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There was no question that she loved him, but could she risk her heart by admitting it? She could handle danger, but the pain of love was unendurable. It was like walking a tightrope with no safety net underneath. Past experience told her to run as far and as fast as she could, because great love risked great loss, and what if she couldn’t handle that? “Love is just words,” she blurted in a final attempt to convince them both. “You were right to say there’s no such thing as romance.”
“Did I say that?” Diego gave her a doubting look.
“We should have left it where it was. Just sex,” she explained.
“There’s no such thing as just sex where we’re concerned, Celina.”
“No?” she challenged, doing her best to look unconvinced.
“No,” Diego stated firmly. “I look at things differently. You were traumatized as a child. Your emotions have been brutalized since you took your first breath. I lived a strange life as a child, detached from all emotion. We can help each other. If it takes me a lifetime to prove there’s love on the other side, that’s what I’m going to do. You’re going to feel love all around you, surrounding you and protecting you.”
“You’re wasting your time.”
Dismounting, he handed over his stallion to a groom and then came to lift her down. “Am I?” He stared levelly into her eyes. “I don’t think so. However long it takes, I’m going to prove to you that love can last.”
She whipped her head away. “Please, don’t—”
He brought her back again to face him. “I’m going to make you believe.”
His touch made her body sing. Even fully clothed, she could feel his heat. “Why do you have to make this so hard?”
Diego’s lips pressed down as he shrugged. “I hope that proving the way I feel about you takes a very long time indeed. Maybe forever.”
She tried to fight the feelings inside her, but it was no good. She still wanted him. She would always want him. And when Diego stared down at her like this, she had to risk everything, even her heart.
“And as for the differences between us?” he said, taking her hand as they strolled across the yard. “You’re small. I’m tall. I’m dark. You’re pale. And there is the man and woman thing,” he conceded dryly. “Apart from that?” He shrugged.
“It’s more than that,” she said tensely.
“Is it?” Swinging an arm around her shoulders, he brought her close.
“You’re rich. I’m poor,” she insisted. “You’re a duke. I’m a—”
“Very special and brave woman,” he interrupted. “And don’t you forget it. In fact, I won’t allow you to forget it.”
But he didn’t need Celina Petrovka pulling him down. And she had a job she loved, a job she hoped to keep in Eastern Europe, where she could continue to be of more use to the Blood and
Thunder team than anywhere else. Their work wasn’t done yet, and she wanted to be part of that work.
~~o0o~~
It was only when Celina entered his life that he’d considered sharing it. He was determined not to follow his parents’ example, hence his reluctance to consider marriage in the past, but the thought of having children with Celina made him smile. The boys would be fierce and the girls would be spirited, and the floor would be littered with toys.
“Aren’t you coming back to the house?” he asked with surprise as she freed her hand from his and turned toward the staff block.
“Later. I just need to pick up some things.”
“Okay, then.” He pulled her back to give her a kiss. “Don’t be long.”
He shrugged as she walked away. He must have imagined that shadows were back in her eyes.
~~o0o~~
“Where are you going?”
“Amber?” Oh no! Celina grimaced inwardly as she turned to face her friend. Spotting Celina hurrying down the drive, Amber had halted her horse just outside the main gates. Celina hadn’t been able to get a lift into town. The grooms had left ages ago, so she’d had no alternative but to set out walking.
Amber eyed Celina’s bulging rucksack with suspicion. “That looks heavy. What have you got in there?”
