This was ridiculous. She was in no mood for his nonsense this morning. Planting her hands on her hips, she confronted him. ‘Have you forgotten that I told you I was working this morning?’
‘I remembered.’
Dismounting, he secured both horses to a post, while she tried very hard not to notice the width of his shoulders, his lean frame... And she definitely refused to notice his tight butt, along with the familiar bulge in his jeans.
‘I left a message for my employer to let him know I will be working as usual this morning,’ she announced crisply.
‘I know you did.’
‘You know?’
Tiago turned to face her and his expression was distinctly amused.
It took her a moment, and then the penny finally dropped. ‘You!’
He shrugged. ‘Had you forgotten that this farm belongs to the Lochmaglen estate? Don’t look so horrified, Danny. I made a very generous offer. Your ex-employer had no difficulty accepting it.’
‘So you’ve bought up everything in sight?’
‘Not quite. Chico and Lizzie still own Rottingdean.’
‘So between you and Chico you’ve bought up half the Highlands?’ She shook her head. ‘You’re incredible!’
‘Glad you think so,’ Tiago observed wryly, utterly unfazed.
‘This isn’t funny, Tiago. You could have told me last night, but instead you chose to dangle me on the end of your line. I won’t let that happen again.’
‘Mount up,’ he suggested calmly. ‘We can discuss this on the ride. And don’t pretend you can resist checking out such a fabulous horse.’
True. He’d caught her looking at the mare. ‘You’ve got a damn cheek.’
‘I’m still trialling her,’ he said, ignoring this, ‘and I’d like to know what you think. I value your opinion, Danny. Is that so strange? You have had the best training in the world, after all.’
‘And you can stop mocking me, and smiling like that, right now.’
Narrowing her eyes, she’d made the mistake of meeting Tiago’s dark stare to say this, and now it was impossible to look away. His eyes held far too many wicked messages—messages that her body was all too eager to receive.
Tearing herself away from that distraction, she checked the tack and mounted up. ‘You could have told me all of this last night.’
‘I never show my hand on a first date.’
‘A first date?’ she queried, bending to flick the latch on the gate with her crop. ‘Is that what you’d call it?’
‘What would you call it?’
‘You don’t want to know.’
Tiago shrugged and then followed her through. ‘Shall we just enjoy the ride and find out where it takes us?’ he suggested, closing the gate behind them.
‘I would need to erase the past for that.’
Danny urged her horse into a relaxed canter, but as Tiago rode alongside all the hurt came welling back.
‘I would need to forget that you persuaded me to marry you without telling me what was involved. I would have to blank out the fact that you arranged a wonderful evening for us last night at a house you forgot to tell me you owned. And you even drew Annie into it—’
‘Stop.’ Tiago shifted position in the saddle so he could stare directly at her. ‘Annie was eager to be part of last night, and I thought you were eager to be there. You were obviously pleased to see Annie—and you were eager to marry me, I seem to recall.’
‘I was eager,’ Danny admitted. ‘I was eager and stupid and gullible. But not now. I gave you my heart and my trust in Brazil, but that was before I woke up. And I thought you knew me better than to imagine I could ever, ever involve a child.’
‘Danny—’
‘No,’ she flashed, and with a click of her tongue she urged the grey mare to gallop away from him.
* * *
He wasn’t staying back this time. This time he gave chase. They rode neck and neck at a flat-out gallop across the purple heather before finally reining in on the riverbank.
‘What do you think of her?’ he asked.
Danny looked at him as if she couldn’t believe he could change tack so easily.
‘The horse?’ he prompted.
‘I know what you’re talking about,’ she assured him. ‘The horse is great.’
‘She’s great—but we’re not?’ he suggested, raising a brow.
Danny’s face reflected her conflicting emotions. ‘You had to find a wife—any wife—and there I was.’
‘Yes,’ he admitted. ‘But I fell in love with you.’
‘You fell in love with me?’ she said. Her mouth slanted. ‘If you’d loved me you would have told me the truth.’
‘Maybe I didn’t know what love was, but you taught me. I married you for the worst of reasons, but graças a Deus I saved the ranch. I’ll make no apologies for that. Do I love you now? God help me, yes. Now more than ever.’
Swinging his leg over the horse, he dismounted. Running up his stirrups, he turned to stare at her.
‘Do I ask you to forgive me? No. There’s nothing for you to forgive. I will always love you, and I have never lied to you—’
‘Except by omission,’ she interrupted.
He shrugged. ‘If I’d told you everything last night you would have thought, The playboy is back. He thinks he can buy up everything in sight, including me. I didn’t want you to think that, Danny. I wanted the chance to speak to you and win your trust. I wanted to ride with you, out here in the open, where we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I wanted to see your face when you saw the new mare. I rebuilt the house with you in mind, and I chose everything in it for you. Maybe I was wrong to believe there were some things it was better for you not to know, but I did it out of the best of reasons. I wanted last night to be special, unthreatening. I wanted to give us another chance. I didn’t want what I can buy getting in the way of our reunion.’
‘Like this horse?’ Dipping her head, she nuzzled her face against the mare’s silky neck.
‘I wanted us to start afresh—just you and me last night, and then a new start for us this morning.’
Danny didn’t say anything for a long time as they watched their horses drink, and then she said, ‘You look tired.’
‘So do you. Bad night?’
She curbed a smile. ‘I didn’t sleep much,’ she admitted. ‘But we can’t just erase the past and start again, Tiago.’
‘Why not?’ He mounted up.
‘Because your plan is redundant. You own Fazenda Santos and you don’t need a wife.’
‘But I need you. And what if I have a new plan? One that includes you? I’m going to turn this estate around, Danny. I’m going to base it on my success in Brazil. You can help me, if you like. Unless that’s a problem for you?’
‘I couldn’t possibly work fast enough to meet your exacting standards,’ she commented.
‘Really?’ He pretended surprise. ‘I found you satisfactory in Brazil.’
‘Satisfactory?’ she exclaimed. ‘Watch it! I might be transparent when it comes to horses, but—’
‘Not just horses,’ he said.
‘I’m certainly not vulnerable where you’re concerned.’
‘I don’t think you’re vulnerable at all,’ he argued. ‘I think you’re strong—though you’re far too trusting.’
‘Tell me about it,’ she said. And then a new thought occurred to her and she frowned. ‘If this is your way of asking for my resignation...?’
‘Certainly not,’ he assured her. ‘I’m going to put you to work.’
She held up her hand. ‘Not so fast. If I do stay on I should warn you I’m unlikely to agree with you on most things.’
‘Should I act surprised?’
‘I won’t be easy
to work with,’ she warned him, mounting up.
‘Now I am surprised,’ he murmured dryly as they both turned for home.
On the brow of the hill overlooking the old house of Lochmaglen, they stopped and reined in. They could see broken fencing stretching for miles from there.
He turned to Danny and smiled. ‘I’ve always loved a challenge, haven’t you?’
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
‘I’VE NOT BOUGHT this place to see it fail,’ Tiago told her as their horses clattered into the yard.
‘But casualties are unavoidable?’ Danny suggested as she dismounted.
‘I hope not, but I can’t afford to be weak. Weakness destroyed my family and almost destroyed Fazenda Santos. My parents were like yours—weak and easily led. I could never live through that again. So if you think I’m hard, understand why.’
‘And if I find it hard to trust, understand why,’ she countered.
‘I do,’ he assured her wryly. ‘But luckily my main interest in life is rescuing and rebuilding.’
She laughed. ‘I remember.’
He turned serious. ‘But sometimes it’s the tender things that get trampled—which is where you come in.’
‘Me?’
‘You brought the human touch to the ranch. I want you to do the same here’
‘So what exactly is the job you’re offering me?’
‘The hardest job of all—the job of being my wife,’ Tiago said as he hefted the saddle off his horse. ‘And not just in name only, or for a year, but for a lifetime.’
‘As long as that?’ she said.
She turned to look at him and their stares met and held, and then they both laughed. It had been a long time coming, but they were finally back to their tormenting best—in a way they hadn’t been since those early days of their friendship on Chico’s ranch.
And now Tiago was in hunting mode, his firm mouth curving.
‘You need to accept that I love you,’ he said. ‘You need to understand that when you walked out I was hurting too.’ His lips pressed down as he thought back. ‘But maybe I needed that wake-up call. I certainly got one when I almost lost you.’
‘And now?’ she said.
Tiago shrugged. ‘Now I just want to know if I’m wasting my time here. Has your life moved on?’
‘Has yours?’
Neither of them answered. Maybe they didn’t need to. They had entered the stillness and shade of the stable block, and made swift work of settling their horses.
‘So I’ve still got a job?’ Danny confirmed as they walked outside.
‘Yes. Of course.’
They stopped walking. Tension was rising. Did she move closer, or did he? Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, glutting herself on the sweet tang of leather and hot, clean man.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked as she stood on tiptoe.
‘I’m going to kiss you.’
‘That’s my job.’
‘You’re too slow. This is just something else you’re going to have to get used to. Barbarian mates tend to be as fierce as each other.’
She kissed him.
Tiago didn’t move. ‘Are you always going to be so forceful with me?’
‘Always,’ she promised.
‘Then we are going to have a very interesting life together, Senhora Santos.’
‘I certainly hope so.’
‘I’ve missed you, Danny...’ He stared into her eyes.
‘I’ve missed you too.’
‘Let’s never fight again.’
‘Unless we’re in bed?’ she suggested.
Tiago laughed, his breath clouding with hers in the frigid air. ‘I will always love you, always protect you, always care for you—for as long as you will allow me to. And I will always support you in anything you decide to do.’
‘Stop.’ Reaching up, she placed her fingers on his lips. ‘In your position I would have done exactly the same. We’re like two halves of the same coin.’
‘What are you saying, Danny?’
‘Is it wrong to have sex on a second date?’
* * *
‘Deus! I need a bed,’ Tiago said huskily as he slammed her against the wall. ‘Why is there never a bed when I need one?’
‘Let me!’ Danny insisted fiercely. ‘Why do you always wear so many clothes?’
‘It’s winter?’
‘Stop making excuses.’
She tugged at his shirt, exclaiming when she got down to hot, hard skin. She threw her head back and rubbed her body against him, purring deep in her throat like a contented kitten.
‘Not here—not like this,’ Tiago insisted, plucking reason from the air when it was lost to both of them. ‘We’ve waited too long for this, and I’ve no intention of breaking such a long fast in a tack room.’
‘All right,’ Danny agreed grudgingly. ‘But be quick—’
Tiago strode across the yard with her in his arms, into the house and up the stairs, without pausing. Reaching the bedroom, he kicked the door shut behind them and they fell on each other. Clothes flew left and right. Words were unnecessary. When they were naked she was ready to scramble up him, but Tiago held her still and brought her in front of him.
‘No,’ he said, speaking softly and intently as he stared into her face. ‘This has to be special for you.’
Carrying her to the bed, he laid her down gently. Stretching out his powerful length beside her, he brought her into the circle of his arms and proceeded to give lovemaking a new meaning.
Keeping her arms above her head in one fist, he maintained eye contact as he built her pleasure with strokes and gentle teasing, until she was wild for him and it was all she could do to keep still. She had never felt like this before—so full of love, so abandoned, so free. Free to trust, to give, and to receive as Tiago introduced her to a new and extraordinary level of pleasure.
A groan escaped her as he stroked her buttocks, encouraging her to open her legs for him. And then, after teasing her with just his tip, he allowed himself to catch inside her, but then moved away again, making her sob with frustration.
‘More...’
‘More?’ he queried in a low, husky voice.
‘Don’t tease me,’ she begged him. ‘I’ve waited too long for this.’
She gasped with relief when he allowed her another exquisite inch.
But then he pulled back again.
‘Are you trying to drive me crazy with frustration?’
‘No. I’m making sure you trust me. Completely and for ever this time.’
He took her again, by a couple of inches, and then he rested, allowing her to savour how good it was. Then he began to move, slowly and steadily, thrusting his hips to a dependable rhythm that had her screaming his name within seconds.
‘Again,’ she gasped as the strongest of the pleasure waves rolled over her and subsided. ‘I must have more—please...please...more...again...’
Her fingers dug into him as she fell a second time, even more strongly than the first.
‘Again, and again, and again,’ Tiago promised her as he worked steadily to bring her more pleasure.
And this time when she quietened he murmured her name against her mouth and told her that he loved her.
* * *
They rode out the next morning, after a night of no sleep, but neither of them was tired for some reason. Tiago glanced at Danny and smiled. Life was too precious to waste a moment sleeping. They had done more than make love last night—constantly and vigorously; they had reached a new understanding built on trust and the realisation that neither of them was perfect, but they were better together than they could ever be apart.
The horses seemed to sense their exhilaration and it was a fast ride out and an even faster ride
back. The horses were keen to get to their oats and hay nets, while Danny and he couldn’t wait to go back to bed.
They went about the business of settling the horses as thoroughly as they always did, but with a careful speed. They didn’t speak—they didn’t have to—but each time they brushed against each other in the confined space he knew they felt the same bolt of electricity.
‘So what do you think of the grey?’ he demanded as they strode briskly across the courtyard to the house.
‘I’d keep her, if I were you.’
‘Really?’ he said, opening the door and standing back to let her in.
‘Definitely—she’s responsive and intelligent. What more could you want?’
‘What are you saying, Danny?’ There was laughter in his voice. ‘Are we still talking about the horse?’
Dragging her close, he stared deep into her eyes.
‘That didn’t require an answer, by the way,’ he said as he led her towards the stairs.
* * *
She was breathless by the time they reached the bedroom, and that had nothing to do with the speed at which she’d climbed the stairs. Catching hold of her, Tiago swung her round and eased her down gently onto the coverlet.
‘Are you sore after our excesses? Do you need me to go easy on you?’
She smiled. ‘What do you think?’
Grabbing hold of Tiago by the front of his shirt, she pulled him down beside her. He didn’t lose eye contact for a moment as he tugged off his shirt and quickly unlatched the buckle on his belt.
‘You’re beautiful,’ she said as he pulled off his jeans.
‘And you’re overdressed. No—let me,’ Tiago insisted.
He undid each of her buttons slowly, and after unfastening the zipper on her jeans eased them down. Each brush of his fingertips was surely intentional; each pulse of pleasure was certainly real.
‘Let me touch you,’ he whispered, holding her gaze. ‘Let me pleasure you, Danny.’
‘Don’t you always?’
Tiago’s mouth curved, and she was already so very sensitive that she exclaimed with excitement the moment he touched her.
At the Brazilian's Command Page 15
