A Touch of Notoriety(16)

She nodded. ‘In the meantime, I’ll go upstairs and choose my own bedroom from the rooms in the east wing, shall I?’ She turned and took the first step up the huge curved staircase before pausing to look back at Raphael over her shoulder. ‘If you would just arrange for my luggage to be delivered up to my room so that I can change before I go in search of the gym...’

Raphael’s jaw looked tense. ‘You were wrong two days ago, Beth.’

She raised her brows. ‘Wrong about what?’

‘You appear to be learning all too quickly how to behave as that “pampered poodle” you spoke of so disparagingly!’ He eyed her scathingly.

Beth’s breath caught in her throat, knowing that Raphael had meant to wound with his remark. And that he had succeeded. She didn’t want any part of being Gabriela Navarro. Not the name. Or to be thought of as that spoilt and pampered little-rich-girl Raphael had just referred to so scathingly.

Beth had sincerely hoped that once she returned to England she would be able to get some perspective back into her life—albeit with Raphael lurking somewhere in the background—but instead she hadn’t even been allowed to return to her own home, let alone the normality of her life.

She drew in a shaky breath before speaking. ‘That was very unkind of you.’

His mouth twisted. ‘I was not aware that you required kindness from me?’

‘Everyone prefers kindness to cruelty, Raphael.’

He breathed deeply. ‘Perhaps I am not feeling particularly kind.’

Beth frowned. ‘Because I asked for my bags to be brought upstairs?’

No, Raphael’s present mood had very little to do with Beth’s perfectly valid request, and more to do with the fact that he had just become aware of the fact that the two of them would be staying in this house alone for the next few days. Something that hadn’t occurred to him until just now.

Beth’s slightly bewildered expression at his unexpected aggression certainly wasn’t helping him to remain professionally aloof from this situation. Possibly because ‘professional’ was the last thing he felt whenever he was in this woman’s company. And, if Raphael was to do his job of protecting her properly, he needed to remain completely detached as well as professional.

He looked at her coolly. ‘I will arrange for your bags to be brought upstairs.’

Beth looked at him searchingly for several long seconds before nodding slowly, her eyes looking even darker in the pallor of her face. ‘Thank you.’

He raised dark brows. ‘No comment as to the fact that should have been my original answer?’

‘No.’

Raphael allowed himself a small smile. ‘Are you feeling quite well?’

A pained looked crossed Beth’s expressive face. ‘Not really. Will you excuse me?’ She turned sharply before running quickly up the stairs.

Raphael remained in the hallway, hands clenched at his sides as he continued to watch her as she reached the top of those stairs, before turning to the right and disappearing down the hallway in the direction of the guest bedrooms in the east wing. As if the devil himself were following at her heels...

Should Raphael follow her, and apologise—once again!—for appearing insensitive to her obvious distress, both at thoughts of being Gabriela Navarro and the sudden changes that were being asked—no, demanded!—of her because of it? Or would his apology only succeed in making this situation worse?

Raphael wasn’t sure their present situation—alone together and at constant loggerheads—could get any worse!

And yet he had made a promise to Cesar before leaving Buenos Aires, and to Esther and Carlos, who were both so obviously distraught at the thought of their daughter leaving them again so soon after they had found her.

A promise that he would protect Beth at all costs.

Raphael just hadn’t realised, when he had made that promise, that he might be asked to protect Beth from himself.





CHAPTER FOUR



‘BETH?’ RAPHAEL CAME to a halt in the open bedroom doorway as he saw—and heard—her crying as she lay face down on the bed, immediately dropping the two bags he was carrying to cross the bedroom in long determined strides before sitting down on the bed beside her.

The first Beth knew of Raphael’s presence in the bedroom with her was when she felt the bed dipping beside her before his hands came to rest gently on her shoulders as he turned her over. His arms moved about her as he took one look at her tear-stained face before pulling her towards him and cradling her against the reassuring heat of his chest.