Christmas Nights with the Polo Player. Susan Stephens

lifted her chin to confront him. ‘Next time you plan a test run, Senhor Ortoya, please warn me in advance so I can call for my stunt double.’

      ‘It was that exciting?’ His lips quirked in a smile.

      ‘It wasn’t exciting at all. You just took me by surprise.’

      He laughed. That was him told. But Lucy had unwittingly transformed this encounter into a challenge he couldn’t let go of.

      ‘No harm done, then,’ he said, narrowing his eyes in concentration, as if putting the mistletoe back in its place required precision engineering. ‘There we are… You wouldn’t know anything untoward had happened here.’

      Really? Gabe was joking, wasn’t he? Her pulse had rocked off the scale, and she was still breathless. Gabe would always startle her, but not in the way he meant. She would never get used to the way he looked. The shadows cast by the bar lights only enhanced Gabe’s brutal beauty. Dressed all in black, he looked more like an avenging angel than a polished playboy with his thick, wavy black hair, his dark as night eyes and chiselled cheekbones, not to mention his firm, sexy mouth. The lightest brush of Gabe’s lips had been enough to fill her body with all sorts of needy heat. One minute they had been chatting and getting to know each other, and the next all she could think about was sex. Which she absolutely mustn’t do when she was working up to asking Gabe Ortoya for a really big favour.

      Chapter Two

      ‘Holly Acosta put you forward for this job, didn’t she?’ Walking round to her side of the bar, Gabe propped a hip against it. ‘She said you were training to be a vet?’

      ‘That’s right. I qualify next year.’

      ‘Interesting…’

      Interesting, how? Lucy wondered, her gaze flitting away from Gabe’s uncomfortably penetrating gaze. ‘I’m hoping to specialise in equine medicine,’ she said, deciding to tackle the elephant in the room.

      Shifting position, Gabe smiled. ‘Are you indeed?’

      Like he didn’t know? Holly would have told him everything in her usual enthusiastic manner.

      ‘I could be a useful contact for you, Lucy. What?’ Gabe demanded when she flashed him a look. ‘Are you going to pretend that never entered your head?’

      ‘Are you always so direct?’

      ‘Always.’

      Her heart thundered as their stares met and held, but she could be as direct as he was being. ‘Yes. You would be a useful contact for me,’ she admitted, ‘but I’m not expecting anything for nothing. I’m just glad to have this job to help fund my studies, but if you can help me expand my network in the polo world, I’m not going to say no.’

      Gabe almost laughed. ‘Now, breathe,’ he suggested.

      With a rueful smile she relaxed.

      ‘So why come all the way to London for a job, Lucy?’

      ‘To see Holly, and this job was just perfect for me. And it was time I broke out. I’ve lived in the country all my life, and here in London I get the chance to at least touch the fringes of the polo world.’

      ‘Via me.’

      She didn’t deny it.

      Gabe’s dark stare brightened. ‘So you were ready for adventure?’

      ‘I’m getting there.’ She crossed her legs, and then wondered if Gabe would think she was buttoned up as tightly as her body language suggested.

      ‘Do you mind if I take my jacket off?’

      Gabe didn’t wait for her answer. His jacket was already off and he had started on his cufflinks. She watched transfixed as he rolled up his sleeves to reveal impossibly powerful forearms, tanned, and improved by just the right amount of black hair. Gabe’s arms were big and muscular to match his big, muscular frame. It wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine him controlling a wilful horse…or a woman.