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‘I’m not embarrassed, I’m just...’
‘Being very English about it?’ he enquired with a dry tone. ‘Would you have preferred us to discuss the weather first before we got to the nitty-gritty?’
She shrugged. ‘Maybe. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with discussing the weather.’
One side of his mouth quirked. ‘Maybe I will oblige you next time,’ he answered. Then waited.
‘Yes, I stop ovulating in three days,’ she eventually murmured.
His gaze dropped back to her mouth, his nostrils flaring lightly as he leaned closer, filled her personal space with his larger-than-life aura. ‘Then you will come to me tonight.’
Too soon. Much too soon. Suki swallowed. ‘No.’
He stilled. ‘Perdón?’
She shook her head. ‘I said no. Not tonight. I just... I need a little time to take all of this in.’
A frown gathered at his forehead. ‘Nothing will change with more time,’ he warned.
‘I know that, but I’m still taking the time I need.’
His mouth pursed into a forbidding line. But any response coming her way was halted by the knock on the door. A handful of seconds passed before he released her. At his command, a member of his kitchen staff entered wheeling a serving trolley piled with trays of hot and cold beverages, pastries and neatly cut sandwiches.
The middle-aged woman smiled affectionately at Ramon before setting the tray on the coffee table. ‘This is Teresa. She’s my housekeeper.’ He repeated the other side of introduction in Spanish, to which Teresa smiled and responded, adding a few more words Suki didn’t understand.
Ramon shook his head and dismissed her, then reached out to place several pieces of pastry on a plate. Passing it to her, he indicated the drinks. ‘Which would you prefer?’
She wanted to laugh at the mundaneness of eating following the tense last hour.
‘Coffee, please. Thanks.’
He poured two cups, adding sugar and cream to hers at her request before passing it over.
For a few minutes he drank his coffee without making conversation while she nibbled on a finger sandwich. Unable to stand the tension, she picked up another triangle of pastry, and bit into it. The unexpected flavoursome guava and cream cheese filling made her mouth water, her very empty stomach reminding her how long it’d been since she last ate.
‘What are these?’ she asked, more to make conversation than anything else.
‘They’re called pastelitos. Teresa makes the best ones.’ He nudged the tray towards her. ‘Have another one.’
She didn’t refuse. A barest trace of amusement whispered over his face as he watched her devour a second one.
‘After we finish eating, I will show you to your suite. When you’re rested, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the staff and give you a tour of the villa.’
Grateful for the first normal conversation she’d had since he’d turned up at her hotel this morning, she took another bite. ‘Thanks, that would be good.’
‘Tomorrow morning, Suki. I will not wait longer than that.’
The thought of him and her...in broad daylight...threatened to send the pastelitos and coffee down the wrong way. ‘Tomorrow night,’ she countered quickly after swallowing.
He didn’t frown, but the air of displeasure once again shrouded him as he set his cup back onto the saucer. ‘Any reason why you wish to waste a further twenty-four hours?’
She tried a shrug, but it didn’t quite come off as smoothly as she would’ve wished. ‘Isn’t it enough that we’ve agreed to do this thing? Is there any reason why we need to...umm do it during the day?’
The slight widening of his eyes was the only indication that he was surprised. That surprise turned swiftly into sardonic amusement. ‘Are you trying to tell me that you only engag
e in sex at night, Suki?’ he drawled.
She set her cup and saucer on the table. ‘We’ve discussed my monthly cycle. There is no way I’m discussing my sexual history with you.’
