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CHAPTER 18
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2024-10-29 19:42:56By the time Diego entered the compartment, Jacqueline was fast asleep. Curled up in a ball, toffee-brown waves tumbling over a delicate cheekbone, she looked very young, incredibly pretty, and alarmingly vulnerable.
He looked at her for a while. She was now his wife. HIS WIFE. It was a disturbing moment of truth for Diego. She was now Jacqueline Maxwell Martinez del Río, the Duquesa de Altamira (Spanish for ‘Duchess of Altamira’). She had a lot of grounds for complaint, Diego acknowledged that.
His handsome mouth hardened on that admission of self-blame. He wasn’t accustomed to finding himself in the wrong. But he had criticized her behavior as his wife without once accepting her right to be treated as though she was his wife.
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Everyone who worked in the hacienda was waiting to pay their respects to the Duke and the new Duchess. Diego carried her through the introductions with the sure confidence that seemed to accompany everything he did and Jacqueline really appreciated his support. Afterward, he closed his hand over hers and walked her up the carved stone staircase.“You must be incredibly hungry,” he murmured.“Yes… I should’ve eaten when I got the chance.” Jacqueline sighed, her attention locking to the ancient stone walls and the architectural details surrounding them. It was absolutely gorgeous, and she was fascinated by it. His handsome mouth quirked at her fatalistic outlook.“I upset you&
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Jacqueline nodded and gave him an awkward smile. Then she leaped up to examine the contents of the trolley and exclaimed in delight at the sight of the barbecued ribs, pizza, and French fries. All her favorites! He didn’t joke about it. Diego did call Sandra… There was a multitude of other options, but for now, this was what she wanted. “You have a take-away on your property?” “After what I put you through in the last hours, I wanted you to enjoy something you like. Mrs. Fanning told me that nothing and no one can stand between you, pizza and French fries.” “I eat loads of more healthy things too, but Sandra wouldn’t have had a clue about that. To be honest, she and Steve eat stuff like this most of the time.” As she spoke, Jacqueline was scooping up cushions and threw and piling them on the carpet in
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With a husky groan, Diego just reached for her as though she were a doll. With his hands spread across the feminine swell of her hips, he raised her higher and clamped her hard up against his lean muscular frame. Warm and silky smooth and interestingly rough, his body was an electrifying mix of different textures against her softer skin. Jacqueline was insanely aware of the hot, hard thrust of his erection and of her own feverish yearning for his touch. She felt programmed, enslaved by the vicious promise of the pleasure he had already given her.“I was waiting for this for so long… Three years might seem an eternity sometimes. Touch me, Diego. Please,” she mumbled shakily.“I will, cariño (Spanish for ‘darling’) … And I won’t stop. Not until you beg me to.”&nb
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Jacqueline made a harried attempt to mount the cover-up that she knew Diego would expect from her.“Of course, there’s nothing wrong, Doña Jacintha,” she replied giving the old woman a smile to punctuate even more the facts.“Niña, it’s natural that you should miss your husband, especially after such a short honeymoon. I am a bit sad that you parted so soon after your wedding.” Tears stung the back of Jacqueline’s eyes in a dismaying surge. It had not occurred to her that she would miss Diego quite so dreadfully.“When I married him, I knew about his busy life. He told me that he has to work a great deal to keep the worries away from the family. He also told me how much he loved his work,” Jacqueline said looking away for a second to hide the tears. “So, I’ll
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Diego put a powerful arm to Jacqueline’s spine to urge her in the direction of the exit. She was almost there before it occurred to her that she could hardly leave without telling his cousin, Lilia. Although the two women hadn’t known each other long, they got on so well that Jacqueline already thought of Lilia as a close friend. “I have to tell Lilia that I’m going…” “Absolutely. You can call my cousin from the limo. I’m positive she’ll understand.” “No, that wouldn’t be right. She has been so good to me. Just give me two minutes, Diego. Please,” Jacqueline pleaded. She freed herself from his grip and hurried back to the table where Lilia was seated. “Sorry, but I have to go…” “I thought so. I saw Diego arriving,” the elegant brunette acknowledged wryly. Jacqueline gave her a relieved smile,
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A sense of humiliation stormed through her anger and brought hot tears to her eyes.“That’s what I mean about you, Diego… You’re impossible! You are Mexican and you’re correcting my English!”“Jackie, it was thoughtless,” he acknowledged.“No, Diego, it wasn’t. You think about everything, you always know exactly what you’re doing…”“I didn’t know exactly what I was doing when I married you. I didn’t look for the bigger picture. I must’ve been insane. I was certainly guilty of poor judgment,” Diego countered grimly. “I didn’t even foresee the complications that would come out from the consummation of our marriage. But from that night, our wedding night, preciosa, my desire for freedom disappeared.” A poundi
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She shot him a shocked look.“Of course, not… I’ve been behaving myself too!” Diego breathed again.“I should’ve flown back and sorted this out more than a week ago.”“There’s a right time for everything. Maybe, at that time, you weren’t ready.” He was still not sure that he was ready for the enormous complexity that had disrupted his once smooth and calm existence. He hadn’t chosen the situation, but now at least, he felt in control of it again. With a sly grin on his lips, Diego surveyed Jacqueline with unashamed masculine possessiveness. He couldn’t comprehend how he had ever dismissed her as only very pretty.&nbs
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Diego dug his cellphone back into his pocket. He felt slightly nauseous. Was it his Abuela? Doña Jacintha had been pronounced fighting fit at a recent examination. But a couple of weeks earlier, Diego had allowed Alejandro to run a full battery of tests, including DNA, on his little niece. What the hell was happening that his friend couldn’t tell him on the phone? Maybe the tests showed something wrong with Azura? Was she ill? But why had it taken so long for Alejandro to approach him with the result? Jacqueline didn’t even know about half those tests. Having arranged to take Azura to Alejandro for a vaccination that had been overdue, Jacqueline had come down with a twenty-four-hour virus that had confined her to bed and it had been Diego who had taken the baby instead.
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She shot him a shocked look.“Of course, not… I’ve been behaving myself too!” Diego breathed again.“I should’ve flown back and sorted this out more than a week ago.”“There’s a right time for everything. Maybe, at that time, you weren’t ready.” He was still not sure that he was ready for the enormous complexity that had disrupted his once smooth and calm existence. He hadn’t chosen the situation, but now at least, he felt in control of it again. With a sly grin on his lips, Diego surveyed Jacqueline with unashamed masculine possessiveness. He couldn’t comprehend how he had ever dismissed her as only very pretty.&nbs
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A sense of humiliation stormed through her anger and brought hot tears to her eyes.“That’s what I mean about you, Diego… You’re impossible! You are Mexican and you’re correcting my English!”“Jackie, it was thoughtless,” he acknowledged.“No, Diego, it wasn’t. You think about everything, you always know exactly what you’re doing…”“I didn’t know exactly what I was doing when I married you. I didn’t look for the bigger picture. I must’ve been insane. I was certainly guilty of poor judgment,” Diego countered grimly. “I didn’t even foresee the complications that would come out from the consummation of our marriage. But from that night, our wedding night, preciosa, my desire for freedom disappeared.” A poundi
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Diego put a powerful arm to Jacqueline’s spine to urge her in the direction of the exit. She was almost there before it occurred to her that she could hardly leave without telling his cousin, Lilia. Although the two women hadn’t known each other long, they got on so well that Jacqueline already thought of Lilia as a close friend. “I have to tell Lilia that I’m going…” “Absolutely. You can call my cousin from the limo. I’m positive she’ll understand.” “No, that wouldn’t be right. She has been so good to me. Just give me two minutes, Diego. Please,” Jacqueline pleaded. She freed herself from his grip and hurried back to the table where Lilia was seated. “Sorry, but I have to go…” “I thought so. I saw Diego arriving,” the elegant brunette acknowledged wryly. Jacqueline gave her a relieved smile,
