Net of Lies (9 page)

Her head was spinning
, and she welcomed the burning sensation of the alcohol going down her throat. It was real and simple, a reaction of her body that didn’t have to be analyzed and second-guessed. She wasn’t a big drinker and didn’t like having more than a glass or two of wine, but right then, hard liquor didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Actually, she found herself wanting to get drunk and eradicate the pain in her heart that was pulling her under. She finished her drink with one big gulp, then reaching out to him in a silent request for a refill.

He hesitated,
seeming to ponder her wish. In the end, he obliged, though the amount he poured into her glass was far smaller than what she had planned on getting.

‘
And why are you telling me all that, Raoul?’ she asked, the pleasant warmth spreading in her stomach making it easier to be assertive. ‘Do you think that I’m his right hand in whatever crimes you think he is committing?’

‘
He is committing them. There’s no doubt about that part, Kate,’ he corrected her automatically, his lips pressed together as if he had to stop himself from using an expletive. ‘As for why? There are only two options as far as I can tell. First one is you know exactly what is going on, and in that case, you’re an excellent actress, better than I would ever think you to be. Or, secondly, you’re truly unaware of his doings, and in that case, I’m offering you a warning to abandon his ship before it sinks.’

‘
What would make you so charitable, Raoul?’ The pleasant fuzz of the brandy kicking in was taking the edge off her anxiety. ‘I would think you would enjoy seeing me miserable. As if you haven’t caused me enough misery already.’ She was blabbering, frustrated, saying far more than she had planned.

‘
Call it a wake-up call, Kate.’ He shrugged, reaching out and putting the bottle out of her reach. ‘I felt like I owed you something for the way you felt back in Spain, so this would even it out.’

‘
You’re kidding me, right?’ Anger returned, making her agitated as she leaned forward, unaware of the spectacular view of her décolleté the motion offered him. ‘You really think that letting me know that my current boyfriend isn’t exactly the way I thought him to be will make me happy? Or forget what a horrid liar and cheat you are yourself, Raoul Santos? You have no right to tell me about anyone else being less than perfect, don’t you think? Not when you slept with me for a few months, pretending to care and have plans for the future, which I believed… and all the while, you had your hot little fiancé getting ready to actually marry you, you bastard. Too bad it didn’t work out, as I heard.’

‘
Enough!’ His voice was pure ice, cutting through her heated monologue like the blade of a knife, as he watched her with a thunderous expression. He got up and stared at her, his hands balled into fists.

But she felt brave and invincible
. The warning of his anger was easily ignored as she laughed acrimoniously, rising to her feet, as well. ‘Do you really think you can silence me like that, Raoul? I’m not one of your employees that probably cowers in fear whenever you shout, and I don’t care. It is high time for you to learn that you can’t have the whole world holding its breath for you.’

‘I will have to start with you
then.’ Faster than lightning, he was at her side, pulling her to him with rough hands. His face came lower, his hot breath fanning her face as he rasped in frustration, ‘
Dios
,
mujer,
why do you have to make it so difficult? I’m trying to behave decently here, and all you do is throw insults in my face. What will it take for you to listen?’

‘
Nothing you can say will make me want to listen to you, Raoul.’ She didn’t flinch in his arms, her face as agitated as his. ‘I hate you from the bottom of my heart, and if you expect me to thank you for your advice, don’t waste your time.’

‘I don’t think I will
,’ he whispered, before his mouth came down on hers with unstoppable force, his angry kiss putting a finish to her tirade. He had kissed her angrily before, she thought dazedly, his familiar scent filling her nostrils and weakening her defenses. This kiss was definitely angry, yet there was another quality to it, something she couldn’t explain, but it made it impossible to resist. As if he were desperate for her, his arms tightened around her as his lips continued their exploration.

God knew she hated him and his arrogant ways,
but her mouth opened and she kissed him back, each stroke of his hot tongue meeting with hers. She wanted to feel him one more time. The perfection of his lips against hers couldn’t be duplicated. She felt his hands go to her shoulders, pushing aside the silky wrap and tightening on the naked skin of her upper arms. She could only cling to him, vaguely aware of the tiny voice of reason in her head that screamed danger. She didn’t care, not when he left her mouth to trail a hot line of tiny kisses along her jaw and down to her slender throat, his lips reaching the hollow at the base of her neck and caressing it seductively.

He wasn’t so angry anymore, she felt rather than
thought, as his movements became softer and more deliberate. Without the edge of anger, his caresses deepened, the touch of his palm against her half-covered breast sending an electric current zigzagging through her whole body. His teeth grazed the tight fabric of her bodice, flooding her body with liquid heat. She wanted him to pull it down, to feel his mouth against the hardened tips of her swelling breasts, finally turning her erotic dreams into reality.

At the same time
, her hands performed their own exploration, weaving her fingers into the thick, luxurious hair on the nape of his neck. It felt the same, and the silky texture and warmth of his skin under her fingertips brought back memories of their passionate encounters from the past. And it was that memory that finally broke through this trance-like daze, her whole body shaking, not with passion, but pain that felt as fresh as if it had been inflicted the day before.

What
am I doing? Kissing the man who manipulated me and lied to me about his life, his fiancée, and real name in those blissful days when I’d felt invincible in the certainty of our love. This is insane!
Each sweep of his mouth against her skin branded her like a hot iron until she could have wept with misery. She let her hands drop to her sides, her body as limp and lifeless as a marionette’s. She felt like one, too—empty and cold, the heat of passion gone with the picture of them happily together that had risen before her very eyes.

‘No, Raoul
,’ she whispered, and as he continued, she repeated, louder this time. ‘I said no. Do you understand? Stop it, please.’

He heard her this time
and raised his head, his dark eyes burning with lust and something else that she couldn’t quite figure out. His gaze locked with hers, finally convincing him that she meant every word she said.

‘Why?’ His voice low and trembling with barely controlled passion, he looked at her, a hectic flash on his high cheekbones betraying his agitation. ‘
You want it too,
no
? Why fight it, Kate?’

‘Because it is wrong
. That’s why!’ Stepping back, she worried for a second that he might try to stop her. Or even worse, that if he did, she might not have enough strength to resist him. Her fear proved groundless, because he let her go without as much as moving a finger to hold her back. He stood motionless, his stormy eyes taking in her unhappy, heated face with analytical intensity.

‘
It is wrong,’ she repeated helplessly, shaking her head in a self-derogatory gesture. ‘I can’t believe I fell for it. I really can’t. Was this how you expected me to pay for your advice, Raoul? One more quickie as a return for saving my skin from jail, if you ever manage to prove that the gallery is tainted.’

‘
It was never like that, and you know it very well.’ He took a deep breath and stepped back, too. The space between them was like an open chasm that swallowed her dreams and hopes.

‘What more can there be?’ she asked helplessly, her lips still burning from his kisses.

‘I need your help, Kate.’

Her eyes widened in surprise,
and he smiled mirthlessly, shrugging in a resigned gesture. ‘I’m not asking you to do it for me, I should add. I’m a realist.’

‘How exactly do you want me to help you?’
She was absolutely shocked, and her brain was still trying to regain its usual speed. ‘Spy on Marc? Forget it.’

‘No, nothing that dramatic.’ He smil
ed, and she felt childish. ‘First of all, this could be dangerous, and secondly, too complicated. Instead, I want to deal with the less obvious part of his scam, Kate. To expose his agents for what they really are—bullies and manipulators benefiting from ignorance and good will of art owners, especially ones that can’t protect themselves properly. Should there be enough publicity about his questionable tactics, I’m confident the other part of his business would suffer, as well.’

‘I really don’t see what I can do
.’ She felt confused and wished the whole evening could be backtracked to the moment she was watching herself in the mirror of her miniscule bathroom in her flat, hopeful her appearance would meet Marc’s expectations. If she had decided to skip the gala, none of this would have happened.

‘I intend to bait Marc, with the help of my aunt.’ He went back to the sofa, gesturing for her to sit next to him, which she reluctantly did. ‘
After I have established my credibility as a buyer, that is. I will mention to him my interest in certain pieces, and with help from my aunt, he should soon realize that they are available again. His agents have tried to fool her once, to no avail. Now I’m pretty sure they will be motivated to pay her yet another visit and try changing her mind.’

‘
Won’t he connect you with her?’ It seemed absolutely crazy. Maybe being rich and bored resulted in his preposterous need to seek thrills.

‘No, I don’t think so.’ Raoul shook his dark hair, and she remembered the silky sensation of his hair gliding against her fingers. ‘
My aunt left our ancestral home a long time ago, after a big fight with my great-grandfather, who disowned her. She changed her name and cut most of her ties with our family, myself being what I like to think of as a lucky exception.’

‘
It still doesn’t explain what you want me to do.’ She turned to him, her personal space forgotten as she tried to make sense of the surreal situation. ‘I’m not one of his agents, as you call them. He has a few people who are surveying potential purchases that Marc deems beneficial for our gallery, but I seriously doubt they are guilty of anything like what you’ve described. And even if they are, I’m not one of them. I can’t really help you. And I wouldn’t, anyway. Marc deserves the benefit of the doubt, and I fully intend to give it to him, no matter what you say.’

‘Sounds very noble
.’ He nodded, unfazed with her reluctance to cooperate. ‘But you should think about it, Kate. I’m not asking you for anything more than accompanying the agent he will send to see my aunt, and if you notice that my suspicions are right, be helpful then. Should I be wrong and your wonderful Marc is innocent, you have nothing to worry about, and you’ll earn a nice commission. But if I’m right and things turn ugly, I can promise you will not be dragged down with the rest of the gallery in this battle. It will leave the gallery more than bruised.’

‘Is th
is an offer or an order?’ she asked indignantly, aware of the fact that he had her in the palm of his hand. ‘And how will I make Marc pick me for this job in the first place? I have never been involved in any overseas commissions, and I don’t think he will choose me for this one.’

‘O
h, but he will.’ Raoul smiled into her questioning eyes before adding, his voice calm and definite, ‘After tonight, I will contact him personally and praise your valuable input into my decision to buy as much as you have seen back at the gallery. That alone should secure you a new appreciation, I think. But as I mention to him those pieces I so desperately crave, I will insist on you being a part of the deal. Make him believe that I fell for you and can’t imagine doing it without you, Kate. I think it will make him more than happy to believe that his new client is head over heels for a woman that works for him,
si
? In his cunning mind, he will already plan exploiting this avenue and the endless, fiscal possibilities it carries.’

‘Do you really believe he will use me as a bargaining chip?’
She stared at him in disbelief. ‘For God’s sake, I’m his girlfriend and not a hooker that gets hired to appease a customer.’

‘Are you absolutely sure about that?’
Unmoved, he smiled coldly, his eyes going over her body with an offensive thoroughness. ‘What about tonight then? Didn’t he try to soften me up by bringing you to the table? A smart move, even though it reduces you to not much more than a pretty package meant to lure me in.’

He was
right, and her eyes clouded as she remembered Marc’s words before Raoul had joined them. How far did Marc want her to go in his eagerness to close this deal? She’d wondered herself why he would send her off alone with a man he considered to be a womanizer. She would prefer to believe that he didn’t have any secret motives and was plainly hoping for a bit of innocent flirting to further his cause.