Claimed For The De Carrillo Twins. Эбби Грин

      Cruz waved a hand dismissively. ‘It’s a ridiculous name for an heir to the De Carrillo fortune.’

      Trinity went still. ‘What do you mean, heir? Surely any children you have will be the heirs...’

      * * *

      Cruz was close to reaching boiling point—which wasn’t helped by the fact that his libido seemed to be reaching boiling point too. He was uncomfortably aware of how Trinity’s breasts pushed against the fabric of her seemingly demure silk shirt. It was buttoned to her neck, but it was the most provocative thing he’d ever seen. It made him want to push aside the desk and rip it open so he could feast his gaze on those firm swells...

      Which was an unwelcome reminder of how he’d reacted that night when he’d found her in his study—supposedly looking for a book—testing the very limits of his control in not much more than a vest and sleep shorts, with a flimsy robe belted around her tiny waist.

      It had broken the limits of his control, proving that he wasn’t so far removed from his father after all, in spite of his best efforts.

      Cruz had had her backed up against the wall of shelves, grinding his achingly hard arousal into her quivering body, his fingers buried deep in slick heat and his mouth latched around a hard nipple, before he’d come to his senses...

      Cursing her silently, and reining in his thundering arousal, Cruz said, with a coolness that belied the heat under the surface, ‘Mateo and Sancho will be my heirs, as I have no intention of having any children.’

      Trinity shook her head. ‘Why would you say such a thing?’

      Already aware that he’d said too much, Cruz clamped down on the curious urge to explain that as soon as he’d heard Rio was having children he’d felt a weight lift off his shoulders, not having been really aware until then that he’d never relished the burden of producing an heir for the sake of the family business.

      He’d learnt from a young age what it was to have to stand by helplessly and watch his own half-brother being treated as nothing just because he was the result of an affair. He’d experienced the way parents—the people who were meant to love you the most—sometimes had scant regard for their offspring. Cruz might have been the privileged legitimate heir, but he’d been treated more like an employee than a loved son.

      He’d never felt that he had the necessary skills to be a father, and he’d never felt a desire to test that assertion. However, his nephews had changed things. And the fact that Rio was no longer alive really changed things now. And the fact that this woman believed she could control their fate was abominable.

      Cruz was aware that he barely knew his nephews—every time he saw them they hid behind Trinity’s legs, or their nanny’s skirts. And until Rio had died he hadn’t felt any great desire to connect with them...not knowing how to, in all honesty. But now an overwhelming instinct to protect them rose up in him and surprised him with its force. It reminded him of when he’d felt so protective of Rio when he’d been much smaller, and the reminder was poignant. And pertinent. He hadn’t been able to protect Rio, but he could protect his nephews.

      Perhaps Trinity thought she’d get more out of him like this. He rued the day she’d ever appeared in his life.

      Curtly he said, ‘I’ll give you tonight to think it over. Tomorrow, midday, I’ll come to the house—and trust me when I say that if you don’t have your price ready by then, you’ll have to prepare yourself for a legal battle after which you’ll wish that you’d taken what I’m offering.’