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“Do you love me, Catalina?” His voice had softened, as had the glint in his eyes, but she still stepped backward, desperate to escape him.
“Of course not,” she retorted, almost insulted he would ask such a thing. “Like I said, I don’t know you. How could I love you?”
“You’ve…admired me, though. In the past. I’ve seen it in your eyes.” He took yet another step closer, his voice deceptively soft as he continued. “Just as I’ve admired you. You’ve grown into a very beautiful woman, you know.”
She released a shuddery breath. He sounded downright…seductive. “You can’t base a marriage on looks alone.”
“You’re absolutely correct.” A tiny smile curved his lips, the sight of it stealing her breath. He was right. She’d admired him for years, that handsome face of his, the few charming words he’d tossed her way like a sprinkling of bread crumbs. She’d gobbled them up, always.
Cat didn’t admire the man he portrayed himself as to the public, though. Rafael Renaldi wasn’t necessarily an admirable man, at least in her eyes. “We could get to know each other better these months leading up to the wedding, during our official engagement.”
“No.” She shook her head so furiously she almost made herself dizzy. “Absolutely not. There’s no point.”
“No point in what?”
“Getting to know each other.” He invaded her space, so close she could feel him, smell him, imagine being in his arms again. “We’re not getting married.”
“I beg to differ.” He sounded amused, which infuriated her more.
“I won’t marry you.”
“Why the hell not?”
Did the man have a thick skull or what? How many times did she have to say no? “Tell me, have you been loyal and true to me since we’ve been engaged?”
Rafe gave her a look of such incredulity she could’ve almost found it funny. But she didn’t. Not at all. “What exactly are you referring to?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? I’m asking if you’ve been faithful to me. As your fiancée. Your future bride.” She took a few steps to the side, away from him, needing the distance. Breathing in the cool air as the breeze washed over her heated skin and cleared her jumbled brain. Having him too close was dangerous to her mental health, let alone her stupid body that was so eager to betray her.
He aroused her, pure and simple, even when he made her angry—it seemed especially when he made her angry. So infuriating.
“Such an…unusual question,” he said, sounding seemingly nervous.
“Well, we’re involved in an unusual situation so I guess it’s only natural for me to ask, don’t you think?” She shook back her hair, tilting her chin in a way that felt so defiant, it gave her a surge of confidence. “Tell me. Have you been loyal to me? Faithful?”
Something mysterious flickered in his gaze when she said the last word in particular. “Your questioning is unfair.”
“I don’t think so.” She wasn’t about to admit her truth. That she’d remained true to him all these years. That guilt and some sort of silly infatuation kept her from being so daring as to fling herself into the arms of another man and beg him to take her. She’d kissed a few men over the years. Nothing too serious, not one of them affecting her with a mere touch of his lips as Rafael had.
Yet another reason for her to be so furious with what he’d done to her. Why him? Why did her body, mind, and whatever else have to react so strongly to him all the time?
“Tell me, Rafe,” she urged when he still hadn’t said anything. “Tell me if you’ve been faithful to me. If you have, then we can get married. If you haven’t…”
