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Until he pulled back.
‘What did I do?’ She stared up, uncomprehending. ‘If this is a joke—’
‘No joke,’ he said. ‘Just not here and not yet.’
He was content to bring her to the point of surrender, only to draw back? Now, she was mad. ‘You’re a tease,’ she said, pushing him away. ‘I thought we were starting to trust each other, but it seems that I’m guilty of being naive again.’
‘Not naive,’ he argued. ‘Inexperienced.’
‘Stupid,’ she countered, springing up.
‘We should return to camp,’ he said, unconcerned. ‘Are you coming, or are you staying there?’ he asked as he began to tack up their horses.
‘Neither,’ Sadie gritted out as she went to mount her horse.
* * *
Alejandro was confident he had made the right decision, though all the ease between them had disappeared. They rode straight back to camp without a single word of conversation. Sadie must regret kissing him and letting her guard down, and now she wasn’t sure how to come back from it. Don’t even try, he thought. As the supreme master of checks and control, even he knew that sometimes a change of mind was for the best.
Self-restraint was a self-imposed discipline, and one he’d put in place ten years ago on the day his parents were killed, when both Annalisa and the Dukedom of Alegon became his responsibility. Before that date, he had enjoyed all the trappings of wealth and success, but with that one shattering revelation, everything changed for ever. Surprising himself, he hadn’t missed his hedonistic lifestyle for a single moment, until now, when the urge to bed Sadie was like a madness raging inside him. Anyone who said delay was the servant of pleasure had no idea what it was like to be tortured like this, but if he was going to seduce her, it wouldn’t be on a frozen riverbank, but in comfort where he could take his time.
When they reached camp, it was packed with people. Fiesta was in the air, and Marissa was waiting for Sadie. ‘Dance with me!’ she begged, practically jumping up and down.
‘I will,’ Sadie promised with that soft, genuine smile she kept for her friends, ‘but I have to rub my horse down first.’ Dismounting, she added, ‘And I need to freshen up and change.’
‘Have you been swimming?’ Marissa asked. ‘Alejandro, you haven’t!’ His sister turned to face him. ‘I thought swimming in that freezing river was a torture you kept for yourself. You surely haven’t inflicted it on Sadie? You have,’ she scolded as he sprang to the ground. ‘Anyway, everyone’s going to be dancing tonight, and you’re going to be with us,’ she told Sadie. ‘And, don’t worry, I’ll protect you from my crazy brother. You certainly don’t need him to guide your steps.’
‘Too right,’ Sadie agreed with a sharp look at him. ‘Horse comfort comes first, and then I’ll freshen up and see you back here in half an hour.’
‘Don’t be any longer, or you’ll miss the fun,’ Marissa insisted, sharing a brilliant smile with Sadie, and a scowl for him.
As soon as Sadie was out of earshot, Marissa turned to him. ‘Alejandro?’ Her tone was accusing. ‘What on earth have you been up to now?’
‘What’s your problem?’ he grunted, not in the best of moods.
‘You,’ Marissa said bluntly. ‘You’re my problem. I really like Sadie, and if you hurt her, I’ll kill you.’
‘That’s a bit dramatic, isn’t it?’ he commented, raising a brow. ‘And you’d have to catch me first,’ he added, teasing his sister as he always had, but this time Marissa refused to be amused.
‘This isn’t a joke, Alejandro,’ she assured him. ‘I know how you can switch the charm on and off, and, as your sister, I’m not going to hold back.’
‘You never have before,’ he commented dryly.
‘She likes you,’ Marissa said, narrowing her eyes as she stared across the camp at Sadie, who was just entering the shower block. ‘Goodness knows why, but there we are.’
Thumbing his jaw, he made no comment.
Huffing with impatience, Marissa glared into his eyes. ‘She could be good for you, Alejandro—if you’d let her be. She could be the best thing that ever happened to you. She might even manage to save you from yourself.’
‘On what evidence?’ he queried.
‘On the evidence of my own eyes, and the reaction of our people, or does their judgement count for nothing with you these days? She’s kind, and she’s funny—’
‘Funny?’ he interrupted. ‘You must see a different side to Sadie.’
‘Do you give her chance?’ Marissa countered. ‘Beneath those chef’s whites is a warm, tender, honest woman, and you could do with some light-heartedness in your life.’
‘Keep out of it,’ he warned quietly. ‘This has nothing to do with you.’
‘Apart from the fact that I refuse to stand back and let you mess this up, do you mean?’ his sister demanded with a fierce stare.
‘I’m not going to argue with you,’ he said.
‘Because you know I’m right,’ she insisted. ‘We both know that women like Sadie Montgomery don’t grow on trees. Fate has thrown her in your path, but fate won’t keep her there. It’s up to you to do that.’
His expression said, blah-de-blah-de-blah, but as he walked away he had a feeling Marissa could be right.
* * *
Sadie had fantasised about Alejandro kissing her, but the reality had so far exceeded her wildest dreams. She was still buzzing with excitement, and fury with herself that she’d let things go so far, only for Alejandro to pull back.
Give yourself a break, Sadie reasoned as she strode across camp towards Marissa’s caravan. Fantasies featuring Alejandro were excusable. He was hot as hell and had a particular brand of blistering sensuality that no one could ignore, and one kiss wasn’t the end of the world.
One kiss?
Okay, so several kisses.
But not enough kisses?
Thankfully, the door to Marissa’s caravan was open to welcome Sadie back, so she could put all thoughts of kisses out of her mind. Well, that was the theory, anyway. But she did smile again, and broadly, to see her dancing clothes laid out on the bed. It was good to be made to feel so welcome, and as the two women hugged Sadie knew that she had made another valued friend in Marissa. Chef Sorollo was right in saying she should get out and about more. There were a lot of nice people in the world, if she only took the trouble to find them.
‘Stand still,’ Marissa insisted as she made the final tweaks to Sadie’s appearance. ‘You’re like a cat on a hot tin roof. The effect of my brother, I suppose.’
‘No,’ Sadie protested, though her aroused body called her a liar. ‘I just can’t wait to get up on that stage and learn to dance.’
‘And if he’s watching you?’
Sadie’s pulse raced at the thought. ‘I can’t imagine your brother would be interested in watching me, when there are bound to be so many experts on the stage.’
As Marissa hummed, Sadie promised herself she wouldn’t get carried away emotionally where the Gypsy King was concerned. She was still glad she’d come to the mountains, because it had shown her a new way of life, but when they left here Sadie and Alejandro would resume their normal lives.
‘The dancing is about to begin,’ Marissa warned. ‘We should leave now...’
The moment she mounted the stage, the first person Sadie looked for was Alejandro. I’m a lost cause, she concluded as she stumbled through the steps of the first dance.
‘Concentrate,’ Marissa insisted when Sadie almost lost her balance. ‘Forget him and listen to the music. Allow the rhythm and the melody to dictate your moves...and don’t be afraid to toss your hair and use your body, as well as your eyes. Flamenco is all about passion. The dance isn’t just a series of moves. It expresses life and emotion in all its richness.’
‘If I could get everything to work in sync, I might be able to f
ollow your advice,’ Sadie admitted, laughing.
But eventually something did happen. There were so many people on the stage she didn’t feel as exposed as she had expected, and whatever Alejandro might think of her amateurish attempt to copy the other dancers, he couldn’t knock her for lack of enthusiasm. Like everything else she did, she tried her hardest, and it wasn’t an impossible task when the click of castanets drove her feet to follow the rhythm, and the rise and fall of the melody tugged at her heartstrings. Finally, she concluded that, whether Alejandro approved of her efforts or not, she was here, and she was going to nail this.
When the musicians took a break, Marissa had a chance to question Sadie about her day with Alejandro. It only occurred to Sadie then that he maddened her, thrilled her and excited her like no one else. And that maybe...just maybe, she was falling in love with him. But her feelings were like a tender shoot that could so easily be trampled. And anyway, Alejandro’s feelings for her were as clear as mud.
‘It was very nice,’ she said carefully. ‘I sourced some really good recipes.’
‘Very nice?’ Marissa echoed. ‘You spend the day with Alejandro and expect me to believe you did nothing more than collect recipes?’
‘Some really good ones,’ Sadie insisted, widening her eyes.
‘I can see I’m not going to get anything from you,’ Marissa complained as she pulled a comic face.
‘That’s right, you’re not,’ Sadie agreed with a grin, ‘but only because there’s nothing to find out.’
