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“This is nice, thank you.” She arranged the plates in front of them.
The flickering flames cocooned them in a warm halo of light. She nibbled on the cheese and bread. Miles away from the city, she was at peace in this farmhouse.
She reached for a grape, and met with Juan Carlos’s hand as he did the same. Their fingers touched and she lifted her eyes to him. He was staring at her, as if memorizing the way she looked right now. Her heart began to beat faster. Their gazes remained locked for a second, and then she tore a bunch of grapes off and popped one into her mouth.
Outside, breezes blew, making the windows rattle. The distant sound of horses whinnying carried on the wind and she pictured them in their stalls. How long had it been since there was life in those stalls? She hoped the winds wouldn’t frighten the animals.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I’m just wondering if the horses are okay out there. The stable walls aren’t solid anymore.”
“I was going to check on them after you went to bed.”
“I’d like to see them.”
He pulled air into his lungs and nodded, as if convincing himself of his suggestion. “Then you’ll join me.”
* * *
Juan Carlos held a battery-powered lantern in one hand and Portia’s hand in the other. He hadn’t planned on spending more time with her tonight. Holding her shaking body and consoling her after the snake incident had stirred a possessive streak in him. He’d wanted to protect her from harm and keep her safe, but having her melt into him, her heartbreaking tears soaking his shirt, had sliced him up inside. He could have held her for hours and not tired of it, yet they’d continued on their search and he’d cursed that damn promise he’d made to her. He’d been desperate to get her to stay on in Alma. And he’d had to agree to her terms with a promise he hoped like hell he could uphold.
Tonight, he’d thought to escape her. Maybe he would have had a drink with Eduardo and Luis or taken a late-night ride, or simply waited until Portia was safely ensconced in her bedroom before making it up to his room. Yet he couldn’t refuse Portia her request to join him in the stables.
So here he was, gritting his teeth as she walked beside him under the stars. The stables weren’t far and he’d given the bodyguards strict orders to watch without being seen. They were out there somewhere.
The night air had grown cooler, and Portia wrapped both of her arms around herself despite her coat. She might’ve shivered once or twice.
“Cold?”
“Yes, but I’m okay. I have Scandinavian blood flowing through my veins. Cold weather doesn’t bother me.”
Juan Carlos hunkered down into his jacket. He’d lived in Miami most of his life. Neither Florida nor Alma got down into freezing temperatures very often. He could tolerate cold weather, but it wasn’t his favorite thing. “This is about as cold as it gets here,” he said. “At least that’s what I’m told.”
“It’s mostly the wind I don’t like.”
Right on cue, a howling gust blew from the north. She shivered again and on impulse, he wrapped his free arm over her shoulder and drew her close.
She looked up at him.
“Thanks for keeping me warm,” he said.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Anything for the king.” A teasing smile played at her lips.
He laughed.
Before long they reached the stables.
“Want me to go in and check for snakes?”
She drew a breath and glanced around the property completely encased in darkness. “I have a feeling it’s safer inside than out.”
She had a point. There could be all manner of animals roaming the land. Wolves, wild boars and lynx were indigenous to the area. “Okay, then stick close to me.”
“You still have your knife?”
“Of course.”
“Then you won’t be able to shake me.”
“I wouldn’t even try,” he said, quite honestly.
A hum ran through her body. His subtle compliments did crazy things for her ego. After what she’d been through with Miles, that part of her brain had needed nourishment and was now being fed day in and day out by His Hunkiness the King.
She gasped.
“What is it?”
“Oh, nothing. I was just thinking.” Jasmine would have a good laugh over this one. Portia was resorting to using terms from a romance novel to describe the handsome, honorable Juan Carlos Salazar II, King of Montoro.
He gripped her hand and led her into the stables. The protective way he held her was another turn-on.
