His Ultimate Prize

His designer-shod feet moved, then a wrench appeared underneath the body of the 1954 Fiat 8V Berlinetta.

‘Not that one. The retractable.’

The right wrench reappeared. ‘Thanks.’

She hooked the wrench on to the bolt and pulled. Nothing happened.

‘Come out from under there.’

‘No.’

‘Sasha...’ His voice held more than a hint of warning.

Her mouth compressed. She didn’t want to see his face, didn’t want to breathe his scent. In fact she wanted to deny herself everything to do with Marco. To deny that every single atom of her being yearned to wheel herself from under the car and throw herself into his arms.

She gripped the wrench and yanked harder, reminding herself of how almost a week ago he’d ordered Romano to bring her to Casa de León and walked away.

As if Seoul had never happened.

‘We need to talk.’

Her heart clenched. ‘So talk.’

An expensively cut suit jacket landed a few feet from her head, followed a millisecond later by Marco’s large, tightly packed frame.

‘What are you doing?’ she squeaked, holding herself rigid as his shoulder brushed hers.

He ignored her, taking his time to study the axle she’d been working on. ‘Hand me the wrench and move over.’

‘Why? Because you think you’re bigger and stronger than me?’

‘I am bigger and stronger than you.’

‘Sexist pig.’

‘Simple truth.’

‘I see you still live in the Dark Ages.’

‘Only when it comes to protecting what’s mine.’

Realising he wasn’t going to go away, she shrugged. ‘Fine. Knock yourself out.’

His gaze sharpened. ‘No arguments, querida? That’s how it works between us usually, isn’t it? I say something, then you argue my words to death until I kiss you to shut you up?’

‘I don’t crave arguments—or your kisses, if that’s what you’re implying. In fact I’d love nothing better than for you to leave me alone,’ she suggested. ‘You’ve managed it quite successfully for almost a week.’

Silently he held out his hand. She slapped the wrench into his palm. With a few firm twists he loosened the bolt on the axle.

‘Show-off,’ she quipped. ‘What do you want?’

‘I thought you’d want an update on Rafael.’ His gaze stayed intense on hers.

‘I thought he was off-limits?’

‘If I still believed you and he were involved I wouldn’t have taken you to my bed.’

‘Okay. So how is he?’

‘He’s doing better. The doctors managed to stop the bleed. They expect him to wake up any day now.’

Licking her lips carefully, she nodded. ‘That’s great news.’

‘Sí.’

The intensity in his eyes sent a bolt of apprehension through her. Without warning, his gaze dropped to her lips. Belatedly Sasha realised she was licking them. She stopped. But the quickening was already happening. The cramped space underneath the car became smaller. The air grew thinner.

‘You didn’t have to come back here to tell me that. A simple phone call would’ve sufficed. I’ll pack my things and leave this afternoon.’

He stiffened. ‘Why would you do that?’

‘Rafael will need you when he comes home. I can’t be here.’

‘Of course you can. I want you here.’

Despite the thin hope threading its way through her, she forced herself to speak. ‘That wasn’t the impression I got from your six-day silence.’

He sucked in a weary breath and for the first time she noticed the lines of strain around his eyes.

‘I didn’t expect to be away this long. I’m sorry.’

When her mouth dropped open in surprise at the ready apology he grimaced.

‘I know. I must be losing my touch.’ He glanced around, his strained look intensifying. ‘How did you get in here? The door is combination locked.’

‘Rosario let me in. She recognises stir-craziness when she sees it. So—twenty-five vintage cars locked away in a garage? Discuss.’

He inhaled sharply, then flung the wrench away. ‘I refuse to have this conversation underneath a car, with grease dripping on me.’

‘You should’ve thought of that before you crawled down here.’

‘Dios, I’ve missed your insufferable attitude.’ He paused. ‘This is your chance to tell me you’ve missed me too.’

The stark need to do just that frightened her. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to leave? I can go home for a few days before the team leaves for Abu Dhabi next week. Maybe it’s for the best.’

‘And maybe you need to shut up. Just for one damn moment,’ he snarled, then grabbed her arm and turned her into his body.