Read Online His Unknown Heir by Chantelle Shaw - Free Book Online

the powerful drumbeat of her desire and the firm insistence of her brain, that told her she must stop this now —because allowing Ramon to make love to her would only make an already complicated situation even worse.
    ‘No!’ Her sharp denial sliced through the air, and, taking advantage of Ramon’s surprise, she pulled out of his arms and stood shaking like a leaf in a storm as she frantically refastened her blouse.
    ‘No?’
    His tone was deceptively soft, but she could sense his anger. It was justified when she had responded to him with such wanton enthusiasm, she thought miserably. She had given him every reason to believe that she was happy to leap into bed with him, but thoughts of Mateo had brought her crashing back to earth. She could not make love with Ramon when she had kept his son a secret from him.
    Ramon drew a harsh breath as he fought the urge to snatch Lauren back into his arms and finish what they had started. Frustration clawed in his gut and made him want to lash out.
    ‘We both know how easily I could make you change your mind,’ he taunted. He stared at her nipples, jutting so provocatively through her blouse, and cursed the throbbing ache in his groin. ‘You say no, but your body says yes, querida .’
    ‘Well, it’s been outvoted,’ Lauren bit out, barely trusting herself to speak as she struggled to regain some sense of composure. ‘You…you took me by surprise, but I don’t want you, Ramon.’
    ‘Are you sure about that?’ Ramon demanded disbelievingly. ‘I’ve just proved that the fire still burns for both of us.’ She had tormented his thoughts and disturbed his dreams for months, until he had given in to his need to find her again. ‘I want you back, Lauren,’ he admitted roughly.
    His voice had softened, and when Lauren stared into his sherry-brown eyes that were so like Matty’s her heart ached. His words were beguiling. Perhaps it was being back here at his apartment, where they had shared so many good times, that was undermining her defences, but Ramon had sounded serious. Did he mean that he wanted a proper, meaningful relationship with her? she wondered, clutching at the fragile green shoot of hope. And, if so, would he want Mateo too? Was there the slightest possibility that they could work things out?
    ‘I thought you were supposed to marry a woman from the Spanish nobility who would give you an heir to continue the Velaquez name?’ she said shakily. ‘Are you saying the situation has changed?’
    Ramon shrugged. ‘No. It is still my intention to fulfil my duty. But that is for the future. For now I want to concentrate on running Velaquez Conglomerates and the Castillo del Toro. I do not wish to have a child yet, and therefore I do not need to consider marriage for several years.’ He paused, and deliberately dropped his gaze to her breasts. ‘But neither do I have any wish to live like a monk, querida ,’ he drawled softly.
    Lauren cursed her body’s traitorous reaction to the hungry gleam in his eyes. So all he wanted was an affair. The little shoot of hope shrivelled and died. Nothing had changed, she thought painfully. She wondered if he realised how insulted she felt to be told that he only considered her good enough to be his mistress, but not his wife.
    Admittedly marriage was not something she wanted, she thought wearily, rubbing her brow as myriad confused thoughts swirled inside her head. Having witnessed her mother’s devastation after her father had walked out, she had decided that she would never give up her independence for any man.
    Plenty of couples lived together without being legally bound in a relationship. But Ramon was not even suggesting a long-term commitment, she thought dully. He simply wanted her in his bed for a month or two—until he grew tired of her. Perhaps if she’d only had herself to consider she might be tempted to bury her pride and accept his offer. Eighteen months ago he had stolen her heart, and she longed to recapture