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‘Do I?’
His groin tightened at the challenge. She wasn’t so dead inside after all. She had always been a good actress, and he could understand why she was cool with him. The blow to her pride must have been immense. Saving her from him had come at a heavy price. Their friendship was dead.
‘You look well, Dante.’
‘Thank you.’
The polite exchange over, he returned to assessing Karina. She was all woman now, not a girl to provoke and tease. Her figure had filled out and her thick black hair gleamed with good health, though since that night she had started tying it back severely. Whenever he caught a glimpse of her at a polo match, it was dragged back, and it was dragged back today—so different from the past when it had cascaded in wild tangles down her back. They had both changed. They were both very different people now. He had responsibilities, while Karina’s career had obviously grounded her, and though that reassured him on a professional level, this was not the girl he had vowed to stay away from for her own good but a woman who would keep him at bay.
‘Can I get you something to drink?’ she asked politely.
Hemlock, her eyes suggested, which made him force back a smile. ‘Just water, please.’
Her expression gave nothing away as she turned to do the honours, but when she returned and gave him the glass and their fingers brushed, her cheeks pinked up betrayingly. She could act all she liked, but she still felt the connection between them, just as he did.
His hunting instinct rose and swirled around them. Sensing this, she shot him a warning glance. She hadn’t forgiven him for kicking her out of his bed. He couldn’t blame her when he hadn’t bothered with explanations. A prior, pressing appointment had done the job. If she’d stayed they would have destroyed each other. She’d been too young, too innocent for him. Progressing their friendship into something more than one night had been a car crash waiting to happen, but all Karina had seen was his betrayal.
His eyes devoured her as she crossed the room. It amused him to think that she was putting as much distance between them as she could, when at one time she would have stayed to plague and tease him. No other woman made him feel this way, as if he was risking everything—his place on the team, his friendship with Luc—his very sanity, just by being in the same room as her. And then jealousy swamped him. Who had held her since that night? Who had heard Karina scream with pleasure? Who knew that if they stroked her from the nape of her neck to the small of her back she would whimper with need and raise her hips, inviting even more intimate touches? Who had tasted her innocence since that night?
‘It’s so good to have you here, Dante.’
He shot into fully alert mode as her brother spoke to him. Luc had an easy manner with his teammates and as he crossed the room to put an arm around Dante, it was in complete contrast to the tension between Dante and Luc’s sister. He had to put all thoughts of Karina aside before he could respond to his friend. ‘Thank you, Luc. It’s good to be here.’
And then they were talking about the match and their latest pony acquisitions, but all the time he was aware of Karina. He’d ridden with her brother since they’d been boys. Luc and he were brothers in arms, both fiercely competitive, and he had never once discussed Karina with her brother. A man’s sister was inviolable, and though for years he had burned to know if Karina had a lover, it had been a question he would never ask Luc.
‘Karina has signed the contract!’
‘Excellent.’ He swung around to face her after her brother’s announcement. ‘There’s no one I can think of who is better qualified to organise the Gaucho Cup.’
‘No one understands the demands of polo players better than my sister,’ Luc confirmed warmly.
Karina said nothing.
Luc, who appeared not to have noticed his sister bristling, stared at the water in Dante’s glass. ‘Are you sure you wouldn’t like something stronger?’
‘I’m certain, thank you. I want to keep a clear head.’
Karina’s stare sharpened on his face.
‘Shall we?’ she said, glancing towards the boardroom table.
‘Certainly.’ He walked across the room to hold her chair for her.
Karina proved her worth within minutes, picking up points his lawyers had missed. He should have felt completely confident in her abilities, but found himself disappointed instead. Knowing Karina as he had, he had anticipated something extra, a little dose of magic that would have lifted the event above the norm. Her initial thoughts were well thought through, considering she’d only just signed the contract, and he had no doubt those plans would be executed flawlessly, but her ideas lacked oomph. They were pedestrian and he had expected more of her.
‘Well, I think that’s it,’ she said when her thoughts were exhausted. ‘I hope you have a pleasant journey home.’
He had intended to leave immediately after the meeting, but now he was determined to stay. He wanted to get to the bottom of the changes in Karina and to make a final decision as to whether or not she could realise the vision he had for the polo event. From what he’d seen so far, he had some doubts. Smiling easily, he relaxed back. ‘I’m in no hurry.’
Her expression hardened. He raised a brow. Her brother, once again, remained oblivious to the undercurrents between them. In fact, it was Luc who rescued the situation, saying, ‘You’re not leaving yet, surely?’
He smiled back at Luc. ‘No, of course not.’
‘Karina,’ Luc chastised her when she remained silent and still. ‘Are you forgetting your manners completely? Dante can’t leave yet. This calls for champagne.’
He added his support to Luc’s suggestion. ‘I agree with Luc. What’s the rush?’
The look Karina gave him called for more hemlock.
She clearly didn’t want him to stay, which made him wonder why she was feeling quite so defensive and angry. Could she have held a grudge for so long? Apparently, she could—but there was one interesting fact: she might be looking at him as if he were the devil, but not a devil she wanted to run from, rather a devil she wanted to stay and fight. That was a great improvement. It fired her up—turned her from an expressionless automaton into the Karina he had known.
‘You’re the client. Whatever suits you,’ she said, smiling a plastic smile.
* * *
Hard eyes. Hard mouth. Hard man. How could she ever have imagined she could work with Dante? He couldn’t know, of course, that what they’d done had set in motion a train of events that would have such far-reaching repercussions. She had to remind herself that the past had no part to play in these business discussions. She was proud of the career she’d built up. She’d worked hard for it, and would allow nothing and no one to take it from her—not even Dante Baracca. She’d give him no cause for complaint. If there was one thing she’d learned while working for her brother, it was that a woman had to be twice as strong as any man in the workplace, and that emotion had no part to play.
‘Your sister seems preoccupied,’ Dante remarked to Luc, as if she’d left the room. ‘Do you think she will find it impossible to work with me?’
‘I think she can handle you,’ Luc said dryly.
She swung around to confront them both. ‘I’m still in the room. If you expect me to run this project for you, please don’t discuss me as if I’m a blotter on my brother’s desk.’
Dante’s wry glance look suggested she had fallen into his trap. He had meant to provoke her to draw her back into the conversation.
‘Please excuse my sister,’ Luc joked. ‘You remember what she’s like, don’t you, Dante? But there’s one thing I can assure you, she’s very good at her job.’
‘I’m sure she is,’ Dante agreed, with a look that made her cheeks burn.
‘Well... If you will both excuse me?’
Karina stiffened as Luc started collecting up his things.
‘I’ve got another appointment I simple can’t miss.’
You can’t leave me!
Ignoring the look she gave him, her brother did just that.
Clever Luc. He’d left her with no alternative but to stay and entertain their guest.
Dante broke the silence first. ‘Well, Miss Prim.’ His voice was low and amused. ‘Why are you so reluctant to work with me?’
She drew herself up. ‘I don’t know what makes you say that. I’m looking forward to this project immensely.’
‘Liar,’ Dante murmured.
He sucked the breath from her lungs with that single word.
‘Are you still hurting after that night?’
Shock coursed through her. She couldn’t believe what he’d just said. ‘My only interest is to organise the best event the polo world has ever seen.’
‘Worthy and dull?’ he flashed.
Her cheeks blazed red under this attack. Was that was how she’d come across? When her brother left the room, she had been expecting a few pleasantries, and then the chance to make another appointment to see Dante to discuss her plans—and only that.
‘I expected more of you, Karina.’ His tone was scathing.
Completely thrown, she went into defensive mode. ‘I’ll give you my best. My clients have never been disappointed. My past record speaks for itself.’
‘Maybe your previous clients haven’t been as demanding as me.’
She couldn’t believe he was being so aggressive and, unsettled, she looked away. Reaching out, he cupped her chin and brought her back so she had nowhere to look but into his eyes. ‘Why so defensive, Karina?’ he goaded. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’
‘I don’t know what you mean. You’re a valued client, and I never break my promise to a client. That should be enough for you.’
Dante’s eyes narrowed. ‘You haven’t answered my question.’
Nor would she. Shaking him off, she stepped back. ‘If we’re going to do business together—’
‘You will have to lighten up,’ he supplied, in a tone that spoke worryingly of Dante’s growing doubt that she was up to the task.
She had to remind herself how many difficult clients she’d had in the past, and that Dante was just one more. But though she had always succeeded in winning clients over in the past, Dante was a unique case, and the way he was looking at her now, as if he wanted her to defend herself...
‘If you don’t like my suggestions—’
He cut her off with a laugh. ‘Brava, Karina. I had begun to think there was nothing left of the wildcat I remember.’
There wasn’t anything left of that reckless young woman. Was he suggesting she had learned nothing since that night?
‘You accepted this assignment because you can’t resist it,’ he accused her, bringing his face close. ‘How do I know this?’ With a shrug he stood back. ‘You accepted this contract because you won’t let your brother down. And you won’t let yourself down because you have far too much pride.’
‘I have pride?’ she demanded on an incredulous laugh.
‘Honoured client?’ Dante reminded her, easing onto one hip.
She would come to regret those words, Karina suspected as she looked away.
‘My driver is waiting downstairs.’
She stared at him blankly.
‘You’re coming with me.’
She shook her head. ‘I have work to do.’
‘Yes,’ Dante agreed. ‘My work. My contract that you just signed.’
‘Seriously, I really don’t have time for this.’
‘Then make time,’ he said coldly, reminding her of just how harsh he could be. ‘I can’t do business with you while you’re tense like this.’
‘Tense? I’m just busy, Dante. I only wish I could leave,’ she lied, softening her tone in the hope of placating him, ‘But, unfortunately, I have a very busy day ahead of me.’
‘With important clients?’
He knew there was no client more important than he was, and the air was electric between them. Two wills colliding and neither one of them prepared to back down. But Dante had the better of her today because he knew she wouldn’t let her brother down.
‘This trip?’ she prompted. ‘What did you have in mind?’
‘Let’s get out of here and then I’ll tell you.’ Dante held the door for her, and as she walked through he murmured, ‘One thing you will discover about me, chica, is that I never do anything without a very good reason.’
She stopped dead right in front of him. ‘Let’s get one thing clear from the start. I am not your chica.’
Instead of taking offence, Dante stepped up close. He stood so close, looking down at her, that she could see the tiger gold in his eyes. She held his blazing gaze steadily, though her stomach was coiled in a knot.
‘What are you frightened of, Karina?’ he murmured in a voice she knew so well.
A quiver of awareness rippled across her shoulders even as she stood up to him. ‘Not you, that’s for sure. Shall we go?’ she said.
‘You’re very confident that I won’t take my business elsewhere,’ he said as they walked along the corridor side by side. ‘Why is that, Karina?’
‘You’re not a fool?’ she said.
Dante’s husky laugh ran a full-blown shiver of arousal down her spine. His laugh was so familiar, too familiar. Dante had always possessed an animal energy that attracted her, however hard she tried to fight it off. And he had always understood her as no one else could. He probably knew that right now every part of her was on full alert just being close to him. After that night she had wondered if she would ever be capable of feeling anything for anyone again. She had also wondered if the connection between them would fade across the years. She knew now that neither one of those suspicious was true. If anything, she was more aware of him.
She had to forget the past if she was going to do business with Dante. She would have to forget everything, just as he must accept that everything in her life had changed.
‘You never married?’ he queried out of the blue as they stepped into the empty elevator.
She looked at him, shocked that he could ask such a personal question, then remembered that Dante had always been known for speaking his mind.
‘Neither did you,’ she countered. Fixing her stare on the illuminated floor numbers as they flashed on and off, she tried not to respond when he shrugged and smiled faintly.
‘I’ve been too busy, Karina. What’s your excuse?’
‘Do I need one?’
She spoke mildly, but there was the faintest of threats in her voice. Leave it, Dante, came over loud and clear. He loved it when Karina came back to life. He loved to see fire flashing in her eyes as it once had. Every woman seemed pallid to him by comparison with Karina—until he had walked into her brother’s office this morning and wondered if there was any of her old spirit left. There was, and there was more for him to tease out, he suspected, though she stood as far away from him as possible in the elevator. When the door slid open and she walked out ahead of him, she didn’t speak a word as they headed for his limousine. Perhaps she didn’t trust herself to speak.
His driver opened the door for them, and she got in. She remained silent at his side, allowing him plenty of time to weigh up the shadows in her eyes.
‘You haven’t told me where we’re going yet,’ she reminded him, conscious of his scrutiny.
‘You always used to like surprises, Karina.’
‘And now I don’t have time for them.’ She crossed her legs and sat up primly to make her point. ‘I have a working life to consider,’ she added, when he continued to stare at her.
‘Then stop worrying, because the place I’m taking you is directly connected to the business between us.
‘Relax,’ he advised.
‘I’m perfectly relaxed,’ she snapped, staring straight ahead.
* * *
Dante’s driver drove carefully through the crowded streets. It was carnival. How could she have forgotten? The city was packed with musicians and performers, and crowds from all over the world. At one time this had been her favourite event of the year.
‘You used to love carnival,’ Dante commented, as if he had picked up on her thoughts. ‘Has that changed now?’
‘It hasn’t changed.’ She felt a charge as she turned to look at him. His hands, his lips, his face, his body all so familiar, were within a few scant inches of her, and her mouth dried as she turned to look out of the window at the exuberant crowd. Carnival was all about rhythm and music, abandonment and lust, and here she was, old before her time, dressed in a sober business suit, feeling like a dried-up leaf.
‘I’m not dressed for this,’ she murmured, unconsciously voicing her inner concerns.
‘I don’t know what you’re worried about,’ Dante argued as his driver parked. ‘Who cares what you’re wearing? It’s the spirit of carnival that counts.’
That was what worried her. She’d used to have plenty of spirit, but life changed you.
‘I can’t—these heels...’
Dante glanced at her feet and laughed. ‘That’s the worst excuse I ever heard.’
She shook her head in disagreement. ‘We can’t afford to waste time here when we could be discussing plans for the polo cup.’
‘That’s precisely why we’re here,’ he argued, reaching for the door handle. ‘The event will be a huge success—if you can relax enough to organise it.’
‘I can relax,’ she insisted, pressing back against the seat. ‘I just don’t have a lot of time. I thought you understood that.’
‘I understand that you’re making excuses,’ he said, opening the door and getting out.
What the hell was wrong with Karina? What had happened to her sense of humour—her sense of fun? At one time it wouldn’t have been she leading him astray and distracting him from his work. In the past it hadn’t been possible to keep Karina away from carnival, but now it seemed she hadn’t even registered the fact that that it was carnival week in Rio. She’d be no use in this sombre mood to the event he wanted to create. He had expected the Karina he’d once known, would come up with something fabulous, something that would appeal to all ages. ‘Shall we?’ he invited, helping her out of the car—or rather drawing her out, as she seemed so reluctant. He was beginning to wonder if he’d made a huge mistake to allow Luc to talk him into this.
‘Lead the way,’ she said, with the same lack of enthusiasm, as if he hadn’t touched her at all.
He intended to lead. He intended to elicit a reaction from her. When they had all been kids together the annual carnival had been the highlight of their year, and that was exactly what he wanted to re-create on his ranch for the Gaucho Cup.
‘All work and no play will destroy your creative juices,’ he warned, as she stared around.
‘If you say so.’
Her small smile was better than nothing at all, he supposed.
‘We need to get a move on, Karina,’ he prompted. ‘The procession will start any time now.’
‘Okay.’
Wobbling on the cobbles in her high-heeled shoes, she did look out of place—as she so obviously felt. His stone heart responded just a little. Even back when Karina had been a tomboy, tormenting the life out of him, he’d cared about her in his offhand teenage way. He still cared about her, and felt compelled to get to the bottom of the changes in someone who had used to shed light, but who now cast only shadows.
CHAPTER THREE
IGNORING DANTE’S OFFER to link arms, she walked ahead. This wasn’t a personal expedition, this was business.
Really?
Dante didn’t need to know that just being within touching distance of him made her heart go crazy, or that she beginning to feel the excitement of carnival thaw the ice around her heart. She hadn’t done this for ages—walked in the city for no better reason than to have fun. She hadn’t felt this free for years. Her gaze was darting around like a hermit let out of a cave as she desperately tried to soak up all the sights and sounds and smells at once.
She felt drunk on them, elated, after the hushed silence of her brother’s luxury hotel, and for a moment she was so wrapped up in events around her that she stopped walking altogether and got jostled along by the crowd. She almost lost her balance and then a steadying hand rescued her—Dante’s. She sucked in a noisy breath, glad that the ruckus from the crowd drowned it out. Even that briefest of touches was a warning of how receptive she still was to Dante.
She shouldn’t have come here with him, she fretted as she made for some shadows beneath the awning of a shop. Carnival in Rio was the highest-octane party in the world. No one came to carnival to discuss dry business deals or to cement business relationships. If couples talked at all, their faces were close and their eyes were locked on each other.
The music, the colour, the spectacle, the noise, the heat of the sun and the warmth of the cobbled street beneath her feet, combined with the scent of cinnamon and spices, made a riotous feast for the senses, and she had been on an austere diet. Appealing to her senses was the very last thing on her agenda for today. Logic and facts were all she needed to make the Gaucho Cup a success.
But she was here. And with him. Get over it. Get out there and make the most of it.
‘Hold on,’ Dante cautioned, as she followed a sudden impulse to plunge into the crowd. ‘It gets wild from here.’
Like she didn’t know that—though anything was wild compared to the way she’d been living. She exulted in the beat of the approaching drums as they grew louder. Maybe she wasn’t so dead inside after all. She wasn’t—she wasn’t dead at all. In fact, she had to fight the urge to go along the crowd and lose herself in the echo of a different life.
‘Karina!’
Dante’s shout brought her to her senses just in time. Of course she wouldn’t have followed that impulse, and of course she held back. She knew better than to let herself go these days because she knew where that led.
They had reached a small square. The crowd had moved ahead of them, leaving just the two of them on the street. Dante was leaning back against a wall, watching her with a puzzled expression on his face. His forearms were crossed over his powerful chest, and somewhere along the way he’d removed his jacket and tie. However hard she tried to look away, she couldn’t, and when she tried desperately hard to blank her mind to the image of a ridiculously good-looking man, she failed there too.
Then she noticed that an elderly couple had stopped to watch them, as if they had somehow created a mini-drama to be played out in silence between them. She quickly dragged her attention from Dante, only to see the old lady wink at her. She wanted to explain that there was nothing between them, but that wouldn’t have been very professional of her so she smiled instead. The elderly couple were having such a happy day—why spoil it for them? But if her feelings were so obvious to them, were they obvious to Dante?
He smiled at the old couple too. He could be charming when he wanted. And then the crowd thickened once more and the elderly couple disappeared into the throng, while Dante stood in front of her to protect her as the crowd surged past.
‘I can look after myself,’ she protested, when he put an arm around her to draw her close.
‘Is chivalry out of fashion these days?’
His look was mocking. She responded in kind. ‘Chivalry? That’s not a word I readily associate with you.’
‘Why not?’ he demanded, looking at her keenly.
She looked away. She didn’t want to get into it. They were here in the middle of carnival with nowhere else to go. She had to make the best of it, and with more than two million people milling about on the streets of Rio it was important to stay close.
The crowd pushed them together as they walked along. Her body tingled each time she touched Dante. It was a distracting client relationship tool, she told herself sternly. Cold emptiness had been her companion for so long she felt each light brush as if it were an intentional touch. And then he was distracted by one of the beautiful young samba dancers and her stomach squeezed tight as she watched them exchange kisses on both cheeks like old friends. She carefully masked her feelings when he came back to her.