He didn’t play. This wasn’t Lucas Marcelos, the smooth businessman from the city with his private jet. This was a man who battled nature, not a man who battled spreadsheets on a desk. And this version of Luc looked way beyond sexy with his sharp black stubble, swarthy skin and his wild, unruly hair. She loved the way he rode bareback in battered jeans and boots and just an old shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She loved everything about him...
She loved him.
‘Daydreaming again?’
‘Just enjoying the ride,’ she said quickly.
‘Now I know you’re lying.’
‘No. Seriously. I’m not.’
Could there be anything more romantic than riding on a stallion with this man across this land? The rhythm of the horse’s hooves, together with the undulation of the horse’s body was the best workout she’d ever had. And it was soothing. She almost wished that she belonged here too.
She pressed back against Luc’s chest, relishing his strength and his heat. He was so virile, so potent, and here, in this wild country, she was glad of his command. There was nothing soft or easy about the pampas. Like the man riding behind her, it was hard and challenging, but full of opportunity too—or was that her imagination running riot again?
‘I’ll teach you how to ride one day.’
One day. The phrase remained in her head like a charm, a talisman. Could they really make it work one day?
Luc reined in outside the cabin. Nestled in the lee of a hill, it looked so welcoming. ‘Will you really teach me how to ride?’ she asked impulsively.
When Luc didn’t answer right away, she took that as a no. She probably wouldn’t be here long enough, Emma reasoned.
But while she was here, she would live and love and take her chances. That was how Luc’s wild land made her feel.
He sprang down first, and turning to her, he lifted her into his arms. Backing his way through the door, he lowered her onto her feet on a lovingly polished wooden floor. The whole place smelled of beeswax and coffee. Steadying her, he stepped back, but she wasn’t in the mood for half measures. Putting her arms around his neck she hugged him tight. It was too late to worry about what he thought. The way she felt about him had to find expression.
‘What was that for?’
Angling her chin, she stared up at him.
‘Why aren’t you saying anything?’ The corner of Luc’s mouth lifted in a smile. ‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Kiss me?’
Barely a heartbeat passed before he dragged her into his arms.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SHE WAS INSTANTLY LOST. Drunk on Luc’s consuming power, his strength, his familiar scent, his touch, the taste of him and, most of all, the way her heart sang when they were close. Her body ached to be one with his. There was no other man who could do that to her. He was the one, the only one. He completed her. He made her strong. But if Luc couldn’t open up and talk about the past, and his plan for the future, her visit here was a waste of time.
He pulled back to look at her. ‘What’s this?’ He caught a tear on the pad of his thumb.
‘Pain,’ she admitted, gritting her teeth.
‘Pain?’ Luc demanded, anxious at once. ‘Not the baby?’
‘Riding?’ She grimaced as she admitted this. ‘My bottom is in agony. Why on earth do people do it?’
Luc laughed softly. ‘Maybe I’ll show you someday.’ He rested his brow against hers and they shared a smile. Somehow the mundane applied to the soaring tensions they both had to face made a bridge between them. ‘You want to talk?’ he prompted.
‘Yes. About you,’ she said. ‘If we don’t, I’ll go back to Scotland.’
He led her over to the old battered sofa in front of the fire and invited her to sit. He brought coffee for them both from the pot on the stove, and set it on the table in front of them. ‘Invisible housekeeper,’ he explained.
She smiled ruefully, knowing that whatever they said about Luc liking his solitude, he liked his home comforts too, and that there would be someone, not too far away, who would make sure that he had everything he needed.
‘Pedro’s wife,’ he explained, putting her mind at rest.
Leaning back against the wall, Luc stared at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. ‘I need to get some things off my chest.’
‘I know,’ she said quietly.
‘I’ve been married before.’