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‘My father was renowned for his affairs—some of which were with willing and impressionable staff members at the castillo. I vowed that I would never follow his footsteps—not least because I’d seen the destruction one of his affairs cost us all. He slept with Rio’s mother, who took advantage of the situation, only to then abandon her son.’
Trinity was speechless for a moment as she absorbed this. ‘You think,’ she framed shakily, ‘that I’m like Rio’s mother, then? That I’m no better...?’
Cruz’s wide, sensual mouth compressed. ‘I didn’t think so at first—not that night. I hated myself for losing control like that, but I didn’t blame you. Since then...let’s just say any illusions about your innocence I may have had have been well and truly shattered.’
An awful poignancy gripped Trinity at the thought that for a short while Cruz had seen the real her...and respected her. But even the memory of her naivety and humiliation couldn’t stop her saying bitterly, ‘It would only have ever been a mistake, though, wouldn’t it? I mean, let’s not fool ourselves that it would have developed into anything...more...’
More. Like the kind of more that Cruz had once hoped existed until any such notion was drummed out of him by his mother and her bitter words? Since then he’d never been proved wrong—any woman he’d been with had only confirmed his cynicism. Not least this one. And yet...when he’d first laid eyes on her he’d never seen anyone who looked so untouched and innocent.
And she was looking at him now with those huge eyes, taunting him for his flight of fancy. It was as if she was reaching inside him to touch a raw wound.
He was unaware of his hands tightening on her arms, knew only that he needed to push her back.
‘More...like what?’ he all but sneered. ‘Hearts and flowers? Tender lovemaking and declarations of undying love? I don’t do tender lovemaking, Trinity, I would have taken you until we were both sated and then moved on. I have no time for relationships—my life isn’t about that. It never was and it never will be. I have a duty of care to my nephews now, and you’re here only because I’m legally bound to have you here.’ His mouth twisted. ‘The fact that I want you is a weakness I’m apparently not capable of overcoming.’
A veritable cavalcade of emotions crossed Trinity’s face, and then a look of almost unbelievable hurt—it had to be unbelievable—superseded them all. She shrank back, pulling herself free, and he only realised then how hard he’d been holding her. He curled his hands into fists and cursed himself. What was it about this woman that made his brain fuse and cease functioning?
In a low voice that scraped along all of Cruz’s raw edges she said, ‘I wasn’t looking for anything more than a book that night, no matter what you choose to believe.’
Cruz still felt volatile, and even more so now at this protestation of innocence and her stubborn refusal to reveal her true nature. He ground out, ‘Maybe if I’d taken you as I’d wanted to, there against the bookshelves, we wouldn’t be here now and Rio would still be alive.’
Trinity had thought he couldn’t hurt her much more than he already had, but he just had—even as a lurid image blasted into her head of exactly the scenario he mentioned...his powerful body holding her captive against a wall of books while he thrust up, deep into her body.
She held herself rigid, denying that hurt, and blasted back, ‘So you would have thrown over that elegant brunette beauty for me? Am I supposed to be flattered that you would have been happy to conduct an affair on your terms, only to discard me by the wayside when you were done with me?’
A muscle ticked in Cruz’s jaw but he just said tersely, ‘We’re back at the castillo, we should get the ring. We’ve wasted enough time.’
Wasted enough time.
Trinity was still reeling as she followed Cruz’s broad tuxedoed form down stone steps to the vaults, holding her dress up in one hand. The depth of his cynicism astounded her
all over again, and she hated it that he’d hurt her so easily.
She blamed his interaction with Matty and Sancho. It had made her lower her guard against him and he’d punished her for it, reminding her that he was not remotely someone to pin her hopes and dreams on... She scowled at herself. Since when had she ever entertained those notions herself? It wasn’t as if she’d ever been under any delusions of more.
More existed for people who weren’t her or Cruz. Who had grown up with normal, functioning, loving families. And yet she couldn’t deny that when she’d worked for him for a brief moment she’d entertained daydreams of him noticing her...wanting her...smiling at her—
Trinity slammed a lid on that humiliating Pandora’s box.
She wasn’t sure what was worse—finding out that Cruz hadn’t dismissed her because she was a nobody all those years ago, or believing that if he’d taken her until they were both sated he could have averted Rio’s destruction. Right now, she hated Cruz with a passion that scared her.
But not far under her hatred was something much more treacherous. A very illicit racing excitement at the knowledge that he still wanted her. And that he’d rejected her because he’d felt he’d taken advantage of his position, not because he’d been horrified to find himself attracted to her...
Once in the vault, Trinity welcomed the change of scenery from the heightened and heated intensity of the back of the Jeep even as she shivered in the cold, dank air.
She hated herself for it, but found herself instinctively moving closer to Cruz’s tall, lean form because the place gave her the creeps. She could imagine it being used as a location for the Spanish Inquisition, with its dark stone walls and shadowy cavernous corridors.
She thought, not a little hysterically, that if they’d been back in medieval times Cruz might have just incarcerated her down here in a cell.
He had pulled out a velvet tray of rings from a box in the wall and stood back. ‘Choose one.’
Trinity reluctantly stepped forward. Almost immediately one ring in the centre of the tray caught her eye. It was one of the smallest rings, with an ornate gold setting and a small square ruby in the middle.
Cruz followed her gaze and picked it up. ‘This one?’
She nodded. He took her hand and held it up and slid the ring onto her finger. It was a perfunctory gesture, so it shouldn’t feel in any way momentous but it did. The ring fitted like a glove and, bizarrely, Trinity felt emotion rising when emotion had no place there—especially not after what had just passed between them.
Swallowing the emotion with effort, Trinity was unprepared when Cruz took her chin in his thumb and forefinger, tipping it up. The look in his eyes burned.
