The Secret He Must Claim Read online

  Cortez could not control the fierce emotions that ripped through him at Elin’s words. His mind flew back to when he had been in his early twenties and had moved to Madrid to start his career with Hernandez Bank. Life in the big city had been exciting, and when he’d met a stunning model, Alandra Ruiz, he’d fallen hard for her exotic looks.

  He pictured himself in the bathroom of Alandra’s apartment, staring at a pregnancy test he’d found on the vanity unit. He’d picked up the test and carried it into the bedroom.

  ‘When were you going to tell me you are pregnant, carina?’

  Her reaction had surprised him. She had frowned and then given a careless shrug. ‘I meant to throw the test away before you saw it.’

  ‘So it’s true—you’re going to have my baby?’ He’d never felt so happy in his life. The woman he loved was pregnant with his child, and he was filled with excitement and pride.

  But Alandra had pushed him away when he’d tried to take her in his arms. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t go through with the pregnancy,’ she’d snapped. ‘For one thing, getting fat will ruin my career. But, more importantly, Emilio will know it is not his child because he has been abroad for months.’

  Cortez had felt as though a lead weight had dropped into his stomach. ‘Who the hell is Emilio?’

  ‘He’s my fiancé.’ Alandra gave another shrug. ‘He has moved to Canada, where he has a good job, and I’m waiting for a visa so that I can join him in Toronto. I was bored and you were a little light entertainment,’ she’d told Cortez. ‘But it has to end now.’

  He had tried to persuade her to keep the baby. ‘Marry me and I’ll take care of you and our child,’ he’d begged.

  At first she had laughed at him. ‘You don’t earn half as much as Emilio, and I don’t want his baby, so why would I want yours?’ Eventually she had agreed, and he had been overjoyed, but days later Alandra had called him and said she had never been serious about accepting his proposal and she had got rid of his baby before flying to Canada to be with her fiancé.

  * * *

  Cortez snapped his thoughts back to the present. Elin had to be lying because if she’d really had his child why wouldn’t she have told him before now and demanded money? Alandra had ripped his heart out when she’d got rid of his baby, and he refused to give credence to the idea that he could be the father of Elin’s child when the chances were frankly negligible.

  ‘I don’t have a son,’ he snapped. He swung away from her and moved towards the front door, but she came after him and put her hand on his arm.

  ‘Please, Cortez...’

  Please, Cortez. He pictured her sprawled on a bed with her scarlet dress awry. He heard her soft voice urging him on, inciting his hunger, his desperation to sink between her soft white thighs. She had made him feel out of control a year ago and she was threatening his self-control now. He wanted to haul her back to the sofa in the library and slide her elegant black dress up to her waist to bare her to his hungry gaze. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted any other woman, and his need infuriated him and at a deeper level it shamed him. Cortez Ramos did not need anyone. Certainly not a social butterfly who, if only half the press stories about her were true, was a trollop.

  He stared at her hand on his arm while the silence in the hall simmered with tension. She was standing so close that he breathed in her perfume, a light floral fragrance with underlying sensual notes of jasmine, and the beast inside him roared. He brought his other hand up and snapped his fingers around her wrist to jerk it away from his arm.

  ‘If you ever repeat your unfounded accusation that I am the father of your child I will sue you for slander,’ he said grimly. ‘We had protected sex on one occasion. It would be too convenient from your point of view if you had conceived my child, but I don’t believe you did.’

  He pulled open the front door and the cold March air stung his nostrils as he dragged in a breath. ‘It is not wise to play games with me, Elin. Unlike you, I did not enjoy a privileged upbringing. When I was a boy my mother often could not afford to buy food for us, but the hunger in my belly fired my determination to succeed and escape the poverty of my childhood. I’ve heard that Ralph Saunderson had a reputation for being ruthless and, I warn you, in that respect I take after my father.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ELIN WATCHED CORTEZ ease his tall frame into the low-slung sports car parked on the drive and slammed the front door shut as if she were shutting out the devil. She released her breath on a shuddering sigh and leaned against the solid wooden door for support while she replayed the unbelievable scene in the library over in her mind.

  She did not know what was most shocking: Ralph’s will which stipulated that she must marry before she could claim her inheritance, or that Ralph’s natural son and heir was Cortez Ramos—the father of her baby son, who had been conceived as a result of her night of shame.

  Harry was the innocent one in all of this. With a low cry, she ran across the hall and up the sweeping staircase. Her suite of rooms, including the nursery, were in the east wing of the house. Cuckmere Hall had been her home since she was four years old and the possibility that Cortez might turn it into a hotel felt like another stab of a knife into her already mortally wounded heart.

  The sound of her son’s cries drove every other thought from her mind as she flew across the nursery and lifted him out of his cot. ‘It’s all right, sweetheart. Mummy’s here,’ she crooned softly, feeling a familiar clench of emotion when Harry buried his face in her neck and his cries subsided to little snuffles.

  ‘I was just preparing his next feed,’ the nanny explained, hurrying into the room from the private kitchen. ‘Do you want me to give it to him?’

  ‘No, I will.’ Elin held out her hand for the bottle of formula and quashed a flicker of jealousy of the nanny. Barbara Lennox had proved to be invaluable and she had also become a trusted friend.

  Elin had not planned to hire a nanny. But she had been desperately ill after giving birth to Harry and when she had finally left hospital and returned to Cuckmere Hall with her newborn son, Jarek had told her that he had employed Barbara temporarily while Elin regained her strength. Suffering a life-threatening haemorrhage moments after the birth had been a terrifying ordeal and, despite having been given two blood transfusions, she’d still felt weak and exhausted. To make matters worse, she’d then developed a serious kidney infection and had been too ill to be able to take care of her baby.

  Barbara had turned down another job offer to stay and help look after Harry. It occurred to Elin that she would no longer be able to afford to employ a nanny now that Ralph had left her nothing in his will. She hadn’t felt a sense of entitlement, as Cortez had implied, but for twenty-two years she had regarded Ralph as her father and she was deeply hurt by the evidence that he had not cared about her.

  She settled herself in a chair and felt a pang of guilt when Harry nuzzled his face against her breast and tried to suckle. ‘Here you are,’ she murmured, offering him the teat of the bottle. It was a lasting sadness that she had been unable to breastfeed him because of the strong antibiotics she’d had to take to fight the kidney infection, but Barbara had assured her that Harry was thriving on formula milk.

  He was now just over three months old and he had a surprisingly strong grip when he curled his chubby fist around her finger. She couldn’t resist kissing his downy cheek and silky black hair. He stared up at her with his big eyes that were already changing from dark blue to an even darker brown flecked with gold that reminded her of Cortez’s eyes.

  She could insist on a DNA test to prove that Cortez was Harry’s father, but what would be the point? she thought wearily. Cortez did not want his son and she would not demean herself by pursuing him through the courts for a maintenance pay-out. Harry was her responsibility and she was prepared to bring him up on her own. At least she would have somewhere
for them to live. Rose and Ivy Cottages were tucked away on a remote part of the Cuckmere estate. She knew Jarek would insist she took ownership of whichever cottage was in the best condition. He rarely came to east Sussex and when he was in England he stayed at his London penthouse apartment, but most of the time he lived in Japan, where he worked as head derivatives trader for Saunderson’s Bank.

  She would have to look for another job. Elin chewed on her lower lip as the harsh reality of her situation sank in. Marriage was not an option. She did not have a prospective husband handily available and, even if she could bear to force herself onto the dating scene, she was a single parent with no money or prospects and she was hardly a great catch. But it meant that under the terms of Ralph’s will Cortez would inherit one hundred per cent of Saunderson’s Wines.

  The pain that had lodged beneath her breastbone following her mother’s death gave a sharp tug with the realisation that she would not be able to fulfil Lorna Saunderson’s dream of producing a top quality English wine from Cuckmere’s vineyards that Lorna herself had planted.

  It was conceivable that Cortez would allow her to continue in her role as production manager of the winery, but she did not relish the thought of working for him. Not if there was a chance she might see him regularly. She could not risk it when he had such a powerful effect on her. She pictured his handsome face: the chiselled cheekbones and square jaw, those dark, almost black eyes with their golden flecks and his wickedly sensual mouth that promised heaven—and delivered. Oh, boy, did it deliver.

  Memories she’d blanked out for over a year filled her mind. His lips on hers, the way he had plundered her soul and ravished her senses with his devastating kiss. Until today she’d convinced herself that her outrageous behaviour on the night of her birthday party had been the result of her drink being spiked with a date-rape drug by one of the other guests. But when she had seen Cortez in the library at the reading of Ralph’s will, her body had betrayed her and forced her to acknowledge the shameful truth. She had fallen into bed with him a year ago because she’d seen him across a crowded room and she’d wanted him so badly it had hurt.

  She had ignored the voice in her head which warned her that a man as lethally attractive as him was way out of her league. He had stolen her breath and her sanity and all that had been left of her was a burning need to feel his arms around her, his mouth against her mouth, his body on her body. Damning memories of having sex with Cortez came storming back and her treacherous body betrayed her all over again. Her nipples tightened and the quiver she felt low in her stomach was a shameful reminder that she had behaved like a slut at her birthday party.

  But her night of shame had resulted in her son. Harry finished his bottle and Elin held him against her shoulder while she winded him. Her heart turned over when he gave her a gummy smile. She would never regret having him even though she regretted the circumstances of his conception. She loved him so much and she vowed that as he grew up she would protect her son from the painful truth that his father had refused to acknowledge him.

  She told herself it would be best if she forgot that Cortez Ramos existed but, after she had changed Harry’s nappy and settled him in his cot, she found herself in front of her computer searching for Cortez’s profile on social media sites. His biography revealed that he had spent his childhood living with his mother on a small vineyard in Andalucía. After graduating from university with a first-class business degree he had worked for one of Spain’s largest banks and quickly proved he was a brilliant financier. His rise through the ranks to the position of CEO of Hernandez Bank had been meteoric.

  It was no wonder that Ralph had chosen his illegitimate son to be chairman of Saunderson’s Bank over his adopted son, Elin thought heavily. Ralph had been concerned that Jarek was too much of a risk-taker and it was an opinion shared by many of the board of directors, who would no doubt be very happy to have Cortez as the head of the bank.

  His success was not confined to banking. He had earned a reputation as a skilled viticulturist, and at his vineyards and bodega near the town of Jerez de la Frontera he specialised in producing exceptionally fine sherry. Five years ago, Cortez had formed a partnership with an international sherry company to produce and export specialist sherries around the world. The business, Felipe & Cortez, had become so successful that he was reputedly a multimillionaire.

  Elin was deep in thought as she switched off the computer. Her mind went blank for a moment when her phone rang and she answered a call from a catering company who wanted to discuss arrangements for the party that was to take place at Cuckmere Hall.

  ‘Oh, yes, the event is definitely going ahead,’ she confirmed to the caterers. The party was to raise funds for a charity organisation that she, Jarek and Ralph had established after Lorna Saunderson’s death. Lorna’s Gift aimed to support children living in orphanages around the world, and the many celebrities who had been invited to the party were likely to make huge donations to the charity.

  Elin was sure her adoptive father would have wanted her to hold the party. But Cortez was now the owner of Cuckmere Hall and she did not have time to find another suitable venue. He had told her before he’d left for his business meeting in London that he did not plan to return to Sussex for some time. There was a good chance he would never find out that the party had taken place. Her conscience felt uncomfortable, but she reminded herself that the charity was already making a difference to the lives of orphaned children and it might be her last chance to hold a major fund-raising event before she had to leave Cuckmere Hall.

  * * *

  What if Elin had told him the truth?

  The question had haunted Cortez when he’d driven away from Cuckmere Hall, and uncertainty had continued to plague him for the past two days while he’d had meetings with the board and management team of Saunderson’s Bank. He had dismissed Elin’s claim that he was the father of her child because he was ninety-nine per cent certain she was lying. But that left a one per cent possibility that it was true.

  His conscience pricked that he had rejected her claim outright and rushed away from Cuckmere because he hadn’t trusted himself around her. She unsettled him in a way no other woman had ever done and he resented the effect she had on him. But he needed to rule out the slim chance he had a son, which was why, instead of spending a relaxing evening at the house in Kensington, he had driven down the motorway back to Sussex in the pouring rain that at times had turned to sleet.

  Cuckmere Hall was a beacon of blazing lights against the black sky. When Cortez turned the car through the gates of the estate he was surprised to see dozens of vehicles parked on the driveway in front of the house. He was tired, which was perhaps understandable after the bizarre last few days, when he’d learned that the man he struggled to think of as his father had bequeathed him the chairmanship of the UK’s most prestigious private bank. The role came with a huge amount of responsibility and the expectation of the board that the bank would flourish under his leadership. But he felt no loyalty to Ralph Saunderson, who had ignored him for thirty-four years and had only made Cortez his heir because Ralph’s adopted son was not up to the job of running Saunderson’s Bank.

  The journey from London and the foul English weather had darkened Cortez’s mood even more, and his temper simmered when he walked into Cuckmere Hall and found a party going on. He threaded his way through the crowd of people in the central hall and shook his head at the waiter who offered him a tray of canapés. In one of the reception rooms there was a champagne bar, and in the ballroom music blared from the speakers and people were dancing.

  He saw Elin immediately, and the punch in his gut made him catch his breath. It was history repeating itself, he thought furiously. She was even wearing a red dress like she had done at her birthday party a year ago. But, instead of a scrap of scarlet silk, her dress tonight was a burgundy velvet floor-length gown with a side split up to her mid-thigh. The top of the d
ress was strapless, leaving her shoulders bare, and the laced bodice pushed her breasts up so that they looked like ripe, round peaches that he longed to taste. Her pale blonde hair reached to halfway down her back and shimmered like raw silk.

  He wanted her. Dios, he could feel the thunder of his pulse, and the fire in his blood mocked his belief that his desire for her a year ago had been an aberration. What was it about Elin that tested his self-control to its limits? She was not the only beautiful woman he had known, not even the most beautiful—her eyes were too big in her heart-shaped face and her mouth was too wide. She was elfin and ethereal and too petite for his six feet four frame.

  The rage inside him turned darker and more dangerous as he watched her dancing with a man he vaguely recognised was a television chat show host. The guy’s hands were all over Elin, but she seemed to be enjoying the attention, and her lilting laughter audible above the music caused acid to fizz in Cortez’s gut. He snapped his teeth together and strode across the ballroom, driven to distraction by an unfamiliar emotion that he grimly realised was jealousy.

  ‘My turn, I think you’ll find,’ he growled to Elin’s dance partner. The other man obviously valued his doubtless exorbitantly expensive dental work and quickly dropped his hand from her waist.

  ‘That was incredibly rude.’ Elin threw Cortez a furious glare before she spun round and began to walk away, but he snaked his arm around her waist and jerked her towards him.

  ‘I’m sure you don’t want to cause a scene, so I suggest you dance with me.’

  ‘I’m not the one causing a scene,’ she snapped. ‘Do you know who that man is? He is Clint Cooper, one of the highest paid people on television, and he was about to promise me a lot of money before you barged him out of the way.’