But he could not allow himself to think of it. If he did, he would not move forward—and he had to move forward. His father deserved this justice, no matter what damage it would do to Pau and Giaco’s friendship.
He shoved it out of his head.
And it didn’t matter why Leontina was here today. His goal had either been achieved, in which case certain other steps would be put into motion. Or it had not been achieved, and if that was the situation, he would set about doing it all over again until his goal was within his grasp at last.
His body, he noted, did not view that possibility as any sort of chore.
But that was another truth he did not wish to examine. Not now.
He wondered if she could sense it all the same. If she knew the imperatives his body was issuing, somehow, because as she walked toward him—looking frumpy and delicious at once, as he was beginning to understand was her specialty—he thought he could see that awareness in her gaze.
That same awareness he had been so certain he’d seen all over her at the wedding.
Now, as then, he did not argue or explain or debate anything with her. He did not do such things, full stop. When Pau Calixto spoke, he made certain his words were received as pronouncements befitting laws.
Neverdebates.
He said nothing at all.
And Leontina took her time reaching him there at the doorway. He noticed she did not hurry either, and he liked that. These little hints of defiance pleased him, and not only because they suggested that she’d been precisely who he’d thought she was that night.
It astounded him how much he wanted that to be true. Even more so now that she was here. In Spain. On his land.
Here, something primal within him intoned.At last.
Pau wasn’t sure he’d ever heard that voice before, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that it was right.
Once she climbed the wide steps to meet him, he still did not speak. He turned and led her into the grand old house that had once been a medieval monastery, though there had been, happily, some upgrades since.
A few months ago, he had led her into her father’s oppressive castle, holding her by the hand as he’d led her through the typical warren of rooms until he’d found the suite that had been set aside for him. It had been lavish and over the top, as befit the partnership he’d been seemingly setting up with Umberto. He’d led her inside those rooms and he’d known that there was no chance whatsoever that anyone would disturb them before morning.
Pau had made great use of those hours.
The reality was that he would have done the same thing no matter who Leontina was or what reaction he’d had to her. That was the trouble with revenge—it had the potential to take more than it repaired. But it was who he was now. Pau had accepted this truth a long time ago.
Yet as he led Leontina into his own house this time, he was struck by another inconvenient truth—that he found this woman almost unbearably attractive, and more so now that she had come here. That she had sought him out, no matter her reasons.
That had not been part of his plan at all.
He could smell the subtle scent she wore, the suggestion of sea salt and honey. He could remember the taste of her cries and better yet, the way she had bucked her hips into his mouth, stretched out before him in total abandon.
Oh yes, he remembered everything about this woman.
He led her into one of the renovated sitting rooms, done up to look modern and inviting, because these days the conversation between the medieval and the modern was all the rage. Or so his highly recommended and widely lauded architect and equally feted decorator had assured him. As long as the vineyards continued to make a profit and bolster his father’s legacy, Pau didn’t care what the old pile looked like.
Though he found the room greatly improved by the addition of Leontina. In short order, he had her seated neatly on a sofa while he sat opposite her, and then watched her too closely as his people brought in a few trays of local delicacies and various drink options.
“My thanks,” she said, her eyes on the food set out on the low table before her, with no little flourish. “I am actually quite hungry.”
“By all means, indulge yourself,” he murmured.
He wasn’t sure he meant to say that until he did. And when those dark jade eyes of hers flew to his, and the faintest hint of heat presented itself on her cheekbones, Pau understood that he’d meant to say it—and precisely the way he did.
It was exactly what he’d said when she’d wanted to return the favor that night. When she had crawled down the length of his body, settled herself between his legs, and licked him until he thought he might lose the plot completely.
Only to take him into her mouth and suck on him like some kind of dessert.
His body roared at him, but he prided himself on his intense control—no matter what it took. The only satisfaction he allowed himself was when her gaze dropped, yet her cheeks reddened further.
