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“I’ll wash down in the stream,” she replied.
She was right. Accepting the gulf between them was the most logical thing to do. As he prepared to enter the water, she made him a mock bow. “It’s been a pleasure knowing you.” She said this as if they might never meet again. When he questioned her with a frown, she added, “We both have other places to be, don’t we, Diego?”
“Yes,” he was forced to agree. “We do.”
~~o0o~~
She would never forget tonight, Celina reflected as she strolled back from the forest with Diego. Neither of them spoke, and a tension had grown between them. She felt it because the start of her plan meant the end of their short-lived relationship. Diego would never forgive her when he found out what she’d done. And rightly so. She could understand that he’d feel deceived. He already knew something was in the air. He just didn’t know what that was.
“You don’t have to take me back to the staff quarters,” she insisted when they drew close to the house. “I can find my way from here.” What had started out a seemingly a feasible plan had ripped a chunk out of her carefully closed heart. She needed space before the pain grew stronger and she changed her mind about leaving.
“I insist on taking you back,” Diego argued quietly with the same concern that made her yearn for things she couldn’t have. “You can’t just wander off on your own, after…”
He let the next words hang, leaving her with nothing more than the hope that he’d pick up the clues she’d left so Diego and his team could finally break up the slavers.
He left her at the door of the staff block where she had a room. No kisses, and a handshake would have been risible under the circumstances.
“Good night,” he said politely, respecting the distance that had grown between them.
“Good night,” she replied. Understatement, she thought. That good night would have to stay with her and buoy her up through whatever she had to face next.
~~o0o~~
She woke up early and leapt out of bed, ready to embark upon the next part of her plan. Longing for Diego had to be smothered. The changes in her body, which had been very well used, together with the ache in her heart that threatened to distract her, had to be forgotten. She had volunteered to join the team of support staff whose duties included smoothing the path for visiting players and marshaling the crowd arriving to watch the polo match. This suited her plan to leave as it allowed her to work outside the arena, where it was easy to slip away unnoticed. Diego would be too busy playing in the polo match to notice she’d gone. She knew if he caught even the slightest hint of what she intended, he’d find a way to stop her leaving.
She checked her appearance in the mirror. Her face was pale. She pinched some color into her cheeks so as not to arouse suspicion. Closing the door on her room, she headed for the parking lot. As she walked, she glanced across at the stable yard bustling with people and horses. He would be there, but if she looked too closely, instinct would warn him she was nearby. Her stomach clenched as she tried to ignore the glamorous groupies hanging around, hoping to attract the attention of the star polo players. Diego could have his pick, and though she had no right to feel possessive about him, she did. It wasn’t as if she was Diego’s regular girlfriend, or even his occasional girlfriend. She was just a woman he’d screwed last night. Maybe she meant more to him than that, but they were both realists.
No regrets. She’d have to chant that mantra every day. There was a strong possibility she might never see him again. She had to face up to that, though the thought of losing him shredded her heart. And, if he didn’t follow up on the clues she’d left, her plan was sunk.
She got to work helping polo fans find parking spots. There were plenty of them, and it helped time pass quickly.
“Celina?”
She started with guilt and alarm. What was Diego doing in the parking lot? The match wasn’t due to end for another hour. Was he injured? Her throat dried as he strode up to her. She stared at him, looking for signs of injury, and instead found him perfect. He was amazingly perfect in team colors and tight breeches. His formfitting top boasted the Blood and Thunder insignia of a stallion’s head on the breast pocket, while long, clinging leather boots lovingly molded his muscular calves. With a long whip in his hand, he looked like a god of the game. And here she was in her baggy, waterproof working clothes. She had been helping an elderly couple back their vehicle out of a tight space and had to ask him to give her a minute. It gave her chance to think, but not enough time to calm down. Her body had responded to Diego’s arrival exactly as expected, with excitement and arousal. He looked so striking that everything about the previous night came flooding back, dousing all thoughts of her plan.
“Are you hurt?” she exclaimed with concern the moment she’d seen the elderly couple safely on their way. She scanned him thoroughly, her heart turning over at the thought that he might be injured.
“Why? Are you worried about me?” Tapping his calf-length leather boots with the long-handled whip, he smiled.
He had no idea. She couldn’t bear to think of him in danger, and yet she was beckoning him toward it.
“I’m unhurt, as you can see,” he said, running his hands down his muscular frame, drawing her attention to every flexing muscle. “Why are you here? I thought you’d be watching the match.”
Everyone who worked for the team was watching the match. It was a matter of pride. Outsiders were hired to do the jobs Blood and Thunder staff normally undertook, so each staff member could cheer on the players they worked so hard for. Everyone except for Celina.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Diego informed her with a frown.
“I’m sorry—”
“Leave this, and come with me,” he said crisply.
His black gaze scorched through her. He was pumped with adrenaline and hot from the match. “I should stay on until the last car leaves.” She glanced toward the champagne tent, where a party was due to be held later. “You go on ahead without me.”
Diego’s eyes narrowed. “Are you turning me down?”
“I’m suggesting—”
“Don’t suggest,” he rapped. “For once in your life, just do as I say. Please,” he added as an afterthought, as if he were trying very hard to change.
