Virgin's Stolen Nights with the Boss by Carol Marinelli

Author:Carol Marinelli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-09-06T14:18:38+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

IT WAS HER one day off in a fortnight and Carmen was in agony.

‘That bastard!’ she said, because it stung her to wee. ‘What has he given me? This is why men cannot be trusted!’

Carmen feared the worst—because everything she was feeling right now was a first for her.

The lodge wasn’t empty this morning, of course. John was there, eating from a bag of pretzels, and Carmen could barely manage a polite good morning, let alone ask about last night.

Not even picking out all the marshmallows from the box of cereal cheered her up.

‘Any plans for today?’ John asked.

‘I’m going to Santa Monica.’

‘There’s a bus at ten.’

‘Thanks.’

It was hell being poor—or pretending to be poor—Carmen thought as she stood waiting for a bus along with several others.

She was in agony. She was sore and swollen down below. And now she could ruefully admit to herself that she understood where Elias’s anger had come from last night. After all, it had all been very fast and hard. She was paying for it now.

She winced again, and was tempted to cheat on her promise to herself not to spend more than she made. Unable to bear the wait for the bus any longer, she took out her phone, and she was just about to order a cab when a familiar silver car slid to a halt beside her.

Elias.

The window slid down.

‘What?’ Her tone was curt.

‘Get in.’

He wore a black linen shirt and dark glasses, but even so she could tell his expression was forbidding. She rather suspected she was going to be told off.

‘My bus is due any second, and if I miss it I’ll have to wait for ever for another.’

‘Just get in, Carmen.’

‘But I want to go to Santa Monica.’

‘I’ll take you to Santa Monica,’ he said tersely. ‘And you and I are going to have a talk on the way.’

‘We have nothing to discuss.’

‘Carmen,’ he warned, ‘get in now, or we will have this discussion right here at the bus stop. Either way, we are going to speak.’

Carmen looked at the curious faces behind her and then acquiesced, sliding into the passenger seat. One-nil to Elias. But she stared rigidly ahead and tried to breathe only through her mouth and not her nose.

Damn him for smelling so fantastic! Not woodsy or citrussy, just soapy, and so devastatingly sexy that Carmen knew she would do last night all over again—even with the accompanying aches and pains.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked.

‘I’m fine.’ She glanced over. ‘I still don’t want to talk about it.’

‘You don’t want to talk about anything,’ he pointed out. ‘You don’t say where you’re from, you’re posing as a stable hand when you’re clearly—’

‘I am a stable hand here,’ she protested. ‘I wanted a break from riding professionally back home. I came here to clear my head and try something new.’ She picked at the hem of her skirt. ‘But I missed the horses. I’m not lying. I’m not a wanted felon, or married or anything...’

‘I had worked that last one out,’ he snapped.

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