At the Brazilian's Command

by Susan Stephens

  Tiago seemed not to need anything as mundane as sleep, and after a shower said he would be checking round the ranch. Or at least that part of it closest to the house, he explained, as surveying all of it would take a month or more.

  ‘When I return I will have a hard copy of our contract with me,’ he promised, leaving her in the capable hands of his friendly housekeeper, Elena.

  She was alone now in her bedroom, with time to reflect on the rapidly unfolding events of the past few days. She made a start on investigating the suite of rooms, knowing she should unpack and bathe, take the chance to go to bed for a few hours, but she just couldn’t. She was too tightly wound.

  Seeing Tiago’s home for the first time was like opening a box of surprises, and she’d soaked up every detail greedily. She wasn’t sure what she had expected. Not some grungy living quarters on a ranch devoted to raising ponies, because Tiago’s playboy side would never allow it. But not glitz and glamour either, as that wouldn’t be appropriate for a working ranch, and for all his society polish Tiago was a surprisingly down-to-earth man.

  The reality was a happy mix between comfort and luxury. The ranch house was a large, rambling building, and when they’d first driven up to it Danny wondered if he lived in just a small part of it—perhaps a bachelor pad, stark and functional, with just the high-end accessories of life to keep him company. She had pictured high-tech gadgets jostling with spurs and boots, fast cars parked outside, maybe a Harley. She wouldn’t have been surprised to see saddle soap and tins of hoof oil on the kitchen table, or bridles slung over the banister in the hall.

  She couldn’t have been further off-beam. Tiago’s home was a stunning example of an old-style ranch house, though it certainly boasted every conceivable modern facility. In spite of its size he had managed to make his home cosy. Mellow wood predominated, along with all the colours of the earth—russet, ochre, claret and dusky blue—which, with the wooden floors and ethnic wall hangings, gave the old house a prosperous look and an ambience she found as alluring as Tiago.

  She should have known he would live comfortably, Danny reflected as she walked to the window to stare out down the long, impressive drive. The gates had been the first giveaway that she was entering somewhere really special. They were impressive, carved out of centuries-old wood, and they had opened on to a scene of well-ordered prosperity. The drive up to the house was broad and long, and impeccably groomed, with paddocks full of horses either side. Immaculate farm buildings stood in the distance, together with a host of other facilities she had yet to name.

  But even the buildings hadn’t impressed her as much as Tiago’s wonderfully welcoming staff. They’d shown her nothing but warmth and enthusiasm since the moment she’d arrived, and she had noticed Tiago’s face lighting up like a flame when he had received their smiling welcome to his home.

  ‘These are my people, Danny,’ he had told her, with such pride in his voice.

  She’d never seen him so animated. And then he’d made the introductions, leading her by the hand as if they were already married. Whatever reservations she’d had about their unusual arrangement had faded then. How was she supposed to keep her heart out of this, surrounded by such warmth?

  But she wasn’t an employee, and she wasn’t Tiago’s fiancée either. She was in an odd position, Danny mused as she continued to explore her accommodation. There was a lavish dressing room that had obviously been equipped in anticipation of visitors with a far more sophisticated lifestyle than she had. She wondered again what Tiago’s staff must make of her, and then put it out of her mind. It was up to her to form a bond with this place, and with its people, and an arbitrary title wouldn’t help her to do that.

  What she loved most, Danny decided, turning full circle, was the lack of ostentation. There was just sheer quality everywhere she looked. Inside, the house was perfect, while outside the emerald-green pampas beckoned.

  Her bathroom wouldn’t have been out of place in the most sumptuous hotel. The cream marble was veined with honey, and there were more fluffy towels than she could count. She paused to stare out of the bathroom window, from where she had a good view of the rolling paddocks and the formal gardens surrounding the house. They had flown over Tiago’s ranch for miles, he had explained, before he’d brought the jet in to land.

  She had been shipwrecked on a desert island fit for a queen.

  Her upbeat mood changed abruptly when she remembered Tiago’s parting words. Even here, in this cosy suite of rooms, a shiver ran through her. She had been telling him how much she loved his home when he’d replied, ‘This is what money can buy, chica. This is what you can buy now.’

  It all came down to the ranch for Tiago, and he thought she felt the same about money.

  * * *

  When Tiago returned from his tour of the ranch everything moved towards the wedding at breakneck speed.

  ‘I had wanted time for you to get used to your surroundings,’ he explained the next morning with a careless gesture, ‘but there is no time. The clock is ticking. I must marry before the week is out if I am to fulfil the terms of my grandfather’s will.’

  And there was no chance he would risk reneging on that, Danny thought, though now she’d met the people on the ranch she could understand why.

  ‘Will there be enough time to arrange everything?’ she asked with concern.

  ‘You knew the terms of our agreement before you left Scotland,’ Tiago said impatiently, ruffling his thick black hair.

  ‘Yes, but—’ She pulled herself up. ‘I hadn’t expected it to be quite so soon.’

  ‘I factored in the inconvenience element when I calculated your payment.’

  His words hurt. Tiago could be charm personified, or he could be as he was now—a warrior, ruthless and driven, a man who had paid a lot for his bride. And now it was payback time.

  She had to remind herself that this wasn’t a love-match but a marriage of convenience—for expediency, and to ensure her mother’s future as well as her own.

  They were standing in a field where foals were grazing, and she guessed Tiago had brought her here on purpose, so she would be relaxed when he dropped the bombshell of their marriage happening by the end of the week. He must have known how quickly they would have to be married before they’d left Scotland, but had chosen not to tell her. Perhaps because he’d been worried that she’d change her mind.

  Her hope for a happy-ever-after future had always been slim, but now it drained away into the ground.

  Sensing her tension, Tiago wheeled around to pin her with a stare. ‘I thought I had explained quite clearly the urgency of this situation?’

  ‘You did.’ She was a ‘situation’ now.

  ‘We should get the contract signed.’

  ‘Yes.’

  She would sign. She wouldn’t go back on her word. She would make the best of this situation, and commit to a life she couldn’t imagine. It would be a life with the man who had won her heart in Brazil, but a life in which she neither belonged, nor would be able to distance herself.

  When Tiago started walking back towards the house his face was set. ‘Let’s get this thing done. I want you to check the contract over carefully—make sure you agree with all the terms before you sign.’

  How cold-blooded could a wedding be?

  She was about to find out.

  She had always had such soft, romantic dreams about her wedding day...the wildflowers she would wear in her hair. Everyone would walk to the kirk in the village of Rottingdean and there would be a party afterwards in the village hall. Everyone would help out and contribute something. It would be such a happy day—a simple day, a precious day full of memories...the type of memories she would treasure for a lifetime.

  That was her dream. The facts were somewhat different. It sounded as if there was going to be a rushed ceremony—possibly with witnesses sh
e didn’t even know.

  Tiago was striding ahead of her. His transformation into gaucho was complete. The unforgiving pampas had carved him. Even his clothes had changed. There was nothing designer about his clothes now—nothing of the playboy. He wore threadbare jeans with worn leather chaps over them, and a red bandana secured his wilful hair. His boots were tooled leather, and he carried a lethal-looking facón—the vicious knife that gauchos wore—hanging from their belt.

  It was hardly possible to believe that this rock-like individual was the same sophisticate who had joked and laughed and made her feel good about herself on Chico’s ranch.

  Tiago had stopped abruptly—but not to wait for her. He was staring at some horses in the field—evaluating them, counting them, maybe, though she suspected he knew every head of stock. Compared to his ranch, she was nothing. There were no sacrifices Tiago would not make, no lengths he would not go to, to keep this land.

  She could always change her mind.

  Could she? Signing this contract was a way forward for her—the best and perhaps the only way to secure her mother’s future.

  * * *

  ‘Now you understand why I must do this,’ Tiago said with confidence as he laid the contract down in front of Danny on his desk. ‘You’ve only seen a fragment of the ranch, but enough to know that it must be saved.’

  She wouldn’t disagree with him, Danny thought as she took her time to check the contract, line by line. It was everything she had asked for, everything she had read on the screen of his phone—not a line had been changed.

  ‘A year...’ she murmured, wondering if it would be a happy year, or a year of torment for them both. And then something mischievous occurred to her, right out of the blue. ‘How many relationships have you had that have lasted a year, Tiago?’

  He narrowed his eyes and she could practically see his hackles rise. ‘I don’t understand what that’s got to do with this.’

  ‘How many?’ she pressed.

  Raking his hair with an impatient gesture, he decided to ignore her question. ‘Are you going to sign this or not?’

  She guessed he had never stayed with a woman for as long as a year. Tiago was sailing into uncharted waters as much as she was. If he had ever enjoyed a long-term relationship the press would have seized on it. What the press would make of their marriage she didn’t know—and didn’t care, either. This was a private arrangement between the two of them. The world would have to make of it what it wanted.

  He held out his pen. She took it and signed her name, and Tiago countersigned the document after her. She stared at their signatures and felt cold inside. She had no idea what Tiago felt. Relief, certainly, but she doubted whether he felt anything more.

  What had made him this way? she wondered. The polished playboy of the polo circuit seemed far happier and more relaxed here on his ranch, working alongside the gauchos. The thought that she had just contracted to marry a man she didn’t know did nothing to reassure her. She should have listened to those rumours of the lone wolf. If she had she wouldn’t be here now, with her heart yearning for a man who thought of her only as the means to an end.

  ‘So you’re rich now,’ he said. ‘How does that feel?’

  ‘Strange,’ she admitted.

  Stranger still was the fact that she had never felt more impoverished in her life.

  * * *

  What had she done? Danny wondered as she watched Tiago cross the yard. She had to shake off this feeling of doom. She was about to join one of the finest horsemen in the world and work alongside him. What could be better than that? The wedding would happen when it happened, and in the meantime she would concentrate on everything Tiago could teach her about the ranch.

  Maybe that would bring them closer. If not love, then maybe they could pick up their friendship and make the year ahead bearable for them both. That shouldn’t be too hard when they shared so many interests.

  Deciding to act as if this were just a new and exciting day in Brazil, rather than the start of a new and uncertain life, she leaned over the fence of the corral where Tiago was working, telling herself that she would get through this, and would learn a lot along the way.

  ‘Would you like to try?’ Tiago called to her softly.

  He didn’t take his attention off the young colt he was training for a moment. The pony was trembling with awareness, and it was one of the most valuable animals on the ranch, Tiago had explained.

  ‘You’ll let me work with him?’ Danny asked with surprise.

  ‘Why not? You’re good.’

  She couldn’t pretend that didn’t thrill her.

  Taking care to shut the gate silently, she joined one of the best horse-trainers in the world. Working alongside Tiago would be the greatest opportunity of her life.

  ‘Now, watch how I do this,’ he said after a few moments.

  Watching Tiago was no hardship. She watched his lips move when he spoke. She watched the muscles flex in his arms as he worked with the pony. She watched his hands soothe and stroke with exquisite sensitivity—

  ‘Concentrate,’ he said softly.

  She hated it that he knew what she was thinking.

  ‘That’s good, Danny.’

  He came to stand behind her. She held her breath as his body brushed hers, and tensed when his hands came around her, allowing Tiago to use his hands to direct hers.

  ‘Bring your face closer,’ he advised in an undertone. ‘Share the same air as your pony.’

  His husky voice was hypnotic, and his touch made both Danny and the pony relax.

  ‘He’s starting to trust you,’ Tiago murmured. ‘I’m going to move away now, while you carry on. Caress him, speak to him and build his confidence. Who knows? One day he might be yours.’

  Danny smiled, knowing she would never be able to afford the young colt, and then felt a spear of surprise, knowing that with Tiago’s marriage settlement in the bank she could.

  ‘What would you call him?’ he asked.

  ‘Firefly.’ She turned, expecting to find Tiago behind her, but he was already with the gauchos on the other side of the fence.

  * * *

  He was on the same wavelength as Danny, Tiago reflected as he watched her work. He never allowed bystanders into the corral when he was working with young ponies fresh to training, but he trusted Danny. He’d seen her work on Chico’s ranch.

  And on the personal front...?

  He trusted her on the personal front too. He couldn’t say that about any other woman apart from Elena, his housekeeper. His mother had been a socialite—a butterfly who had fallen in love with the son of a rough working man who’d happened to own a valuable ranch. His mother had seen an opportunity.

  Tiago had been pampered and petted as a boy—a situation he’d refused to tolerate as a teen. By that time his father had been a drunk and his mother an ageing beauty who had refused to accept that her day in the sun was over. There had to be more pills, more potions, more clothes, more visits to the beauty salon, and then eventually to the plastic surgeon. She had ruined his father, who had ended up stealing from the ranch, leaving Tiago’s grandfather with nothing.

  It had taken Tiago to return—a changed man—and rescue things to the point where Fazenda Santos had become no longer a broken-down ranch that existed solely to feed the greed of his parents, but a highly successful concern he had dedicated his life to.

  Did he want to get married, with a family history like that?

  No. But a year with a woman as lithe and lovely as Danny might just be tolerable—especially when she was in his bed.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  TIAGO WAS IN a good mood after working with the colt, and as they walked back to the house it seemed as good a moment as any for Danny to ask him about the details of the wedding. She might not be having the idyllic co
untry wedding she had imagined as a girl, but arrangements would still have to be made. It might be a hastily arranged formality, or—and she desperately hoped this wouldn’t be the case—a full-blown society wedding for the type of people Tiago mixed with when he was on the polo circuit.

  ‘So...our wedding...’ she began.

  ‘Friday,’ he said.

  ‘Friday?’ She looked at him blankly.

  ‘Friday is the end of the week,’ he said impatiently. ‘I did tell you it would have to be this week.’

  Yes, but talking about something was very different from facing the reality of the situation. She was already running through a checklist in her mind.

  ‘There’s too much to do in the time available.’

  Even if a wedding could be arranged at such short notice, she had to consider the demands of the ranch, as well as the Thunderbolts’ polo fixtures.

  ‘Did you check on the team’s games?’

  ‘Of course.’ Tiago drilled a stare into her eyes, as if the choice between a polo match and their wedding was no contest. ‘All we need for this wedding is you and me and a couple of witnesses.’

  ‘I never expected anything more,’ she said, angry to think Tiago imagined she craved some sort of grand ceremony to accompany her pay-out.

  Nothing could be further from the truth. It was bad enough knowing she had to make promises that she would only keep for a year, without attempting to fool wedding guests into believing theirs was a romantic love match.

  ‘We’ll get married here on the ranch,’ Tiago said, to her relief. ‘But I want everyone to share the celebrations. This won’t be a quiet wedding. I’m not ashamed of what we’re doing, and neither should you be. When Chico and Lizzie return from their honeymoon we’ll fly to Scotland and have a blessing at the kirk in the village, with a party afterwards. You can have whatever you want, then—ten dresses and a dozen bridesmaids, if you like.’