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CHAPTER FIVE
SONIA
Ten Years Ago…
After creeping along the side of the buildings along the way, avoiding areas I know will be guarded, I make it to the two-story one that houses the stables. It’s quiet as I slip inside, the shuffling of hooves against the wooden floor the only sound that can be heard.
Shining the flashlight I tucked into my pocket earlier, I go into the tack room and pull my saddle from the wall and my riding crop and helmet from one of the shelves. Then I move back down the wide aisle between the stalls, ending up at the very last one on the right.
“Luna,” I whisper. “It’s just me.”
Unhinging the lever that locks her door into place, I slide it open and step inside. “Hello beautiful,” I keep my voice low, setting the gear down before I pet her velvety muzzle.
She nickers in acknowledgement of my presence, and I press my forehead to hers. “I can’t believe you’re finally mine.”
“Sonia.”
I drop my flashlight as I whirl around at the sound of the deep male voice coming from somewhere in the stall I’m in, then plaster myself against Luna. “Who’s there?”
Behind me, Luna whinnies and shuffles. I attempt to soothe her, rubbing my palm over her soft coat while, at the same time, I’m just as nervous, searching for the intruder.
That’s when I see him, pushing himself up from a darkened corner like some beast uncoiling after a long slumber. I stiffen when the shadow cast by the flashlight on the ground grows with him as he stands, making him seem monstrously tall.
“Who are you?!” I demand, edging closer toward the door. He reaches for something, but just as I’m about to run, he flicks on a lantern.
Suddenly, I’m unable to move. I allow my gaze to openly rake over the body of this stranger, my stomach tightening at the sight of his low hung jeans and bare chest. He’s no beast, but a savagely beautiful man, though I’m still terrified. The violent reaction I’m having to him is in truth awful, yet I don’t want it to end. I want to keep staring at him like this, to study him in much more detail to determine exactly why he’s made my pulse jump the way it has.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” I demand, half afraid, half confused, and completely excited.
My eyes meet his, and he flashes me a knowing grin, which annoys me to no end.
“Santos. Santos Alvarez, para servirle, princesa.”Santos Alvarez, at your service, princess.“I work here.”
“I’ve never seen you.”
“Oh, but I have seen you.” I don’t miss his wicked gleam as he lets his gaze rove over me too. An alarm sounds off somewhere inside me, blaring like a foghorn. There’s something about those eyes as he watches me with more than casual interest. It’s almost predatory, as if he’s devouring me with his mere stare, and I’m not sure whether I hate the fact that it makes me squirm, or I like it a little too much.
“Do you work in the fields?”
“No,” he replies. “My strengths lie elsewhere.” There’s a hint of darkness in his last statement. Or perhaps it’s an aura of danger that surrounds him, even when he smiles.
“That doesn’t explain why you’re in the stall with my mare.”
“These are my sleeping quarters.” He sweeps his arm over an area where the hay is thicker.
Appalled, I glance around the small space with an open mouth. “My father would never allow anyone to sleep in the stables!”
He laughs with genuine amusement. Then, cocking a brow toward me, he says, “I don’t believe he’d be as concerned about where I sleep as with why his daughter is here with me. So the better question is, why areyouhere, Sonia?”
I lift my chin, tired of feeling this unfamiliar turmoil inside me and deciding I actually quite hate it. “You shouldn’t address me so informally.”
He bites his lower lip as he attempts to stifle a chuckle. “Please forgive me,SeñoritaBeltran.” He makes a big show of saying my name with so much respect, my hackles rise. “You wouldn’t be planning a midnight ride on Luna, would you?”
“That’s not your business.”
His smile fades, leaving behind only that darkness I sensed. “She’s not in any condition to ride. The party made her nervous. That’s why I’m here with her.”
“She’s probably only nervousbecauseyou’re in here,” I say, glancing at him as I lift the saddle onto her back.Mierda, he makesmenervous with that menacing broad chest and predatory stare. “All she needs is fresh air.” I shrug, then turn to her, buckling the cinch.
