His Ultimate Prize(45)

 CHAPTER FOUR

'IF YOU'VE FINISHED your breakfast, I'll take you on the tour of the race track.'

Sasha looked up from her almost empty plate of scrambled eggs and ham to  find Marco lounging in the doorway that connected the vast living room  to the sun-drenched terrace of Casa de León.

She'd been here three days, and she still couldn't get her head round  the sheer vastness of the de Cervantes estate. Navigating her way around  the huge, rambling two-storey villa without getting lost had taken two  full days.                       
       
           



       

With its white stucco walls, dark red slate roofs and large  cathedral-like windows, Casa de León was an architect's dream. The high  exposed beams, sweeping staircases and intricately designed marble  floors wouldn't have been out of place in a palace. Every piece of  furniture, painting and drape looked as if it cost a fortune. Even the  air inside the villa smelled different, tinged with a special rarefied,  luxurious quality that made her breath catch.

Outside, an endless green vista, broken only by perfectly manicured  gardens, stretched as far as the eye could see... It was no wonder the  countless villa staff travelled around in golf buggies.

Realising Marco was waiting for an answer, she nodded, drawing her gaze  from the long, muscular legs encased in dark grey trousers. 'Sure. I'll  just finish my coffee. Aren't you having anything?' She indicated the  mouth-watering spread of seasonal fruit, pastries and ham slices on the  table.

Disengaging himself from the doorway, he came towards her, powerfully  sleek and oozing arrogant masculinity. 'I'll have a coffee, too.'

When he sat and made no move to pour it himself, she raised an eyebrow. 'Yes, boss. Three bags full, boss?'

His hazel eyes gleamed and Sasha had the distinct feeling he was amused,  although not a smile cracked his lips. In fact he looked decidedly  strained. Which wasn't surprising under the circumstances, she reminded  herself.

Feeling the mutiny give way, she poured him a cup. 'Black?'

'Sí. Two sugars.'

She looked up, surprised. 'Funny, I wouldn't have pegged you for the two-sugars type.'

'And how would you have pegged me?'

'Black, straight up, drunk boiling hot without a wince.'

'Because my insides are made of tar and my soul is black as night?' he mocked.

She shrugged. 'Hey, you said it.' She added sugar and passed it over.

'Gracias.' He picked up a silver spoon and stirred his drink, the tiny utensil looking very delicate in his hand.

Sasha found herself following the movement, her gaze tracing the short  dark hairs on the back of his hand. Suddenly her mouth dried, and her  stomach performed that stupid flip again. Wrenching her gaze from the  hypnotic motion, she picked up her cup with a decidedly unsteady hand.

'How are you settling in?' he asked.

'Do you really want to know?'

The speed with which Marco had whisked her from Budapest to Spain after  she'd signed the contract had made her head spin. Of course his luxury  private jet-which he'd piloted himself-had negated the tedium of long  airport waits and might have had something to do with it. They'd flown  to Barcelona, then transferred by helicopter to his estate in León.

He took another sip. 'I wouldn't have asked otherwise. You should know by now that I never say anything I don't mean.'

Now she felt surly. Her suite was the last word in luxury, complete with  four-poster bed, half a dozen fluffy pillows and a deep-sunken marble  bath to die for. Just across from where she sat, past the giant-sized  terracotta potted plants and a barbecue area, an Olympic-sized swimming  pool sparkled azure in the dappling morning light. She'd already sampled  its soothing comfort, along with the sports gym equipped with  everything she needed to keep her exercise regime on track. In reality,  she wanted for nothing.

And yet...

'It's fine. I have everything I need. Thank you,' she tagged on  waspishly. Then, wisely moving on before she ventured into full-blown  snark, she asked, 'How is Rafael?'

Marco's gaze cooled.

Sasha sighed. 'I agreed to stay away from him. I didn't agree to stop caring about him.'

'The move from Budapest went fine. He's now in the care of the best Spanish doctors in Barcelona.'

'Since you'll probably bite my head off if I ask you to send him my best, I'll move on. How far away is the race track?'

'Three miles south.' Lifting his cup, he drained it.

'Exactly how big is this place?'

When Marco had announced he was bringing a skeleton team to Spain to  help her train for her debut at the end of August, she'd mistakenly  thought she would be spending most of her time in a race simulator. The  half an hour it'd taken to travel from Marco's landing strip to his  villa had given her an inkling of how immense his estate was.

His gaze pinned on her, he picked up an orange and skilfully peeled it. 'All around? About twenty-five square miles.'

'And you and Rafael own all of it?'

'Sí.' He popped a segment into his mouth.

Sasha carefully set her cup down, her senses tingling with warning. That  soft sí had held a slight edge to it that made her wary. His next words  confirmed her wariness.

'Just think, if only you'd said yes all this would've been yours.'

She didn't need to ask what he meant. Affecting a light tone, she toyed  with the delicate handle of her expensive bone china cup. 'Gee, I don't  know. The race track would've been handy, but what the hell would I do  with the rest of the... What else is there, anyway?'

His gaze was deceptively lazy-deceptive because she could feel the charged animosity rising from him.

'There's a fully functioning vineyard and winery. And the stables house  some of the best Andalucian thoroughbreds in Spain. There's also an  exclusive by-invitation-only resort and spa on the other side of the  estate.'

'Well, there you have it, then. My palate is atrociously common-not to  mention that if I drink more than one glass of wine I get a raging  headache. As for thoroughbreds-I couldn't tell you which end of the  horse to climb if you put me next to one. So, really, you're way better  off without me in your family. The spa sounds nice, though. A girl could  always do with a foot rub after a hard day's work-although I have a  feeling the amount of grease I tend to get under my nails would frighten  your resort staff.'

A tiny tic appeared at his temple. 'Are you always this facetious, or do you practice?'

'Normally I keep it well hidden. I only show off when asked really,  really nicely,' she flung back. Then she stood. 'From the unfortunate  downturn of this conversation, I take it the offer of a tour is now off  the table?' She tilted her chin, determined not to reveal how deep his  barbs had stung.

'As much as I'm tempted to reward your petulance with time on the  naughty step, that will only prove counterproductive.' Wiping his hands  on a napkin, he rose to tower over her. 'You're here to train.  Familiarising yourself with the race track is part of that training.  I'll leave the naughty step for another time.'

Wisely deciding to leave the mention of the naughty step alone, Sasha relaxed her grip on the back of the chair. 'Thank you.'

Sasha followed him into the villa, staunchly maintaining her silence.  But not talking didn't equate to not looking, and, damn it, she couldn't  help but be intensely aware of the man beside her. His smell assailed  her nostrils-that sharp tang of citrus coupled with the subtle  undertones of musk that shifted as it flowed over his warmth.

Against the strong musculature of his torso his white polo shirt  lovingly followed the superb lines of a deep chest and powerful  shoulders. All that magnificence tapered down to a trim waist that knew  not an ounce of fat.

Judging by his top-notch physicality, she wasn't surprised Marco had been the perfect championship-winning driver ten years ago.

'Why did you give up racing? You resigned so abruptly, and yet it's obvious you recovered fully after your crash.'

She saw his shoulders tense before he rounded on her. The icy, forbidding look in his eyes made her bite her lip.

Nice one, Sasha.

'That is not a subject up for discussion, Miss Fleming. And before you  take it into your head to go prying I caution you against it.  Understood?'

He barely waited for her nod before he wrenched open the front door.

Outside, two golf buggies sat side by side at the bottom of the steps. She headed towards the nearest one.

'Where are you going?' he bit out.

She stopped. 'Oh, I thought we were going by road.'

He nodded to the helipad, where a black and red chopper sat gleaming in the morning sun. 'We're touring by helicopter.'

It was a spectacularly beautiful machine-the latest in a long line of beautiful aircraft.

'Any chance you'll let me fly it?'

He flashed a mirthless grin at her. 'I don't see any pigs flying, do you?'

* * *

'Wow, this is incredible! How long have you had this race track?'

Marco glanced up from the helicopter controls, then immediately wished  he hadn't. It was bad enough hearing her excitement piped directly into  his headphones. The visual effects were even more disturbing.