by J Q Anderson
Invisible wings lifted my heart out of my chest.
“Where are we going?”
There’s a polo match in an estancia nearby. A friend of mine is putting together a team, and I’m thinking of sponsoring them. I want to check out the horses first, make sure his team doesn’t suck.” He laughed softly.
Hmm. Polo and Sebastián. A heady combination. “I’d love that.”
He took my hand and led me to the Alfa Romeo. Rafa nodded from the black BMW parked a few steps behind. I waved him a hello.
“Why is Rafa not riding with us?”
“I wanted to have you alone. Sometimes we drive separately.”
“Where’s Tano?” Through the mirror, I looked back at the BMW.
“I don’t need two people tailing me all day. Tano’s usually around at night.” He pulled into traffic. “Rafa takes care of a lot of things for the studio, so he’s with me full-time.”
“Oh.” I nodded. I wondered what it was like to have someone with you all the time. It would drive me crazy.
“You tired?” He took my hand and interlaced our fingers, sending goose bumps up my arm.
“Yeah, it’s been a long week at work.”
“Before I forget, I have something to ask you. I’m working on a redesign of a hundred-year-old estancia. It’s pretty amazing. The client’s also a personal friend. Vladimir Koviesky, maybe you’ve heard of him.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise, but I didn’t interrupt him. He focused on the road ahead.
“Anyway, he’s throwing a big party at his house on Saturday. I wasn’t going to go, but if you came with me, then it would be fun. His parties are some of the best I’ve been to.” He glanced at me with a lopsided smile. “Come?” His eyes went briefly back to the road before meeting mine with amused curiosity. “What?”
“Well…” I grinned. “I’m actually performing at that party.”
“What? You are?” he said, clearly taken back.
“Yeah, it was just a coincidence. I was going to tell you. Vladimir is also a friend of Nata’s family. He asked Nata to perform a tango number at the party, but she’s leaving town for the weekend so she asked me to do it instead. That’s why I’m so tired. My partner and I have less than a week to learn the choreography and nail it.” I squeezed his hand. “You have to go to the party so you can see me dance! And…we can hang out afterwards.”
“That’s quite an honor, babe. I know Vladimir, and the performers at his parties are unbelievable. They come from all over the world. But of course, I’m sure he knows how good you are.” He smiled sweetly.
“I’m very nervous about it.” I turned to him and frowned. “Hey, how come you have a Russian friend? Didn’t you say, ‘Russians are not good company’?” I drew quotation marks in the air.
“I was referring to those Russians. Vladimir is an exceptional person and a great businessman. He’s a good friend.”
“I’m glad you can make the distinction, because that’s how I feel about Nata.”
He ran a quick hand through his hair. “That family’s different.”
“Why?”
“Because.” He sighed. “They have their hands on a lot of things.”
“She said the same about your family.”
His jaw tensed, and I immediately regretted bringing the Russians into the conversation. I had been dying to ask him about his ex, Carolina, and now I’d blown it. He remained silent for a few long seconds. I wanted to hit rewind and start over. As if he could read my thought, he reached for my hand and kissed it. “Let’s not talk about this. I want today to be about you and me. We’re here.”
He pulled into a dirt road lined by eucalyptus trees on both sides. At the end, a couple dozen cars were parked around a field where polo players were hitting balls to warm up the horses. The afternoon was cool, the sky clean, and the spicy scent of fresh hay saturated the air. Sebastián wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him, kissing my head as I lowered my sunglasses.
We leaned over the fence, watching the scrimmage. I hadn’t been to a polo match since my brother, Javi, lived at home. My girlfriends and I used to go watch him play. It was a big social scene back then, and it didn’t look like it had changed much.
The horses were stunning. Beautiful and majestic, they sprinted past, their glistening, sculpted muscles flexing as they abruptly changed directions to match the players’ reflexes.
“I didn’t know you were into horses. They are incredible.” I nodded at the animals.
“Yes. It’s a hobby. I enjoy it quite a bit.”
“Do you play?”
“I used to. Now it’s hard to find the time.”
“But you’re sponsoring this team?”
“Yes. Jake’s a good friend, and he knows what he’s doing. You like polo?”
I nodded. “My brother played. I forgot how much fun it was to watch.”
“You don’t go to games anymore?”
“Javi lives in Italy now, so no. It’s still strange that my siblings are all in Europe, Sabrina in London, Sofi in Spain. I’m the only one that stayed here.”
He wrapped his arms around me from behind. “We can come anytime. I like that you’re here.” He kissed my neck and I shivered.
When the scrimmage ended, Sebastián introduced me to a few friends, and by the third name, I could no longer keep track. I vaguely recognized some of the players. A group of them came to greet Sebastián, and I stepped away to watch the horses.
“What a surprise to see you here.” I turned around at the deep voice that went with a familiar face. Milo, a friend from the past, approached, his tanned muscular body dressed in the usual polo gear.
“Milo!” I grinned as he pulled me into his arms. My brother had introduced us a few years back, and we had gone out on a few dates, but it didn’t last. Milo had a busy social life and thought my schedule at the theater was insane. I didn’t blame him. “It’s been a while. How are you?” He smelled of leather, horses, and sweat. I freaking loved that smell.
“I’m great.” He kissed my cheek and pulled back to fully look at me. Deep brown eyes met mine, and his face broke into his trademark winning smile. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m with a friend. Oh my god, it’s been forever. You’re playing professionally?”
“I am. I’m hoping to join this new team. You? Still dancing crazy hours?”
“Yes. What can I say, I’m hooked for life.”
“And you’re damn good at it. Sweetheart, you look beautiful, as always.” His callused hand stroked my cheek. I blushed and gave him a small smile.
“Thank you. You look good too. But you already know that.” I winked.
He laughed, shaking his head and flicking strands of golden hair off his forehead. “Why did I fall for the only girl that’s not smitten by a polo player?”
“I’m still a sucker for horses, but you boys ‘play’ way too much for someone like me. I have a fragile heart.” I sighed.
Milo laughed out loud, then held my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. “You’re damn adorable. How’s Javi, by the way? I haven’t seen him in ages.”
“He’s good, I think. Doesn’t call as much as he should.”
Sebastián startled me, wrapping his arm protectively around my waist. He then extended his free hand to shake Milo’s.
“Good to see you, man. You looked good out there.”
Milo’s eyes locked on Sebastián’s hand at my waist. He looked back at him and finally shook his waiting hand. “Thanks. Jake put together a great team.” His eyes went from Sebastián’s to mine. “Small world. Are you two…together?”
I opened my mouth, realizing I didn’t quite know how to answer that.
“Yes.” Sebastián glanced down at me. Tipping his head down, he gave me a soft kiss on the lips. I blushed furiously.
Milo nodded. “I gotta go. It was good to see you, babe. Don’t be a stranger and tell Javi I said hi.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek, and as he
did, Sebastián’s grip on me tightened. Milo threw his jacket over his shoulder and shook Sebastián’s hand again. “Thanks for your support with the team, man. You won’t regret it.” He gave him a smug smile and walked away. Sebastián’s eyes stayed trained on Milo’s back as he left, his jaw set.
“Hey,” I whispered, reaching up to stroke his face. “Ready to go?”
“You know Milo?” His eyes searched mine under a frown.
“Oh, um…yes. He’s friends with Javi, my brother.”
“He seemed very affectionate,” he said sternly.
“We went out on a couple of dates. But polo players are not my thing.”
“And why is that?”
“Because they love to party, and they’re very chauvinistic, and they have a super busy social agenda. That’s not me. Oh, and they also love women. Lots of them.” I smirked.
“I see.” He wrapped his arms around my back and pressed me to him. “And what is your thing, Camila? I want to know.” His breath teased my lips, and my insides swirled.
“Right now, you,” I said against his mouth.
He buried my mouth in a deep kiss. My legs weakened and I clenched my hands on his shirt, clinging for my life. Holy shit. When he pulled back, those intense eyes were hooded.
“Come home with me.”
The Alfa Romeo blazed through the dirt road, blocking the field behind under a cloud of dust. Rafa followed somewhere behind as we rode in silence to his house. I took a deep breath and summoned my inner will.
“Sebastián, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
“Sure.” He frowned.
“Who’s…Carolina?”
His frown deepened, but he kept his eyes ahead and tightened his grip on the wheel. I chewed on my lip. Was this a good idea?
“A reporter…at the club last night,” I said. “He asked me if I wasn’t worried after what happened to Carolina.”
“Those fuckers,” he growled. His phone rang through the car speakers, startling me. Sebastián ignored it and sped up as we merged onto the Panamericana freeway. I clutched my seat and looked away from him, wishing I hadn’t chosen that time to bring up his ex-girlfriend. But at the same time, I wanted to know. The phone rang a few more times and he pressed a button on the steering wheel.
“Yes,” he said in an irritated tone.
“Sir, Cardenas is around tonight. Then there’s a gap until next week,” a mature male voice announced. Sebastián scowled at the panel in the center console like it was all its fault.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll call him with instructions.”
“Sir, there’s… a problem, though,” the man said. “Cardenas knows these people, and he doesn’t want to go near’em. He was adamant. It took some convincing, but he finally agreed… on one condition.”
“What condition?” Sebastián barked.
“That you or Julián will be there.”
A long pause went by.
“Sir?” the voice said.
“Julián’s in Germany. Tell Cardenas to send his coordinates to Rafa. I’ll meet him aboard tonight.”
“Understood,” the voice said before disconnecting.
The air was tense, and Sebastián got lost in his thoughts. I remembered the name Cardenas had been mentioned the night before, when Sebastián gave instructions to Rafa after the incident with the girl.
“I’m afraid to ask,” I said.
“Don’t.”
“Is this about the girl?”
Sebastián kept his eyes on the road. “I thought you weren’t going to ask.”
“I changed my mind. You’re meeting someone tonight aboard a ship, and this person doesn’t want to get involved unless you’re there. I don’t like it. You’ll put yourself at risk.”
“There’s no other way,” he said curtly.
“Jesus, Sebastián. I thought your thing was architecture.”
“It is.”
“Are you sure?” I said sardonically.
“Yes. But it’s in my power to help these girls, so I’m not going to turn my back on them. You really don’t need to worry about me.”
“Too late.”
“You’ll have to trust me.” He turned to look at me, then back at the road, and silence once again filled the air in the car. With a knot in my throat, I turned away and stared at the blazing scenery. Would life always be like this with him?
A few minutes later, we pulled over by my building.
“I’ll need another rain check,” he said. “I’m sorry we have to postpone tonight.”
“I don’t give a damn about tonight.”
“Hey…” he said softly. “I’ll be fine.”
“Tell me where you’re going.”
“No.” His tone was firm. His eyes said arguing was pointless.
“Dammit, Sebastián.” I let out a long sigh of indignation.
“Camila,” he said, containing his frustration. “This is the way things are. I won’t put you at risk, and answering your questions would mean doing just that.”
“Fine. At least answer my question about Carolina.”
He dropped his head back against the seat. “Christ, I wish you would ignore the shit you hear about me.”
“Then give me your version.”
A silent pause went by. “Carolina was…is my ex-girlfriend.”
Was? “Did…something…happen to her?”
“No. She’s just gone, okay?”
“Gone…how?”
The seconds slowly passed. Nothing. I reached for my bag and he clasped my forearm.
“You can’t believe the things people say about my family. Especially the press.”
“That’s hard when your last name is everywhere and you won’t tell me anything,” I snapped.
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you to trust me. I want in. We can’t have a relationship if you keep me out.”
He exhaled, his expression conflicted. “I’m not used to ‘sharing.’ My life is extremely private. It has to be.”
“And I understand that. I do.” I sighed. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you’re open with me, if you trust me, then I’ll ignore all the things I hear or read about you. And I promise I won’t share anything you say to me with anyone.”
He debated for a moment. “Sounds fair. But there have to be boundaries. When it comes to certain things, the less you ask, the better. It’s safer that way.”
“Is Carolina outside the boundaries?”
“No,” he said, his tone softer. “If I were you, I would probably be asking too.” He stared through the window at the distant traffic, his thoughts lost in memories. “Carolina was someone I cared about, very much. A long time ago. But things between us didn’t work out.”
“Why not?”
“Because she couldn’t fully come to terms with who I was…am, where I come from. She wanted some dream version of our relationship.”
“How so?”
“She expected me to leave everything behind and move to Europe with her.”
“She wanted you to leave your family? Your home? Why?”
“We were young, still in college, and things with my father’s business were unstable at the time. Our relationship with the new government was not solid yet, so we constantly had to watch our back. Then one of my father’s enemies tried kidnapping me. The whole thing was a joke, and he obviously failed, but after that, things changed. Carolina was afraid. All the time. It was fine at first, the parties, the glamour, but then things changed. She changed. She became paranoid and after a few months, mentally fragile.”
“That must have been hard. I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “Being with me was bad for her. I was bad for her. ‘Toxic’ was the word her parents used.” His jaw tensed.
“What happened after?”
“She left. She moved to Europe with her family. I had to promise her I wouldn’t contact her and nobody would ever know where she was, where she went. So
, Camila, you can’t ever speak of Carolina to anyone. Ever.”
“Of course.” I nodded, my mind still reeling that he was sharing something so private with me. My heart ached for that early version of him, young and brokenhearted. I wanted to clutch my arms around him.
“My last name can be a curse,” he said.
“I don’t care what your last name is.” I stretched my hand out to squeeze his. “I care about you.”
He looked down at me in that fierce way that messed with my breathing. “You may regret that later.”
“Hey. Don’t ever say that.”
“Come here.” His hand gave mine a tug, and he pulled me onto his lap. I sat sideways with my arms around his neck. “I don’t like leaving you. Especially with guys like Milo around. I saw the way he was looking at you.”
“I’m worried about your life, and you’re worried about Milo?” I chuckled humorlessly. “You’re really something,” I said, brushing strands of hair off his forehead. “I told you, I don’t like polo players and I don’t know what spell you put on me, but the only guy I’m interested in is you.”
His mouth seized mine and I tangled my fingers in his hair, pressing him against me. Lust pooled between my legs. His tongue invaded my mouth, exploring, claiming. Shit, why did he have to leave now? Would it be awfully wrong to have wild sex in a car in public? We were all tongues, heavy breaths, and hands everywhere. I squirmed against his cock, and a soft groan rumbled deep in his throat. He pulled his head back, and we were both panting.
“Fucking torture. Damn, Camila. Just thinking about you makes me hard.”
I blushed and looked away. He held up my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“I’m sorry to be so blunt,” he said. “But I want you to know the effect you have on me. I’ve never met someone like you. I know we hardly know each other, but I’m crazy about you.”
“I’m crazy about you, too, Sebastián. Please, please take care of yourself,” I said, unable to restrain the tears that spilled. “When will you be back?”
“Hey,” he murmured. “I’ll be fine.” He wiped my cheeks with his thumbs. “I’ll call you tomorrow night, after this is over.” He kissed my forehead. “I may have to fly straight to Bariloche for a meeting, but I’ll be back on Wednesday. And look, I’ll have Rafa and a few others. You don’t have to worry about me, Cami.”
