Forbidden To Her Spanish Boss by Susan Stephens

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SLAMMINGTHERANCH-HOUSE door behind them, he turned and lifted Rose. She sprang up and wrapped her legs around his waist in the same instant. A few swift adjustments later, and they were joined. Relief overwhelmed him.

‘More—Now—Harder,’ Rose gasped as she clung to him.

He couldn’t speak. His energies were employed elsewhere.

After their first noisy release, he carried her up the stairs to his bedroom. They were both laughing with relief as he lowered her on to the bed. ‘What are you waiting for?’ Rose asked.

‘I’m drinking you in,’ he admitted as he stared into emerald eyes bright with fire and laughter.

‘Don’t take too long,’ she warned. ‘Remember, we’ve got a meeting to go to.’

‘Practical to the last. Before you say it, I know what you’re going to say—that’s why I hired you.’

Stripping off his clothes while Rose did the same, he pulled her into his arms on the bed. ‘Did you take a shave this morning?’ she asked, cupping his face in her hands. ‘I could file my nails on that stubble.’

‘You like it.’ Statement, not question.

‘You know I like it. I like you.’

‘Only like me?’

‘Do you deserve more than a like?’ She gasped as he took her firmly and deeply. ‘You most definitely do.’

‘So?’ he queried with amusement.

‘So, don’t you dare stop. Remember the meeting. Time’s short.’

‘Less time for speaking, then.’ He smiled, loving Rose’s nerve and her courage, and the fresh wildflower scent that was so unmistakeably hers.

‘Whatever happens now, or in the future,’ she told him when they were quiet again, ‘I want you to know how I feel. I love you,’ she said plainly, ‘and that won’t change, whatever you think of me. I hope my telling you this doesn’t change anything?’

It changed everything. The look on Rose’s face, the concern and the warmth, and the love, tinged with anxiety, touched something deep inside him. Reaching for her, he brought her close. Turned out, that was entirely the wrong thing to do.

‘Don’t pat me like your bloody pony!’ she exclaimed, yanking herself free. ‘I don’t want your reassurance only for you to push me away in a few hours’ time. I’ve told you how I feel about you. At least have the good manners to let me know how you feel about me.’

Rose sprang up. He did too. Passion ran high between them, as usual. There was never a time when Rose backed off. That was one of the things he admired most about her, but she seemed additionally driven today.

‘Tell me,’ she insisted fiercely. ‘If I have the courage to lay my heart on the line, don’t you think you should too? If you don’t want me, you only have to say.’

‘Of course I want you—’ Only now did he realise quite how much. But what could he offer her? A heart of stone? A driven life? Constant travel? No respite? None of the simple things Rose longed for, like a family of her own. Bringing her into his arms, he kissed her and, to his unbounded relief, Rose kissed him back.

‘Kiss me like you never want to let me go,’ she whispered against his mouth.

He should be saving her from a man who, by his own admission, was incapable of giving Rose what she really needed, but instead he kissed her until no barrier on earth could keep them apart.

They fell back together on the bed, embracing as passionately as if they’d just invented sex. ‘I’ve missed you so much,’ Raffa admitted hoarsely. ‘I never thought I’d feel this way about anyone.’

‘I missed you too,’ Rose confessed, arching her back in ecstasy as he took her again.

This time their lovemaking was slow and tender and deep. Raffa stared intently into her eyes as he took her with as much care as if she were made of the rice paper she’d teased him about.

‘Don’t wait for me,’ he whispered. ‘This is all for you.’

She rode the waves until they subsided, and then lay nestled in his arms, waiting for a sign from Raffa that she wasn’t wasting her time loving him as much as she did. Could a man who’d made love to her as he just had feel nothing for her? He found words difficult, she reasoned. Rose had always been upfront with words and actions, but not everyone was the same. Each touch, breath and gentle consideration Raffa had shown for her pleasure had to mean something, didn’t it?

She hated feeling so vulnerable, but being with Raffa had stripped her soul bare. Feeling more emotional than usual, as if there really was far more at stake, she remembered the pregnancy test in her bag. ‘It’s nearly time for the meeting. We should go—’ Grabbing a throw, she headed for the bathroom with her bag. No doubt she appeared purposeful, but she was crying inside. Whatever the test showed, Raffa had been given every chance to tell her that he loved her, and he’d let that chance go.

Rose excused herself from the meeting early, looking pale. When she returned, Raffa noticed the change in her right away. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked as soon as their colleagues had left them. ‘Rose?’

‘I must have eaten something,’ she fudged, avoiding his stare.

‘Get the doctor to check you over.’ There was a full medical team on-site. ‘Now,’ he prompted when Rose hesitated. ‘I can’t allow you near the horses if there’s the slightest chance you’re under par.’

‘I’m not sick,’ she flared, turning around to face him.

‘How can you be sure?’

‘Because I’m pregnant.’ She let the silence hang for a few moments, before adding, ‘I took a test and it’s positive.’

His logical mind accepted this calmly. They hadn’t been exactly abstemious. Even using protection there was always a risk.

Rose’s face betrayed nothing. It was as if all the progress she’d made in expressing herself freely had taken cover behind a protective shield. There was nothing to compare with a mother’s instinct. Rose would protect that child above herself.

That was the logical side of things, but something else was happening that he couldn’t ignore. Feelings were erupting inside him faster than he could control. He was going to be a father. His own father had been the most wonderful man, and Rose would be the most wonderful—

She broke into his thoughts. ‘You don’t have to say anything. I know this won’t work for you.’

He held up his hand. ‘Give me a chance to take it in. It isn’t every day I get the news that I’m going to be a father.’

‘I don’t expect you to become involved,’ she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. ‘I can handle this on my own. You made it clear from the start that this sort of thing isn’t something you’d want to be part of, and I accept that—’

‘This sort of thing?’ he interrupted blankly. A lifetime of telling himself that he would never have a family—that he didn’t deserve a family, after the way he’d stood helpless as his parents had perished—had been turned on its head, firing his thoughts in all directions at once. He could hardly keep track of what Rose was saying, for wondering why he hadn’t declared his happiness right away. Why was he selfishly keeping these thoughts to himself? Was it because a man locked in some ridiculous eternal struggle with guilt believed he had nothing to offer a child?

‘I’ll do what every single mother does,’ Rose was saying as he refocused. ‘I’ll keep on working and juggle my commitments. I still have some savings left—’

‘Stop.’ His command was fired by anger at himself. Surely, he was better than this? ‘Why would you struggle when I can help you?’

‘Is that you saying you want to take over? Because, if it is,’ she warned, ‘I’m telling you now that I won’t let you control every aspect of this pregnancy. I won’t join the mares in your breeding block to be cosseted and guarded for the duration. I’m a healthy woman who doesn’t need to be smothered by expert attention. All I ask is to care for my child.’

‘Who says you can’t?’ He was beginning to see his way through the maze. Rose needed more than reassurance, she needed proof that he would care for her, whatever her decision. ‘I get that you’re up in the air right now, with hormones racing, but please give yourself the chance to think things through calmly before you turn me down. There are consequences I’m not sure you’ve considered.’

‘Like what?’ Rose demanded defensively.

‘Like the fact that you can’t continue to work as you do—’

She paled. ‘Are you firing me?’

‘Of course not.’ Her question had shocked him. ‘But I must lay out the facts. You can’t have close contact with my horses. This is a professional stable, housing spirited, highly bred and occasionally unpredictable animals. I’d be derelict in my duty as your employer if I allowed you to take any risks. Let alone the fact that my insurance won’t cover you in your current condition.’

The effect of his speech appeared on Rose’s face in tension lines and pallor. ‘I hadn’t thought about that,’ she admitted quietly.

‘Why would you? You haven’t given yourself a chance to consider anything properly.’

She frowned. ‘But I should have thought things through...’

‘In the time it took from taking the test to now? Don’t be so hard on yourself, Rose. This is as new to you as it is to me, but we’ll find a way. We’ll make this work with plans that suit both of us, and, more importantly, that secure our baby’s future happiness.’

He meant every word to reassure her, but they seemed to have the opposite effect on her. It was a shock to see Rose, strong, resilient Rose, the woman who challenged him every step of the way, drop her face into her hands and cry.

Rose blundered out of the room, barely knowing where she was heading. How could she have overlooked something as vital as insurance cover? A policy for a pregnant woman working in a professional stable? She doubted such a thing even existed. Wrapping her arms protectively around her waist, she headed off down the road from the ranch to the vast acreage beyond. The urge to find space surrounded by nature was the only thing she could think of to soothe her mind. What she didn’t want was Raffa outlining his cold-blooded plans. For once in her life, Rose Kelly, the biggest planner of them all, wanted something far more elusive and precious—Raffa’s love, for their baby, for Rose and for the family she longed for. She longed to share this overwhelming joy with him. She’d wanted Raffa to pull her into his arms and say he was the happiest man alive.

Piercing bird calls drew Rose’s gaze skywards. There were eagles in this part of Spain. She loved to see them wheeling and jousting, coming together only to fly apart again, before yielding to some mysterious force that brought them back to fly together.

Was that love?

Whatever it was, watching the magnificent birds calmed and healed her. Any child would be lucky to be brought up here, but Rose had many things to consider—her father, the family, the farm, the programmes for Sofia and the fact that she couldn’t stay here indefinitely, watching from the wings, trying to explain to a child why its father wasn’t around all that often.

They’d move forward with or without Raffa, Rose vowed silently. Like every single mother on the face of the earth, she’d find a way. Hadn’t she taken care of her brothers since her mother died? She wasn’t exactly a novice when it came to running a home.

She was about halfway back when she spotted a rider. Only one person rode as fast and fluidly bareback on such a highly bred horse. Raffa. Why was he coming after her?

Bringing his horse to a halt in front of her, he stared down at her face with concern. ‘Come on,’ he encouraged, holding out a hand. ‘You can ride with me.’

‘I thought you didn’t want me near your horses?’

‘Without me to keep you safe, that still holds fast.’

‘Where are you heading?’

‘To the river, so Duque can cool his heels while we talk.’

If he wanted to talk she wouldn’t turn him down. Taking hold of his hand, she sprang up behind him on to the horse. ‘Arms around my waist,’ he said as they took off at a steady canter. The temptation to rest her face against his back made her sit up straighter than ever.

Raffa dismounted first and then lifted her into his arms. ‘I was worried about you,’ he admitted. ‘You looked so pale. Thank goodness you look a lot better now.’

‘The fresh air helps.’ As did he. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll stay on for a while to make sure Adena feels confident enough to take over from me, and I’ll call Sofia. Babies are supremely portable, so—’

‘And you, Rose?’ Raffa interrupted. ‘What about you?’

‘Me?’ She stared into his eyes. ‘I’ll be fine, of course.’

‘Living where?’

‘Here, in the short term, if you’ll have me, and then I’ll go back to Ireland, I suppose.’

Doubts crowded in, but if she couldn’t work with Raffa’s horses, there was nothing here for her. ‘Maternity benefits will kick in eventually,’ she reflected out loud.

‘We have an excellent plan in place,’ Raffa confirmed, ‘but I don’t see you resting as you should if you return to Ireland. When I brought you back to Spain, you were on the verge of exhaustion. A repeat of that would be dangerous, both for you and the baby.’

‘I’ll be sensible,’ she promised.

‘Until you have a thorough check-up, you don’t know what is and isn’t possible. Everyone’s different, Rose. You’re safer here.’

‘Your mares carry some of the most valuable stock in the world, and you keep them in regal splendour, but I don’t want to be indulged to that degree. I’d feel uncomfortable. I’m not used to being plied with things I don’t need.’

‘What I have in mind will take all the worry out of pregnancy for you.’

‘A magic wand?’ She laughed bitterly. Raffa didn’t join in, and they strolled the rest of the way to the riverbank in silence. When they sat down, Rose took the opportunity to reassure him. ‘This isn’t your problem. It’s mine.’

‘There is no problem to solve, there’s a child. And this is our situation, Rose. You’re not alone.’

All the right words, but he sounded so matter-of-fact. You couldn’t force someone to love you, no matter how much you wanted it, Rose reflected as Raffa went on, ‘It makes sense for you to stay here. You’ll have the best of care. Doctors can fly in. You can have anything, and anyone you want around you. You’ll still be able to work remotely without coming into contact with the horses.’

‘What about my father, and everything else in Ireland?’

‘Your father’s safe at Sofia’s retreat, and I have a team in place to manage the rest, remember?’

His team. His child. His plan. Rose hugged herself, wondering about her place in all this, and if Raffa could ever unbend enough to welcome a baby into his heart.