Page 66 of Royal Caleva: Luis

“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?”

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