‘I hope not, but I can’t afford to be weak. Weakness destroyed my family and almost destroyed Fazenda Santos. My parents were like yours—weak and easily led. I could never live through that again. So if you think I’m hard, understand why.’
‘And if I find it hard to trust, understand why,’ she countered.
‘I do,’ he assured her wryly. ‘But luckily my main interest in life is rescuing and rebuilding.’
She laughed. ‘I remember.’
He turned serious. ‘But sometimes it’s the tender things that get trampled—which is where you come in.’
‘Me?’
‘You brought the human touch to the ranch. I want you to do the same here’
‘So what exactly is the job you’re offering me?’
‘The hardest job of all—the job of being my wife,’ Tiago said as he hefted the saddle off his horse. ‘And not just in name only, or for a year, but for a lifetime.’
‘As long as that?’ she said.
She turned to look at him and their stares met and held, and then they both laughed. It had been a long time coming, but they were finally back to their tormenting best—in a way they hadn’t been since those early days of their friendship on Chico’s ranch.
And now Tiago was in hunting mode, his firm mouth curving.
‘You need to accept that I love you,’ he said. ‘You need to understand that when you walked out I was hurting too.’ His lips pressed down as he thought back. ‘But maybe I needed that wake-up call. I certainly got one when I almost lost you.’
‘And now?’ she said.
Tiago shrugged. ‘Now I just want to know if I’m wasting my time here. Has your life moved on?’
‘Has yours?’
Neither of them answered. Maybe they didn’t need to. They had entered the stillness and shade of the stable block, and made swift work of settling their horses.
‘So I’ve still got a job?’ Danny confirmed as they walked outside.
‘Yes. Of course.’
They stopped walking. Tension was rising. Did she move closer, or did he? Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, glutting herself on the sweet tang of leather and hot, clean man.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked as she stood on tiptoe.
‘I’m going to kiss you.’
‘That’s my job.’
‘You’re too slow. This is just something else you’re going to have to get used to. Barbarian mates tend to be as fierce as each other.’
She kissed him.
Tiago didn’t move. ‘Are you always going to be so forceful with me?’
‘Always,’ she promised.
‘Then we are going to have a very interesting life together, Senhora Santos.’
‘I certainly hope so.’
‘I’ve missed you, Danny...’ He stared into her eyes.
‘I’ve missed you too.’
‘Let’s never fight again.’
‘Unless we’re in bed?’ she suggested.
Tiago laughed, his breath clouding with hers in the frigid air. ‘I will always love you, always protect you, always care for you—for as long as you will allow me to. And I will always support you in anything you decide to do.’
‘Stop.’ Reaching up, she placed her fingers on his lips. ‘In your position I would have done exactly the same. We’re like two halves of the same coin.’
‘What are you saying, Danny?’
‘Is it wrong to have sex on a second date?’
* * *
‘Deus! I need a bed,’ Tiago said huskily as he slammed her against the wall. ‘Why is there never a bed when I need one?’
‘Let me!’ Danny insisted fiercely. ‘Why do you always wear so many clothes?’
‘It’s winter?’
‘Stop making excuses.’
She tugged at his shirt, exclaiming when she got down to hot, hard skin. She threw her head back and rubbed her body against him, purring deep in her throat like a contented kitten.
‘Not here—not like this,’ Tiago insisted, plucking reason from the air when it was lost to both of them. ‘We’ve waited too long for this, and I’ve no intention of breaking such a long fast in a tack room.’
‘All right,’ Danny agreed grudgingly. ‘But be quick—’
Tiago strode across the yard with her in his arms, into the house and up the stairs, without pausing. Reaching the bedroom, he kicked the door shut behind them and they fell on each other. Clothes flew left and right. Words were unnecessary. When they were naked she was ready to scramble up him, but Tiago held her still and brought her in front of him.
‘No,’ he said, speaking softly and intently as he stared into her face. ‘This has to be special for you.’
Carrying her to the bed, he laid her down gently. Stretching out his powerful length beside her, he brought her into the circle of his arms and proceeded to give lovemaking a new meaning.
Keeping her arms above her head in one fist, he maintained eye contact as he built her pleasure with strokes and gentle teasing, until she was wild for him and it was all she could do to keep still. She had never felt like this before—so full of love, so abandoned, so free. Free to trust, to give, and to receive as Tiago introduced her to a new and extraordinary level of pleasure.
A groan escaped her as he stroked her buttocks, encouraging her to open her legs for him. And then, after teasing her with just his tip, he allowed himself to catch inside her, but then moved away again, making her sob with frustration.
‘More...’
‘More?’ he queried in a low, husky voice.
‘Don’t tease me,’ she begged him. ‘I’ve waited too long for this.’
She gasped with relief when he allowed her another exquisite inch.
But then he pulled back again.
‘Are you trying to drive me crazy with frustration?’
‘No. I’m making sure you trust me. Completely and for ever this time.’
He took her again, by a couple of inches, and then he rested, allowing her to savour how good it was. Then he began to move, slowly and steadily, thrusting his hips to a dependable rhythm that had her screaming his name within seconds.
‘Again,’ she gasped as the strongest of the pleasure waves rolled over her and subsided. ‘I must have more—please...please...more...again...’
Her fingers dug into him as she fell a second time, even more strongly than the first.
‘Again, and again, and again,’ Tiago promised her as he worked steadily to bring her more pleasure.
And this time when she quietened he murmured her name against her mouth and told her that he loved her.
* * *
They rode out the next morning, after a night of no sleep, but neither of them was tired for some reason. Tiago glanced at Danny and smiled. Life was too precious to waste a moment sleeping. They had done more than make love last night—constantly and vigorously; they had reached a new understanding built on