The Rodrigues Pregnancy

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Until Christian…

Why had he done such a thing? she asked herself again, as she’d asked so many times before. Christian didn’t take risks. He was far too astute for that. In all his dealings with the women he had dated, there had never been a paternity suit raised against him. Yet he’d made love to her without taking any precautions. Hadn’t he ever considered that there might be a price to pay for his neglect?

The only solution was that he had been in as much of a state of shock as she was, when a desire to celebrate life had followed the reality of Tony’s death. Or had he needed comfort, too? Someone to cling to? She doubted she would ever know.

She removed her hands from her cheeks and made a play of repositioning her coffee-cup. He’d evidently assumed she was taking some form of birth-control pill. After all, she and Tony hadn’t had any children of their own. He couldn’t know that she and Tony hadn’t slept together for years. Or that she’d discovered Tony had had a vasectomy soon after Luis was born.

Her shoulders moved now in an involuntary gesture. It had been quite a blow when she’d found out. Despite Tony’s unfaithfulness, she had wanted a baby of her own. Some compensation, perhaps, for the hollowness of her existence.

But that was all a long time ago now. She’d got over it and there was no denying that Luis loved her more than the mother who had died at his birth. Yet she also knew it was the reason Tony had gone looking for Christian after his parents were killed in Venezuela. It had reminded him of his own mortality and of how arbitrary death could be.

‘So—will you tell Luis or do you wish me to do it?’ Christian asked abruptly, startling her out of her reverie. ‘He’ll be disappointed, no? But if you have no objections to him staying at the house in Bal Harbour, I will arrange for full-time nursing staff to look after him.’

Olivia stared at him now. Bastard, she thought resentfully. He must know how she’d feel about leaving her stepson to the mercies of people he neither knew nor cared about. But what could she do? She couldn’t come back to Florida. There had to be a way to satisfy his demands without losing her self-respect.

‘Olivia?’

His dark eyes were watching her closely and she very much wanted to avert her own from his penetrating gaze. But to do so would simply reinforce his smug belief that he had the upper hand. And she was damned if she was going to give in without a fight.

‘Let me think about it,’ she said at last, and, although his lashes swept down to hide his expression, she glimpsed the triumph in his face. ‘I’m not promising anything,’ she added, stung into a retort, and he inclined his head.

‘I am sure inspiration would strike you just as successfully in Bal Harbour as in San Gimeno,’ he remarked smoothly, and once again she flinched at his condescending tone.

‘You’re sure of that, are you?’ she countered, arching her brows in imitation of his. ‘Well, that’s some compensation anyway. I’m glad I have your support.’

Christian’s mouth tightened. ‘I do not wish to quarrel with you, Olivia,’ he said. ‘You seem to have the mistaken impression that I am enjoying this. Let me assure you, I am not. But Luis is my cousin’s only child. Naturally, I am concerned that he has the best attention possible.’

‘Why don’t you look after him, then?’

Olivia knew her response was childish but she couldn’t help it. He expected her to sacrifice any plans she’d made for the future. Would he be as willing to do the same? It would certainly put a crimp in his social calendar, she thought, her soft mouth tightening. And, in truth, Christian’s connection to Luis was far closer than hers could ever be.

There was silence for a few moments and then he expelled a long sigh. ‘I assume you are suggesting that I move into the Bal Harbour house, too?’ he queried. ‘You would have no problem with that arrangement?’

Olivia did have a problem with it, but she could hardly say that now. ‘Why should I?’ she asked, deciding to call his bluff, and Christian frowned before going on.

‘So you would be happy to visit him there?’ he persisted and she shrugged.

‘Why not?’

‘Indeed.’ He was thoughtful. ‘So the reason you’ve abandoned your home and taken refuge on some primitive island has nothing to do with what happened between us?’

Olivia was taken aback. ‘I—of course not.’

‘No?’ Christian regarded her between narrowed lids. ‘You are sure about that?’

Olivia struggled to remain calm. He knew nothing, she reminded herself. This was just another attempt to bait her, that was all. ‘San Gimeno is not a primitive island,’ she declared obliquely, avoiding his question. ‘It’s not commercialised, I admit, but that doesn’t mean it lacks the necessary amenities.’

‘I get the feeling you find our situation hard to handle,’ he said softly, just as if she hadn’t spoken.

‘That’s why you turned down my offer of the helicopter, is it not? It is also why you persuaded Mike Delano not to let me know what you were doing. Come on, Olivia, that’s the truth, no?’ He made a derisive sound. ‘Dios, what did you expect me to do? Jump your bones?’

Olivia had heard enough. She stood up. Ignoring him, she turned purposefully towards the door, but before she could reach it Christian’s hand caught her arm.

‘Wait!’

‘Why should I?’

Yet Olivia knew better than to try and get away from him. His fingers were long and narrow, it was true, but they were also immensely strong. No amount of useless struggle on her part would free her until he was ready to let her go.

All the same, it was hard to remain still under his searching appraisal. She was acutely aware that he was breathing heavily now and she guessed her sudden dash for the door had caught him unawares. She doubted he appreciated having to reason with her, either, and his expression mirrored the ambivalence he felt.

Even so, when he spoke it was an apology. ‘I shouldn’t have said that,’ he said, his nostrils flaring with the effort to control the anger that was riding him. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Are you?’

Her answer was hardly original, but in the circumstances it was impossible to think of anything unique. Her treacherous senses were registering other things, like his heat and his nearness, and the predatory magnetism that exuded from his pores.