Page 17 of Modern Romance June 2025 5-8

‘I do not sleep with my employees, Cerys.’ The words were torturous to say, because they had the potential to deny him—deny them both—what they so desperately needed. But he couldn’t respect himself if he allowed the animal desires his father had given free rein destroy what was left of his own ethics.

‘If we do this, I can no longer pay you to watch over Ana. Do you understand?’

She stared, the confused expression like a bullet to his heart. The heart he had believed could never be harmed, never be touched by any woman.

‘Are you saying I’d have to leave?’ she asked. ‘If we kissed.’

‘No…Dios, no,’ he said. He clasped her bottom, no longer able to keep his hands from caressing the firm flesh he had yearned to touch again, day and night, for weeks. He cradled the thickening erection against the shimmering blue fabric which he was already desperate to rip from her body, so he could see all of her at last.

Calm down, Santiago. Do not scare her. Do not make her run.

‘I would wish very much for you to stay here, for the rest of the summer… Or until you want to go.’ He knew from his conversations with Ana that her memory was returning, although she did not know enough yet to find her way home.

Maybe this also explained the increased urgency which had consumed him over the past week. If he did not take her now, she might be gone. And he would never know what it was to feast on her. And unleash this part of himself, at least once.

This yearning would surely burn itself out, as all passions did eventually. She was not of his class, was not even Spanish, did not even know her own name, and was far too young for him, not just in years but, he suspected, also in experience. However many boyfriends she had in her past, she could never be as jaded as he was—a man who had lost his innocence long before he had lost his virginity.

But he wanted her too much now to concern himself with the future. With what would happen when he returned to Madrid. Or her memory finally unlocked all its secrets. Even his hunt for a suitable wife had been sidelined as his obsession with her grew. He hadn’t even considered inviting a date to the Fiesta, because he had no desire to touch another woman but her.

‘I want you to stay for the summer.’In my bed, he almost added, but stopped himself. Because it would be crass, and surely she must know what he was offering—a summer by his side, until this incessant hunger ceased. ‘Ana likes you—enough to do as she is told for once. But if we do this, I cannot have you on my staff. You would have to stay as her friend, her companion. As my guest.’And my lover.

Her face brightened, the confusion clearing as the arousal flared. The need in his pants throbbed.

‘That would be amazing. I love Ana, we’ve become friends. I always felt a bit weird taking your money when we have such fun together. And I love being here—it feels like home, the first real home I’ve ever had. I don’t know how I know that, but I do,’ she said, with an openness that disturbed him on some level.

Thecastillohad not felt like home to him, not for a very long time, but something about her enthusiasm for the place reminded him of the boy he’d once been, before he had witnessed the ugly reality behind the elegance and charm of his family’s life.

He swallowed, pushing the unhappy memories down. This relationship was about physical desire, nothing more… Or less. It had not one thing to do with that naïve child, who had once believed in something that had never been real. That boy was long gone. And good riddance. He never wished to be that trusting, that naïve, ever again.

‘If you’re really sure it’s okay for me to stay here as a guest?’ Her eyes searched his face, her hand touching his cheek. Her palm felt cool against his skin, and so soft. ‘I’d be happy to accept. Thank you.’

He nodded, no longer able to find words, spellbound by the enthusiasm in her face. How could she be so trusting, and yet also so vulnerable?

‘And if you reallywantme,’ she said, still sounding a little astonished, ‘I really want you, too.’

‘Bueno!’ he rasped, his control snapping. Grasping her in greedy handfuls, he boosted her into his arms, knowing he had to get her inside the house before he took her mouth, because he did not believe for a second they would stop there. And while the villa was secluded and away from thecastillo, he did not want to risk being interrupted.

She let out a startled gasp but wrapped her legs around his waist and clasped his head between her hands. He marched into the villa, slamming the door shut behind him—the giddy excitement he sensed in her reaction a powerful aphrodisiac to his already rampant desires… He framed her face in his hands, captured her mouth and thrust his tongue deep to taste her at last.

He devoured her heady sobs, the sweet shallow darts of her tongue, and let the control he had clung to for weeks burn away in a firestorm of need…

CHAPTER SIX

Cerys grasped handfulsof Santiago’s hair and kissed him for all she was worth. Giddy shock turned to desperate pleasure as he explored her mouth—conquering her with a purpose which made her yearn.

She wasn’t sure how everything had changed on a single heartbeat, from panic and temper to vicious need and validation. But it felt so life-affirming, she was not going to question it.

He wanted her to stay at thecastilloas a guest, to be Ana’s friend rather than her paid companion. But so much more than that, Santiago wantedher—the way she now understood she had always wanted him.

She feasted on his lips as his arms wrapped around her. The ridge of his erection pressed against her. She squirmed, wanting, needing more—although she wasn’t entirely sure what.

He jerked his head away suddenly. His dark gaze scoured her face before he deposited her on the kitchen table.

Her breathing was so rapid her head was spinning. Was he done? Was that it?

She was ready to beg when he rasped, ‘I want to see all of you.’

She bounced her head in a rapid nod.

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