by Sable Hunter
Isabella couldn’t help but smile at the thought of him eating cookies and drinking milk before bedtime. Her cowboy had a little boy’s heart.
“If you care for a dip, this land is dotted with hot springs, Mr. Redford,” Don Luis offered, his eyes staring into the distance.
“I didn’t bring any trunks, but I’d sure love to see one of those springs when we go check the stock this afternoon.”
Don Luis refilled both his and Bull’s glass from a pitcher on the tray. “Regretfully, I must be a poor host. I have business to attend to and our viewing of the stock will wait until the morning.”
Isabella’s ears perked up at the conversation. She knew her uncle’s business was more than likely a horse race. Opportunity was knocking. “I could accompany you to the springs, Mr. Redford. I can talk business with you while we pass the time. I’m as familiar with the stock as my uncle.” More so.
“Nonsense.” Don Luis frowned at Isabella. “Mr. Redford is welcome to explore on his own. There’s no need for you to venture out without a chaperone, Isabella.”
“I haven’t required a chaperone in years, Uncle Luis.” Isabella reminded him.
Ignoring his niece to face Bull, Cortez held up his glass. “I’ve instructed Manuel to have the bulls brought in from their pastures first thing tomorrow. He will assist me in telling you the story of each champion.”
Isabella fumed. Obviously, Don Luis did not want her showing up his limited knowledge of the stock and their bloodlines.
Bull frowned, not sure how to proceed. “If you’re leaving, Don Luis, and we’re not going to look at stock until the morning, I should go back to my hotel.”
“Absolutely not.” Don Luis made an expansive movement with his arms. “I asked you to come to Mexico. No guest of mine will stay in a hotel. You will remain here on Terra Dura and enjoy the bounty of my home. Tonight, we feast!” To Isabella’s surprise, he turned to her. “Niece, you will see that Magdalena prepares a banquet fit for the occasion.”
For once, Isabella was grateful for her uncle’s grandiose gestures. “Very well. I’ll see to Mr. Redford’s needs with pleasure.”
Bull cut her a glance and saw the young woman’s hungry expression. Fuck him – he was in trouble.
“Uh…thank you, Don Luis. I guess I’ll wander around a little on my own, try to find these springs. I look forward to seeing your fine animals tomorrow.” The men clinked their glasses again and drank the Paloma down.
Don Luis consulted his watch. “I should be going soon. Ask Juan for directions to the springs, he’ll help you.” He topped off Bull’s drink one more time. “Finish your siesta, Mr. Redford. I shall call down to the stables and have my finest horse saddled for you.”
A smile played on Isabella’s lips. “Excuse me.” She rose to her feet.
“Where are you off to, Isabella?” Don Luis asked when she headed toward the hacienda.
Standing at the edge of the French doors, she ventured a look at Benedict. “I have studying to do, Uncle.” Today, the topic wasn’t animal husbandry. Today, the topic was human attraction. A cool dip in a warm pool sounded like the perfect idea.
CHAPTER
FOUR
After leaving Benedict and her uncle on the galleria, Isabella went first to the kitchen and conferred with Magdalena to prepare a feast of traditional Aguascalientes dishes. “I’ll be back in plenty of time to help you,” she promised their cook.
Magdalena waved her hand as she polished the silver flatware. “I always appreciate your help, but you have a guest to tend to.”
She kissed the older, rotund woman on the cheek, not commenting on how much she’d love to tend to the Texas cowboy. “I enjoy cooking. One day I’ll have a family of my own.”
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Carmen Isabella. Surely, your husband will live here at Terra Dura.”
Magdalena’s proclamation caused Isabella to freeze in her tracks. Would a man such as Benedict give up his home to step into her world? She didn’t know. “I don’t know what the future holds, but wherever I go, you will have a place with me.”
Upstairs, she freshened up and slipped on a long cotton dress over her favorite bikini before sneaking out the back entrance.
“Senorita Cortez?” Juan met her as she strolled down the path that connected the five-car garage to the stables. “Shall I saddle up Bonita for you? I am preparing a mount for the guest.”
“No, I’m not riding today. However, I would like to see her, Juan.” Isabella headed down between the stalls. She stopped in front of her beloved Bonita and patted her on the nose. “Hello, my sweetheart.” The mare nickered a greeting. “He’s here,” she whispered to the horse so the vaquero couldn’t hear. Isabella told Bonita and Lola everything. “The man I told you about, he’s here.” She pressed her forehead to the mare’s face. “I’m not upset that he didn’t recognize me, I guess. I am disturbed that he seems to not like me. I need to make him see me, Bonita, the real me. Wish me luck.” Isabella gave her beloved companion a kiss before saying goodbye. “Is the four wheeler out back, Juan?”
“Yes, it is senorita. I am sorry to tell you that Raul took it out yesterday and flipped it.”
“Oh, no. Is he okay?”
“Si, he’s fine. He fared much better than the four wheeler. The front bumper is bent and he tore the right fairing off.”
“Does it still work?” She wanted to be at the springs before Benedict arrived.
Juan nodded. “Si, I repaired it myself. I’ve already ordered the replacement fairing, but the machine is safe to drive.”
Their foreman had been brought to Terra Dura by her father. He’d been living on the streets as a young man. When he was hired, Juan was barely literate and Isabella knew he was loyal to her. He was a man she could trust. “If you say it is fixed, Juan, it is fixed. I have faith in you. When our guest, Mr. Redford arrives to collect his mount, if he asks for directions to the springs, point him toward Paradiso.” She named the most beautiful hot spring and one that truly suited her purpose.
Juan agreed. “Si, this I will do.”
Isabella took her leave out the back door of the barn. The dark blue four wheeler was parked beside a stack of shovels and racks. Just as their foreman reported, Raul had done a number on it. Juan might have had time to fix the machine, but it appeared he hadn’t taken time to wash it. “Aye, yi, yi,” Isabella muttered, slinging her tote over her shoulder. She didn’t worry about getting her dress dirty, she wouldn’t be wearing it long anyway.
…Bull meandered down the hill from the hacienda. Shaking his head, he rubbed his eyes. The last Paloma he’d drank had left him slightly tipsy. The sound of an off-road vehicle echoed in the distance, but he didn’t pay it much mind.
“Mr. Redford, I have a mount waiting for you.”
“Great, thank you.”
“My name is Juan, I will be glad to help you in any way I can while you are here.” He placed the reins of a gorgeous chocolate brown Azteca stallion in his hands.
“Gracias,” Bull admired the graceful lines of the horse. “I appreciate that, I know how valuable good help can be. How long have you worked for the Cortez family, Juan?”
“I have been at Terra Dura for twenty-seven years, senor. Patron Cortez gave me my job and I’ll always be eternally grateful.”
“Don Luis seems like a good man.”
Juan’s expression didn’t change. “Not Don Luis. His brother, Romero Miguel Cortez. He was a great man.”
“I’m sure he was.” Bull didn’t miss the man’s emphasis on the word he. He wondered if Romero Miguel was Isabella’s father. “I’m about to take a ride on the property. Anything I should see?”
Remembering Senorita Cortez’s request, he mentioned the springs. “Paradiso is a beautiful hot spring about two miles south.” He pointed in the right direction. “And keep a careful eye out for Toro Roca, he is a mean one.”
Bull recognized Toro but he didn’t know the other word. Apparently, there
was a mean bull in the pasture. Well…now, there was two. Apparently, Juan didn’t know his reputation with the animals. When he was growing up, his dad had kept an oversize Black Angus as a stud bull. The old animal had been harmless, but his father loved to send unsuspecting guests to where they’d cross paths with the behemoth. That thought brought Carmen to mind and the danger she willingly placed herself in – he didn’t like it, he didn’t like it at all. How was he supposed to go back to Texas and leave her to an unknown fate?
For the next hour, Bull admired one of the grandest ranches he’d ever seen – and he’d seen a lot. Naively, he’d never imagined Mexico to look this way. With wonder, he surveyed the magnificent land before him. Bull was used to seeing flat grasslands flow into gentle foothills, but here the scenery was more dramatic, more colorful. On every side, he could see herds of cattle and horses grazing in lush green pastures. Since he didn’t know where the stock Don Luis intended for him to see could be, he didn’t venture off the path Juan had set him on.
Moving slowly up one high ridge, he reined the graceful stallion beneath him to a halt. In the distance, Bull could see Aguascalientes. Although he’d stayed in the older part of the city, he knew it was about the size of Austin and the surrounding area. Nothing like Mexico City, which was home to over nine million, Aguascalientes was still a city of industry. There were even two Nissan factories in the area, but he could feel none of that hustle and bustle from the sanctuary of Terra Dura.
Squinting his eyes through the glare of the sun, he gazed across the landscape and up to see a form on the farthest ridge. The temperature was cooler here then he’d expected, but the sun could be just as merciless to the eyes as it was back home in Texas. “What in the world?” He urged the horse forward and they were off down a rocky embankment that Bull was grateful the animal knew well enough to navigate.
Crossing the ravine, he passed a few of the bubbling hot springs Don Luis had mentioned. They were very inviting, he found himself wishing he had something like this back at his place. His one consolation was the proximity to Canyon Lake, he did enjoy fishing on those blue Hill Country waters. Drawing closer, he saw scrubby dwarf pines growing around the edges of the small pools heated from the earth’s core and the occasional cluster of oaks appeared on the landscape. As the figure perched on top of the next ridge became clearer, Bull’s stomach clenched in amazement. This had to be the beast Juan had casually mentioned. Damn, he’d seen a lot of bulls in his time, but not many like this monster.
With every step his mount took, Bull realized Juan and the boys back at the barn were having a good old pisser right now thinking about the terror the gringo must be feeling. What they didn’t realize was that Benedict Redford made his living dealing with giant bulls. But to give them credit, the one he saw atop the next ridge was damn big.
A few years back, he’d traveled to England to see Field Marshal, a bull that weighed almost thirty-five hundred pounds. At six foot five at the shoulder, he was bigger than a mini-van. The bull in front of him, with head down and grazing in the grass, would rival that monster, no doubt.
The closer he came, the more details he could see. The flanks were pale gray and speckled, the coloring reminded him of the legendary Desperado, he even had the white blaze down his face. Bull shook his head. Yea, he’d had some alcohol, but he didn’t think his brain was that muddled. The animal almost appeared to be a mirage, it seemed to even shimmer in the light.
Finally, as Bull edged the stallion closer, he could see that the figure hadn’t moved. His horse was having absolutely no reaction to it at all, which was strange. “Well, hell.” Moving even farther up the ridge, he could see the big bull was made of stone, the most beautiful piece of stone he’d ever seen. Dismounting, he looked the piece over, it was so lifelike he could imagine it would fool most people. He’d seen artwork like this before, and sure enough, when he searched one of the hooves, there was the tell-tale signature of Aron McCoy. “Why you old son-of-a-bitch. There’s just no getting away from you, is there?”
From her spot on the ledge of a hot spring in the valley down below, Isabella looked up and shivered.
He was here.
She watched Benedict as he examined the sculpture her father had commissioned shortly before his death. The man called Bull was beautiful and he’d brought her more pleasure than she even knew existed. Should she make her presence known, or wait for him to discover her? “The statue is life-like, is it not?” Damn her impatience!
Surprised to hear someone speaking to him, Bull jerked around. For a second there, he could’ve sworn the voice belonged to Carmen. But when he looked down to the small embankment, he saw Don Luis’s sexy niece sitting on the edge of a natural pool, her dainty feet dangling in the water. “Isabella?”
She waited to answer until he drew nearer. After all, she wanted him close enough to appreciate the view. The whole point of her racing all the way out here and lounging around in her skimpiest bikini was to show Benedict that she was no immature teenager. “Uncle mentioned the hot springs and I just couldn’t help myself.” She kicked her feet in the water, stirring it up. In the process, she stretched her long, shapely legs out for him to notice.
“Sweet baby Jesus,” Bull mumbled under his breath. This girl was relentless and if she had any less clothing on, she could’ve been ticketed for indecency.
“Why don’t you come join me?” She beckoned him down.
“Awwww. Sorry. Left my trunks back at home.”
Isabella stood with a wiggle. “No problem, as you Americans say. Your briefs would be just as good, I’m sure, Mr. Redford. Or maybe we could just… How do you say? Skinny-dip!”
The distance was a godsend, because there was no way Bull wanted her to see how she was affecting him. His cheeks were damn hot. God, he was blushing like a randy teenage boy. These spoiled princess types sure didn’t know how to take no for an answer. “I think I’m good. I’m just gonna admire this piece of art up here if it’s all the same to you. Turns out, I know the artist.”
“Oh, really? I’ll come join you.” She made an exaggerated production of bending over to find a towel in the tote on the ground behind her. The large beach towel was right on top, but she kept the position, giving Benedict a good, long view of her bottom.
“Yea, no doubt about it, I’m going straight to hell,” Bull muttered, running his hand over the stone bull’s horns while he looked over his shoulder and down at the feast of feminine flesh on display.
“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Isabella said after she’d made her way up the gentle hill. She wore a tiny white bikini that hugged her like a second skin.
“Umm. Yea, it is. Like I said, I know Aron McCoy, the sculptor.” Bull did his best to focus on the piece of stone and not the smooth, tanned body of the gorgeous young woman only a few feet away from him. There were tiny droplets of water on her skin and all Bull could think about was licking them off. What in the Sam Hell was wrong with him? How could he be so impossibly attracted to Isabella when he was interested in Carmen?
“Do you?” Isabella came around the statue, making sure to get right in Benedict’s line of sight. Her breasts were plumped to the max and she couldn’t help but smile when he looked right at them, then quickly away. “My father had it commissioned as a gift to my mother. The model of this bull was one she raised on a bottle.”
“I’m sure he was a fine animal. The statue is called Toro Roca.”
“Yes. Bull Rock.” She smiled. “How did you know?”
“The man at the barn. Juan, I think his name was, he told me watch for it. I think this bull looks a lot like Desperado.” At her quizzical expression, he explained. “He’s an unridden rodeo bull. Retired now. A neighbor of mine owns him.”
“I see. My mother’s bull was named Magi.”
“I think the nose is chipped.” Bull hunkered down to look. Isabella came to his side, letting her shoulder brush against his. He caught a whiff of her scent, fresh and clean with a hint of citrus. Sh
e smelled so good, he was tempted to take a bite. “Nope, just a speck of dirt. The statue is damn impressive, Aron did a good job.”
“The stone is Tepeaca Gris, it’s native to Mexico. My father was insistent the artist use it. I don’t recall how long it took him to make it.” She grasped one of the horns. “Probably weeks of carving, polishing, and shaping.” Bull turned his face to look at her and Isabella stroked the horn with her hand. “As you can see, the horn is solid, firm to the touch, so hard.” He looked right at her mouth, at her eager lips. Isabella was sure he was about to kiss her…but instead, he stood.
Despite his best intentions, Bull’s body was reacting to her. He tried to fight it, but everything about her was so perfect. He’d have to be dead or a saint not to notice – and by God, he wasn’t either one. The bikini, her perfume, the way she caressed the stone, all of this was designed to seduce him and he knew it. Fuck! She was off-limits, way too young, and the niece of a business associate. Forbidden fruit. Besides, there was Carmen to consider. As beautiful as she was, Isabella Cortez was off limits.
Bull used the bulk of the statue to mask the swelling in his jeans. There’d be no hiding his arousal if she were to look, he hadn’t been given the moniker of Bull for no reason. “We should probably get back.”
“But the waters of the springs are so warm,” Isabella whispered, gazing at him with warm brown eyes. “Are you sure I can’t tempt you, Mr. Redford?”
Oh, she did tempt him. Almost beyond bearing. “Not today, Miss Cortez. Where is your horse? I didn’t see it by the spring.”
Truth be told, he hadn’t seen anything but her smooth skin and long dark hair. There could’ve been a jumbo jet tied to a Brontosaurus and he would’ve missed it completely.
“I didn’t ride a horse. I rode that.”
Bull followed her pointing finger. “You drove a four wheeler?”
“Yes, I have my driver’s license, Mr. Redford. I’m not a child.”
