Free Catch Me in Castile by Kimberley Troutte Page B

smart, sensitive, and courageous. But he saw something else behind those deep honey eyes that scared him. Every now and then he caught a flash of anguish, a twist of her pain, buried deep in her psyche.
    It ate at him. He wasn’t good at sitting idly by while a beautiful woman was tortured before his eyes. And why she kept looking over her shoulder was beyond him. Hallucinations? Post-traumatic disorder?
    Damn it! What happened to her?
    Don’t get involved , he warned himself. I can’t fix her .
    Besides, he had more than enough problems to worry about. No, he had to squelch the firestorm spreading through his veins. For both their sakes.
    But when her lips met his…
    Dear God, when she kissed him electricity sparked through his nervous system and lightning struck his heart. It was as if he’d been zapped by the hospital’s defibrillator. His mind was five seconds behind, trying to comprehend the situation. And when her tongue ran across his bottom lip, slowly, sensually… mierda , he had to learn how to breathe all over again.
    Erin Carter was a force of nature, unlike anything he’d ever seen. Lord help him, he wanted to seize the lightning in his fists and dive headlong into the storm.

    Pulling back slowly, still inches from his lips, I asked, “Any more questions?”
    I was thrilled to see the dangerous sparkle in his eyes. “What questions?” He rose quickly and offered his hand. “Dance with me.”
    Happy all the way down to my little dancing toes, I took his hand. As if on cue, the band played a slow song and someone dimmed the lights. We rocked slowly to the music. Delicious heat spread through me when he turned his head toward mine and gazed deeply into my eyes.
    I thought we were floating on a cloud until the corner of my eye caught a glimpse of “beautiful red hair”.
    Great, here comes hospital gal-pal, Helena.
    I ground my back molars together and warned myself not to get suckered. If he had something even remotely serious going on with Helena, I should walk away…right…now. I stopped dancing.
    “You okay?”
    “I really shouldn’t get in the middle of…” I looked around and Helena was gone. Funny, Santiago hadn’t paid any attention to her at all. Walk away now, I warned myself. N-o-w. “…the dance floor, it’s pretty crowded.” My legs simply refused to listen to logic.
    “Need fresh air?” he asked.
    “Absolutely.” Funny, how easy it was to walk away from the dance floor with him. Traitorous legs.
    He grabbed two flute glasses and led me toward the French doors.
    “On the balcony?” I croaked.
    He stretched his hand toward me. “The view of Salamanca is amazing. Especially when it’s this clear.” His gaze raked over me. “And beautiful.”
    I took his hand in mine and stepped haltingly over the threshold. He was right. It was beautiful, in a gut-wrenching sort of way.
    Fear slid into my chest and gripped my heart. I fought back against the panic attack. I was suddenly afraid of heights? How had that happened? I’d scaled Half Dome in college, for heaven’s sake.
    Don’t go crazy, don’t go crazy…
    I flattened myself against the wall, miles from the edge of the balcony. He leaned against the wall too. Turned on his side, his shoulder rested against the smooth stucco. His lips were tantalizingly close.
    Tipping his glass toward mine, he toasted, “ Amigos nuevos .”
    “New friends.” Our glasses clinked together. A slight breeze cooled the heat on my face. Tiny white lights twinkled all around us. I started to feel calmer with my back to the wall. “Thank you so much for throwing this party.”
    “My pleasure. I enjoy being with you.”
    “Really?”
    “Fun, smart, beautiful.” He tapped the tip of my nose lightly with his index finger. “What’s not to like?”
    From inside the house the first few notes played of “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias.
    I pressed my palms against Santiago’s chest and feigned melting. “I love this song.”
    He took the glass