“I’m not letting you anywhere near that animal.”

  “Why not?” she asked. “What do you have to lose?”

  “It’s not so much what I stand to lose as what I don’t want to have to cope with. I would rather not have to respond to an inquiry over a foolish boy breaking his neck on my rancho.”

  “I’m not going to break my neck,” Camilla said. “But Fuego might snap a limb if you continue to handle him like this. I hear that you’re very good with horses, Señor Navarro, but I have not yet seen it.”

  “You think insulting your boss is the way to long-term employment?”

  “I assume that you are a man who would appreciate honesty. You are allowing your pride to get in the way of making the most of your animal, and I daresay I have seen it many times before.”

  One of Matías’s dark brows shot upward. “Many times?”

  “Yes. During the year I was employed with Cesar Alvarez. There were a lot of rich men with animals they could not handle.”

  “I’m a horseman,” Matías said. “Not simply a rich man.”

  “You are a businessman primarily. That is nothing to be ashamed of, but it does mean that your focus is split.”

  Then Matías did something she did not expect. He laughed.

  “All right then, boy. Come into the arena and show me what you can do.”

  * * *

  Matías could not believe the unmitigated gall of the youth standing rooted in the grass only a few feet away from him. He could not be older than fourteen, and he spoke with the kind of boldness that grown men did not have in his presence. Although, in many ways that made sense.

  Fourteen was that sort of age. When a boy could have all the bravado in the world, and not be aware of what consequences might befall him.

  Matías was certain he had been similarly brash at that age. In all actuality at thirty-three he was still as brash, it was just that when you were a billionaire with limitless funds and no small amount of power, it was not considered brashness. It was simply considered reasonable.

  He was a man of responsibility also, and one who—unlike the rest of the men in his family—cared about doing what was right. He cared about the ranch. About the village the ranch supported.

  His abuelo was currently playing games with it. But Matías wasn’t to be trifled with. The old man had pitted Matías and his older brother Diego against each other, saying they had to comply with specific terms, and whichever of them managed in an allotted time frame would get their share of the ranch and the family assets upon the old man’s death.

  If they both complied, they would get half each.

  But if only one did...to the victor went the spoils.

  Matías had no doubt he would be the one to win. Marriage was one of his grandfather’s stipulations, and Matías had secured his union to Liliana Hart a couple of months earlier. He had known her casually for years. Had seen her at various functions with her parents, and her father had indicated he wouldn’t be opposed to the union and Matías had seen it as an opportunity.

  That was the sort of man he was. Decisive. Not opportunistic in the way his grandfather or brother were. He did things right.

  And he reaped rewards for it.

  He had expected the youth to back down the moment he had realized the manner of the man he was coming at. But he had not. Which Matías could only grudgingly admire.

  The boy followed his command, moving closer to the arena, a scowl on his face.

  Matías looked over at Fuego, his tempestuous new acquisition. The horse possessed the ability to be great. Matías knew it. He was an excellent judge of horseflesh. He was also an extremely skilled trainer. But the animal had refused to come to heel, no matter how long and hard Matías worked with him.

  Though it galled him to admit the boy was correct, he was. Matías was also a businessman, and his work often demanded that he spend time away from the rancho. That meant having others work with the horses in his stead.

  His family was an old one in Spain, and had been breeding champions for generations. But it had long ceased to be their primary source of income. And Matías was involved in various retail conglomerates across the world, his business centered in London, not in Spain.

  Though he had achieved a level of status that allowed him to work from wherever he wanted, as various other business associates and dignitaries would meet with him wherever he chose, it still required a fair amount of travel.

  So yes, in that way, this urchin boy was correct. The fact that Matías was a businessman did keep him from dedicating everything he had to the animals.

  Matías regarded the boy as he walked over to the animal, who immediately seemed to still in his presence. If he had not, Matías would never have allowed the boy to get any closer. He hadn’t lied when he said he was not going to subject himself to an inquiry over a teenage boy’s stupidity.

  Completely unafraid, the boy lifted his hand and brought it to Fuego’s nose. The horse sniffed his hand and seemed to find him familiar. For he stilled, almost immediately. The boy grabbed the rope, close to the bridle, and then looked over at Matías, nodding his head once, in a clear bid for Matías to drop his end.

  Matías complied.

  The boy leaned into the horse, pressing his face against the horse’s nose, stroking him gently and speaking to him in soft tones that Matías could not readily understand.

  As if by magic, the horse quieted.

  Then the boy turned to look at Matías. “I didn’t lie to you. Fuego knows me. Now, he’s not going to perform perfectly right away. He didn’t always obey me. But I can ride him. I can work with him. And I can make it so that someone else can ride him, as well. Which is what you need if you want him to be able to race. As it is, his temperament is too hot. And the fact that no one can manage it makes it impossible. I can make him manageable. I will never make him well behaved, but manageable I can accomplish. And I assume your jockeys are strong enough riders to go from there.”

  “This is unprecedented,” Matías said, looking over at Juan. “I do not allow children to train my animals.”

  “And yet,” Juan responded, “clearly Cesar Alvarez did.”

  Matías looked back over at the boy, who was regarding him with rather hopeful eyes. “Fine. Whatever your duties are, you’re relieved of them. Fuego is now your responsibility. Fernando Cortez is going to be the jockey that we use for him, so eventually you’re going to be working with Fernando. But you may start by yourself.”

  “Good,” the boy said, tilting his face upward.

  He suddenly looked a bit older than Matías had thought originally. But perhaps that was the bravado again.

  “Then it is good,” he responded.

  He moved over to the edge of the fence. Matías nodded once, signaling the boy to proceed.

  The boy paused, then stared at him. “Don’t you want to know my name?”

  “If I know your name will you become a better horse trainer?” Matías asked.

  “No,” the boy said, blinking. “I don’t suppose.”

  “Then I do not care to know your name.”

  The boy said nothing but set about silently moving Fuego through his paces. The horse was jumpy, skittish, but not completely immovable as he had been when Matías had attempted the same.

  There was no denying that the boy had a way with the horse. And if Matías wanted him trained in time, he was going to have to allow the boy to step in. The last thing he wanted to do was mishandle such a magnificent creature.

  Acquiring Cesar Alvarez’s stock had been a boon for him, and he was not about to waste it.

  “What about the other horses from the Alvarez rancho?” Matías called. “You are familiar with them, as well?”

  “All of them,” the boy said, not looking over at Matías. “I have worked with all of them.”

  “You will work with all of them here,” he said, decisive now. “My trainers keep logs. Juan will show you the proper way to do this. That way I can read about your progress without having to speak to you. As I prefer it.”

  “Of course, señor,” the boy said.

  “It is because I’m a businessman, and not simply a horseman,” Matías said.

  He could have sworn he saw a smile curve the boy’s lips. “Of course, señor.”

  Matías turned away, smiling. It was possible that now he had the break he needed to make this animal profitable for him. It seemed as though everything was finally going his way. His engagement to Liliana was cemented. Though she was staying in her own quarters, rather than coming into his.

  She had found the transition in their relationship to be a fast one. From a business associate of her father’s to his fiancée. And it was clear she required a bit of time to adjust.

  He didn’t mind. He was a patient man, in all things.

  He began to walk back toward the ranch house.

  He would fulfill his grandfather’s requirements, and the control of the vast family estate would be his at last. A wife. A champion racehorse.

  The old man should have known better than to challenge Matías Navarro. Because with him, challenges never went unanswered.

  Matías would win this battle with the old man. He knew no other way.

  CHAPTER TWO

  CAMILLA COULDN’T REMEMBER the last time she’d had a chance to shower. It was an awful thing, but there was no shower in her personal quarters. She had to make do with the shared one in the stables, and it always felt a bigger risk than was strictly necessary.

  Still, she was dying for one, especially after spending all day working in the intense heat. She had worked with Fuego until they were both nearly exhausted. But it was the happiest she had been since her father died. Being on the back of that horse again. Riding through the olive groves on the property, the hot, dry wind burning its way across her cheeks.

  If her mother could see her now, she would truly despair of her. Reddish face, chapped lips, her hair cut close to her skull and just long enough now to stick up at strange angles when she ran her hands through it in frustration, from when the horses failed to do what she asked of them.

  She did indeed look like a boy, and it was easy to feel fully immersed in the role. Until she needed something like a shower, in which case she became terribly aware of her body.

  The other time she became terribly aware of her body was when Matías would stride across the grounds, wearing those problematic breeches. It made her feel hot, and it made her feel strange. And so much of the feeling centered on the parts of her body she tried to disguise, that it was impossible for her not to hyper-focus on them.

  It was late, the sun having gone down a good half our earlier, a chill starting to wrap itself around her body. Hot days like that always left her skin feeling tight, as though there were an invisible layer of dust over every last inch of her.

  Most of the staff had gone home, very few of them living in residence as she did, and the others either had private bathroom facilities or would be showering in the morning. At least that was what she was going to go ahead and bank on tonight.

  She scampered into the stable, moving through to the tack room, and heading into the shower. She locked the door behind her and stripped her clothes off quickly, unwinding the precautionary medical wrap that she had around her chest.

  It was such a slight chest, she probably didn’t have to bind herself, not really. But it was a precaution that she took seriously. Along with these clandestine showers. Just in case. Just in case someone had a key to the room she was in. Just in case somehow, right after her shower, having just been naked, she looked somehow more female.

  That was the one good thing about the dirt. It provided an extra layer of coverage. She smiled at that, stepping beneath the hot spray of water and scrubbing each inch of her body as quickly as possible.

  That was one asset to short hair, as well. The fact that it took much less time to manage. To wash. And in the morning, she did nothing with it at all.

  She hummed as she scrubbed and then shut the water off, much sooner than she would like. But really, she didn’t have the luxury of lingering.

  She dressed into the fresh clothes she had brought inside with her—nothing more than baggy sweatpants—and was just about to pull her tank on when the doorknob rattled.

  She froze, her heart fluttering like a frightened bird trapped in her chest.

  “Occupied,” she said, doing her best to keep her voice low and husky while panic raced through her.

  The doorknob quit rattling. She wrapped her chest quickly with the bandage and then gathered up her dirty clothes, taking care to hide the old bandage that she had been wearing.

  She unlocked the door, fortifying herself for who she might see on the other side, and stepped out. “I’m sorry,” she said, the words dying on her lips as her eyes made contact with Matías Navarro’s.

  “Sorry,” she said again, mumbling.

  “I was taking a walk,” he said, his voice hard. “And I saw that there were lights on in here and I came to check.”

  “I just needed a shower,” she responded.

  “There is no crime in that.”

  She shook her head and then attempted to scurry past him. But she ran into the edge of that heavily muscled arm, stumbling forward and dropping the armful of clothes in her hand.

  “Easy,” Matías said.

  Then, much to her horror, before she could act he bent down and collected her clothing. And that pale, taupe-colored medical bandage had somehow risen to the top. Obvious, she thought.

  Matías frowned. “Are you injured?”

  “I...” She cleared her throat, her head spinning, her cheeks hot. She was grateful that he had supplied that question. Because of course that was the much more logical thought to have. Not that she had been binding her breasts for the past two and a half months to conceal her gender. “My wrist was feeling tender. Just... Fuego pulled a little bit harder and in the opposite direction than I expected when I was lunging him earlier.” It was amazing how easy the lie came. Camilla had never been put in a position where she’d had to lie.

  She had always done exactly what her father expected. Which had suited her just fine as it had all centered around the rancho.

  Her mother had never required a lie. She was disinterested in her only child and did not care what Camilla was up to so long as it did not interfere with, or embarrass, her.

  She had never known whether or not she was a good liar, because the opportunity had never presented itself. Apparently, she was proficient.

  “The swelling has gone down now,” she said. “And I’m feeling fine. I was afraid it might be sprained, but it is not.”

  “That’s very interesting. Because I went over the logs earlier and did not see that in there.”

  “It didn’t matter to me,” she said, feeling the heat mounting her cheeks. “I mean, it didn’t bear noting to me.”

  “Do not mistake me, boy. It is not your health that concerns me. If Fuego is not responding to training...”

  “He is,” Camilla said hurriedly.

  Matías shifted, rubbing his thumb across the bandage. Something in her stomach grew tight, and then the whole thing flipped over. Her breasts suddenly felt heavy. Even bound beneath the fresh tape as they were.

  “If he is a danger to you...”

  “He isn’t,” she insisted, reaching out and snatching the clothing out of his hand. She couldn’t bear him touching it. She didn’t know why. It made her skin feel warm.

  Idiot. That’s because you just took a hot shower.

  “As long as you’re certain.”

  She nodded. “I am.”

  Matías nodded once in return, those well-sculpted lips turning down slightly. She felt...immobilized by them. Just for a moment. She didn’t think she had ever seen such a handsome man. Not in her whole life. And here she was, dressed as a boy. And even if she wasn’t, he would never look twice at her.

  No man ever had. Matías Navarro would hardly have been the first. But even if there had been a possibility, it was rendered completely impossible by two things. He thought she was a boy, and he was engaged to his counterpart in beauty.

  Liliana was the human version of a meringue. A confection of a woman. All light, airy and pastel. Sweet and beautiful.

  Standing anywhere near her made Camilla’s bones feel heavy. Made her shoulders feel broad, and her height absurd.

  The sad thing was, she had a feeling that even if she was presenting as a woman she would show much the same way in the petite American’s presence.

  Her one consolation was that Liliana’s Spanish was fairly atrocious.

  Though, Matías never seemed to indicate that he thought so. And he often spoke to her in English, which Camilla thought sounded lovely and cultured coming from his lips. She had grown up with both languages, because of her mother, and she was familiar with the way native speakers sounded.

  She preferred it from Matías’s lips.

  “Be careful,” Matías said before turning away.

  And Camilla was left standing there, her heart thundering hard. And she knew that it was not beating quickly because of adrenaline anymore. That it was something else. Something impossible and terrible. Something that had to be ignored at all costs.

  * * *

  Fernando Cortez was going to have an introduction to Fuego today. Matías had arranged to watch the meeting, and he had also managed to get Liliana to agree to come watch, as well. They drove in an air-conditioned truck across the property to the arena, and then he set them both up in the shade at the edge of the arena.

  Liliana’s blond curls tumbled over her shoulders and down her back, half of her hair caught up in a row of pink flowers. Her cheeks were a pleasing, matching pink, as were her lips. She wore no makeup. Liliana often did that. He had a feeling it was, in many ways, to highlight just how beautiful she was.

 

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