Determined to Protect, Forbidden to Love. Beverly Barton

of the blue, an unwanted image flashed through her mind. Miguel in his pajama bottoms sitting in his bed, his back propped against the elaborately carved headboard, watching her as she removed her clothes, down to her bra, panties, garter belt and stockings. A foreboding shudder rippled up her spine. It would be a cold day in hell before she’d strip for any man, and that included Miguel Ramirez!

      “Dr. Esteban, I am not sure what to do.” Juan’s nurse, Carmen, caught him between patients. “Señorita Fernandez insists on seeing you. She is waiting in your private office.”

      “When did she arrive?”

      “About five minutes ago, Carmen replied. “I told her you were very busy this morning and in the middle of doing rounds here at the hospital, but she said she would wait however long it takes.”

      Juan patted Carmen’s back. “I will see her now. It must be important or she would not have come here to the hospital so early this morning.”

      As they walked together down the corridor toward the elevator, Carmen caught him by the arm to slow his pace. He paused and looked at her questioningly. Carmen had been with him since he finished his residency here at St. Augustine’s and became a member of the staff. She was round and plump, with gray hair and expressive hazel-brown eyes that often revealed the emotions stirring in her compassionate heart.

      “It is not my place to advise you in personal matters, but…” Carmen lowered her voice as they entered the elevator. Once the doors closed and they were alone, she continued. “Señorita Fernandez belongs to a very powerful family and if her brother were to find out that—”

      “I don’t need you to warn me,” Juan said. “Aunt Josephina spoke to me only last night about the dangers of becoming involved with Seina.”

      “Did you listen to your aunt? No, you did not. If you had taken heed to her warning, you would have told me to explain to the señorita that you could not see her today.”

      The elevator doors opened on the ground floor where Juan’s office was located. He held the door for Carmen, then together they walked down the corridor. When they neared his private office, he paused and turned to her.

      “Go to the cafeteria and bring back some coffee for us…in about fifteen minutes,” Juan told her.

      “It is not wise for you to be alone with her.”

      “Please, do as I ask.”

      Huffing indignantly, she glowered at him. “I will return in fifteen minutes. And I will not knock on the door.” She didn’t look back as she walked away hurriedly.

      Juan heaved a deep sigh as he grasped the doorknob. No one needed to tell him the foolishness of being in love with Seina Fernandez. He knew that there could be no future for them. Even if she were not engaged to another man, one chosen by her family, Seina and he could never marry. Not unless she broke all ties to her family and gave up her inheritance. He was not a poor man, but he could never give her the kind of lifestyle into which she had been born.

      Garnering his courage, praying for the strength to do what was right for Seina, he opened the door and entered his private office. The moment she saw him, she sprung from her chair and rushed toward him. Despite his best efforts to remain aloof, he found himself opening his arms to her and holding her with gentle strength as she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder.

      “Mother has made plans for my engagement party,” Seina said. “In three weeks. She and Lorenzo’s mother have set the date for our wedding. It will be six months from the night our families officially announce our engagement.”

      “You knew this day would come.” Juan tightened his hold on her.

      She lifted her head and stared pleadingly at him with her huge black eyes. “We must find a way to be together. I do not love Lorenzo. I love you. I want to be your wife. Please, Juan, please, do not tell me that marrying another man is what is best for me. You cannot want me to be Lorenzo’s wife.”

      Juan grasped her shoulders and held her away from him. “I die inside thinking of him touching you, kissing you, making love to you.”

      “Oh, Juan…”

      He shook her gently. “But I will not allow you to lose everything to be with me. In time you would come to hate me.”

      “I would never—”

      He shook her again, then released her. They stood there staring at each other. Tears gathered in Seina’s eyes. Juan swallowed the emotions threatening to choke him.

      “I should never have allowed this to happen. That first time, when you came to see me as a patient and we felt an instant attraction, I should have sent you to another doctor that very day.”

      “But you didn’t because you felt as I did. You knew we were meant to be together.”

      He shook his head. “We are not together and we never can be.”

      “You want me. I know you do.” Tension etched frown lines in her lovely face.

      “I would never dishonor you.” Juan looked at the floor, knowing he dared not look at her. She was temptation personified.

      “Then you are willing to send me to another man still a virgin, knowing he will take from me what I long to give you.”

      Juan’s stomach muscles clenched into knots. “You must not say such things.”

      “I say only what is in my heart. If…if I cannot be with you, my life is not worth living.”

      He snapped his head up and looked directly into her eyes. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Querida…”

      “I shall kill myself.”

      “No, Seina, you must not say such a thing. You must not even think it.”

      Suddenly the door opened and, unannounced, Carmen walked in carrying two cups. “I apologize for interrupting you, Dr. Esteban, but I knew you would want your coffee before returning upstairs to finish your rounds.”

      Juan glared at his nurse. “Please, place the coffee on my desk. Señorita Fernandez and I have not completed our—”

      “No, no, I do not want to keep you from caring for your patients,” Seina said.

      “Thank you for being so understanding, señorita.” Carmen placed the coffee on the desk. “If you would like, I can see you out. Do you have a car waiting or did you drive yourself?”

      With her gaze downcast, Seina replied shyly, “I do not drive. A friend brought me. She is waiting for me in the parking lot.”

      “Seina…Señorita Fernandez…” Juan looked at her longingly. He knew it was best for both of them if she left, if they never saw each other again. But a man in love seldom chose what was in his best interests. “We will speak again.”

      “When?” she asked hopefully.

      “Soon.”

      Gala Hernandez waited in the parking lot of St. Augustine’s Hospital for her dearest friend. When Seina had telephoned her early this morning and pleaded with her to drive her here to see Dr. Esteban, she had done everything she could to dissuade Seina. Not only was her friend’s secret relationship with the doctor dangerous for Seina, but it also put Gala in a no-win situation. She had made some foolish mistakes several years ago and had it not been for Diego, Seina’s older brother, intervening on her behalf with the police, she would now be serving time in prison for drug use. Diego had not only protected her, he had sent her through a rehabilitation program and kept the whole thing in strictest confidence. And not once since then had Diego ever asked anything of her—until a few weeks ago.

      “I know that Seina is slipping around seeing Juan Esteban,” Diego had told Gala. “I will, of course, put a stop to that relationship, when the time is right. But for now, it may be of use to me. To us.”

      “I don’t