The minute the door shut behind her and he heard her footsteps moving down the hall, he hid the socks in his drawer, then tore off a strip of note paper from his writing tablet on top of the chest and wedged it between the edge of the drawer and its frame so he'd know if anyone snooped in his drawers again.

Shivering, Luz hugged the beach robe more tightly around her as she hurried into the house. The mid-October sun had been warm, but the water in the swimming pool had been decidedly cool. She headed directly to the stairs, rubbing the towel over her wet hair. As she pa.s.sed the lonely side table in the foyer, she noticed the stack of mail on top of it and paused. Obviously someone had just brought it in, since Hector hadn't sorted it yet. She hesitated, then riffled through it to see if anything had come for her.

There was a skinny letter from Trisha, which she set aside, and one from Emma, no doubt containing the monthly household report and a tactfully worded inquiry as to the date of Luz's expected return. Luz grimaced slightly when she saw the thick envelope bearing her mother's handwriting. She didn't have to read it to know what was inside. If it ran true to the previous ones, there would be three pages of not so subtle demands to know when Luz was coming back and why a trip of three or possibly four weeks had turned into more than two months. After that, there would be three pages of family news.

The bottom third of the stack of letters were all addressed to Raul. She started to lay them aside, then her eye was caught by the familiar handwriting on one of the envelopes. It was from Trisha. She chewed at the inside of her lower lip, absently tasting the chlorine, and tapped the envelope against her hand.

Was this the first time Trisha had written him, or had there been others? Not once in all the letters Luz had received from her daughter had she mentioned Raul beyond asking that she say h.e.l.lo for her. Lately, that hadn't even been tacked on to the end. She had hoped the newness of college surroundings had put Raul out of Trisha's mind. Obviously, it hadn't.

Luz debated a minute longer, then added Trisha's letter to Raul to her stack. When she heard Hector approaching from the living room, she turned, smiling. "I've already gotten my mail. When Raul comes in, will you tell him I want to see him? It's important."

"Si, I will tell him."

"I'll be in my room." With the letters clutched in her hand, she moved to the steps and hurried up the stairs to her room.

Once inside, she tore open the letter from Trisha addressed to her and scanned the contents. It was filled with references to the courses she was taking, the sorority she had pledged, and cla.s.smates and professors. She asked how Rob was doing, obviously accepting that Luz was staying in Argentina because of her brother. But not one word about Raul. Luz glanced at his envelope, then laid them all aside and went into the bathroom to take a hot shower and get dressed for dinner.

An hour later, she heard m.u.f.fled voices and the heavy tread of booted feet along the upper hallway. The afternoon session was over, which meant time for a quick shower and change before they all congregated in the game room. Raul should be coming any moment. She paced absently, waiting, her gaze continually straying to the unopened envelope addressed to him, lying on her nightstand.

Time dragged and her tension mounted, but still he didn't come. A half-dozen times, Luz went to the door and paused with her hand on the k.n.o.b, debating whether she should seek him out. Maybe Hector hadn't given him her message. Instinctively she knew better, and she never turned the k.n.o.b. Her irritation grew with each pa.s.sing minute.

When he finally knocked at the door, she jerked it open and barely gave him time to step inside the room before she verbally a.s.sailed him. "Where have you been? Practice broke up more than an hour and a half ago. I have been waiting all this time to talk to you. I told Hector I wanted to see you as soon as you came in. Didn't you get my message?"

"Yes, he told me you wanted to see me. I was busy. I came as soon as I could." The a.s.sertion was confirmed by the smudged and sweaty riding clothes he still wore, but Luz was too annoyed to notice.

"As soon as you could." She hurled his words back at him. "Didn't Hector tell you I said it was important? Do you realize how long I've been waiting here for you?"

"I was busy," Raul snapped. "Do you think because you snap your fingers, I must come running? I am not some gigolo who answers to your beck and call!"

"I never implied you were!"

"No? I come the moment I am free, and it is not good enough for you. I kept you waiting, no? What do you call this?" he demanded angrily. "What is it you expect from me? What is it you want?"

Luz drew back from his challenge, her anger receding to a protective wariness. "Nothing. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Talk." He moved toward her, and Luz stood her ground. When he stopped in front of her, he seemed to loom around her, enveloping her in his presence while not touching her at all. His narrowed gaze bored into her, delving deep, too deep for comfort. "Is that all you want from me? Do you want me to touch you, to hold you, to kiss you? Do you want me to make love to you? You have never said any of this. Do you want me, Luz?"

A protest clamored inside at the open admission he was demanding from her. "It isn't fair to ask that. If I answer yes, I sound like some weak female who can't exist without a man," she argued. "I am allowed some pride."

"I say these things to you," Raul reminded her tautly. "Does that make me sound like a female? I am a man. Where is my pride? Always I come to you. You never come to me. Where is the fairness in that? Must I always be the one? Will you never lie in my bed, only yours? You asked me once whether I wanted you. Now it is my turn. Do you want me?"

"Sometimes-sometimes I want you so much, Raul, that it frightens me." Perhaps never more than now had she wanted him so much, nor been so frightened by the force of it. Until now, the affair had been conducted on her terms, and she'd felt safe, always making him seek her out, never exposing herself to possible rejection.

But there was no rejection as his hands pulled at her waist to draw her into his embrace. Her half-known fears seemed very foolish under the warm, demanding pressure of his kiss. She didn't have to hold back anymore, nor was she driven by a vague desperation to take and hold on to the glorious sensations of the moment in case they never came again.

"I do want you, Raul, I do," she murmured over and over again, all the restraints finally gone. When she finally pulled away, it was to say, "Let me make love to you."

She saw the desire glazing his blue eyes as he nodded slowly. Her fingers pulled at the bottom of his snug-fitting polo shirt where it was tucked inside his breeches. When it was free of them, she hiked it over his ribs and across the breadth of his chest. Raul flinched visibly.

"Cuidado!" Pain edged his cautioning mutter.

"What is it?" Frowning, Luz scanned his face, not raising the shirt any higher.

"My left shoulder. I have bruised it." Raul took over the task of removing his shirt, pulling his right arm free of the sleeve, then dragging the shirt over his head and easing the left sleeve off his injured shoulder.

Nearly all of the skin on his upper arm and back shoulder was mottled black and blue. Luz hesitantly touched the bruised area with her fingertips, guessing how very sore it must be. "You fell." Vaguely she remembered that he'd barely used that arm at all when he'd embraced her moments ago. It had been his right hand and arm that had pressed and urged closer contact.

"S. Lamberti's horse went down in front of mine. He broke his wrist and arm in the fall. I had to take him to the small hospital in the village. That is where I have been the last three hours," he said. "Or I probably would have come when you snapped your fingers."

Luz backed a step away from him and turned to cover her mouth, realizing how petty and self-centered she had been. "You should have slapped me ... walked out ... or something." She swung back to him. "Is he all right?"

"S. He will be in a plaster cast for a few weeks, but the breaks were clean," he a.s.sured her. "Hector should have told you the reason I was delayed, but I think he was busy. I am glad I did not hit you or walk out. I have waited a long time to hear you say that you want me as I want you." His fingers traced the curve of her throat and lingered on the pulsing vein. Raul brought his hand down and stood facing her. "I have only one good arm, so you will have to make love to me."

"It will be my pleasure," Luz said and meant it literally.

Much later, she lay utterly contented, nestled against his right side, her arm curved on his chest. The sensations she felt with Raul were so different from anything she'd known with Drew. It was funny, but she could think about Drew without rancor now, remembering the happier times instead of the bad.

Maybe she owed that to Raul along with so many other things, like her renewed self-esteem and confidence. She wouldn't put a name to the feelings she had for him, but she admitted to herself that she didn't want the affair to end. Before she hadn't wanted to look beyond today. Now she wanted to make plans for tomorrow.

"How is Rob doing? Are you getting along with him?" Luz hadn't mentioned the unfortunate incident between her son and the maid. If Hector had told him, Raul hadn't said anything to her. Ever since, she had wondered if the rage Rob had exhibited had been the release of pent-up resentment toward Raul. From the stick-and-ball sessions she'd observed, she hadn't sensed any hostility between them, but she hadn't been close enough to catch the nuances of voice or expression.

Raul rolled onto his right side, levering himself up on his elbow to look down at her. "After we make love, you want to question me about your son?" he challenged while his hand stroked the bare flesh of her hip and stomach.

Involuntarily she moved in response to his caress while she tried not to be distracted by it. "Lately he seems different, and I wondered if you had noticed it."

"He has been on edge, moody on occasions." His hand continued to make its lazy, stroking circles over her flesh. "Why do you ask?"

"Sometimes I have the feeling he still resents our being together, and I wondered how he acted toward you when I'm not around."

"He respects me. He does not necessarily like me," he replied, and Luz wondered if she was making a bigger problem out of this than it was. Perhaps she was being too sensitive. It was natural for Rob to respond negatively to her involvement with another man, to feel a little threatened.

Bending, Raul kissed a quiescent nipple and teased it erect with a curling lick of his tongue. She felt the involuntary tightening in her loins. "Are we through talking about him?"

"Actually ..." Her hand glided along his arm, avoiding the bruised area at the top. "It was a way of leading up to my next question-whether you've made any playing commitments for the winter season in Florida yet."

"I have been approached by some team sponsors, but nothing has been confirmed. Why?" But he seemed more interested in toying with her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"Because ..." She paused, liking the way he was distracting her. "I'm going to sponsor a team for Rob. I want him to play with the best, and that's you. I also thought you might continue to coach him if you two were getting along. Does the idea appeal to you?"

"You appeal to me."

"Raul," Luz protested his avoidance of her question, but not too vigorously.

Much to her regret, he lifted his head to gaze lazily at her. "I have never played for a woman before."

"You've only played with them, is that it?" she murmured, stroking the outline of his mouth.

He chuckled in his throat. "It is more fun, no?" he countered and kissed her teasing finger.

"And maybe it would be more fun to do both?" Luz suggested. "I have a big house, stables on the grounds, a practice field, and a huge king-sized bed. Where will you ever get that kind of an offer? Just think of the fringe benefits. What's your answer? Will you play with and for me?"

"It will be my pleasure." He leaned down, kissing her lips slowly and thoroughly, then nuzzled their corners. "Is this the important thing you were so anxious to talk to me about?"

She went still beneath him. "No." When he raised his head to investigate the peculiar flatness in her voice, Luz shifted on the rumpled quilt and reached for the envelope on the nightstand. "This came for you today." She gave it to him and watched his expression. When he turned the envelope over to glance at the back flap, she said, "I didn't open it." Not that she hadn't been tempted. "I wasn't aware she was writing to you."

"Only twice before." Raul absently studied the envelope but made no move to open it.

"What does she write you about?"

"Do you want to read this?" He offered it to her.

"No." She turned her head on the pillow in a negative movement. It was better if she didn't know the private things Trisha wrote him.

"Nor do I." He tossed it back onto the nightstand.

"I haven't gotten around to telling her about us."

"Why?"

"I wasn't sure how long it would last." Luz studied the faint white line of an old scar on his chest where a horse had kicked him. "I wasn't even sure if I wanted it to."

"Now?" There was a measuring quality in his look.

"And now, I want you to play on my team," she answered lightly.

"What if this is not what Rob wants? Or your daughter?" Raul questioned the depth of her commitment.

She had thought through the first part of his question. "Rob wants to play polo and he wants to improve his game. Regardless of how he may feel about you personally, I think he still believes you can help him to do that. Trisha is another matter," she admitted heavily. "I guess I can't put off writing her about us any longer. Maybe she'll have time to get over the worst of it before we see her. I'll know more in November. Trisha always surprises me. She never does what I expect her to do."

"November. It is so close." He rubbed the soft point of her shoulder.

"You'll come before the end of the month, won't you? We'll have the holidays together before you and Rob have to start selecting the other players on your team in December."

"I think I can arrange that."

She smoothed her hand over his chest. "Do you suppose dinner is ready yet?"

"Perhaps we can enjoy an appetizer, first," he suggested as his hand slid lower on her stomach.

"What about your shoulder?"

His kiss proved to be a very satisfactory answer.

Late that evening, Luz wrote the long-postponed letter to Trisha. It was the most difficult letter she had ever written; she tried to word everything carefully to soften the blow, implying an affair without baldly stating it. She had even more misgivings the next day when she gave the envelope to Hector to mail. But it was done, and she was, at least, freed from the guilt of hiding it.

CHAPTER XXV.

Shortly after breakfast on Friday, Luz walked out the front doorway and paused to wait for Hector to join her. The dark sable coat was draped over her arm, the white linen jacket providing sufficient cover for the spring temperature of the pampas. Her glance strayed to the car parked in front of the mammoth gray stone house as Raul stowed the last of their luggage in the trunk. Although she and Rob weren't scheduled to leave for the States until Monday, the polo matches being held this weekend in Buenos Aires made it practical for them to spend their last days in the city.

She heard the door shut and swung her attention back to the gray-haired man with her. He made his awkward-looking turn away from the door and started immediately for the car, as if conscious of the wait she'd already had while he'd maneuvered out of the door and closed it.

"There is still time to change your mind and come to the polo matches with us, Hector." Luz made a last attempt to persuade him as they walked to the car.

"The estancia could not function without me for three days," he insisted, then showed her a mustached smile. "It is the truth."

"I believe you." But she regretted parting from him so soon, and swung around to face him when they reached the car. "I will miss you, Hector-our talks and our rides."

"We will all miss you, Seora Luz. You have filled the house with your 'light.'" His dark eyes seemed more brilliant, fond in their gaze.

Raul joined him, but his attention was centered on the two men digging close to the front foundation of the house. "What are those workers doing?" He frowned.

Smiling, Hector looked at Luz. "They are planting vines. I remember what you said. The next time you come, Seora Luz, those gray stones will have a shawl of green and the house will not look so cold."

The next time you come. The phrase echoed in her mind. She wanted to come back-to Argentina, to the pampas, to the estancia. Hector wanted her to come back. She hoped Raul would, although she tried not to think too far ahead. There was no comment from Raul, regarding either the planting of the vines or Hector's reference to her return. The frown was gone from his face, leaving his features void of expression.

Turning, he opened the pa.s.senger door. "We should leave."

"Goodbye, Hector." She clasped his hand and kissed him on both cheeks.

"In Argentina, we say chau. Too many Italians," Hector said to explain the marked similarity to ciao, thus covering his emotions while he gently squeezed her hand.

"Chau." Luz smiled, then turned to the car, sensing Raul's impatience.

Moving past him, she slid onto the seat and concentrated on arranging the fur coat on her lap while Raul closed the door. Briefly she wished Rob had chosen to ride with them instead of traveling with the other players, although the three of them confined together in a car for nearly four hours might have been a considerable strain. It was natural, she told herself, that Rob would prefer to ride with his friends and fellow players. Sometimes she felt she was being overly sensitive, reading things into his normal moodiness that weren't there.

As Raul climbed into the driver's side, Luz turned and waved to Hector. When they pulled away, her glance took in the austere manor house, the roofs of the stone barns, and the green of the polo fields for the last time. The broad leaves of the eucalyptus trees formed a canopy over the long driveway, casting shadows on the car. The next time you come ... the words came back, and she wondered when that would be.

"Have the horse vans left yet?"

"Nearly an hour ago," Raul replied.

"Rob will probably meet us at the hotel." She glanced at Raul's unsmiling face and noted its brooding look. "Is something wrong?"

"No." His response seemed unusually abrupt. Reaching down, he flipped on the radio and tuned in some music to fill the silence. Frequently, Raul became quiet and introspective prior to a polo match. It was his way of concentrating on game strategy, he had once told her. Luz didn't intrude on his thoughts and soon became lost in her own.

Spring in Buenos Aires fulfilled the promise Luz had seen on her arrival in the country. The jacaranda and paraiso- paradise-trees lining the city streets lavishly adorned the vistas with purple and yellow blossoms. At almost every street corner, there was a flower stall, a vibrant splash of colors as vivid and varied as an artist's palette.

It was infinitely better to gaze out the side windows of the car than to look where they were going, Luz had discovered. She was fairly certain only licensed daredevils drove in the downtown traffic, although Raul seemed unperturbed by the mad changing of lanes by the cars in front or beside him.

Luz recognized the facade of the hotel as Raul drove up to the entrance. After the car rolled to a sensible halt, the uniformed doorman stepped up to open her door, bowing slightly and extending a hand to help her out of the car. She waited on the front steps while the luggage was unloaded from the trunk. Raul said something in Spanish to the doorman, then joined her, his hand gripping her elbow to guide her into the lobby. His expression remained preoccupied, almost grimly so, Luz noticed.