The Twelve-Month Marriage Deal by Margaret Mayo Page A

hungered for?’
    ‘Vidal,’ she protested, trying to hold onto him.
    ‘Shh, mi amor. ’ He touched a light finger to her lips. ‘I hear footsteps approaching. But I promise you—’ his lips curved meaningfully ‘—that this is not the end. Later, when we’re settled in. When your maid has unpacked and—’
    ‘ My maid?’ she asked, her voice full of shock.
    ‘Naturally. She will look after you well. You only have to ask and she will—’
    ‘But I don’t want someone doing things for me. I’m perfectly capable of doing everything for myself. Heavens, anyone would think you were royalty!’
    He frowned. ‘I am a busy man—I thought you understood that. I race from one meeting to another, from one country to another. It’s appropriate that I have my needs catered for.’
    ‘Maybe you, but not me,’ she declared fiercely. ‘I can look after myself, thank you very much. If you’d kindly tell your staff that then—’
    ‘Elena!’ The warning in his voice silenced her and she turned wide golden eyes up to his face. ‘This is the way I live. This is the way you will live. You’d better get used to it.’
    The moment of passion had gone. The old arrogance was back. Vidal turned and walked out of the room and seconds later her personal maid entered.
    Elena did not see Vidal again for a few hours, which was probably just as well because his comments had infuriated her. This is the way I live. This is the way you will live. You’d better get used to it. How dared he speak to her like that? Why had she let him? Why hadn’t she come back with some equally smart retort?
    The answer was simple. She was doing this for her mother. She did not want to see her in hospital again and needed to keep a hold on her tongue, which was something she was not used to doing. And she certainly hadn’t realised what she would be expected to put up with. It was no wonder her sister had wanted out.
    Elena spent the day exploring the house, finding her way around, talking to the various members of staff who were all extremely friendly, if guarded, and no one said anything to make her fearful that they would question what had happened between Reina and Vidal.
    She walked around the gardens too. In LA she’d lived in an apartment so it was enviable to have so much open space. There were fruit trees—figs, oranges, lemons, limes, avocado and many more. There was even a hundred-year-old carob tree, according to the gardener, in the middle of one lawn. And a round pavilion—although she wasn’t sure what purpose that served. Perhaps to sit in to escape the rays of the sun?
    Stopping by the stables, she made friends with the horses, in particular a magnificent black stallion that she was told was Vidal’s own personal horse. According to his groom no one else was allowed to ride him.
    Elena used to ride before she went to America, she and Reina each having their own horses, and she was very tempted to take out the stallion. Even if only to annoy Vidal. But perhaps not today.
    Her biggest find was the swimming pool and its assortment of terraces and seating areas. It beckoned to her like a consuming force and she hurried back indoors to don her swimsuit, happy that she had brought one with her.
    And it was here that Vidal found her. He watched unobserved from beneath a tree as Elena swam several lengths. Her long, lazy, graceful movements tempted him to remain in the shadows rather than join her. She was taller and slimmer than her older sister and he found it constantly hard to believe how much she had changedfrom the scrawny schoolgirl who had held no interest for him whatsoever. If anything she had been an annoying little nuisance, hanging around when he had wanted to be with her sister.
    His stomach muscles tightened as he strove to clamp down on his hunger for her now and he promised himself that she wasn’t going to get away from him tonight. Never had a woman held him in such thrall.
    Even if circumstances had been