Page 19 of Her Spanish Scandal

“I understand. Mine is, too. If we went through with this, I’d want to set up some criteria for our relationship.”

“Why?”

“Because I could easily fool myself into falling for you, Count, and I’m not really into heartbreak.”

“Neither am I. I don’t want to hurt you, Kara. But love isn’t something that I believe in.”

“But you have such a close-knit family, surely you love them?”

“I have great affection for my sisters and for my brother and parents. But that’s not the kind of love you’re talking about.”

“No, it isn’t. I mean romantic love. What did you feel for Elvira?”

“Passion,” he said, feeling he owed her some kind of explanation. “Jealousy and obsession. It was a volatile relationship. And I’m not interested in experiencing that again.”

“Well, I’ve never stirred a man’s passionate nature,” she said. And he heard in her voice that hint of longing. He stared into her eyes, just inches below his. Sexy. “Gui?”

“Stop saying things like that. You stir passion very easily in me. It’s just not fueled by the darker emotions.”

“You stir me, too, Gui. That’s another reason why I’m contemplating this. I’ve never really been attracted to another man.”

“You are a virgin?” he asked, a part of him pleased to think of being the first man to have Kara.

She shook her head. “No, I’m not.”

He shook off the twinge of jealousy he felt toward her unnamed past lovers. He knew it was irrational. He’d had many lovers, but he wanted her to be as innocent as she looked.

“You aren’t either, right?”

He bit the inside of his lip to keep from smiling at the way she said that. “No, I’m not. I was simply inquiring because you said you hadn’t been attracted to another man.”

“Well, sex can be about something other than passion,” she said.

“No, it can’t. Passion is the only reason a man and a woman should share their bodies.”

“And you think we have passion between us?” she asked.

“I know we do,” he said, lowering his head to capture her lips and prove to her that passion was the one thing they could both agree they had between them.

Chapter Five

Kara had spent most of her life feeling alone and lost in the sea of people around her. But in Gui’s arms she felt anchored for the first time since her mother had died.

Rina had always tried to give her an inner strength and was the best big sister anyone could have, but Kara’s self-doubts were rooted in her own body image. But in Gui’s arms she didn’t feel too big or too fat. His kisses and caresses left no room for doubts.

His mouth moved over hers, igniting a fire inside her body that she’d never experienced before. This was the kind of lust that she heard others talk about. Was it this way for Gui all the time? With every woman he took in his arms?

She knew better than to ask. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he angled his head for a deeper kiss. His lips were firm and sure as he moved his mouth over hers then dropped nibbling kisses along the line of her jaw and down her neck.

She shivered.

“Do you like that, mi dulce?”

“Hmm mmm.”

“Kara?”

She opened her eyes, meeting his hazel gaze. He hugged her close to him and she felt his erection nudge her lower stomach. She swallowed and tried to stop from rubbing herself against him but she couldn’t help it.