Page 18 of Consequence of One Reckless Night

“I’m sorry about that,” Leandro said, pulling himself back to the present.

Alexandre shook his head. “Don’t be. I know what to expect from Erica. It doesn’t bother me anymore.”

A pained expression came over his brother’s face. “I apologize on behalf of her.”

Clapping a hand on Leandro’s shoulder, he warned, “Don’t. I just came to offer my congratulations. But there’s something I need to take care of, so I will say goodnight.”

But Leandro wasn’t ready to let him go. “Not yet. Come meet my fiancée.” Turning, he gestured at the trio of women who stood by the French windows.

Alexandre lifted his head. A strange awareness pricked his spine as the hair on his nape stood up.

The older woman, clearly the bride-to-be’s mother, nodded at him. The purple haired woman beside her, didn’t even acknowledge him. In fact, she was busy whispering something at the third woman who had her back to him.

An uneasy feeling settled in his chest as he drew closer to the women.

“Ladies, this is my brother, Alexandre.”

Of the three women present, two smiled politely at him but the middle one kept her back turned. Something about her stance, the slight slouch, niggled him. The purple haired woman tugged her arm, forcing her to turn around.

Alexandre’s breath caught in his throat when he stared down at a very familiar face.

Leandro did the introductions, but he heard nothing after “this is Raquel, my fiancée.”

His brother’s fiancée was—his Raquel! He had slept with his brother’s fiancée!

Alexandre stumbled back as horror filled him.What had he done?He didn’t know who Raquel was when he took her to bed, but it didn’t change the fact that he’d slept with his brother’s fiancée!

Beside him, Leandro continued to speak but Alexandre heard nothing because he couldn’t take his eyes off the woman who had turned his world upside down.

He observed shock, confusion and trepidation chase across Raquel’s face, but when her eyes glazed over, his arm instinctively flew out and he grabbed her, just as she fell in a dead faint.

Someone shrieked as Alexandre swung her up into his arms before rushing out of the dining room and into his grandfather’s study, where he immediately laid her down on a plush sofa.

“Get some water,” he barked, clasping her cold hand in his.

Fear, like he had never experienced before, ripped through him. Why had she fainted? Was the shock of seeing him so great that her mind had shut down? Or was it—the baby?

“Move aside, let me look at her.”

Raquel’s mother’s authoritative tone grated on his nerves, but he forced himself to step away from the sofa. Feeling raw and exposed, he stormed out of the room, not caring that his hurried departure invited curious looks from both Leandro and Raquel’s sister.

He grappled with the feelings roiling inside him. Shock. Anger. Helplessness. Why did Raquel evoke such strong emotions in him?

Even when his mother had lain dying, he’d only felt contempt—never compassion, or love. But Raquel managed to arouse protective instincts in him, and it wasn’t just because she was carrying his child. He’d experienced the same feelings that night at the club when he had rescued her from her unwanted admirer.

He remembered wanting to keep her safe—make her happy. But it was he who had felt ridiculously happy in her company. So much that he had wanted to lose himself in her goodness.

And he had.

That one night, he’d experienced a myriad of emotions he had never experienced before. Incendiary passion. Mind-blowing pleasure. And soul cleansing peace. The climax itself had blown his mind, but along with it came a sense of tranquility that he’d never known before. Perhaps that was why he had reached for her again?

Although he shouldn’t have, he admitted grimly, walking away from the mansion. He had decisions to make, but one thing was certain—he wasn’t going to abandon his child.

He would claim his child—and Raquel.

****

When Raquel openedher eyes, her vision was blurry. Her head hurt and stomach churned, her lips were dry, and her throat was parched.

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