Luis (Royal Caleva #2)

CHAPTER 17

“Where are we going?” Eve asked as she climbed into the black SUV to sit beside Grace. After a morning of vet school discussions and lunch with the Iowa crew, they had been driven back to Casa en las Nubes to change for the afternoon’s activities. They had been told to wear jeans and bring light jackets, but nothing more.

“It’s a surprise,” Bridget said from the driver’s seat.

Grace’s face lit up. “When a king surprises you, it’s bound to be good.”

In fact, Eve had been surprised by almost everything about her night with Luis. First, that it had happened. That still boggled her mind. But also how much fun it had been, once she’d gotten past that first tsunami of nerves. She hadn’t known what to expect from a king in bed. After all, Luis didn’t have any dearth of willing lovers, so he didn’t have to be good. But he was. Really good. The glow suffusing her body was proof of that.

“Mom, what are you smiling about?” Grace asked as the SUV swung onto a highway.

“Just looking forward to whatever we’re going to do.” Even more toward that night, because Luis had invited her back to his bed. She was just marking time until then.

“You look really happy,” Grace said.

Eve turned to find her daughter watching her. “Why shouldn’t I be? We’re living the high life.”

“More than that happy,” her astute child said.

“I’m overjoyed that you are getting to know and love your new family. First Luis and now Raul. You’ll understand when you’re a parent.” It was the truth, of course. Just not all of it.

Grace looked skeptical, but she dropped the subject as Bridget drew their attention to various points of interest along the way.

They slowed to turn through a metal gate guarded by fierce-looking stone Calevan dragons atop pillars of basalt stone.

“This is Finca de Bruma,” Bridget explained. “It is the estate of el Duque y la Duquesa de Bruma, His Majesty’s brother and sister-in-law.”

They drove down a long drive lined with tall evergreen-looking trees, turning off before they reached the huge stone house Eve could see rising in front of them.

After coming around a curve, the SUV stopped outside a low building built of dark gray stone with white limestone accents. As Eve opened her door, the sound of a horse neighing rang out.

“It’s a stable,” Grace said as they followed Bridget around the corner and into a large courtyard bustling with grooms leading horses and hauling hay bales and buckets. On one side, two grooms stood, holding four glossy horses wearing English saddles.

“We’re going riding! Just because we told Luis we wanted to. I love being a princess.” Grace grinned and took off toward the waiting mounts.

Bridget joined Eve. “His Majesty and the prince will be here in a few minutes.”

Eve’s heart did a happy dance. Luis was coming with them! And Raul, too, of course.

“Oh, and here are your riding boots,” Bridget said as a groom approached with two pairs of black leather paddock boots in his hands.

Eve took the boots and strolled to a mounting block to the side of the courtyard. Grace joined her a minute later.

“Can you believe they even figured out our shoe sizes?” Grace asked as she pulled off her sneakers.

“Annamaria just had to look in our closets.” It was more the fact that someone thought to do it that amazed Eve. “Guess who’s coming to ride with us.”

“Luis and Raul,” Grace said. “The grooms told me which horses were for whom. Luis’s is the dapple gray. Raul’s is the flashy chestnut. You and I get the bay mares. They’re probably the boring, calm ones.”

“I’m fine with that,” Eve said.

Bridget approached them, dangling riding helmets from the straps hooked over her fingers. “These are adjustable. I can help you make sure they fit properly.”

“Thanks, but we know how to make them tight,” Grace said.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll check them,” Bridget said with an apologetic smile. “It’s my job to protect you from getting a concussion too.”

“Are you riding with us?” Eve asked as Bridget helped her strap the helmet on tightly.

“No. I’m not a pro on horseback. The folks going with you are experts.” Bridget moved to check Grace’s helmet.

“Where are they?” Grace asked.

“Already mounted and waiting,” Bridget said. “They’ll stay ahead and behind so you shouldn’t really notice them once you’re on the trail. But don’t worry, they can get to you fast.”

Eve had not been worried until Bridget said that, but the strong security made sense since both the king and the crown prince would be with them.

“All set,” Bridget said, rapping Grace’s helmet lightly with her knuckles.

A black SUV swept up to the open side of the courtyard and stopped. Two more SUVs parked just behind it, the doors swinging open to disgorge men and women in dark suits who spread out around the stable.

One guard stepped up to the first SUV and tapped on the window before opening the back door.

Eve nearly gasped as Luis stepped out of the car dressed in tan riding breeches that outlined every muscle in his thighs, tall, shiny black boots, and a blue polo shirt. A riding helmet was tucked under his arm, and he held a pair of gloves and a riding crop.

Delicious heat rippled through Eve’s body as she devoured the stretch of fabric over his wide shoulders and the long stride that carried him toward her. His gaze was locked on hers, and his smile carried all kinds of wicked messages.

Beside him walked Raul, who was dressed in similar riding kit. The two tall, powerful men with their strong family resemblance made a striking pair.

Suddenly, the activity of the stable came to a halt as everyone either bowed or curtsied to the arriving royals. Everyone except Eve and Grace…until they noticed and hurriedly bent their knees.

“Ay, none of that,” Luis said as he came up to them. He winked. “You are Americans.”

The momentary stillness ended as everyone went back to their tasks. It was weird.

“Do you even notice when all these people do it?” Grace asked with a sweep of her hand around the courtyard.

Raul shrugged. “Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It is a sign of respect to what we represent, not to us personally, so we accept it in that spirit.”

Eve wasn’t so sure that the respect was not personal. The Calevans she had spoken with were very enthusiastic about the royal family.

“Welcome to my surprise outing,” Luis said, once again looking at Eve with that caress in his eyes. “We’re going up into the mountains to see if we can find dragons for you.”

“I’m excited just to go riding,” Grace said.

“As am I,” Luis said. “Raul and I are playing hooky.”

“Oh, yeah,” Raul said, grinning. “We blew off some epically boring meetings.”

Eve started to feel guilty but pushed the feeling away. Luis would not shirk any important duties. Instead, she worried about staying on the horse on a mountain trail. She hadn’t ridden more than half a dozen times in the last ten years, so her horseback muscles weren’t in shape.

Luis said something in Spanish to the grooms holding the horses. They laughed and responded too swiftly for Eve to understand.

“You are riding Cielo,” Luis said to Eve. “And Grace will ride Estrella. Sky and Star.” He checked the tightness of the girth on Cielo before lacing the fingers of both hands together to provide a step for Eve to put her foot in to mount her horse.

She hesitated a moment. It seemed wrong to put her dirty boot on a king’s hands.

“Eve?” He bent to lower his hands.

Praying she hadn’t stepped in any manure, she gently slid her foot into his grip and grabbed the saddle. He lifted her with a surge of power that made her feel like she weighed no more than a cobweb, yet he stopped her at the right moment to swing her free leg over the horse’s back. As she settled in the saddle, she looked down and found herself mesmerized by the sun illuminating the pale blue of his eyes and glinting on the silver in his hair while it painted the sharp-angled bones of his face with light and shadow. He was breathtaking, and she got to touch him again tonight.

“Are you comfortable with the length of the stirrups?” His voice woke her from her infatuated trance.

“Oh, er, um, yes, they’re fine,” she said before she leaned down on the pretext of checking the strap. “You set this expedition up because you know you look hot in riding clothes,” she whispered.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he flashed her a lascivious smile and murmured, “I wish to make sure you come back to me tonight.”

Like there was any doubt, but it was thrilling to know that he wanted her enough to seduce her with horses.

“My muscles may be too sore for what you have in mind,” she teased.

“I know several ways to relax tight muscles.” He fiddled with the stirrup strap, using it for cover as he ran his hand down her thigh. A trail of searing delight followed his touch. He gave her knee a light squeeze before he went to his horse.

His foot barely touched the stirrup as he vaulted into the saddle and stroked his mount’s neck, talking to him in a low voice.

“I’ll lead, Pater,” Raul said. “Grace, would you like to ride beside me?”

“I guess that leaves us old fogies to bring up the rear,” Eve said, her heart singing at the thought of having Luis by her side for the length of the ride. It was difficult to get alone time with a king. Well, not quite alone, but as close as she could manage until night wrapped them in its concealing arms.

Raul and Grace headed toward the open side of the courtyard. Eve turned Cielo to follow with barely a touch on the reins. The mare had a mouth like silk and a smooth stride. Luis’s horse was dancing with high spirits and needed a firm hand to get him moving in the right direction. Eve secretly enjoyed watching Luis’s superb horsemanship as he controlled his mount. He looked every inch a king astride the high-bred creature.

“Chispa is feeling fresh today,” Luis said as he came up beside Eve.

“Chispa?” Eve asked.

“It means spark,” Luis explained. “He always has a devilish gleam in his eye.”

As they came around the corner of the stables behind Grace and Raul, Eve spotted the four mounted guards waiting for them. All wore dark colors and windbreakers that probably covered guns slung in holsters, and none of them smiled nor spoke a word. Two broke away to move ahead of them, while the other two waited until they had passed and fell in at a respectful distance to the rear.

“Quite a cavalcade,” Eve murmured, hoping that Grace understood that this would be her life, too, if she chose to become an acknowledged princess.

Luis slanted her a rueful smile. “Mikel goes into high gear when Raul and I leave campus together. But let us enjoy the scenery. This is my brother’s estate until we reach the base of the mountains. Then it becomes crown land, preserved in its natural state except for the trails through it.”

“Is crown land open to the public?” Eve asked.

“Yes, with strict rules against disturbing the flora and fauna. Today, this trail is closed to all but our party,” Luis said.

Of course it was.

They rode along a dirt road that passed between two rolling fields enclosed by white fences. Red-gold cows grazed on the tall grass on one side while a couple of horses cantered toward them on the other. At the end of the road in front of them, a wall of trees marked the base of the mountain range that ran along the center of the island.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Eve said, although the mountains seemed to cut off the sky. Unlike the flatlands of Iowa, where the sky seemed almost limitless in its expanse.

“Bruma was one of the first dukedoms created by Ricardo el Rojo. My brother inherited the title because the previous duke died without offspring. It will pass to my nephew, Gabriel.”

“Are you close to your brother?” Eve wanted to know all about Luis.

“Now I am,” Luis said. “He is the kingdom’s historian and an invaluable sounding board for preventing me from making the same mistakes my predecessors did.”

“Why were you not close in the past?” Eve probed.

“The oldest fight in all of history. The woman we both loved chose Lorenzo.” Luis’s tone was light. Eve turned to check his expression but found it serene. Evidently, he was over whoever married his brother. “It was a shock to both of us.”

That surprised a laugh out of her. “Lorenzo also thought she would marry you?”

“I was the crown prince, so yes.” The glint in his eye showed he was teasing, before a cloud passed over his face. “Hélène did not want to be queen. We were all so young then. We knew very little of what life had in store for us.”

Eve thought of her marriage to Ben and silently agreed.

“But what about your family?” Luis asked. “Are you close to any of them?”

Eve remembered her conversation with Grace about moving to Caleva. Was she about to give Luis more ammunition in his campaign to persuade her daughter to leave Iowa?

“I was very close to my grandmother on my father’s side, but she died several years ago.” Eve still missed Nana Nelle’s tart good sense and twinkling blue eyes. “She was my anchor through my divorce. She watched Grace from the time she was an infant so I could work, and they had a special bond.”

“And your parents?” Luis asked.

“My father had health issues, so they moved to Florida soon after I adopted Grace, and then my father died. My mother was not…supportive of Grace’s adoption, so we don’t speak often.” In fact, when Ben filed for divorce, Eve’s mother had pointed out that she had told Eve that the adoption was a bad idea. Her father had been a silent ally, sending a check every month with a sweet note commenting on the photos of Grace she would text him. But he wouldn’t stand up to his wife and come visit his granddaughter. He’d said it wouldn’t be worth the tongue-lashings that would result.

Now Luis knew that there were no loving family members eagerly waiting for Eve and Grace to return to Iowa.

He twisted in the saddle to look at her square on. “You raised Grace almost entirely alone. What an extraordinary woman you are!”

“Plenty of women are single mothers,” Eve said, even as his words made her glow inside. “I was lucky to have a steady job and a mortgage-free house that Nana Nelle left me.”

“When I think of how you and Grace struggled…” His mouth was a grim, unhappy line as he trailed off.

“Yeah, when she should have been living in a palace,” Eve said, with only a touch of defensiveness.

“I did not mean that,” Luis said.

“Yes, you did, just not in an unkind way.” Eve sighed. “Heck, I wanted her to have more advantages than I could offer her.”

Now she could have them. Opportunities neither Eve nor Grace had ever imagined in their wildest dreams.

Luis reached across the distance between their horses to clasp her shoulder, his touch sparkling through Eve’s body. “Grace did not need anything more than what you gave her.”

“I did my best,” Eve said, reaching up to cover his gloved hand for a brief moment, finding the leather stretched over his knuckles soft and smooth.

As Luis dropped his hand, Eve realized that Grace and Raul had stopped to wait for them. The speculative look on her daughter’s face meant that she had seen the touch between Eve and Luis. Not good.

“We’re at the beginning of the Pico de Luto trail up the mountain,” Raul said. “From here, we have to go single file. May I suggest that I lead?”

“And I will go last,” Luis said. “We will keep the ladies between us.”

Except there were guards in front and behind, so all of them were bracketed by protection anyway.

Raul turned his horse forward to start up the trail. Grace threw a look at Eve that said they would talk later before she followed Raul.

“Actually, I wanted to go last,” Eve said to Luis.

He raised his eyebrows. “Why?”

“So I could ogle your butt in those tight breeches.” She grinned at her own temerity.

The lust that blazed in his eyes almost scorched her. In a voice that vibrated with seduction, he said, “But that would deprive me of the pleasure of ogling yours.”

“And the king always gets to ogle what he wants,” Eve said, signaling her horse to move.

“If I could ogle what I wanted, you would be naked,” Luis purred before he reined his horse in behind hers.

Everything in Eve’s body went liquid as his words slid through her, setting off whirlpools of longing. She had started it, so she couldn’t complain, but now she could swear she felt his gaze focused on her backside.

As they climbed through the trees, Eve tried to ignore Luis’s presence and take in the beauty of the forest. Birdsong intertwined with the sound of creaking saddle leather and horseshoes clinking against the occasional rock. Sometimes, Raul’s or Grace’s voice drifted back. Birds fluttered between the tree branches, flashing in and out of the sunlight filtering through the leaves. She inhaled, savoring the scent of warm horse, earthy loam, and green freshness.

They rode in companionable silence for half an hour before Raul came to a halt in the middle of the trail. One of the front escorts had ridden back to speak with him. She turned to ask Luis what was going on, but when she opened her mouth, he held his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

Raul dismounted and came back to speak with Grace in a low voice.

Eve heard the creak of a saddle behind her and footsteps before Luis appeared at her side. “We’re going through the woods from here. There might be wild creatures nearby, so we should keep quiet.”

One of the guards jogged up from behind and took the reins of their horses as Luis led her up to join their children. Grace grinned and opened her eyes wide in a pantomime of what’s going on? Eve smiled with a shrug in response.

A young woman dressed in dark green from head to toe seemed to materialize from between the trees. She echoed Luis’s finger-to-lips warning before gesturing for them to follow her. Raul dropped back to let Grace and Eve go before him.

Excitement fizzed through Eve as she trod carefully behind their guide, stepping over fallen branches and dry leaves that might make noise. Grace glanced back at her with the same lit-up look of anticipation.

The guide dropped to a crouch as the trees thinned at the edge of a clearing, waving them forward to kneel beside her before she pointed to the right.

Grace gasped at the same time as Eve.

Two brilliant teal Calevan dragons sunned themselves on a large boulder. One was at least five feet long, while the other might have been a foot or so shorter. Their red-rimmed neck frills were folded back, and their eyes were mere slits as they basked in the light and warmth.

Luis knelt between Grace and Eve, and Eve turned to mouth, “Wow!” at him, her eyes wide. He nodded before he turned to admire them as well. His shoulder brushed hers, and she had to stop herself from leaning into the strength of his body.

“They’re amazing!” Grace whispered.

All five of them stayed silent, gazing in awe at the rare and gorgeous creatures. This was where the dragons belonged, in the wild where their vivid color blazed against the dark gray basalt.

Eve shifted so she could watch the three Dragóns kneeling in a row, their profiles so much alike as they gazed at the creatures whose name they carried. Grace was part of this family, whether Eve wanted it or not. The Dragón blood ran strong in her veins.

“Would you like to see their frills displayed?” Luis whispered. “We will have to disturb them, so they may leave.”

“One more minute, please,” Grace whispered, her eyes still locked on the huge lizards.

Luis nodded. Eve jerked as she felt his warm fingers close around hers. He smiled at her surprise and kept their clasped hands hidden between their thighs. The strength of his clasp sent little vibrations of pleasure up her arm to dance in her chest. She gently squeezed his hand to let Luis know she liked it.

Movement from Grace pulled her gaze away from Luis. Her daughter slowly drew her phone from her jacket pocket and took several shots of the basking dragons. Then she nodded to Luis. “Okay, I’m ready to see frills.”

He released Eve’s hand, making her feel bereft, and reached forward to pick up an egg-sized stone. She almost protested until she realized he wouldn’t use it to hit one of the lizards. He narrowed his eyes, intent on whatever his target was before he cocked his arm back and hurled it, hitting the side of a boulder about five feet from the huge lizards. The stone cracked when it hit, sending a rattling shower of pebbles raining onto the ground.

The bigger dragon’s head reared up as its frill snapped open like a huge circular fan painted in bright bands of teal, blue, and red. It opened its mouth wide and gave a loud hissing cough almost like a lion’s.

Eve’s heart did a flip. It was like seeing a dinosaur come to life.

“That would make me back off for sure,” Grace muttered as she took another picture.

The smaller lizard lifted its head, looking around warily, but didn’t open its frill.

“Shall I try to get the other dragon to display?” Luis asked, already searching for another rock to toss.

Grace shook her head. “No, we’ll leave them to their sunshine.”

Eve loved that about Grace. Her daughter respected the wild creatures’ right to be there more than her need for a great photo.

The bigger one kept its frill open as it swung its head back and forth a couple of times, giving them an excellent view of the huge neckpiece it sported, before folding it down again. It and its companion continued to survey their surroundings a little longer, then settled back into their sun-induced nap.

The guide led them quietly back to the horses.

“Now we will all have the luck of el dragón for the rest of the day,” Luis said.

“That was awesome!” Grace looked like she had seen Santa Claus. “It makes me furious that people killed so many of them for their skin.”

“Agreed,” Raul said, his handsome face stern. “But now that we have strong laws to protect them, you can see that they are making a comeback in the wild once again.”

“Thanks to your captive breeding program,” Grace said. “I wonder if that big fella was born in your dragon preserve.”

“If so, he’s a major success story,” Raul said. “Did you see the size of his frill?”

“And so brilliantly colored!” Eve said. “I was also impressed with his voice. For a herbivore, he sounded pretty fierce.”

She noticed that Luis was standing slightly apart, as he so often did. Sometimes he looked very alone, and it wrung her heart. Today, though, he looked pleased and even a little self-satisfied by the success of the dragon-viewing.

“How much did you pay those guys to pose for us?” Eve asked him.

“Only their weight in raíz dulce, their favorite food,” Luis said with a chuckle. “It was well worth it to see the reactions from you and Grace.”

“Caleva is a beautiful country,” Eve said, thinking of the magnificent dragons, the glorious beaches, and the fragrant vaho hibiscus.

“That’s why I go to the wild places when I can.” His head was turned as he gazed around the forest, so she could admire the sharp, strong lines of his profile. “To touch Caleva’s soul.”

If anyone else had said that, it would have sounded melodramatic, but Luis meant it.

“To remind yourself of why you go to all those meetings?”

“More to cleanse myself of all those meetings. Politics is a dirty business at times.” He met her eyes with a sardonic look. “Gone are the days when a king could simply decree that something be done. Now I must negotiate and persuade and compromise to move my agenda forward.”

Eve saw the haze of weariness cross his face. “No more talking business,” she said, touching his arm for a fleeting moment. “You’re still playing hooky.”

“I had hoped to stay away longer, but I have some troublesome nobles trying to upset the Americans on the naval base,” he said with a shrug. “We must return to the stables.”

As Luis linked his hands to help her mount Cielo, Eve first surreptitiously scraped her boot sole on a tuft of grass.

He waited until she settled in the saddle before running his hand down her leg to pretend to check her stirrup leather. Once again, she nearly caught fire from the blaze in his eyes.

“I will never forget this ride,” she said. “It has been pure magic.”

“Caleva is an enchanted place,” Luis said with a smile that invited her into his web of delights. “The longer you stay, the stronger the spell it weaves.”

Grace was already ensnared in that spell.

“I think the King of Caleva is a bit of a sorcerer himself,” Eve said before giving him a roguish glance. “A very wicked sorcerer at times.”

He leaned in close to say in a low, seductive murmur, “And he will do sinful things to your naked body tonight.”

She nearly melted in the saddle.

Luis and Raul had to return to the palace, so Eve and Grace rode back to Casa en las Nubes in the SUV with Bridget and Ivan. Eve sighed inwardly when Grace followed her into her suite.

“Okay, Mom, spill,” Grace said as she plunked down in a chair in the living area. “What is going on between you and Luis?”

Eve tried to gauge her daughter’s feelings about what might be happening, but Grace’s expression held nothing more than determined curiosity. “Oh, you mean when he squeezed my shoulder today? I was talking about how much I missed Nana Nelle, and he was expressing his sympathy.”

“That may be true.” Grace’s tone was skeptical. “But the way you two looked at each other and the body language say it’s more than that.”

“Oh, we’re just flirting a little. Harmless stuff that leads nowhere,” Eve said with a shrug. “I don’t mean to gross you out, but your father is a very attractive man.”

“Yeah, I get that. He’s still on a lot of the most-eligible-bachelors lists, even though he’s past fifty,” Grace said.

“I’ll put a stop to the flirting if it bothers you,” Eve said, even though the thought of pushing Luis away before they could spend another night together made her want to cry.

Grace shook her head. “It’s just that you haven’t been on a date in, like, ten years, and now you’re hooking up with Luis.”

“I’m not sure what ‘hooking up’ means these days,” Eve said.

“Going out, kissing, maybe more.” Grace held up her hand. “Not that I want to know if you’re doing more.”

“Okay,” Eve agreed with relief. “It’s nothing serious. After all, he’s the king.”

“So? I’m the princess.”

“First, Luis has been single for a long time. He isn’t looking for a long-term relationship,” Eve said. “Second, I’m not exactly queen material. I don’t have royal blood running in my veins like you do.”

“You’d be a great queen, Mom,” Grace said with a grin. “At the clinic, you don’t put up with crap from anyone.”

“That’s a little different from running a country,” Eve pointed out.

“I’m just worried about you,” Grace said, surprising her.

“Worried? Why?”

“You don’t do casual,” Grace said. “And he’s the king. I think Luis is amazing, but I’m not blind to the fact that he’s used to getting what he wants. He might not realize that he could hurt you.”

“Trust me, my eyes are wide open,” Eve said, coming over to hug her daughter. “You are a very smart cookie about people, you know.”

Grace squeezed back. “I learned it from you.”