Don't Dare a Diamond (Must Love Diamonds 5)

He shifted his attention to her father. The man’s furious gaze threatened to incinerate him on the spot. “Sir—”

“Cut the bullshit, son. If you had an ounce of respect for me or my brother, you wouldn’t have seduced my daughter.”

He did his best not to flinch at the accusation. It had been the other way around from the second he’d met her—even all those years ago—but he wasn’t about to tell her father that. Besides, she hadn’t done any of it on purpose.

“She’s a fully consenting adult,” he said stiffly.

“You took advantage of your position with her.”

“It wasn’t like that at all.” He shifted his stance and glanced out the door before meeting the man’s gaze once more. “I care for her, sir.”

“Isn’t that nice,” he sneered. “You’ll be happy to know she has a history of caring for her trainers, too.”

The implication sunk in deep to sour Reyes’ gut. He frowned in the direction of the guest house. Was he just another guy on a list of guys for her? Was this something she did despite her proclaimed aversion to casual relationships? Or, had that simply been a line?

“Didn’t know that, did you?” Mr. Diamond asked.

He clenched his jaw at the man’s superior tone. Doing his best to ignore the crushing hurt bearing down on his chest, he asked, “What do you want from me?”

“End whatever it is that’s going on—and end it for good. You’ve seen her ride. She’s got gold in her future.”

“I agree.”

“Then you can’t let her quit.” The man’s voice took on a desperate tone. “It’s been her dream to ride in the Olympics since she was a little girl. If she gives that up because of some foolish notion there’s something between the two of you, the time will come when she hates you for robbing her of that dream.”

Wow. The guy knew how to get right to the heart of it, didn’t he? And yet, Reyes couldn’t disagree with one word he said, or the apparent place it came from in the man’s heart. It was hard to fault him for protecting his daughter’s dream.

Besides, he’d been struggling with how to distance himself so he could deal with her leaving. Didn’t this just provide the perfect fucking opportunity?

“Do this,” her father added, “and I won’t ask my brother to terminate

your position. I’ll even add a nice bonus to your paycheck.”

Reyes jerked his gaze up, jaw aching. “I’ll talk to her, but not because you just threatened my job, and most definitely not for your fucking money. You can get the hell out now.”

Surprise flickered in the man’s eyes, but then he left with a solid thump of the door.

As soon as he was alone, Reyes scrubbed his hands over his face and then turned to pound his fists on the counter, stopping just short to lightly tap the surface. So many emotions danced right in front of him, fighting for the upper hand. Anger, frustration, hurt, disbelief.

One rolled into the other until they coalesced into a howling cyclone that made it hard to breathe, much less think. The only thing that made sense was getting it over with sooner rather than later.

After a shower, he pulled on a T-shirt, jeans, and boots, then saddled Taz before heading up to the guest house. He knew without a doubt he was going to need some therapy the moment he walked away from her.

His heart thundered in his ears as he approached the door with heavy feet. When Raine answered his knock, the distress in her hazel eyes stole what little breath he’d sucked past the vice pinching his chest. He barely managed a gruff, “Hey,” as he handed over her forgotten phone.

“Hi. Thanks.” She stuffed the phone in her back pocket with a strained smile and stood aside to let him in. “I am so sorry about earlier.”

“You don’t owe me any apologies.”

“I’m still sorry you had to go through that. My dad was a jerk.”

No argument from him—though he very grudgingly admitted he understood the man’s motivation even though he’d offended the hell out of him with the execution.

Raine shut the door and turned to face him. He couldn’t keep his gaze from devouring her shower-damp hair and the beauty of her makeup-free features. She wore a filmy, peach-colored shirt, and a pair of white shorts that left her legs bare. Barely an hour ago, they’d been wrapped around him as he selfishly stole one more memory to hoard for later.

“Can you frickin’ believe my father?”

Reyes grimaced as he glanced at the floor, then raised his gaze to hers. “He’s right. You can’t quit.”