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She shivered, not doubting it. “So you’re threatening me?”
“I am telling you how it will be. I won’t let you put your own foolish dreams above the needs of our baby. Either you leave here with this ring on your finger, or you don’t leave at all.”
“You can’t want to be married... To be loyal and faithful to one woman for the rest of your life? You don’t even love me!”
“I will keep my vows,” he said impatiently. “I expect you to keep them as well.”
She blinked fast. “It’s easy for you to give up all dreams of love. You’ve never loved anyone.”
Her harsh words echoed in the silent evening. He stared at her for a long moment, his jaw clenching. When he finally spoke, his voice held no expression.
“So you agree?”
“Fine,” she choked out.
“You accept my proposal?”
“You’ve left me no choice.”
“As you’ve left me none.” He slid the enormous platinum-set diamond over her finger. “This ring symbolizes how we are bound. For life.”
The precious metal felt cold and heavy, both on her hand and on her heart. “Now what, a shotgun wedding at the nearest justice of the peace?”
He snorted, then sobered. “We will be married in New York.”
Back to New York, the city that had chewed her up and spat her out, with a man who would never love her, and who for all his fine words, was practically blackmailing her into marriage? “This gets better and better.”
“Our wedding will be a society event. As my wife, you will take your rightful place in New York society.”
Belle looked at him incredulously. “Have you lost your mind? Me? A leader in New York society?”
“You will be.”
Belle lifted her chin. “I told you. You don’t own me.”
Santiago looked down at her, his black eyes glittering. “You’re wrong,” he said softly. Taking her hand in his own, he looked down at the sharp shine of the ring in the moonlight. “From this moment on, I do.”
She felt his hand enfolding hers, his palm rough and warm against her skin, and a skitter of electricity went up her spine. Her lips parted.
He pulled her into his arms, cupping her face in his hands. Deliberately, slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers.
The smooth caress of his hot satin lips seared her, making her weak. Ruthlessly, he deepened the kiss, tilting back her head, tangling his hands in her hair. Need raced through her, quickening her heartbeat, making her lose her breath.
Pressing her against the thick white column of the pergola, amid the bloom of pink flowers beneath the fairy lights, he slowly kissed down her throat. Her head fell back, her dark hair tumbling down, as her eyes closed against the sweet pleasure of sensation.
He ran his hands down her arms, over the soft red knit fabric of her low-cut dress. She felt his touch like a whisper over her full breasts, over her belly, over her hips. He lowered his head to kiss her naked collarbone, then the bare cleavage between her breasts.
“I want you,” he whispered. Leaning forward, he whispered against the sensitive flesh of her earlobe, making her shiver, “Come to my bed tonight.”
Belle opened her eyes. Frosted by moonlight and the silvery lake behind him, Santiago’s face was in shadow as he towered over her like a dark angel. That had been the Spanish playboy’s nickname in New York, she remembered. Ángel. Now she understood why.
And she could no longer resist. She could only surrender.
Santiago looked at her, then scooped her wordlessly into his arms. He carried her into the sprawling ranch house, down the silent hallway, into the enormous master bedroom, dark with shadows except for the shaft of moonlight pooling through the large windows.
He set her down almost reverently, and she stood in front of him, unsteady on her feet. Kneeling in front of her, he pulled off her shoes, one by one. Rising, he stood in front of her and kissed her again, deeply. When the kiss ended, as she tried to catch her breath, he circled her, his fingertips lingering against her body, and slowly unzipped her dress in the back. Gently, he drew the dress down her body, slipping it off her full breasts, down her arms. He tugged it slowly over her belly, to her hips, until the dress finally fell like a soft whisper to the floor.
She stood nearly naked in front of him, wearing only a silk bra and panties. Still fully dressed in his tuxedo, Santiago looked down at her in the moonlight.
