Baby by blackmail!

Shy Suki Langston has desired Ramon Acosta for years, and one shocking night he gives her pleasure beyond her wildest imaginings. But when an unexpected pregnancy ends in tragedy, Suki knows that any hope of a future together has been extinguished...

Then the arrogant magnate returns, determined that Suki will provide him with an heir! Ramon’s outrageous demand reignites both Suki’s longing for a child and the burning memory of his touch...

Suki agrees, certain she can keep her physical responses under control! Until their explosive reunion proves just how susceptible her body and heart still are to him...

‘Ramon?’

He turned. Suki was framed in the doorway of her dressing room, clad only in a towel. Her face glowed a light pink from her shower and her damp hair tumbled around her naked shoulders. With no make-up, no sexy lingerie or perfumed skin to entice, Ramon wondered how she could still be the most captivating woman he’d ever encountered.

Because, Madre de Dios, she was.

Blood and lust thrumming wildly through his veins, he slowly moved towards her, watched her fingers twist in a death grip on the knot of the towel.

Her gaze flitted from his to the French doors before rushing back to him—as if, like him, she couldn’t look away for long enough. ‘Did you just break into my bedroom?’

He gave a low laugh. ‘I was trying to make sure you hadn’t broken out and made a run for it.’

He stopped before her, breathing in the intoxicating scent of woman.

His woman.

MAYA BLAKE’s hopes of becoming a writer were born when she picked up her first romance at thirteen. Little did she know her dream would come true! Does she still pinch herself every now and then, to make sure it’s not a dream? Yes, she does! Feel free to pinch her, too, via Twitter, Facebook or Goodreads! Happy reading!

Books by Maya Blake

Mills & Boon Modern Romance

Signed Over to Santino

A Diamond Deal with the Greek

Married for the Prince’s Convenience

Innocent in His Diamonds

One Night With Consequences

The Boss’s Nine-Month Negotiation

Rival Brothers

A Deal with Alejandro

One Night with Gael

The Billionaire’s Legacy

The Di Sione Secret Baby

Secret Heirs of Billionaires

Brunetti’s Secret Son

Seven Sexy Sins

A Marriage Fit for a Sinner

The Untamable Greeks

What the Greek’s Money Can’t Buy

What the Greek Can’t Resist

What the Greek Wants Most

Visit the Author Profile page

at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

Pregnant at Acosta’s Demand

Maya Blake

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Sandy Baron, the perfect next-door neighbour.

Thank you for your invaluable support over the years.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

‘DON’T LOOK NOW, but the stuff of your torrid dreams—and my nightmares—just walked in.’

Predictably, at the droll words of caution, Suki Langston’s head swivelled towards the entrance of the Ravenswood Arms pub. From their corner booth, she watched the newcomer’s incisive gaze sweep the room until it narrowed on reaching them.

Just as predictably, she went from hot to cold. Then blistering hot again as her senses went completely haywire at the sight of Ramon Acosta.

‘Dios mio, I don’t know why I bother.’

She turned back to Luis Acosta, her best friend and the man she held directly responsible for her current state of breathlessness. ‘Yes, why do you? You didn’t have to tell me he was here!’

He caught her hands in his and gripped them tight, his hazel eyes mercilessly teasing. ‘I was trying to spare myself the woeful spectacle of watching you jump and twitch like a cornered mouse when he came up behind you. The last time you two met, I thought you were going to swallow your tongue and spit out your spleen at the same time.’

Heat punched up her face. ‘Why do I tolerate you? You’re a horrible, horrible human being.’

He laughed and held on tighter when she tried to pull away.

‘You tolerate me because by some cosmic stroke of genius we were born on the same day and even though you face-planted in my lap the first time we met at uni, I’m also the best thing that’s happened to you since... I don’t know...for ever?’ Luis replied, his tone extra dry as he waggled his eyebrows at her.

‘Are you going to ever let me forget that? Or the fact that you saved me from Professor Winton’s roasting the first day of Business Studies because I hadn’t drawn up my pre-class plan yet?’

‘Let’s not forget the numerous times I’ve saved that pretty behind since then. Which is why I still think you should thank me by coming to work for my family firm.’

‘And have you in my ear all day? No, thanks. I enjoy working for Chapman Interiors because I like designing the interior of homes, not five-star hotels.’

He threw out a careless shrug. ‘Six-star, but who’s counting? Whatever, you’ll come round one day.’

‘Your crystal ball telling you tales again?’

‘I don’t need one. Just like I don’t need a magic ball to tell me you would get on so much better with Ramon if you dealt head-on with that crush that’s flattening you—’

‘I don’t have a crush on him, Luis!’ she hissed, darting a frantic look over her shoulder.

Luis sighed dramatically. ‘Sure you don’t. I think I’m going to change your nickname from mouse to ostrich.’

‘Do that and I’ll change yours from friend to ass.’

He shrugged. ‘I’ve been called worse.’

Suki watched his gaze move over her shoulder, then return to hers, a resolute look that always made her hackles rise entering his eyes. ‘Whatever crazy ideas you’re thinking of, burn them now,’ she muttered urgently.

He stared at her, a slow smile spreading on his face as his fingers curled tighter around hers. ‘Don’t worry, little mouse, Luis knows best.’

Suki tried to think of some smart comeback, some wicked put-down that would for once put her overconfident friend in his place. But she knew she was fighting a losing battle. Apart from the useless talent of coming up with the perfect retort hours or even days after she needed it, she was also cursed with a shyness gene that chose moments like these to bloom into life and tie her up in knots.

The other reason she couldn’t quite think straight was the man who’d entered the pub two minutes ago.

She could feel him approaching, cutting through the thick Friday night crowd with minimum exertion. She didn’t need to look to know that people would be moving out of his way, creating whatever path he wished with a simple commanding look from brooding sea-green eyes. She could already smell that incredible mix of dark earthy spice and alpha male that exuded from him. In the past she’d only needed a quick inhalation for it to fill her nostrils, her senses, turn her into a mumbling wreck around him.

She was twenty-five years old today, for goodness’ sake, long past the wide-eyed-teenager stage. She needed to act accordingly...emulate a little bit of the sophistication Luis oozed and Ramon commanded from his very fingertips with such effortless ease.

She needed to raise her head. Yes, that was right. Take in the six-foot-four tower of masculine sleekness and suppressed power who’d arrived at their booth. Stop herself from ogling the square, rugged jaw, the sculpted perfection of his face. Meet his gaze—

‘Felíz cumpleaños, mi hermano.’

Dear God, he was too much.

A weird sizzle racing down her back, she lowered her head again, swallowing at the sound of that dark, smoky voice caressing the Cuban Spanish words.

‘Gracias, although I was beginning to think I’d only get belated birthday congrats from you, seeing as the day is almost over,’ Luis replied, a trace of tension twining his sardonic tone.

Ramon’s strong, capable hands slid into his pockets. ‘It’s barely eleven o’clock and I made it, as I said I would,’ he said, an even deeper throb of tension in his voice.

Suki’s gaze darted up in time to catch his narrow-eyed gaze on their joint hands before it shifted to his brother. After a second, Luis gave a slight grimace and released her before he shrugged.

‘In that case, take a seat. I’ll go and fetch the champagne I had the bartender put on ice.’

He slid out of his seat, but despite the slight strain between them, the brothers hugged briefly, Ramon murmuring something to his brother Suki didn’t quite catch. Luis nodded, his features relaxing as he murmured back.

Face-to-face, their striking resemblance was unmistakable, the only differences being their eyes, Luis’s inch shorter height and hair that was a dark chocolate to his brother’s jet black. But where Luis’s face and stature evoked keenly interested second glances, Ramon’s completely captivated, hypnotising every human being who made the mistake of glancing his way.

It was why, several seconds after Luis had left the booth, and despite urging herself otherwise, Suki couldn’t look up. She tightened her hold on the glass holding her wine spritzer, willing her fingers not to shake. But reassuring herself that he was mere flesh and blood seemed utterly useless.

Her breath emerged hard and choppy, when, contrary to her thinking he’d take Luis’s seat, he slid into the booth next to her.

Another minute crawled excruciatingly by. A minute when the power of his fixed gaze burned her averted face, when every nerve screamed at being the object of his scrutiny.

‘Felíz cumpleaños, Suki.’

Unlike the birthday wish he’d delivered to his brother, this one held a little extra...something. Hot and mysterious. Dark and dangerous. Or was it just her stupid, fevered imagination? A shiver went through her. She managed to free one hand from around her glass, long enough to tuck her hair behind her ear before it returned to its death grip around her drink. ‘Thank you,’ she murmured.

‘It’s the done thing to look a person in the eyes, at least once, when they’re talking to you, is it not?’ he drawled. ‘Or is your drink infinitely more interesting than I am?’

‘It is... I mean...it’s the done thing, yes, not my drink—’

‘Suki.’ Her name was a rigid demand.

One she couldn’t have denied even if she’d wanted to. And absurdly, now she was commanded, she didn’t have any qualms about turning her head, meeting the gleaming, intense green eyes that focused on her.

She’d met Ramon Acosta a handful of times over the last three years. From the first time when Luis had introduced them at their university graduation ceremony and every occasion since, she’d been struck progressively speechless. Because almost impossibly, her best friend’s older brother grew more captivating, the force of his raw magnetism intensifying every time she saw him. Far from Luis’s tireless mocking acting as the impetus she needed to kill her senseless crush, her traitorous emotions heightened and sparked even more explosively with each meeting, the stern talking-to she gave herself before each meeting a useless exercise once in Ramon’s presence.

It was becoming a problem. But not one she wanted to deal with right now. It was her birthday, after all.

Besides, even if Ramon Acosta were anywhere in her league, he would still be out of bounds on account of his very public, very serious engagement to Svetlana Roskova, the drop-dead gorgeous Russian model.

But, having met his gaze, she couldn’t look away. Couldn’t think beyond the affirmation of how completely irresistible he was. From the olive-toned vibrancy of his skin to the strong column of the throat exposed by the top two buttons left undone in his dark navy shirt, to the slim fingers resting dangerously close to hers, she was absorbed by him.

‘There you are,’ he murmured, a trace of dark satisfaction in his voice that triggered alarm within her. ‘I’m infinitely pleased that I don’t have to spend the rest of the night addressing your profile.’

‘You are?’ she blurted, then cringed.

Seriously, get a hold of yourself!

One side of his full mouth tilted upward, although Suki didn’t spot a single scrap of mirth on his face. ‘Contrary to what is widely believed, it turns out that looking into the whites of someone’s eyes doesn’t guarantee insight into their true nature, but I still prefer that mode of communication.’

This time she caught a definite thread of bitterness, wrapped in thinly veiled fury. ‘Is...is something wrong?’ she ventured. ‘You seem agitated.’

The mocking laugh was unexpected. ‘Do I?’ he enquired lazily.

His tone grated, morphing, perhaps fortunately, her bemusement to irritation. ‘You find my concern amusing?’

Dark green eyes tracked her face, lingered on her mouth. ‘Is that what this thing is I’m sensing from you, little mouse? Concern?’

‘What else could it be? And I wish you two wouldn’t call me that,’ she replied sharply. ‘I’m not a mouse.’

His eyes narrowed again, the trace of distemper thickening. ‘Far be it from me to be as predictable as my brother. Rest assured, I will fashion a suitable moniker for you.’

‘Or you can use my given name, like everyone else, and just call me Suki?’

For some reason, the request made him tenser. He stilled, his eyes growing even more intense, scrutinising her from forehead to jaw to throat. ‘Sí. I guess I could, Suki,’ he rasped.

Her name rolled like an unexploded sensual grenade off his lips, tumbling to a charged stop between them. She stared at him, fighting to breathe, watched his gaze drop and linger for long, unnerving seconds on her mouth. Time ticked away. It might have been a minute. It might have been five. The noise of the pub receded but she could hear his steady breathing, feel the condensation from the glass coating her fingers, the cold a deep contrast to the fire burning inside her.

‘Are you and my brother involved?’ The question was grim and rapier-sharp.

‘Involved?’ she parroted, still caught in the grip of the electrical storm brewing between them. ‘I don’t know what—’

‘You wish me to be explicit? Are you screwing my brother?’ he demanded.

She exhaled in a horrified little rush. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Pretended outrage at my language isn’t necessary. A simple yes or no will suffice.’

Another healthy bout of irritation flared, saving her jumbled senses. ‘I’m not sure what’s up with you, but you obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, so—’

The low curse was uttered in Spanish, but she knew it was potent nevertheless. ‘Indulge me and let’s refrain from the mention of beds and who woke up where for the moment, cara.’

She frowned. ‘Well, you’re sort of proving my point with that statement. Which begs the question why did you come here to celebrate your brother’s birthday if you’re in such a terrible mood?’

The skin bracketing his mouth pinched white as his nostrils flared. Suki watched, her spine stiffening with dread as his fist balled on the table. ‘Because I’m loyal. Because when I give my word I keep it. Because Luis trusts me to be there for him and it’s my duty to honour that trust.’

The icy fury with which he delivered the words robbed her of breath, but only for a moment. ‘I wasn’t questioning your loyalty or—’

‘You still haven’t answered my question.’

She shook her head, struggling to follow the mercurial swing of the conversation. ‘Probably because it’s none of your business.’

His fist tightened further. ‘You think it’s none of my business? When he treats you like you belong to him but you look at me with those gorgeous, greedy blue eyes?’

She gasped, her insides clenching tight with mortification. ‘I don’t!’

His laughter was mocking and cruel. ‘You pretended you needed the encouragement to acknowledge me, but your eyes haven’t stopped devouring me since I sat down. Fair warning though, even as much as Luis means to me, I don’t share my women. Ever. So a ménage à trois will be out of the question.’

‘I... God, you’re despicable,’ she replied, horror dredging through her, because he’d not only so easily witnessed the stupid feelings she’d been desperate to hide, but had also felt no qualms about calling her out on them.

‘Am I? Or are you just disappointed because whatever hot little scenario you concocted in your head has been rumbled?’

‘Believe me, I have no earthly idea what you’re talking about. And I’m sorry if someone misplaced a few of your billions or kicked your puppy because clearly something’s happened today to put you in this filthy mood. But, regardless of that, I should warn you that I’m two seconds from throwing my drink in your face. So unless you want a cold drenched body to go with that deplorable attitude, I suggest you shut up right now! And also, how dare you speak to me of sharing and...and ménages? Aren’t you engaged to—?’

‘Madre de Dios, how long was I away for?’ Luis slid into the seat and nodded thanks to the waitress who set the ice bucket and champagne flutes down. ‘Because I could’ve sworn it was only five minutes. And yet you two look like you’re about to come to blows? I’m surprised at you, little mouse.’ Although his tone was jovial, his eyes were shrewd as they slid from her to his brother.

Suki shook her head, unable to believe what was happening. ‘Trust me, I’m not—’

‘I was setting your girlfriend straight on a few things,’ Ramon interjected.

Luis’s eyebrows shot up, then he laughed. ‘My girlfriend? Where did you get that idea?’

Silence reigned at the table. Suki glared at her supposed best friend.

Ramon’s tight jaw eased a fraction before he shrugged. ‘Are you saying she doesn’t belong to you?’

Suki’s teeth clenched. ‘Excuse—?’

‘Sí, she belongs to me—’

‘Can you please stop talking about me as if I’m some ornament?’ she interrupted.

Ramon ignored her, his keen gaze fixed on his brother.

Luis’s lighter eyes narrowed. ‘Like a sister belongs to a brother who cares for her. Like a friend owns the entitlement of kicking someone’s ass if they so much as whisper a threat of harm her way. Like—’

‘Understood,’ Ramon said, his voice firm and grave.

‘Good, I’m glad that’s settled,’ Luis replied, then reached for the champagne.

Suki turned her head, met the newly gleaming gaze Ramon turned on her. ‘Is it? Is it settled?’ she hissed.

One corner of his mouth quirked, as if now his brother had explained he found the whole subject amusing. ‘I got the wrong end of the stick, it seems, gatito.’

‘Is that supposed to be an apology?’ she snapped.

A fleeting expression darkened his eyes. ‘Permit me some time to find the right words.’

Considering Ramon Acosta was lauded worldwide as possessing the Midas touch with every venture he turned his hand to, she found it impossible to believe he was lost for anything.

He’d single-handedly turned his parents’ half a dozen Cuban-based hotels into the world-renowned Acosta International Hotels chain while pursuing a private but deeply passionate artistic talent. When Svetlana Roskova had accidentally on purpose let slip during an interview that she was a muse for, and involved with, an artist, the media had clamoured to know who had won the heart of the Russian beauty.

After several sources had speculated that it was indeed Ramon, he’d given a single exclusive interview confirming himself as her lover and the man behind the wildly successful Piedra Galleries. Overnight, his already highly sought after paintings and sculptures had become priceless collectors’ items, with commissions from monarchs and world leaders placed on a waiting list that stretched into years, according to Luis.

But the man Suki had placed on a lofty pedestal was far removed from the one now watching her with wild, unsettling eyes. A fact his own brother noted as he peeled the foil off the champagne cork.

‘You seem wound up tighter than normal, Ramon. I can virtually see the smoke curling from your ears. It’s quite a sight to behold,’ Luis observed dryly.

Ramon’s mouth tightened. ‘Is this how you wish to spend the rest of your birthday, lobbing jokes at me?’ he asked without taking his eyes off Suki.

She suppressed a shiver, wondering what was going on behind the hooded green eyes.

‘I was just trying to lighten this heavier than normal mood, seeing as it’s my birthday and I can do what I want, but if you’re not going to explain yourself, at least answer that damn phone that’s been buzzing in your pocket for the last five minutes?’

Ramon shifted his gaze from her long enough to flick his brother an impatient look before reaching into his jacket. Extracting the sleek phone from his pocket, he barely glanced at it before powering it off.

Luis’s jaw dropped. ‘You’re actually turning off the power source to the empire? Are you unwell? Or are you ignoring someone specific?’

‘Luis...’ His voice held patent warning. One his younger brother didn’t heed.

‘Dios, is there trouble in paradise? Has the great Svetlana tripped over her stilettos and fallen from grace?’

Ramon Acosta’s face iced up, his eyes turning a shade of turbulent green. ‘I was waiting until later to share the news, but if you must know, as of this morning, I’m no longer engaged.’

He was no longer engaged.

As if his words had caused the planet to stop turning, silence descended on the booth. The three of them remained frozen in place, even as the words ricocheted through her brain.

He was no longer engaged.

Suki jumped at the sound of the cork forcefully ejecting from the bottle. Frothy, expensive liquid spilled. The sounds and smell of the pub roared back into her consciousness. But still the words pounded through her head.

Ramon was no longer committed to another woman.

She frowned at the giddy relief swirling through her, then started as a flute of champagne was thrust into her hands.

‘Drink up, little mouse. Now we have two...no, three reasons to celebrate,’ Luis said, eyeing her with even deeper resolution.

‘I’m glad my broken engagement brings you such sublime joy, hermano,’ Ramon replied, his voice arctic cold.

Luis sobered. ‘I chose to respect your relationship, but my views on your engagement never changed. She was the wrong woman for you. Whether the move to end it was hers or yours—’

‘It was mine.’

Luis’s smile returned. ‘Then either celebrate with me or drown your sorrows. Either way, we’re finishing this champagne.’ He poured two more glasses.

Ramon waited a beat, then raised his glass and recited another clipped birthday toast before tossing back the drink. Luis, his point made, proceeded to drink most of the bottle, while Suki sipped hers.

All the while tension reigned, heightened even further by the looks Ramon kept casting her way.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Luis rose just after midnight, his predatory gaze on a stunning redhead smiling at him from two seats away.

‘Time to make a significant start on my second quarter-century.’

Suki pushed away her half-finished glass. ‘I think I’ll head home—’

‘Stay,’ Ramon said. Before she could reply, he turned to his brother. ‘My limo is outside. Have the driver deliver you wherever you want to go.’

Luis clapped his hand on his brother’s shoulder. ‘I appreciate the offer but I’m going to tread delicately with this flower. We don’t want her overwhelmed and bolting at the sight of all those Acosta billions before I get the chance to close the deal, now, do we?’

Ramon’s jaw tightened before he shrugged. ‘Very well. I’ll leave you to serenade your paramour on the night bus.’

‘Dios, everything is such an extreme with you, isn’t it? There’s such a thing as a black cab, you know? And even with the lowly salary you pay me as junior marketing executive, I can still afford one.’

‘If you say so. Either way, I expect you to report to the office sober and whole on Monday morning.’

‘As long as you promise to deliver Suki home, safe and sound.’

She shook her head, grabbing her handbag as she rose. ‘There’s no need. I’ll be fine getting home by myself.’ Although she would be relying on the maligned public transport, the reason to keep a close eye on her spending casting a sudden grey shadow on her birthday. Her phone hadn’t rung in the four hours since she’d called the hospital to check on her mother so she must be having a relatively restful night. At least she hoped so.

‘Sit down, Suki,’ Ramon drawled, his tone throbbing with implacable power. ‘You and I aren’t finished.’

She ignored him. Or at least she tried. She cast a desperate look towards Luis, but her friend merely reached across the table and hugged her close, murmuring in her ear, ‘It’s your birthday, Suki. Life’s too short. Give yourself a break and live a little. It’ll make you happy, and it’ll make me infinitely ecstatic!’

Before she could respond, he was headed for the redhead’s table, smiling that smile that made women trip over themselves.

‘I said, sit down,’ Ramon pressed.

There was no way to leave the booth while he blocked her exit. With Luis’s words ringing in her ears, she slowly sank back into her seat. ‘I can’t imagine why you’d want me to. I have nothing more to say to you.’

His gaze gradually defrosted from arctic cold to heated green as he scrutinised her face with that unnerving intensity. ‘I think we established that I owe you...something.’

‘An apology. Is that a difficult word for you to say?’

He shrugged and opened his mouth, just as raucous laughter fuelled by hours’ long hard drinking erupted from a group nearby.

Distaste crossing his face, he rose and stationed himself at the mouth of the booth. ‘Come, we’ll continue this conversation elsewhere.’

Despite his imperious tone, Suki stood, telling herself she was obeying just so she could make a quick getaway once they were outside. Ramon Acosta had revealed a part of himself tonight that scraped her giddy dreams raw. She’d seen the ruthless man the financial papers wrote about, the insufferable deity-like brother Luis complained about. She’d also seen a bitter man turned lethally furious by his broken engagement.

Whatever had happened between Ramon and Svetlana still pulsed ill-feeling through his veins. Even now, she felt him loom like a dark lord behind her, quiet fury pouring off him.

The glimpse into his character was a timely reminder that Suki grabbed and held close. Her experiences of men, including her own father, had left her with a deeply ingrained distrust that, unfortunately, received further validation with each interaction with the opposite sex.

Thus far, Luis was the only one who’d breached that distrust. He was the reason why, believing there were other exceptions like him, she’d attempted, despite her mother’s bitter warnings about men, to date six months ago.

Stephen turning out to be a two-timing louse had left her hurt, but not surprised. The part of her that still stung now warned her that whatever was going on with Ramon, she wanted no part of it.

Exiting the pub into brisk October air, she breathed in deep. And started to walk away.

A firm hand caught her elbow before she’d taken three steps, dragging her to a halt. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Ramon breathed.

With the sounds of the pub now in the background, her every sense was filled with him. She took a step back, fighting the insane sensations that warred inside her. He tracked her move, crowding her with his smell, his overwhelming body, that ferocious look in his eyes.

Much too much. Despite the pathetic weakening in her limbs, she met his gaze. ‘It’s late.’

‘I’m aware of the time of night,’ he murmured, moving closer, brushing her legs with his.

The weakness intensified. ‘I need to... I should go.’

He took another step forward, bracing both hands either side of her head and trapping her against the pub wall. ‘Sí, perhaps you should. But you don’t want to.’

She shook her head, frantically calling on her common sense. ‘Yes, I do.’

He leaned closer, until she could see the tiny gold flecks in his eyes, feel the warm, faintly champagne-tinged breath on her face. ‘You can’t. I’ve yet to give you my apology.’

‘So you admit to owing me one?’

His gaze dropped to her mouth, spiky hunger that fused with hers flaring in his eyes. ‘Yes, but I’m not giving it to you here.’

She managed the almost impossible feat of laughing. ‘You know what birthday I’m celebrating so you know I wasn’t born yesterday.’

One hand left the wall, his fingers drifting down her cheek. ‘I can tell you what you want to hear right here and you can walk away. Or you can let me take you home as I promised Luis I would while giving you that apology. Surely you want to give your friend that peace of mind?’

She shook her head against the magic he was weaving with his low, husky voice and sizzling touch. ‘I’m a big girl. Luis will understand. All I want is that apology,’ she insisted.

‘You want more than that. You want to give in, reach out and take that forbidden thing you’ve been craving for a while now. Don’t you, Suki?’

No.

She opened her mouth, but the word stalled in her throat.

Ramon pushed away from the wall, took a bold step back, then another, robbing her of his closeness, dangling the possibility of loss in her face.

No.

This time the word was in objection of the temptation she knew she shouldn’t surrender to. Suki wasn’t aware she’d followed him to the edge of the kerb until a sleek black limo rolled to a stop behind him. Reaching for the handle, he pulled the door open, his eyes not leaving her face. ‘You will get in the car and I’ll take you home, Suki. What happens beyond that will be up to you. Only you.’

CHAPTER TWO

INSTINCTIVELY SHE KNEW her path was set the moment she murmured, ‘Okay.’

Life’s too short. Give yourself a break and live a little.

Suki knew that there would be no turning back the second she let Ramon help her into the car and he slid along the soft leather bench seat after her. The door slammed behind them, cocooning them in silence and edgy lust.

‘Your address?’ he rasped.

‘167 Winston Street, Vauxhall.’

He relayed the information to the driver, then his mouth firmed. ‘There are two dozen pubs between where you live and Luis’s residence in Mayfair. Why do you choose one so far outside of the city?’ he asked, casting an irritated glance at the establishment that stood on a quiet street in the middle of Watford.

‘A uni friend of ours just inherited it from his parents. Luis promised we’d stop by for birthday drinks,’ she said, a little relieved at the harmless tone of the conversation.

He’d activated the privacy partition and tinted the back windows, and now, trapped in the dark expanse of the luxurious car, his scent once again sliding intimately over her senses, she needed something to alleviate it.

Unfortunately, the reprieve didn’t last long. ‘And do you always do what my brother says?’ he asked, a different type of edge lining his voice.

Her fingers tightened around the strap of her handbag. ‘Are you about to pick another fight with me? Because if I recall, we haven’t resolved the last one to my satisfaction yet.’

In the space of one breath and the next, he closed the gap between them. Her bag was plucked from her fingers and tossed onto the adjacent seat. Firm fingers speared into her hair, the grip firm enough to direct her gaze up to his.

Electricity vibrated from his body, the dark, purposeful gleam in his eyes rendering her mouth dry. He stared down at her for an age, their breaths mingling.

‘Lo siento. I’m sorry for my less than admirable assumptions. I am not in the best mood tonight, but that was no excuse, so accept my apologies.’

The words were deep and genuine, momentarily silencing the voice screaming a warning at her. ‘I... Okay,’ she mumbled.

His fingers moved, slowly massaging her scalp in lazy, masterful rotations, triggering a low heat in her belly. ‘Are you satisfied?’ he asked.

‘That...that depends.’

One eyebrow rose but the rest of his face tautened with expectation. ‘On what?’

‘On whether or not you’re about to start another fight with me.’

‘No, querida,’ he breathed. ‘I’m about to start something else entirely. And you know it.’

‘I don’t...’

‘Enough, Suki. I told you what happens next is up to you. But I get the feeling I need to move things along before one of us expires from impatience. So the only word I want out of that delectable mouth right now is yes or no. I want you, gatito. Do you want me? Regardless of my sub-exemplary behaviour tonight. Yes or no?’

Her heart leapt into her throat. For three long years she’d harboured a growing crush on this man. But nowhere in that secret longing had there been a possibility that he would be here, in front of her, saying these words to her. She’d always believed she would wake up one day to find herself cured. She’d dated a handful of men like Stephen who, even before they’d proved themselves faithless, had fallen victim to not being dynamic enough, confident enough, tall enough or dark enough—hell, even Spanish enough.

Stephen’s betrayal had triggered a numbness of her emotions, had finally pressed home every warning her mother had relayed since she turned sixteen. A desperate part of her wished for that numbness now, yearned for a clap of thunder to deliver her from the ferocious lust threatening to swallow her whole.

Because, staring into Ramon Acosta’s eyes, she didn’t think she was anywhere near numb. Anywhere near cured of her foolish crush.

And now that he was free...

Oh, God.

She shook her head; the voice whispering that this was the worst idea she’d ever had grew into a scream. Swallowing, she slicked her tongue over her lower lip.

His fingers convulsed in her hair and a strangled sound escaped his throat. About to utter the word that would free her from this madness, she dropped her gaze. His velvet-smooth lips were so close. And good heavens, she was so hungry for a taste.

One. Just one.

Then she would satisfy herself that he was no god, that the lofty status she’d afforded him in her mind was nothing more than dreams spun from loneliness and long-forgotten fairy tales.

‘Suki.’ Her name was a fierce, demanding whisper. A silken, alluring chain winding her closer.

Her breasts grew heavy, the slick, damp place between her thighs clenching with a manic need she’d never experienced before.

‘Yes.’ The word poured from her in a swell of surrender.

Ramon didn’t need further encouragement. With a rough exhalation, he tugged her closer to meet his descending mouth. A hot, demanding mouth that slanted over hers, fusing power and pleasure into her fired-up senses.

His tongue stroked against her lips, tasting boldly, over and over before he demanded entrance. Entrance she gave with a shaky wonder at the thought that she was kissing Ramon Acosta. That wonder melted away in the next instance when he licked his way into her mouth.

Sensation lashed her from head to toe, the onslaught eliciting helpless whimpers that started from deep within and were crushed between their melded lips. The knowledge that she was whimpering sent another bolt of shock through her. She’d been kissed before. Enough times to know that no one kiss was the same, that some were better than others.

But nothing compared to the kiss Ramon was delivering now. Each slide of his tongue against hers, each bold nip of her swelling flesh rained sizzling delight on her, making her strain closer, silently pleading for more.

When the need to breathe forced them apart, he only permitted a second, smoothing his thumb across her lips in a hungry caress. ‘Dios mio, you taste incredible,’ he growled before he took her mouth again, unbelievably deepening the kiss.

The words freed her from a hold she wasn’t even aware of, the guttural utterance lending her enough feminine confidence to unfold her hands from the death grip on the seat. To raise one hand and settle it on his thigh.

He tensed, hard muscles bunching beneath her hand. He tore his mouth from hers to spear her with a rabid look, the light in his eyes sending a thread of apprehension down her spine. Not the kind that made her fear for her safety. The kind that informed her he was stroking the edge of his sensual limits and was determined to take her down with him.

She started to move her hand. He caught and trapped it against his heated flesh, his eyes flashing as he stared down at her. ‘You want to touch me, then touch me.’

‘Ramon...’

He inhaled sharply. ‘I think this is the first time I’ve heard you say my name.’

‘I...what?’ It couldn’t be. She’d said it so many times...in her fantasies.

The hold in her hair propelled her closer. ‘Say it again,’ he breathed against her lips.

‘Ramon,’ she whispered feverishly.

A light tremble vibrated through him. Diving back down, he sealed his mouth to hers. The hand covering hers released her to slide up her arm, stopping every few inches to explore her bare skin. Halfway up, he changed course, his caress gliding over her hip to her waist to the underside of her breast. It stayed here, tantalisingly close to the needy weight that yearned to be touched, the nipples that screamed for attention.

Her breath hitched as hunger ploughed through her. Beneath her hand, his thigh shifted, demanding her attention. She caressed him through the material of his expensive tailored trousers. Higher. To the enormous bulge behind his zipper. And froze at his tight, tormented groan.

‘No. Don’t stop, querida. Touch me,’ he commanded against her mouth.

She smoothed her hand over him, tightened her fist against his virile girth. Thick, inflamed Spanish words spilled from his lips, bruising her mouth with their heat. When one ravenous hand cupped her breast, squeezed and tortured, she returned the words with needful moans. One lane of pleasure rolled into the other, delirium swelling high as he moulded and caressed and kissed.

Suki wasn’t sure when he pushed her back against the leather upholstery or when he tugged her hips to the edge of the bench seat. Not sure when the side zip of her black wool dress was lowered or when he pushed up the hem. But at some point between one potent kiss and the next, he was on his knees between her thighs, his hands sliding up her legs, over the silk stockings she’d treated herself to in a mad moment of weakness last weekend. More fevered words spilled when he encountered their lace tops.

His fingers traced over them, then trailed over her bare skin. A shudder raked her from head to toe. With one last forceful kiss, he raised his head.

‘I need to see you, Suki,’ he rasped, his voice barely recognisable. His hip flexed against her hold, the power of his erection thickening in her hand. ‘Touch you as you are touching me.’

At the back of her mind a warning blazed. A kiss. This was supposed to be just a kiss.

But already her head was moving in a nod, her blood thrilling to the new, unexpected turn the night had taken. There was no way what was happening between them would be sustainable beyond tonight. For one thing, she was too emotionally bruised, her instinct even now shocked at her behaviour. For another, her mother needed her.

Lastly, Ramon divided his time between the many Acosta hotels and his homeland of Cuba. The likelihood of her seeing him again for a very long time, especially once Luis took over the New York flagship hotel, as he was being groomed for, would be low to nil.

And despite the insanity of the sensations Ramon evoked in her now, she knew the shine would wear off sooner rather than later. So maybe she would allow more than just a kiss. Maybe, she would heed Luis’s words, and live a little. Just for tonight—

The fingers tracing the outer edge of her satin and lace panties dragged her back to the exhilarating present. To the looming presence of the powerful man crouched over her.

‘I must be losing my touch if your mind chooses this moment to go for a wander. What were you thinking about?’ he demanded, his thumb sliding dangerously close to her sex.

She shivered. ‘I...nothing.’

He doubled the caress with a thumb on the other side. ‘Don’t lie to me, Suki. I’ve had enough of those in the last twenty-four hours. Were you thinking of another man?’ he sliced at her, his nostrils flaring with quiet fury. ‘While you lay ready and open for me, were you thinking of someone else? A boyfriend, perhaps?’

Her eyes widened and she tried to scramble away. She didn’t succeed because he refused to let her go. ‘You think I’d be here, like this with you if I had a boyfriend?’

‘Answer the question, Suki,’ he challenged, his tone growing even more arctic.

She shook her head. ‘No, I don’t have a boyfriend. If...you must know I was thinking of you.’

The tension gripping him eased. His eyes gleamed. ‘What exactly were you thinking?’ he probed as his thumbs slid under the thin barrier and caressed her damp flesh.

A moan ripped free, her shaky exhalation rushing through her lips. ‘That I won’t see you again after tonight.’

He stilled. His fingers dug into her. Eyes turned almost black regarded her in abrasive silence. ‘And is that what you want? For us to use each other for one single night and forget the other one exists come morning?’ There was something darkly condemning in his voice, but also enough sexual anticipation that said he wasn’t completely averse to that scenario. The opposing forces of that view left her speechless, unable to decide which one would most please him.

He leaned in closer, bringing his power and might to bear on her. ‘Answer me, Suki. Is that what you want?’ Blade-sharp eyes searched hers.

‘Isn’t it what you want too?’ She forced a laugh. ‘Please don’t tell me you see anything more beyond...whatever this is happening tonight?’

He was silent for an interminable age. Then his gaze dropped to her shoulders and upper breasts exposed by the gaping dress. Lower to the rapid rise and fall of her torso. To the restless hands on the seat beside her hips, twitching with the need to touch him. Finally to her splayed legs and the black panties whose thin, insubstantial material framed her core. His thumbs caressed again, drawing another shameless shudder from her.

‘Sí, you’re right. Nothing more can come out of this. Nothing will.’

The sharp dart of hurt somewhere deep beneath her breastbone disappeared at the pleasure pain of her panties cutting into her flesh one moment, then ripping free of her body the next.

Suki gasped, the move so audaciously erotic, she felt her folds dampen further.

Ramon’s eyes remained on her for a further intense second. Then they dropped to her core.

Heat scoured his cheekbones, his lips parting as he breathed her in. She wasn’t sure whether it was the sight of him on his knees before her or the power of sensations ploughing through her. But the urge to touch him grew too big to contain. She cupped his jaw, slid her hand along over the masculine stubble to his strong throat, then around to his nape. A tight smile whispered over his lips, gone in the next breath.

Then he was lowering his head, his intent very clear. Her grip tightened, pulling him away, her eyes widening at the blatant act he was about to perform.

‘Ramon, I don’t...’ she started. Her train of thought dissolved at the firm kiss he delivered to her core, her fingers convulsing in his hair as pleasure jerked through her. ‘Oh!’

Raising his head, he blew gently on her. ‘You want me to stop?’

The anxious part of her that had rejected what he was about to do frantically begged for more. ‘No,’ she blurted.

At his husky laugh, heat washed up her face.

But laughter and all trace of embarrassment evaporated beneath the deluge of rapture his next kiss brought. He tasted her and pleasured her with bold, possessive strokes, ramping up her pleasure until her eyes rolled in bliss. Until hoarse, alien words fell from her lips and her fingers sank deep into his hair, urging him on, begging for more.

He gave generously, his tongue and lips drawing untold delight from her. When he finally concentrated his attention on her tight, swollen nub, Suki’s back arched off the seat, a ragged scream ripping from her throat before her whole body was gripped in wave after wave of ecstasy.

She resurfaced to the scent of sex and leather and the sight of a virile, hungry, half-naked man. He’d disposed of his jacket, his shirt hung half open and his trousers were unzipped. Black luxurious hair looked sexily dishevelled as if someone...she...had run her hands through it in mindless caresses.

Her barely decelerated heartbeat kicked up again as she watched him slide on a condom with one hand and roughly push down her dress and free her arms with the other. Next, he unclipped and eased off her bra.

At the sight of her exposed full breasts, he swore low and hard. ‘Santa cielo, you’re exquisite.’

As if testing the reality of her skin, he smoothed his hand down from her neck to her stomach, bypassing the needy, screaming peaks of her breasts. On the upward caress, his other hand left his sheathed manhood. Both hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs mercilessly teasing her nipples for a mindless stretch of time before he sucked one into his mouth. Hard on the heels of her expended climax, renewed pleasure surged. High and heady and unthinkably surreal.

Was she really here, about to—?

‘Oh, God,’ she moaned, her mind fracturing as he grazed his teeth over her nipple.

Still torturing her, he wrapped one arm around her waist and dragged her lower until her buttocks hung off the seat. She was a heartbeat from tossing herself over another cliff into another mind-blowing climax when he lifted his head.

Fervid green eyes met and trapped hers as he drew her legs over his shoulders. Then, with a grunt, he gripped her waist and thrust hard and deep inside her.

Her strangled scream was kissed away, urgent hands holding her in place for his second thrust. ‘Dios...so wet...so tight.’ His voice was gravel-rough hoarse, the words barely coherent.

Suki gave up trying to decipher them, her mind fracturing into useless pieces as she was fully submerged in the fiery enchantment of Ramon’s possession. He commanded her body like a masterful virtuoso, driving her to the peak and pinning her there, over and over, but not letting her fall.

As the limo ate up the miles they writhed beneath streetlights thrown intermittently into the car.

‘Ramon... Ramon...’

She wasn’t sure how many times she moaned his name to his thick encouragement. But she was fully astride his kneeling form, their bodies slick with sweat and his implacable arms around her when he raised his head one final time, looked deep into her eyes and instructed, ‘Now, Suki.’

Glorious pleasure and pressure burst wide open. She could do nothing but hang on as it sucked her deep into a bottomless vortex.

He caught her earlobe in a sharp bite a second before he was hurled into his own release, muttering hot, torrid words that drew out her own pleasure as he jerked inside her.

They were still breathing hard when the car swayed round a corner and drew to a stop. He caressed her for another minute before he set her back on the seat and zipped up her dress.

Unable to meet his eyes or stop the flames of disquiet eating her up, Suki snatched up her panties and bra and stuffed them inside her handbag.

Beside her, having straightened his own clothes, Ramon lounged back in the seat.

‘Um...thanks for the lift,’ she said after a full minute when it became clear he didn’t intend to speak.

He didn’t reply, just stared at her with hooded dark eyes. Okay... Clutching her handbag, she edged closer to the door. ‘Goodnight, Ramon. Have a safe trip back to...wherever.’

She reached for the handle. He beat her to it, catching her hand and tugging her round to face him.

‘No, I’m not about to have a safe trip back to...wherever. Because we’re not done, guapa. Far from it,’ he said.

Exiting the car with the grace of a sleek, powerful animal, he held out his hand to her.

She had no choice but to get out. She knew that. But suddenly what awaited her outside was more daunting than the mind-bending sex she’d just enjoyed in this car. For one thing, her heart and mind hadn’t stopped racing. And the voice screeching in her head that this was over and she needed to walk away was growing weaker under the one howling harder in greedy, grabby need. The one telling her she wanted more. Needed to live a little for longer. Experience more of what had just happened. Of everything.

‘Come out, Suki,’ he ordered.

She told herself that she complied because she couldn’t stay in the limo for ever. Not because the unabated hunger in his eyes called to hers.

The moment she stepped out, he slammed the door shut and tapped twice on the roof. As the limo pulled away he yanked her close, delivered a hard, searing kiss to her mouth. That single spark was enough to ignite the erotic conflagration again. Long moments later, he raised his head, glanced up at the small Victorian terrace house she called home, then back at her. ‘Invite me in.’

She invited him in.

But even before he’d stepped over the threshold into her sanctuary, Suki knew that this was nowhere near the forgettable experience she had convinced herself it would be.

CHAPTER THREE

Ten months later

SUKI READ THE email one more time, the shaking in her hands nothing compared to the pain lacerating her heart as she took in the stark words that blended with soul-breaking ones. Halfway through the first paragraph, her vision blurred. She blinked and tears spilled down her cheeks. Swiping them away, she closed her eyes for a moment, vainly wishing the words would be different when she opened them again.

They weren’t.

Private memorial for Luis Acosta and his parents, Clarita and Pablo Acosta. A strictly family affair. Unless expressly invited, please do not attend.

Lawyers request your presence for the reading of his last will and testament followed by a private meeting with Ramon Acosta. Attendance strictly necessary.

Her throat clogging with fresh tears just waiting to be shed, she looked away from the words she didn’t want to read, never mind accept, and clicked on the attachment. A slight bolt of shock went through her when it sent her to an airline website. Swallowing, she clicked on further links until she arrived at the page holding the first-class return e-ticket to Cuba under her name.

The email and attachment had come from a firm of lawyers in Havana, the ones she’d been desperate to contact ever since she received the horrendous news of Luis’s and his parents’ deaths.

The same lawyers who’d refused to take her calls or answer her letters for two months, but were now reaching out to her. She knew they wouldn’t have contacted her without the express permission of Ramon Acosta, their client.

This email giving consent for her to visit Cuba to pay her respects wouldn’t have come from anyone else because Ramon was the only one left of the Acosta family.

Despite the turn of events after their night together, she’d reached out to him after Luis died. At first Suki had respected his deafening silence, knowing that he was grieving the family he’d tragically lost in a car crash. Until she’d learned via social media that several of their university friends had been invited to attend Luis’s funeral three weeks after his death. The date had come and gone without any of her frantic calls being returned by Ramon’s office or his lawyers, forcing her to grieve her best friend’s burial alone in her bedroom. Every single email she’d sent after that had also gone unanswered.

Until today.

She wanted to hate Ramon for denying her something so fundamental as a goodbye to the only true friend she’d known. But her emotions, already scraped raw by everything she’d endured these past ten months, were too shredded to accommodate another detrimental emotion such as hate.

Although she’d already been through a gamut of them. For weeks, she’d cried, begged, then railed against fate. And science. And her own weak body.

When she’d finally reached acceptance, she’d cried for days. Those tears had sapped the last of her will to fight, dropped her to what she’d foolishly thought was rock bottom. Until Luis was also ripped from her. Then she’d known true devastation.

Devastation she’d had to deal with on her own, while grappling with her own loss and remaining strong for her mother. The multiple blows fate had dealt her still possessed the power to disrupt her sleep and trigger bouts of tearful sadness.

Like when she’d dissolved into floods of tears during her meeting with the head of HR at her workplace last week. Even before she’d finished the return-to-work interview, she knew things hadn’t gone well.

Her boss had insisted she take the full three months of her sick leave, the need to protect themselves from professional liability overshadowing her protests that, with only one month remaining, she was ready to return to work.

She’d petitioned. With her finances fast dwindling and her mother’s medical bills piling up, she’d appealed the decision and been granted the interview. Only for her overwhelmed state to get the better of her.

She hadn’t been surprised when her HR manager had sympathetically ended the interview and called a taxi to take Suki home. What she hadn’t expected was a letter a few days later stating that her sick leave had been extended by another month with half pay because she wasn’t deemed fit to deal with clients in her current state.

Suki had been too drained to fight the assessment. And deep down she knew that, as much as she loved her job as an interior designer for one of the most prestigious firms in London, her passion had been depleted.

She didn’t need a psychologist to tell her she needed to find closure before things got better. Or barring that, a different avenue for the cocktail of emotions bubbling beneath the surface of her heart.

Closing her laptop, she rose from her small desk and trudged to the kitchen to dispose of her barely touched cup of tea. Mechanically, she washed the mug and set it on the draining board.

Outside, birds chirped and wasps buzzed as Vauxhall basked in the August bank holiday sunshine.

Suki turned her back on it, her hand sliding as it so often, so painfully did to her stomach, to the child that had never managed to thrive there. The urge to walk upstairs to her bedroom, curl up under her duvet and slide into perpetual oblivion was almost catatonically irresistible.

She fought the temptation, her mind returning to the email and the airline ticket. Although she’d been prepared to dig into her meagre savings to pay her last respects to her best friend two months ago, her resources had dwindled even further owing to her mother being readmitted to hospital. With confirmation of her cancer, Suki had had to use almost all her remaining funds to keep her and her mother’s heads above water.

Travelling to Cuba had fast become a distant dream.

The arrival of the ticket, although it bruised her pride a little, wasn’t one she was about to refuse. For a chance to say goodbye to Luis, she would set aside her ego for the moment. Once she was back at work, she would pay Ramon Acosta back every penny she owed him for the ticket.

The decision eroded a little bit of her apathy, made her half turn back towards the window, allow the sunshine to touch her face. Warm her.

She wasn’t aware how long she stood there, making careful plans, her soul mourning the vibrant, charismatic man she’d been lucky enough to call her friend.

The soft beeping on her laptop, reminding her of the appointment at the hospital, finally roused her. On automatic, she dressed, left home and made the short drive to the hospital that held far too many harrowing memories.

Fighting the ravaging pain that attacked her, Suki blocked out the smell of disinfectant and death, forced a smile, and entered her mother’s ward.

Moira Langston was dozing lightly, her shrunken form lost in stark white sheets. Sensing Suki’s presence, she opened her eyes. For a second, they just stared at each other.

Then her mother gave a soft, shuddering exhalation. ‘I told you not to visit. I know how hard it is for you to come here.’

Suki laid her hand over her mother’s. ‘I’m okay, Mum. It’s not that bad,’ she lied.

Moira’s lips pursed. ‘Don’t lie. You know I can’t bear lies.’

Tension rippled in the air, twisting through pain churning inside them both. Broken trust fired by a thousand lies was what had shattered her mother’s heart long before Suki was born. It was the reason Moira Langston had never again let another man close enough to hurt her, the reason she’d drummed into Suki the need to protect her own heart at all costs.

It was the reason her mother had been bitterly angry with her when Suki had told her about her pregnancy. Her mother had come round eventually, even put aside her own health issues to support her after she lost the baby, but the look of mournful regret still lingered.

Suki swallowed, and tightened her grip on her mother’s hand. ‘I can’t not visit you, Mum.’

Moira sighed, her face softening. ‘I know. But I’m feeling better, so I should be home very soon.’

Suki didn’t argue, although her mother’s notable weight loss told a different story. They chatted about neutral subjects for a while, before her mother’s shrewd eyes settled on her one more time. ‘Something’s bothering you.’

She started to shake her head, but, not wanting to upset her mother, she took a deep breath. ‘I heard from Ra...from Luis’s brother’s lawyers.’

Moira’s eyes narrowed. ‘And? What did Ramon have to say for himself?’ she demanded sharply.

‘I...nothing. The lawyers sent me a ticket to Cuba. To attend Luis’s memorial.’

‘Are you going to accept it?’

Slowly, she nodded. ‘I want to say goodbye properly.’

For a long moment, Moira remained silent. ‘Luis was a good man. That’s the only reason I won’t tell you not to go. But, be careful, Suki. Stay away from his brother. He’s caused you enough grief as it is.’

Her mother had been quick to lay the blame for everything at Ramon’s feet when she found out Suki was pregnant and alone. Ravaging pain and the need to mourn her lost baby in isolation had made her hold her tongue against telling her mother that Ramon had no knowledge that he’d fathered a baby. That was an assumption she would rectify in the future, when her heart didn’t shred every time she thought of her baby.

‘Mrs Baron will visit you every day, and I’ll be back before you know it.’

As if conjured up, their next-door neighbour walked into the ward. The widow, easily fifteen years older than her mother, was nevertheless spry and full of life. Her cheery demeanour was infectious, and her mother was soon chuckling.

An hour later, Suki left the two women chatting, and returned home, thoughts of the email and of Luis darkening her spirits as she opened her front door.

The sight of mail on her doormat roused her from her blanketing sadness. Welcoming the tiny distraction, she walked through to the kitchen.

Two of the three pieces of post were junk mail. The stamp on the third envelope shot her heart into her throat, and her hand was trembling as she ripped the letter open.

Frantically, her gaze flew over the words. Her shocked, tearful gasp echoed through her small hallway. Forcing herself to calm down, she read them again.

You’ve been accepted...first appointment 15th September...

Folding the paper, she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. Seriously, she needed to stop crying. Tears didn’t solve problems. Besides, things were beginning to look up. In the last few hours she’d been given a chance to say a proper goodbye to Luis, and granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Losing her baby after months of frantically trying to sustain her pregnancy had wrecked her. When the discharge nurse had given her the packet of leaflets the day she’d left hospital, Suki had almost thrown them away. It’d been days before she’d bothered to sift through the brightly coloured pamphlets prescribing various ways to move on from a loss she knew she would never get over.

At first, she’d dismissed the charity offering women in her situation a new alternative. She hadn’t planned to get pregnant, nor had she imagined that her one night with Ramon would result in such a staggering roller coaster of joy and turmoil.

All she’d craved was solitude to mourn her lost child and lick her wounds. But those wounds had grown larger every day, with the hole in her heart widening until she feared it would swallow her whole. When she woke up one morning clutching the leaflet, she chose to believe the same fate that had ripped her child from her was offering her a way to heal. Her child would never draw breath, but she had more of the joy she’d felt for that child to give to another.

She hadn’t planned on motherhood the first time round. But this time, she would do things her way, without the fear of a man who wouldn’t stick around, as her own mother had experienced from her father, or, even worse, infidelity from someone she opened her heart to.

It had been a long shot because the charity accepted only twenty-five non-paying cases a year, so, although she’d secretly hoped, she’d been prepared for a rejection.

She opened the letter again, her mouth slowly curving in a whisper of a smile as she absorbed the soul-saving words.

She retrieved her laptop from the dark nook and took it into the kitchen. Fully immersed in the brilliant sunshine, she first answered Ramon’s lawyers giving the time and date of her arrival in Havana, then sent an email confirming the appointment at the fertility clinic.

Then with the hopeful smile on her face, Suki flew up the stairs to her room, dragged the suitcase from her closet, and began to pack.

* * *

Havana in early September was a sweltering vision of vibrant colour. The brief rain shower that had engulfed the plane as they came in to land had already disappeared by the time Suki retrieved her suitcase and made her way through Immigration. Travelling first class had been a singularly unique experience, one she would’ve appreciated even better had the purpose of this trip not weighed so heavily on her heart. She was thankful that for the most part she’d been left alone to grab what sleep she could, which meant she arrived a lot more refreshed than she had on any other previous plane trip.

Spotting her name on a whiteboard held by a sharply suited chauffeur further hammered home the fact that she was in Luis’s homeland. That she was about to come face-to-face with Ramon, the man she’d shared a torrid night with only to wake up alone with no inkling as to the devastating trail of consequences of her actions. The man who still had no clue what had happened to her after he’d walked away in the early hours of the morning.

As she often did when thoughts of Ramon surged, she shoved them back into the box labelled out of bounds.

She stood by the decisions she’d made regarding her pregnancy, even the ones involving swearing Luis to secrecy about the fact that she was carrying his brother’s child. He hadn’t been pleased, but he’d respected her wish to inform Ramon at a time of her own choosing, once she’d come to terms with the new direction her life had taken.

As it turned out, there’d been no need to involve Ramon because fate had had other ideas...

Following the chauffeur who had taken control of her case, Suki emerged into blinding late afternoon sunshine and a cacophony of Spanish and blaring horns.

Outside José Martí International Airport, the iconic brightly painted nineteen fifties’ style taxis lined up in rows next to buses and private cars. Sliding on her sunglasses, she hitched her handbag onto her shoulder and summoned a smile as the driver held open the back door of a stretch limo.

Unlike the luxury car she and Ramon had shared that night a lifetime ago, this car was a silver affair, gleaming in the sunlight and catching the eyes of passers-by. Fighting the strange urge to refuse the ride and find her own, she slid into the car. The tinted windows and the bench seats were identical, the scent of leather engulfing her and catapulting memories she didn’t want to remember straight to the forefront of her mind.

Except this time she was alone, reliving every single moment of that night. Just as she’d been alone when she’d learned that her baby would most likely not survive.

Resolutely, Suki turned her thoughts outside, looking out of the window as Havana unveiled itself. It was just as Luis had described often and passionately. Most of the buildings were stuck in their pre-Communism era, with many severely dilapidating as a result of a less than thriving economy. But at every corner there were signs of restoration, pride in a rich heritage exhibited in statues, mosaic-tiled squares, a baroque cathedral and even in the graffiti that littered centuries-old buildings tucked between narrow lanes.

The two-line response from Ramon’s lawyers to her email had informed her she would be staying at one of the Acosta hotels in the city. Suki wasn’t ashamed to admit to her relief when she’d read the email.

She welcomed the chance to arm herself thoroughly for the next meeting with Ramon.

Traffic was light, and the limo slid beneath the porticoed entrance of the hotel a little over half an hour later.

The Acosta Hotel Havana was a stunning ten-storey building holding pride of place on a palm-tree-lined street that dissected modern Havana City from the world-renowned Old Havana. Straddling the best of both worlds, the six-star hotel had been painstakingly converted from a baroque palace, the designers having retained as many of its original breathtaking features as possible.

Inside, a stunning gold-leaf ceiling depicting an intricate map of the world was highlighted by huge, staggeringly beautiful half-century-old crystal chandeliers, while across the potted-palm foyer, several groupings of stylish leather chairs invited guests to sit and enjoy the formidable architecture.

Suki dragged her avidly exploring gaze away long enough to cross gleaming black and white mosaic tiles to the intricately carved wooden reception desk where a petite, dark-haired receptionist smiled in welcome.

‘Miss Langston, welcome to Havana. We hope you will enjoy your stay with us.’ She waved over a middle-aged man dressed in burgundy and gold monogrammed uniform and handed him the plastic room card. ‘This is Pedro, he’ll be your personal butler for the duration of your stay. If you need anything else, please let us know.’

She didn’t ask how the receptionist knew her by sight. On the few occasions she’d ventured into Luis’s world while he’d been alive, she’d quickly realised that the wealthy and powerful led very different lifestyles. One she got a taster of when, upon arrival in the luxury suite, two additional members of staff unpacked her clothes and a light lunch was set out on a sun-drenched private terrace within minutes.

Suki refused the welcome champagne and mostly picked at her grilled seafood salad. The preoccupation of readying herself for the trip to Cuba had briefly suppressed the jangling nerves that the thought of meeting Ramon again awakened.

They clanged harder now, questions she’d resolutely driven out of her thoughts resurging with brutal force. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself what happened that night had been on equal terms, she still couldn’t understand why he’d left her without a word. Was that the done thing? Had she misstepped somehow?

Was that why he’d fast-tracked Luis into moving to New York?

But one question burned most of all, one question she knew deep in her heart had informed some of the decisions she’d made regarding her pregnancy.

Why had he lied about no longer being engaged?

Finding out that Ramon was still engaged to Svetlana after their night together had filled her with numbing disbelief, then horror when Luis had confirmed it. The shock and resulting bitterness at being made an accomplice to infidelity had stayed with her for a long time, and even risked her friendship with Luis. Only her confession about her pregnancy and the associated problems with it had brought a much-needed perspective and support from her best friend.

But now those questions, and more, crowded her brain.

Although her butler spoke perfect English, Suki was reluctant to ask him anything about his employer. The fact that Ramon was choosing to deal with her through his lawyers also indicated that he wished to maintain a distance.

That was fine by her. It should make the decision to tell him about the child they’d lost much easier.

Abandoning her meal, she retreated into the cool suite. A quick check of her emails showed another message from Ramon’s lawyers, telling her she would be picked up at nine a.m. for the memorial.

Suki spent the rest of the evening laying out her clothes and taking a bath, after which she slid into bed for an early night.

The soft knock on her door came seconds before her phone’s alarm went off at eight the next morning. After trying and failing to swallow more than a bite of the scrambled eggs and toast or stop the ever growing butterflies in her stomach, she took a quick shower and donned her simple black dress and heels. Tying her hair in a knot, she picked up her black clutch just as another knock came on her door.

The butler beat her to it. Which was just as well because the sight of Ramon Acosta filling the doorway wasn’t one she could’ve withstood well up close. Because even across the vast distance of the living room, every single particle in her body clenched tight on seeing him.

He prowled into the room, tall and powerful, his strides measured and predatory. Eyes that had never been soft were now even harsher as they mercilessly raked over her. His mouth, still sensual, still unsmiling, had developed a layer of cruelty and, almost impossibly, his shoulders seemed broader, as if they’d had to expand to accommodate the harrowing circumstances thrown at him.

Even though a part of her heart went out to him for the unthinkable loss he’d suffered, Suki was too busy building the foundation of her own self-preservation as the ground beneath her feet tilted crazily.

Many times before and even after the doctors had informed her of the state of her pregnancy, she’d wondered what their child would look like. She’d eventually discovered she was carrying a girl. Imagining a female version of Ramon had been a little harder than a male version, and perhaps a blessing in disguise in the long run, a way the cosmos chose to help her cope.

Because the man dressed from head to toe in bespoke black standing in front of her was every inch as formidable—goodness, even more so—than her imagination had conjured up.

He stopped before her, eyes of chilled green glass fixed on her. ‘Are you not going to greet me, Suki?’ he asked icily.

Her gut clenched harder at the sound of his voice. Although it was now arctic, she didn’t need much prompting to recall it in a different tone. A huskier, headier timbre. A tone she had no business recollecting right now. She bit her tongue against informing him that he’d entered her domain and therefore etiquette dictated he needed to greet her first. There was no use because men like Ramon played by their own rules. And for her own peace of mind, she wanted the next two days to go as smoothly as possible.

Clearing her throat, she strove for an even tone. ‘Good morning, Ramon. I... I wasn’t expecting to see you.’

‘Were you not?’ he countered, unforgiving eyes still hooked into her. ‘What were you expecting, exactly?’

‘Well...not you...here...’ She stopped, silently cursed the silly stammering she’d thought was far behind her. ‘I mean, I was expecting your driver, not you...to come in person.’

‘Then I guess you’ll just have to suffer the inconvenience of my presence,’ he bit out.

His tone raked across her hackles, making her own chin rise. ‘It’s not an inconvenience, but surely you have better things to do than personally escort me to the memorial?’

‘Indeed, there are many demands on my time. But perhaps everything else paled in comparison to my wish to see you. Perhaps I couldn’t wait to clap eyes on you again, reassure myself that you’re indeed flesh and blood.’

Something about the way he spoke the words stamped cold, hard dread onto her soul. Frantically she searched his gaze, but his face was an inscrutable mask, the only indication of his demeanour the darkening eyes that continued to regard her with unnerving intensity. ‘Flesh and blood? As...as opposed to what?’ she asked, her voice not as steady as she craved it to be.

His firm lips flattened. ‘As opposed to the many other descriptions whose veracity I will test once the memorial is over. And believe me, Suki, there are many.’

Her hackles rose higher, her breath shortening as ice filled her spine. ‘Well, I don’t know what that means, but I assure you, I’m made of the same flesh and blood and bone I possessed when you last saw me.’

Cold eyes grew even more remote, his nostrils pinching white before he took a step back. ‘Should I find it curious that you neglected to mention your heart?’

Her breath strangled. No, her heart wasn’t the same. It’d grown into twice its size when she’d found out she was carrying a child. Then it’d been lacerated beyond repair at the harrowing events and the decisions that had led to the loss of her child. Suki was sure that were she to pluck it out of her chest right this moment, she wouldn’t recognise the battered organ.

‘Since the contents of my heart are none of your business, no, I don’t believe it’s a matter for discussion.’

He exhaled slowly, his chest expanding then settling as he regarded her. ‘For both our sakes, we will set this aside for now. We will go and remember my brother with our best memories. Then after that, we’ll talk.’

She recalled the paragraph in the email that had demanded her attendance at a meeting involving Luis’s will, and her heart lurched. ‘If this is about Luis’s will, please know that if there’s any contention I’m willing to relinquish whatever it is that involves me.’

One corner of his mouth twitched with a cruel non-smile as he turned and strolled for the door. ‘It’s about much, much more than that, Suki. But rest easy, you’ll find out soon enough.’

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