The Most Expensive Lie of All (14 page)

Again time seemed endless as Aspen stared at the ceiling, slowly coming back into her body. She felt wonderful. Blissfully, sinfully wonderful. Her body was a sweaty, sensual mass of completion. Her hand lifted to Cruz’s hair and she caressed the silky strands, enjoying his harsh breaths sawing in and out against her neck.

A smile curved her mouth as she recalled the moment Cruz had guided her hand between her legs so she could feel how wet she was. And she had been. Unbelievably wet—and soft. It had been like touching somebody else’s body.

Unbidden, Chad’s drunken taunts came to mind and she realised that it had been he who was unable to perform, not her. Deep down, and in moments of total confidence, she had told herself that exact thing, but believing it to be true was something else entirely. Especially when he was such a gregarious and charming person when he wasn’t drinking. He was like a Jekyll and Hyde character, she realised, but after tonight what had happened in the bedroom with him would never haunt her again. She wouldn’t let it.

* * *

Hours later Cruz woke and used the remote console beside his bed to open the curtains. The sky was pale blue outside so he knew it wasn’t much after dawn.

Slightly disturbed by the whirring sound of the drapes, Aspen snuggled deeper beneath the covers he’d pulled over them both some time during the night.

Cruz’s arm tightened around her shoulders. Last night had blown his mind. First finding out that Aspen had clearly had a poor excuse of a sex-life before him, and second, realising that
he
had had a poor excuse of a sex-life before her. Hell, he’d never come so hard or so often as he had last night, and he was half expecting to be rubbed raw.

He glanced at her delicate features softened by sleep. Her rosy cheeks and the dark sweep of her lashes. He grew hard just thinking about last night.

One night.

He frowned as their deal slid back into his mind like an insidious serpent. Her damned document. At the time one night had seemed like more than enough. He’d thought she was a vacuous princess type he had once lusted after and needed to get out of his system. He’d thought he’d take her to bed, slake his lust for her and move on.

Of course he’d still move on, but...

He thought about the hotel he’d planned to build on Ocean Haven. Last night he’d given up on that plan and, surprisingly, he didn’t care. Aspen had been as much a victim of Charles Carmichael’s warped ideas about what was right and wrong as he had been—maybe more so.

And the truth was he didn’t need Ocean Haven and she did. Ergo, she should have it. Which seemed to be what her uncle thought as well, because he was still obstinately refusing Lauren’s increasing offers on Cruz’s behalf. He smiled. Stubborn old goat—he might not be as sanctimonious as his old man, but he’d inherited that attribute from him, all right.

And good for him—because as soon as Cruz got up he would tell Lauren to pull out of that particular race. Aspen had won and for once he didn’t mind losing. One day he’d share that with Ricardo. Have a laugh. One day when he understood it better.

But for now he had to face facts.

Fact one: Aspen would want to return to Ocean Haven some time soon. Fact two: he was supposed to be flying to China to check out the site of the first of his—what was it?—fifty new hotels first thing tomorrow. Fact three...

Fact three was that he wanted neither of those things to happen. Fact four was that he didn’t know why that was, and fact five was that she felt divine curled up against his side. Fact six was that he was definitely going crazy because he was yapping to himself again.

His throat felt as if he had a collar and tie around it.

Previously, making sure that he was rolling in money had been all that he could think about. He’d put his polo career on hold indefinitely to achieve it. After he’d left Ocean Haven he could have picked up any number of wealthy patrons who would have happily paid any fee to have him play for them, but he would still have been at their beck and call. Still disposable. Still an outsider in a world of rank and privilege. So he’d worked hard to change that. And, although many might say he had now achieved his goal, pride—or maybe that old sense of being vulnerable—drove him onwards.

But was it enough now? Hadn’t he started to question how much satisfaction he actually derived from pushing himself so hard? Hadn’t that old feeling of wanting a family started poking into his mind again? Wasn’t that one of the reasons he’d tried not to visit his own family? And here was fact seven: he hated that feeling of being the one left out. Maybe Aspen was right about that. Maybe if he became more human around his family they might be the same with him.

Madre de Dio.

He was doing it again.

Cruz closed his eyes and let himself absorb the slender length of the woman who was pleasantly draped over his side like a human rug. Gently, so as not to disturb her, he stroked her hair. She shifted and the rustle of the sheets carried her scent to his nose. She smelled good. Superb.

His mind conjured up how she had looked last night, spread out beneath him while he made her come with his mouth. His body hardened and he had to bite back a groan. He wasn’t sure he could do it again, and he was damned sure she was probably too sore, but his body had other ideas.

Trying to stanch the completely normal reaction of his body to the closeness of a naked woman, Cruz carefully extricated himself from under Aspen’s warm body. Better he get up now, have a shower and start the day. It was going to be a busy one. First a round of meetings to finalise what he hadn’t done yesterday, and then the polo matches would start just before lunch and run till the afternoon.

He would have made it too—except Aspen chose that moment to move again and attached herself to him like scaffolding on a building site. She moaned and smoothed her hand over his chest.

Cruz had closed his eyes, his senses completely focused on the southerly trajectory of her hand, when she suddenly snatched it back.

‘I’m sorry. I...’ She sat up and pushed the tangled mass of curls back from her face.

Fact eight: she looked adorable when she woke up. All soft and pink, with her lips still swollen from where they had ravaged each other.

Unable to help himself, he dropped his eyes to her chest and she gave a small squeak, quickly dragging the sheet up over her nakedness. But not before he’d had a good glimpse of creamy breasts that wore grazes from his beard growth.

For some reason her obvious distress eradicated his own desire to put as much distance between them as possible. Which was surprising when he recalled how he had opened up about his childhood last night. That alone should have had him eating dust. But her loser ex had done her a disservice when it came to intimacy, and Cruz wasn’t about to make that worse because he had itchy feet.

‘Good morning.’

She turned wild eyes up at him. Dampened her lips. ‘Good morning.’

Silence lengthened between them and Cruz realised he had no idea what to say. This was the equivalent of a one-night stand and, while he’d never had what could be considered a long-term relationship, he didn’t indulge in one-night stands either.

‘This is—’

‘Awkward?’

She let out a shaky breath. ‘Yes, but last night was...’

‘Wonderful.’

She pulled a pained face. ‘You don’t have to say that. I mean yes, it was good, great for me but...oh, never mind.’

Cruz felt a well of rage at Anderson for hurting her. He wanted to reassure her that he was actually being honest, but he suspected she’d see his words as hollow.

‘Spend the day,’ he found himself saying instead.

‘Why?’ Her shocked eyes flew to his and he made sure his own surprise at his invitation didn’t show on his face. But why shouldn’t she spend the day? He had a first-rate polo tournament starting in a few hours. She loved polo. She ran a horse stud.

‘I thought you were busy today?’ she said.

‘I am.’ Her reserved response had him putting the brakes on the surge of pleasure he’d experienced at the thought of her staying with him. ‘But there’s plenty for you to stay for. The polo, for one. It’s going to be an incredible event.’

She gave him a wan smile that made his teeth want to grind together. ‘I don’t want to complicate things.’

Confused by his own reaction to her reticence, he took refuge in annoyance. ‘And how is watching a polo tournament complicating things?’

‘Our deal—’

‘Forget the deal.’ He got out of bed. ‘Stay because you want to. Stay because the sun is shining and because there’s going to be a world-class polo tournament here that’s sold out to the general public. Stay because you work too hard and you need a break.’

‘Well, when you put it like that...’

Torn between wanting to kiss her and sending her home, Cruz nearly rescinded his offer when the cell phone on his bedside table rang.

They both looked at it.

‘What’s your decision?’

She dampened her lips. ‘Yes, okay, I’d like to watch the polo.’

* * *

Aspen stood on the penthouse balcony and stared out over the shiny green polo field. Horse floats, white marquees, riders, grooms, horse-owners and hotel employees scurried about as they readied themselves for the day ahead.

Yet despite the heady anticipation in the air that preceded a major event all Aspen could think about was what she was still doing here.

Replaying their awkward morning-after conversation in her head, she cringed. When Cruz had first asked her to stay Aspen had felt her heart jump in her chest at the thought of spending the day with him. Then he’d confirmed that he’d be busy and she’d felt like an idiot. Of course he was busy. He had invited her to watch the polo, not to spend the day with
him
.

When his phone had rung she had automatically said yes because he’d looked beautiful and sleep-tousled and she hadn’t wanted to leave.

Now she didn’t think she could leave fast enough.

Because last night had changed her. She felt it deep within her bones. Last night had been everything she’d ever dreamed making love could be, because Cruz had taken the time to make it that way for her and she could already feel herself wanting to make more out of it than it was. Wanting to make it special, somehow. But what woman
wouldn’t
want to do that when she’d just been so completely loved by a man like Cruz Rodriguez?

No, not loved, she quickly amended. Pleasured.

God.

She buried her forehead against her arms, which were resting on the balustrading.

It was beyond clear that Cruz had asked her to stay out of politeness or—worse—pity. She, of course, had said yes out of desire. Desire to spend more time with him. Desire to experience his lovemaking again. Desire to re-experience the pleasure she felt sure only he could give her.

But he was as much of a Jekyll and Hyde character as Chad when it came down to it, because he had come to Ocean Haven specifically to try and take her farm.

She had forgotten that.
Again.

Was she a glutton for punishment? Was she so used to having men control her that she’d gladly fall in with the plans of another self-interested, power-hungry male?

Because while Cruz might have shown her the best night of her life, it didn’t change the reality of why she was even here.

‘Forget the deal,’
he’d all but snarled
.

Last night she had. This morning it was impossible to do so in the cold light of day.

Or course last night she had been in the grip of a wonderful sense of feminine power with Cruz that could easily become addictive if she let it. A smile curved her lips, only to fade away just as quickly. Cruz had freed her from years of feeling as if there was something wrong with her and she’d be forever indebted to him for that. He was also trying to buy her home out from under her, and that was like a sore that wouldn’t heal. If she stayed today it would be for the wrong reasons. It would be because she was hoping for more from him. Something she didn’t want from any man. Did she?

Aspen groaned. How could she even think about staying longer under the shade of such conflicting emotions?

The simple answer was that she couldn’t. And dwelling on it wasn’t going to make it any different.

Decision made, she spun on her heel and went to pack her suitcase.

* * *

Cruz looked up, annoyed, as his PA opened the door to his meeting. It was taking him all that he had to concentrate as it was, without yet another irritating interruption.

‘What is it, Maria?’

He frowned as he heard Aspen’s hasty, ‘It’s okay...don’t interrupt...’ in the background.

Maria glanced over her shoulder. ‘Ah, Señorita Carmichael wishes to speak with you.’

‘Send her in.’

Aspen materialised in the doorway and Cruz saw her suitcase by the side of the door.

He frowned harder. ‘What’s going on?’

‘I can see you’re busy.’ She threw a quick glance around the room at his executive team. ‘It can wait.’

‘No, it can’t.’ He pinned her with a hard look, unaccountably agitated as he registered her intention to leave him. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘No, no. I just came to say goodbye. I didn’t want to leave without letting you know I was going.’

‘I thought you had decided to stay?’

She swallowed. ‘Our deal was concluded this morning and—’

Cruz swore. ‘I thought I’d already told you to forget the deal. It’s not relevant. I’m not going to buy Ocean Haven any more. It’s yours free and clear.’

A myriad of emotions crossed her lovely face, not completely unlike the morning when he had first told her that he
was
going to challenge her for The Farm.

Disbelief, shock, wariness, a tentative joy...

Three days ago he wouldn’t have conceived of giving up something he wanted as much as he had wanted Ocean Haven, but a lot had changed in three days. He’d found out the truth about the night he’d left The Farm and he’d made love to Aspen. Held her in his arms all night. Woken with her still in his arms in the morning. When he looked at her he felt things he’d never felt for any woman before her. Feelings he was still unable to categorize.