Trying to put personal thoughts out of her mind wasn’t easy when she joined the rest of the grooms as they gathered round Chico on horseback. He was such a mesmerising presence, he held everyone’s attention, especially hers. She found herself touching her lips, and had to pull her hand away, but it was too late to blank that stormy encounter in his office.
‘I have something to say to you all,’ he announced.
The students craned forward. All they craved was a word of praise, or a glimmer of approval from the infamous hard man of polo. She had learned to watch his eyes, Lizzie realised as Chico waited for his students to settle. Those eyes could turn cold in an instant if something displeased him, or hot, as she knew only too well.
She kept her horse a little way back from the others, wanting to put as much distance as she could between herself and Chico. Even when she was concentrating fiercely on her training, she was always aware of him, watching her, judging her—thinking who knew what about her? She could never shut him out. That did have one good result in that it made her doubly determined to excel. She would never give Chico a chance to criticise her work, and she maintained a consistently cool professional front—which wasn’t easy when she couldn’t drag her gaze away from his mouth as he spoke, or from his powerful hands as he gestured. When he sweet-talked a pony in that husky, faintly accented voice, she was lost, and each time he rode around the ring to demonstrate a particular technique, she was transfixed. Watching Chico in the saddle was like watching sex with clothes on. There was just too much thrusting going on with those lean, powerful hips—
‘Do I have your attention today, Ms Fane?’
‘Absolutely, Senhor Fernandez,’ she confirmed, infuriated to feel her cheeks heating up beneath Chico’s unwavering stare.
‘Come closer, Lizzie.’ His voice was soft for the sake of the highly strung ponies. ‘I shouldn’t have to raise my voice to attract your attention,’ he reprimanded her at the same low volume, his stern tone setting up all sorts of unwanted attention in her body. ‘You know how sensitive these ponies are to the tone of our voice, and to the volume at which we speak.’
What were those dark eyes trying to tell her? It didn’t help that everyone was staring at her as she edged her horse forward. Chico had relaxed in the saddle and had allowed his reins to hang loose. He was so much in command in the saddle it was ridiculous. And what was even more ridiculous was imagining those powerful thighs controlling her in the same effortless way—
‘I’ve got a reward for you,’ he murmured, meeting her wary gaze with an amused stare. And just when she was transfixed and responding in entirely the wrong way to a simple statement, he turned to address the rest of the class. ‘You have all worked very hard, and deserve a reward.’ His mouth had curved in the way that could always send shivers of anticipation streaking down her spine. ‘There will be a guest polo match—a friendly between you and the professional players. The players will of course be appropriately handicapped—’
‘They’ll be on foot?’ one of the male trainees suggested, making everyone laugh.
Everyone laughed except Chico.
‘And there will be a party to follow the match,’ he continued, ‘when you can all let your hair down.’
‘That is for those of us who survive the match, I presume?’ Lizzie suggested mildly.
The look Chico gave her sent heat rushing through her. ‘Survival is mandatory, Ms Fane. The names are up in the usual place for the grooms’ team,’ he said to the group. ‘You’ll find the name of your captain at the top of that list. I will be captaining the players’ team to ensure fair play all round—’