Читать книгу Wedding Party Collection: Proposing To The Planner: The Argentinian's Solace - Aimee Carson, Susan Stephens - Страница 11

CHAPTER FOUR

SHE had had the worst night’s sleep ever. Was it wrong to want a man who looked like a pirate to behave like one? Was it crazy to lie in bed wondering what would happen if she crept to the door and left it temptingly ajar? As if she’d be so stupid. She wouldn’t have the first idea of what to do if she had done something so ridiculous and Diego had walked in. She had heard him coming upstairs and remained absolutely still as she’d listened to the water run while he took his shower. She had imagined him standing beneath the spray naked. No wonder she’d had a sleepless night.

Leaping out of bed, she drew the curtains on a brand- new day. The sun was shining and it was hard to believe she had been greeted yesterday by stormy skies and a glowering man. Opening the window and leaning out, she dragged in the scent of blossom and grass, intensified by the refreshing rain and now the warmth of the sun. So where was Diego? She glanced round the empty gardens, guessing he’d be with his horses. She’d take a shower, make her calls, and then she’d check the agenda she’d given him. She had no time to waste on fantasies involving dangerous men sweeping sensible girls off their feet and carrying them away to make passionate love to them until they couldn’t stand.

But she was only human, and Diego Acosta was one heck of a man.

* * *

He had been up before dawn, after a restless night spent tossing and turning at the thought of a woman he wanted in his bed sleeping in a room just down the landing.

So what had held him back?

Slamming his cane against the wall with a vicious curse, he took a shower and changed into clean jeans, desert boots and the first top that came to hand. Opening his bedroom door, he found her walking down the landing towards the stairs.

‘Good morning, Diego,’ she called to him, oblivious to his black mood. ‘I hope you slept well?’

‘Maxie,’ he said briefly.

‘Are you coming down to breakfast?’ she asked as she ran down the stairs.

Was he supposed to follow at a snail’s pace?

‘Maria has promised to make pancakes today,’ she called back to him as she hurried across the hall towards the kitchen.

She looked so fresh-faced and innocent in her simple top, blue jeans and sneakers. ‘I’m going to check on the horses,’ he said, craving fresh air and the empty pampas.

‘No problems, I hope?’ she asked, pausing with her hand on the kitchen door.

Problems? What? More than she could see as he moved stiff-legged down the stairs? ‘One of the ponies kicked my best horse last night,’ he ground out.

‘Oh, no!’ she exclaimed with concern. ‘I’m so sorry. No lasting harm done, I hope?’

‘I don’t know yet,’ he snapped, frowning. Socialising was good for recovering horses, but there was always the risk they might get hurt, and he felt responsible for what had happened. It was another black mark on the day.

‘Perhaps I can see your horses later?’ she suggested.

Before he had a chance to refuse this request she had disappeared inside the kitchen. His black mood thickened when he heard her laughing with Maria. She was really making herself at home.

* * *

Thanking Diego’s housekeeper for the delicious breakfast, Maxie reflected on the many amusing tales Maria had told her about Diego growing up. It was probably just as well he hadn’t joined them in the kitchen, or Maria almost certainly wouldn’t have opened up the way she had. Maxie had been her usual guarded self. She never talked about her childhood, and preferred to look to the future and build rather than waste time thinking about what couldn’t be changed. She had spent too many nights barricaded in a room with her mother when her father had returned home drunk after yet another failed business deal to want to look back. Her own relationships with men had scarcely fared any better. She seemed to have the knack of finding younger versions of her father. No wonder creating events for other people suited her so well. She had long preferred to view the world from a safe distance.

She was scarcely back in her bedroom when her father called her on her mobile. ‘What a great surprise,’ she said, her face wreathed in smiles.

‘Don’t ring me now,’ he howled. ‘It isn’t convenient!’

‘But you called me,’ Maxie pointed out, all her elation evaporating.

‘Can’t you remember the simplest thing, Maxine?’ her father bellowed, as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘I have a board meeting at nine. I’ve got no time for your jabbering now!’

‘Dad, I’m sorry—’ But the line had already been disconnected. He was as confused as ever, she realised. Her father hadn’t attended a board meeting in his life, as far as Maxie knew, and he wasn’t about to start now.

She took a moment to compose herself, and then sniffed and straightened up. Checking her reflection in the mirror before she left the room, she remembered her father’s nursing staff telling her to get on with her life. They were probably right, but it had been so long since she had pleased herself, without making her responsibilities top of the list, she had almost forgotten how.

Or maybe not, Maxie thought. A faint smile touched her lips when she spotted something interesting in the courtyard. It wouldn’t hurt to take a closer look.

* * *

Diego had checked the horse and was satisfied the wound was superficial. Having returned to his room to take a shower, he was rubbing his hair dry when the messaging service on his phone trilled. It was a text from an anxious Holly, wanting to know what he thought of Maxie. Were his feelings supposed to have changed towards Maxie since Holly’s last call?

He texted back: She’s here. She’s fine. Doing her job, as far as I can tell.

Holly texted back immediately: Is that it?

That’s it, he confirmed, stowing the phone. What else should there be?

He was just easing his leg when he heard something that made him lurch across the room as fast as he could to stare out of the window. With a violent curse he left his bedroom in such a rush he forgot his cane. With his stiff leg lagging behind, he used the brute strength of his upper body to swing down the stairs, and, limping across the seemingly endless stretch of hallway, he launched himself at the front door and flung it wide. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

‘Oh, hello,’ Maxie replied, turning on the seat of his prized custom-built Harley. ‘I hope you don’t mind. I saw your bike and I couldn’t resist!’

She looked pretty hot on his bike…

And she was making no move to dismount.

She caressed the controls.

‘I hope you weren’t thinking of taking my bike for a ride?’ he derided, making what, without his cane, was embarrassingly slow progress down the steps.

‘I have ridden a bike before.’

‘Not like this, you haven’t,’ he fired back at her, cursing beneath his breath as he closed the distance between them at a limp.

‘I’m not a child, Diego…’

That much he could see for himself. And there wasn’t so much as a trace of guilt in her eyes. ‘Do you normally take things that don’t belong to you?’

‘I wasn’t taking it. I was sitting on it,’ she protested.

A flashback to his past fuelled his anger. He had first started riding bikes with a friend who was dead now. That thought led to the name Parrish banging in his head. ‘Don’t you dare,’ he warned as Maxie’s fingertips strayed dangerously close to the controls.

She had never done anything like this before. She had never rebelled or taken anything that didn’t belong to her without asking permission first. She had been all business, all correctness and restraint for so long she couldn’t imagine what she was doing.

‘Off,’ Diego commanded, in the coldest voice she had ever heard.

She could accept she was doing something wrong, but was it that bad? Something inside her flipped. ‘Okay, so you don’t want this wedding here. I get that. You don’t want me here. I get that too. But as your brother part-owns this island, and his fiancée has hired me to give an opinion, I’m going to stay until I’m in a position to do that.’

‘Then get back to work and get the hell off my bike!’

‘I’ve done my work,’ Maxie raged back. Springing off the bike, she took a stand. ‘For your information, I stayed up half the night to finish my work. Holly will have my report the second she wakes up. What have you done apart from feel sorry for yourself?’

Diego paled. ‘What did you say?’

‘Isn’t that what this is about?’ Maxie demanded as all the pent-up feelings she had suppressed for years burst out of her. ‘So you can’t play top-class polo? You can still ride a horse, can’t you? You’re still breathing!’

‘I should stop there, if I were you,’ Diego warned her quietly.

‘Why? Does the truth hurt, Diego? How long have you been on the island, exactly? Are you never going home? And if the pain’s so bad why don’t you take painkillers like everyone else?’

‘You’re really pushing it, lady…’

‘Am I?’ she said, standing her ground when he took a step towards her. ‘Perhaps it’s time someone did. Maybe I shouldn’t have sat on your bike—but for God’s sake, Diego, it’s only a bike. I was hardly going to roar away on it. Where would I go?’ she demanded angrily, staring around. ‘This was an island the last time I looked!’

‘Are you finished?’ he demanded, looking more ferocious than she’d ever seen him with his ruggedly beautiful head thrown back, earring glinting, black eyes blazing.

Absolutely, devastatingly, gorgeous…

As they glared at each other Maxie slowly began to realise that the attraction between them was mutual. She drew a sharp breath in as Diego came towards her. Incredulity mixed with excitement and sheer blind terror at what she had stirred up churned inside her. He backed her towards the bike. She could feel the cool metal against her overheated skin and the leather seat pressing into her back. Passion boiled in Diego’s stare—in hers too, she had no doubt.

‘Next time ask me first,’ he ground out.

She gasped as he seized her arm. ‘Get off me!’

What was more terrifying? The cold, blind fury in Diego’s eyes, or the cruel twist of his smile? Just his grip on her arm was alarming. But as they stared it out it was as if they were joined in some deeper, primal way. Almost as if they were meant to be like this—close, passionate, exclusive and intense.

‘I said, get off me!’ she raged.

Diego merely angled his chin to stare down at her, as if she were a particularly interesting wild creature of a type he had never encountered before.

‘Don’t you hear me?’ She tried and failed to shake herself free. ‘Don’t you dare look at me like that—don’t you dare smile!’

Diego’s answer was simple. She dragged in a shocked breath as he swung her off her feet and dumped her back on the saddle. Swinging in front of her before she had chance to protest, he started the engine and kicked the stand away. ‘You want a ride?’ he snarled over his shoulder. ‘Then I suggest you hold on.’

A red mist clouded his vision as he powered up the bike. Maxie hadn’t just breached his privacy, she had opened Pandora’s Box on the past. She had insulted him. She had—

No. He refused to contemplate, even for one second, that she might have held up a mirror to his face. He wanted her, but he also wanted her gone. He couldn’t inflict himself on anyone—his leg, his mood, the danger that lurked inside him, all of it poison. She wanted to know why he was here on the island? For everyone’s safety. That was why. She had chosen to ignore the warnings. Her bad luck. She hadn’t seen him like this. She hadn’t seen him with the devil on his back.

They shot away so fast she almost fell off the bike. She clung to Diego as he accelerated, taking the bike at such speed round the first corner that his jean-clad leg brushed the road. Yes, she had ridden a bike before—it was the easiest way to cut through the London traffic—but there was a world of difference between her 125cc commuter bike and Diego’s white-hot Harley.

At first all she could think of was not falling off, but gradually she realised that Diego could ride a bike at speed as well as it could possibly be ridden. She still clung to him like a limpet. Forget prudent, sensible behaviour—this was a matter of staying alive. Resting her cheek against his hard, warm back, she felt his muscles flexing, and against all that was sensible she felt safe. The grey top he was wearing held the scent of soap and warm, clean man. And at least she didn’t have to look into those mocking eyes, Maxie consoled herself—though she did have to be careful where she put hands that badly wanted to explore Diego’s muscle-banded torso. Of course she wouldn’t let them—any more than she would acknowledge the effect of sustained vibration on a body that had been too long without sex.

When he finally stopped the bike she dismounted shakily.

‘Well?’ he demanded.

‘Awesome!’ she exclaimed, before realising Diego expected her to be broken by the experience. But it had been amazing. And if he didn’t like it… ‘I can’t believe I waited so long to do that,’ she said, finger-combing the tangles out of her hair. ‘You’re an amazing rider.’

Easing onto one hip, he stared at her long and hard. ‘You must be a sucker for speed.’

‘Maybe I am,’ she agreed.

Ruffling his hair, he turned away. He couldn’t pretend she hadn’t surprised him. Maxie Parrish was fearless. Was he in such a hurry to get rid of her now? Maybe having company wasn’t all bad. At least Maxie had something about her. Behind that cool exterior was a leather-clad biker-girl with a ferocious temper—which made him wonder what other passions lurked beneath the surface of Maxie’s carefully manufactured veneer. He’d have to be unconscious not to want to find out.

Did they actually have something in common? Maxie wondered, exhilarated by the bike ride. Had the same jolt of electricity joined them briefly?

‘What now?’ she pressed, feeling she could cope with anything. Her lips pressed down with disappointment as she gazed around at the uninspiring shrub and rock. Nothing could compete with that bike ride, and this was the dullest part of the island she’d seen so far.

He only now realised that the passion driving him had brought them to a very interesting part of the island. ‘The Green Caves,’ he informed Maxie.

‘I don’t see anything,’ she said, staring around an apparently empty stretch of ground.

‘That’s because you’re not looking in the right place.’

He took in her flushed face and windswept hair. She looked great.

‘Where am I supposed to be looking?’ she said. ‘There’s nothing but scrub here.’ She gestured around. ‘This definitely wasn’t on my agenda.’

‘Neither was my bike,’ he reminded her. ‘Do you always play by the rules, Maxie?’

‘It’s the safest way,’ she said with a shrug, but she didn’t hold his gaze.

She followed Diego out of curiosity. She wasn’t sure if this was a joke or not. There was nothing to look at of any interest—apart from Diego. He was still limping, but not too badly today. She guessed that was due to the adrenalin coursing through his veins after the ride.

‘Welcome to the Green Caves,’ he said, stopping dead in his tracks.

She followed his stare down to some stone steps cut into the ground.

‘As we’re here,’ he said with matching cool, ‘I might as well show you the underground caves so you can share the info with Holly.’

‘Thanks,’ she said briefly, relieved Diego had got used to the idea of his brother’s wedding being held on the island.

‘Once we’re underground in the Green Caves you must stay close to me.’

No hardship so far. ‘Okay,’ she agreed.

‘Did you put sightseeing on your list for the guests?’

‘Yes,’ she confirmed, ignoring his offer of a steadying hand.

‘Hey!’ he exclaimed, saving her from falling when she stumbled on the steps. ‘I’m supposed to be the one who’s compromised here.’

There was no humour in his voice, or on Diego’s face as he set her back on her feet, but it was the first time he had mentioned his injury, and as steps forward went that wasn’t a bad one. ‘Thanks,’ she said casually as they carried on down the steps in what was almost comfortable silence.

The staircase ended in an underground passageway, dimly lit by some low-voltage lighting. ‘We’re under the sea,’ Diego explained when she paused to listen.

‘And the lights?’

‘Solar panels. Quite a recent addition.’

As he moved on she wondered if Diego felt more relaxed too. More importantly, she wondered if he registered her as a woman at all, or if she was merely someone he felt he had to show round for the sake of his brother? He had never looked more the pirate, with his harsh, chiselled face, but that firm, sensual mouth belonged to a more sophisticated sensualist altogether. And now erotic possibilities were flooding her mind—which was hardly helpful when she needed to be concentrating.

‘The excavation of these caves goes back centuries,’ Diego was explaining. ‘And as each new generation takes ownership more improvements are made.’

‘That sounds impressive,’ she agreed, and her gaze followed Diego’s strong, tanned hand as it moved lightly over the stone wall.

‘I like to think so,’ he said, shooting a keen glance at her.

‘After you,’ she said lightly. There wasn’t enough space in the tunnel to pass him without touching.

He moved away.

They now entered a cavern the size of an aircraft hangar. Stalactites hung like weathered spears above their heads, while dripping stalagmites lined the path. She spotted a sheer drop on one side of the cave, but when she went to take a closer look Diego held her back. He was by far the bigger danger, she thought, glancing at his hand on her arm.

‘How deep is this chasm?’ she asked him on a dry throat.

‘Shall we find out?’ he suggested.

Reaching into the back pocket of his jeans, he pulled out a coin. As it spun and flashed in front of her she wondered what it would be like to have Diego on-side, to have someone special to confide in, but then the coin landed in glassy water just inches from her feet and the illusion shattered into numberless ripples.

‘The surface is so clear and still it acts like a mirror,’ Diego explained.

Creating a false impression as misleading as her own far-fetched hopes and dreams, Maxie thought wryly. But it was a great place to bring wedding guests, and she told him so. ‘Though I won’t tell anyone about the coin toss,’ she explained. ‘I think we should keep that a secret between us so it has maximum impact for the guests when they discover the secret of the caves.’

‘Do you like keeping secrets, Maxie?’

She balked at that. ‘Sometimes,’ she admitted. The caves suddenly felt oppressive. ‘Is that it?’ she prompted.

‘There’s just one more thing I think you should see.’

Her gaze lingered on his back as Diego led the way. He was such a powerful man, with only the limp to remind her that all was not well with him. If the leg had been attached to anyone else it might have been a good time to suggest trying out the massage technique that had worked so well for her mother—but not while it was attached to Diego Acosta.

The next cave contained an underground lake. A natural chimney allowed light to flood in, giving the water an unearthly glow. Diego was hunkered down at the water’s edge, where tiny albino crabs were scuttling in the shallows at his feet.

‘They are unique and vulnerable,’ he explained.

Diego’s hard face had softened. This was a side of him she hadn’t seen before. It made her even more certain that she wasn’t the only one who had allowed the past to colour her life. As she stared at the broad sweep of his shoulders and his strong, tanned neck she wanted to ask so many questions, but she was here for a fact-finding trip of the island, not him, and so she settled for, ‘I didn’t take you for a nature-lover.’

‘Oh, I love nature,’ he said, standing up to fix her with an assessing stare. ‘It’s people I have a problem with.’

Okay. She turned her attention to gathering more shots for Holly.

They held concerts in the underground theatre here, Diego explained as he led the way into the incredible facility buried deep in the bowels of the earth. ‘We invite people over from neighbouring islands.’

As you do, Maxie thought wryly. ‘How many people can the theatre seat?’ She had immediately reverted back to business mode and was taking notes.

‘Three hundred or so—more if we take the seats out.’

‘It would be perfect for a party after the wedding breakfast,’ she mused out loud, though of course it would be up to Holly to make the final decision.

She was standing too close to Diego, Maxie realised as her body thrilled a warning. Moving away, she stared down the steeply raked aisle to the unusual stone stage, with its backdrop of rough-hewn rock glowing amber beneath the lights. She took some shots, made a few more notes, and then turned to go—almost colliding with him.

As she skirted past she could hear his steady breathing above the thundering of her heart and something made her ask impulsively, ‘Do you mind if I stop by to watch you training your horses?’

‘You’d find it boring, surely?’

‘No. But if I’d be in the way—’

‘You wouldn’t be in the way.’

If her heart had been thundering before, it was out of control now. ‘Are you sure?’

‘I’m sure.’

They climbed back up the steps and emerged into the light. ‘Do you still think you can ride my bike?’ Diego asked.

She stared at the big black monster, sensing there was a bigger decision to be made here than whether she could ride his bike. ‘Yes, I do,’ she said.

Diego needed someone to stand up to him. She needed to test herself. Bring it on.