‘This is your last day of being a victim, Karina. You’re moving forward from now on. You took a wrong turning and that’s all.’ He shrugged. ‘We all make mistakes, as I should know. And here’s something else...’ He brought his face close. ‘You’ve got me. Understood?’
Did he mean that? Whether he did or not, Dante was right. She would fight back. One day at a time. If she took small steps, instead of trying to leap across chasms, they might even make it together one day, but she couldn’t put her life on hold until then. The next time she met Dante it would be on an equal footing, or not at all.
* * *
They worked non-stop for the next week, with no time to pause for discussions about anything other than the event, but that didn’t mean she stopped feeling. In fact, the cooler Dante became, the more she yearned for his personal attention, but he was clever. He knew her too well. They’d paused for coffee in the yard on her last day on his ranch. Maria had brought it out for them on a tray.
She slanted a glance at him as he issued orders, drank coffee, tapped notes into his phone, and answered questions—anything but mention what had happened between them. Somehow that made his big, powerful body a source of fascination. Had she really shrunk from that? It seemed impossible in theory. Looking at him now, she wanted nothing more than to rub every inch of her against his hard frame. She wanted to taste that bronze skin and, yes, she wanted to remind herself that the straining bulge in his jeans really was that big.
‘You look happy,’ he commented, sliding her a look.
‘Do I?’ She glanced around, hoping he hadn’t noticed her interest in the manifold attractions of his body. What was wrong with her? She could lust like any normal woman—could yearn for a man’s arms around her. She could think the most erotic thoughts, but when it came down to it—
‘We’d better get on,’ he said, heading off.
Working alongside Dante was a revelation. He was brilliant. Fast thinking and decisive, he was the perfect partner. She had never worked with an associate before. Certainly not one as hot as Dante, she reflected as she walked behind him with the sole purpose of admiring his impressive iron-hard butt. She didn’t know anyone else who worked the hours she did, and who barely slept when there was a project to nail down—though the work ethic was a good thing. It kept her sane when frustration of the very real and sexual kind was nagging at her constantly.
If only she could be normal. But if she were there was no time to indulge herself—not at this pace of work. Although, if Dante would care to toss another bucket of icy well water over his head, as he had done this morning in the yard, she was quite happy to take some down time to admire his naked torso—
‘Karina?’
‘Just thinking through things—making sure I haven’t missed anything.’ Maintaining an expression of wide-eyed innocence was getting harder by the hour.
‘Time to stop thinking and get doing.’
Was he smiling when he turned away? Those black eyes of his were so expressive. And he knew just how to play her. Dante was the master of torment, the maestro of seduction—and he knew it, she thought as he walked away. There was a swagger in his stride and a confidence she suspected had nothing to do with the polo cup.
She braced herself to go and see him before she left the ranch. Half a dozen people were in his study, but he sent them out when she arrived. They both knew she only had a few minutes as a pilot was waiting on the airstrip to take her back to Rio. Final arrangements for the match had reached fever pitch.
‘Got everything you need?’ he asked.
Not nearly, she thought, taking him in. ‘Everything. Thank you.’ With his fists braced on the desk as he leaned over it, Dante was like a pent-up volcano just waiting to erupt. It was no surprise to her that he had held the meeting standing up. All that energy...
‘I’ve got something for you.’
‘For me?’ Her heart stopped.
‘A keepsake.’ Straightening up, he dug into the back pocket of his jeans and brought out a stone. ‘Here—take it.’
She knew what it was and looked at him in surprise. ‘Are you sure?’ She knew enough about them to know that uncut emeralds were worth a fortune.
‘It’s just a rough, hard rock.’ He said this wryly and she got the message. ‘It improves once it’s polished up.’
‘Some things are fine as they are,’ she said, taking it from him.
The corner of his mouth lifted. ‘I knew you’d appreciate it.’