The Illegitimate Tycoon. Janette Kenny

hell.

      His dark gaze licked over her, slowly, exacting, a visual caress that left her trembling with need again. Finally, those dark magnetic eyes lifted to hers.

      She saw appreciation there and some other emotion that defied explanation. It was a look she’d never seen before, there and gone in a blink. Yet it fed her earlier unease just the same, allowed it to gain a foothold. To grow into another obstacle she didn’t need or want.

      “We need to leave in five minutes,” he said, his voice calm, steady, when her emotions felt as if they were bouncing off the walls.

      She swallowed the sudden dryness in her throat and nodded, realizing she still held the blue diamond pendant in her hand. “I’m ready except for my shoes and this stubborn necklace. I can’t manage the clasp.”

      His brows tugged into a disagreeable line for a heartbeat, then quickly smoothed again. “Maybe I can help.”

      He pushed from the doorway and came toward her, long legs moving with masculine grace. A predator tracking his quarry.

      And she certainly felt trapped, for the guilt of withholding the truth from him was ballooning within her.

      A shiver rocketed through her as he took the necklace from her and studied the clasp. Yet a smile touched her mouth as she watched him, knowing that rapier-quick mind of his was likely already designing a better clasp for the necklace, one that was user-friendly.

      An odd heaviness expanded in her as Rafael fitted the necklace around her neck and managed the clasp with surprising ease. If only he could do the same for her health issues. But she’d seen a specialist, and the doctor hadn’t been able to assure her that she wouldn’t suffer another miscarriage.

      The blue diamond pendant felt heavy and cold resting between her breasts. Not so for his hands that felt hot and possessive as he briefly skimmed her bare shoulders.

      “You look stunning,” he said.

      “Thank you. So do you,” she said, pulling away from him as smoothly as she could so it didn’t look as if she was running from him. “You’ll clearly attract the eye of every woman here tonight.”

      He laughed, a rich sound she hadn’t heard in far too long. And even that did odd things to her insides.

      Good heavens, she would never be able to force a bite down tonight as nervous as she was in his company. Not the way her stomach had been of late.

      She slipped her feet into strappy heels, the silver stilettos giving her added height. Now she was nearly eye level with him. On more of an equal footing. And that put her even closer to that devastatingly sensual mouth of his that she longed to kiss.

      Damn! Why was she suddenly so obsessed with sex?

      “Ready?” she quipped.

      “Whenever you are,” he said in that same rich tone that hummed along her senses.

      She moved to the door. If they didn’t get out of this quiet suite, they’d end up in each other’s arms. In bed. Locked in passion.

      Or battle?

      Yes, because she couldn’t keep her secret much longer. And she knew he’d be angry when he found out the truth.

      She didn’t want to fight with Rafael tonight. This was special to him. To them.

      “I hope the lines aren’t too long,” she said, focusing on what was to come instead of Rafael da Souza.

      “We’ll soon see.”

      He closed the door behind her and kept pace at her side, not touching her but so close his aura seemed to encircle her. Dwarf her. That was an odd comfort that she grasped on to.

      He’d always been her protector. Always had been the one person she could confide in.

       And yet she hadn’t been able to when it had mattered most!

      The fangs of guilt eating at her faded away as they stepped into the limelight. Even in his presence, she still felt like a rare bird in a cage, photographed and ogled endlessly. Being out among the masses was vastly different from a shoot where it was just her and the lens. When she was in control.

      She’d never liked this side of her career. This star worship that was as shallow and fake as the artificial minilights twinkling above them.

      Before they reached the elevators, she saw the people clustered in the lobby waiting. An old panic began bubbling inside her and she immediately slowed, her gaze searching for another means to avoid this crush.

      His hand came up to rest at the small of her back. “Take a breath, meu amor.”

      She did, then another longer, deeper one. “I don’t see anyone I know, at least not personally.”

      There was no shortage of celebrities waiting in their finery for the elevator. Though she was comfortable strutting her stuff in front of a camera, she hated competing one-on-one with her peers face-to-face!

      In her eyes, she always came up lacking. She was still the chubby girl whom her mother had taken in hand and had taught how to rid herself of weight. Who’d learned a dangerous lesson that had nearly taken her life.

      “This way,” Rafael said, herding her to the last elevator on the left where three men and an elegant woman waited.

      She didn’t know them, but it was clear by their welcoming expressions that they knew Rafael well. It was the first time that she could recall someone recognizing him before her and the feeling was startling. Almost freeing.

      “Good to see you, Rafael,” the older of the men said as he extended his hand. “The new phones look fantastic in the gift bags. Before the festival is over, everyone will be clambering for one of them.”

      Rafael smiled as he shook hands with the man. “I certainly hope so. Please, allow me to introduce my wife, Leila Santiago. Leila, this is the producer of Bastion 9.”

      Introductions were quickly made, and Leila discovered the woman was the producer’s wife. The other gentleman was the writer, having just won an award for his original script on a previous movie.

      “Our daughter is a true fan of yours,” the woman said, surprising Leila. “She dreams of being a model one day and you are the woman she’s determined to emulate.”

      “I wish her much success,” Leila said. And none of the heartache.

      She fervently hoped that the girl was blessed with a body that remained lithe. That she avoided the pitfalls that had nearly cost Leila her life. That if she did fail, she would be able to find help quickly at a place like her private clinic, where Leila had already given aide to countless other young girls.

      The elevator doors opened and they trooped into the waiting car. Before others could crowd in behind them, she saw Rafael punch the button to close the doors.

      She flashed him a grateful smile which he acknowledged with a nod and wink that did odd things to her insides and calmed her as none of her inner talks could. If only he could shut out the rest of the world so easily.

      “We have an exciting surprise lined up at the party,” the producer said. “You must make an effort to be there at the launch of it.”

      “Of course,” Rafael said before she could say a word. “We wouldn’t dream of missing it.”

      She would. She’d prefer a night alone with her husband. She wanted to unburden her soul. But it would have to wait.

      The elevator doors whooshed open and she pushed her way out, eager to get away from strangers. To catch a breath that wasn’t laced with the spicy scent that was uniquely Rafael’s.

      But she got no more than three steps before he was at her side. “Are you all right?”

      “You know I dislike small closed spaces,” she said.

      “As much as I despise the cameras