Wicked Surrender: Ruthless Awakening / The Multi-Millionaire's Virgin Mistress / The Timber Baron's Virgin Bride

‘I think he’d be flattered,’ he said. ‘But probably not tempted. He likes his life, and so does Juan. Maybe they’ve found the recipe for happiness, and want to hang on to it.’

‘While for the rest of us the search goes on.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘Heavens, it’s nearly midnight. I should be getting back.’

Diaz also consulted the time, brows lifting. ‘Why? The party at the hotel surely won’t be over yet.’

‘Indeed it will,’ she said briskly. ‘Carrie has to be home by twelve. You’ve forgotten the old superstition about the groom not seeing his bride on the wedding day until they meet in church.’

‘In all the other excitement it must have slipped my mind. Nor am I particularly superstitious, except when it comes to mines.’ He paused. ‘I can’t persuade you to have coffee, then?’

‘Thank you, but not this late,’ she said. ‘It would keep me awake.’

As if there’s any chance of sleeping, anyway…

‘And naturally you wish to be at your brightest and best tomorrow,’ Diaz commented silkily. He paused. ‘However, to use a coy euphemism, would you like to freshen up before you go? If so, I’ll get Enrique to show you to one of the staterooms.’

‘Yes,’ she said, reaching for her purse. ‘That would be—most kind.’

‘De nada,’ he said. ‘Even pirates can have their moments.’

At the door she hesitated, looking back at him for a moment, at ease in his chair, studying the rich colour of the wine in his glass. Knowing that this was probably the last time she would ever see him and that this was the image she would take away with her, imprinted on her mind—the dark, intelligent face, with its high cheekbones and those amazing long-lashed eyes, and the lean, long-legged muscular body.

Another companionway led down to the sleeping accommodation. The stateroom that Enrique showed her with obvious pride made her jaw drop. The fitted wardrobes and dressing table were made of some pale, expensive wood, while the bed, the widest she’d ever seen, was made up with cream linen, a bedspread in vibrant terracotta folded across its foot. The same colour was echoed among the piled-up pillows, and a small sofa, similarly upholstered, stood against one wall.

Or perhaps they were called bulkheads, she thought. She couldn’t remember, and it didn’t really matter anyway. It wasn’t something she’d ever need to know.

The adjoining bathroom was all gleaming white and azure, with a walk-in power shower, a vanitory unit with twin basins, and a bidet as well as a loo.

‘The señorita approves?’ Enrique asked, pointing out the towels stacked on a corner shelf, and satisfying himself that there was soap in the dish between the basins. ‘If there is anything else you require, tell me, por favor,’ he added, turning to leave. ‘There is a bell.’

Thoughtful, Rhianna decided with faint amusement, as she waited to hear the outer door close softly. But unnecessary.

Probably Enrique was more accustomed to women guests who spent longer than just one evening on board with his boss, and who shared far more than dinner.

Whereas I, she thought, swallowing, have to go and put the remains of my life back together.

She dried her hands, and dropped the used towel into the laundry basket, then ran a comb through her hair, wondering whether to renew her lipstick and deciding against it.

As she was doing so, she noticed the toiletries grouped together on the tiled top by the mirror, realising they were all her favourite brands—from the moisturiser to the perfumed body lotion, and even the shampoo.

Odd, she thought, and walked back into the other room, where she checked, her eyes narrowing. Because something else had suddenly appeared on the bed. A woman’s nightgown, exquisitely fanned out. Her nightgown…

Rhianna took a deep breath, telling herself that it was some weird trick of her imagination, or more likely that she’d had too much of that wonderful Rioja.

At the same time, her instinct told her that she was fooling herself. She spun round and went back into the bathroom to check out the toiletries, her stomach muscles clenching as she saw that they’d all been used before, and that the pretty striped bag which had contained them when she left London was now in a cupboard under the basin.

My things, she thought desperately. Here—on his boat.

A glance in the stateroom’s fitted cupboards confirmed her worst fears. All the clothing she’d brought to Penvarnon House was there, neatly hung away, or folded in the drawers, while her travel bag and dress carrier were tucked away at the back of a wardrobe. Her handbag was there too, but, she realised, biting her lip, minus her wallet and passport.

And at that moment she became aware of something else—the steady throb of a powerful engine. And she knew, with horror, that Windhover was moving. That they’d sailed.

She almost flung herself at the stateroom door, twisting the handle one way then another, tugging it, dragging at it breathlessly, while swearing softly but comprehensively. Refusing to believe that it wasn’t going to open, in spite of her best efforts, because it wasn’t just stuck in some embarrassing way—but actually locked.

Telling herself that this wasn’t—couldn’t be happening. Not to her.

He’d implied that he was descended from a Spanish pirate, but this was the twenty-first century, for God’s sake, not the sixteenth, and there were strict laws against hijacking on the high seas.

If Polkernick Harbour actually qualified as any kind of high sea, she thought, quelling the bubble of hysteria rising inside her.

She wanted to beat on the closed door with her fists, screaming to be let out, but a small, icy voice in her brain said this was exactly the reaction he’d expect and would allow for. Therefore it would get her nowhere.

She stepped back and considered as she strove for control. For an element of calm.

Enrique had clearly been busy while her back was turned. It wasn’t just her nightgown that had been left ready for her. Mineral water and a glass had appeared on one of the shelves fitted to the bedhead, together with a plate of cinnamon biscuits.

Everything for the discerning prisoner, she thought grimly.

Including the aforementioned bell. Which she rang.

And which was answered with admirable promptness by Diaz himself. He’d discarded his jacket and removed his tie, leaving his shirt open at his tanned throat.

Rhianna faced him from the sofa, legs elegantly crossed, hands folded in her lap to hide the fact they were shaking.

Her brows lifted. ‘Enrique’s busy, trying on his jailer’s costume, I suppose?’

‘I thought you might be throwing things.’ He closed the door behind him and leaned against it. ‘And decided I’d rather they hit me.’

‘You’re all heart,’ she said shortly. She paused. ‘Just what do you think you’re doing?’

‘Taking you for a short but romantic cruise,’ he said. ‘At least I hope it will be romantic. However, the Bay of Biscay may rule against that.’

‘I’m on the side of the Bay of Biscay.’ She lifted her chin. ‘Diaz, you’re being ridiculous. You can’t behave like this.’

‘And just who is going to stop me?’ His voice held faint amusement.

‘Your own common sense, I hope,’ she said coldly. ‘We’re both supposed to be attending a wedding tomorrow—your cousin, my oldest friend. You think our absence won’t be noted? That people won’t ask questions and start looking for us?’

‘They won’t have to,’ he said. ‘The letter I left for Carrie earlier when I was collecting your stuff from the house makes the situation perfectly clear.’

Her heartbeat seemed to be rattling against her ribcage. ‘Then maybe you could offer me equal clarification. If it’s not too much trouble.’

‘Not at all.’ He settled himself more comfortably against the door, hands in his pockets. ‘I told her that we’d got together in London earlier this year, but things had gone wrong between us.’ He paused. ‘I didn’t specify what, or how, but I said I felt I had a real chance to put things right if you and I could just be alone together for a while to work things out.

‘I mentioned that I knew that you planned to leave straight after the wedding, and once you’d gone any opportunity to get you to myself would probably be blown too, and I couldn’t risk it. So I was extending our dinner date into a trip on Windhover for a few days. A kind of advance honeymoon. I thought that was the kind of excuse that might appeal, as she’s about to embark on a honeymoon of her own.’

He added unsmilingly, ‘I also asked her to forgive us both, and wish us luck.’

She said huskily, ‘You actually believe that anyone will be deceived by such nonsense? By that—tissue of lies?’