The Christmas Treasure by Kane, Mallory

that fit. He growled at her. Her hand went unconsciously to her heart; it was pounding so hard. "You duped me." She shook her head slowly. Why was he so angry? "I duped you? How?" He hit the desk with his palm and stood. Lorilla couldn't get used to how quickly, how fluidly he moved. He had the grace of a big cat, and its swiftness. Add to that the animal growl and his resemblance to a wild cat did little to calm her nerves. He stared out the large windows into the rising sun, standing, legs apart, one fist clenched at his side, the other propped akimbo on his hip. She remembered the long cords of muscle and tendon that his breeches and the loose white shirt covered. That memory brought others, of his mouth moving seductively over hers, his hands touching her intimately, and then lastly, the thing that angered him so. The thing she had never even dreamed of until last night, but that she now couldn't get out of her mind. He whirled, towering over her, anger emanating from him like sparks from a fire. Lorilla jumped. "I paid you five thousand dollars to come here and marry me. I was given to understand I had acquired a widow who had borne and lost a son. You were perfect. You were experienced; you had proven you could bear children. But you played me for a fool. You took my money and lied to me. Plus, you managed to have a physician and a lawyer lie to me as well. Tell me, Senora Beltran, how is it that I find myself married to a virgin when I purchased an experienced woman?"