna had met seven years ago and already married by the time Joanna had known she was expecting his baby. Although it appeared that his wife had died some time in the last seven years.

      All of these things had gone round and round in her head for hours last night.

      One thing she did know was that any growing attraction she might have felt towards Alejandro had to stop.

      It should never have happened in the first place after the battle the two of them had had six weeks ago over the custody of Michael!

      In fact, the more she came to know about Alejandro Santiago, the stronger her feeling that Michael should have been allowed to stay with her.

      The fact that Alejandro was sitting alone at the dining table, calmly reading a newspaper, when she got downstairs for breakfast did nothing to improve her mood!

      Alejandro looked up as he sensed Brynne quietly entering the room, his mouth tightening as she avoided meeting his gaze to go over to the side dresser and pour herself some juice.

      ‘Where’s Michael?’ she asked as she came to sit at the table opposite him.

      ‘He went down to the orchard with Maria to pick some fresh oranges,’ Alejandro dismissed, carefully folding his newspaper to place it on the table beside him. ‘Is juice all you are having for breakfast?’ He frowned.

      Brynne shrugged dismissively. ‘I’m not hungry.’

      ‘How are you feeling this morning?’ he probed softly.

      She raised her chin, her blue eyes bright with challenge. ‘How should I be feeling?’

      He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘I merely wondered if your back was still painful …?’

      ‘Oh.’ Her gaze once again avoided his. ‘It’s much better this morning, thank you.’

      She didn’t look better, Alejandro noted, seeing that her face was pale and that there were dark shadows beneath her eyes.

      He nodded abruptly. ‘That is good. I have some business to attend to in Palma today,’ he said curtly. ‘Will you and Michael be able to amuse yourselves by the pool? With the appropriately applied suntan lotion, of course,’ he added ruefully.

      ‘Of course,’ Brynne echoed dryly. ‘If Michael gets bored I can always take him for a walk to Banyalbufar. Maria says its only just up the coast and—’

      ‘I would rather you did not walk anywhere today,’ Alejandro cut in.

      ‘I’m sure the walk will do Raul and Rafael good,’ Brynne finished mockingly. ‘From their unhealthy pallor they obviously don’t get out in the sun enough!’

      ‘But you have,’ Alejandro spoke firmly. ‘And to go out walking when you are already burnt is not wise.’

      Brynne gave him a scathing glance. ‘I think I’m old enough to know not to make the same mistake twice!’

      Alejandro gave her