Chapter 8

"Afternoon, querida," Diego walked through the curtain separating the kitchen from the tavern dining room and swept his wife into his arms. Her little squeak of surprise caused an amused chuckle and he reached out to catch the dish she nearly dropped.

Teresa hid a quick smile and returned to her dishes as Diego dropped a quick kiss to his betrothed's lips.

When Diego released his Lady and turned to Teresa, Victoria pouted prettily up at him. "Will you be able to open the tavern after siesta? I've got a few plans for my Lady here and we won't make it back on time."

Teresa smiled demurely and nodded. "Sí, I can take care of it."

Victoria shot a questioning look at her betrothed and chuckled when he reached down and untied the apron from her waist. "Enough for today, mi amor. We're going for a picnic."

"Oh?" Victoria's eyes lit. "In this heat?"

Diego grinned and trailed his fingers down the side of her cheek. "We'll be picnicking in a very cool place."

"Well then," she took his offered arm and he led her out the back door to where Toronado waited anxiously.

"Toronado!" Victoria hadn't seen much of the stallion. When the poor animal was not being bred to every one of Alejandro's mares in heat, he was out running free in the de la Vega pastures.

The stallion snorted and nudged Diego's shoulder. "Yes boy, we're going for a nice, long ride today."

As if in answer, the stallion shook his head. Diego effortlessly lifted Victoria into the saddle and swung up behind her. She settled her back against his chest and closed her eyes. When his arms came down around her and he nudged Toronado on, she arched her neck and pressed a lingering kiss to his jaw.

"It's so beautiful and cool!" Victoria called into the wind. As they'd neared the coast, the wind had become considerably stronger and was now whipping around their bodies as Toronado trotted along the beach.

"Cool, yes," Diego dropped his eyes and favored his wife with a heated look. "Beautiful sits in my arms."

Victoria tilted her head to receive a gentle kiss and nuzzled his neck. She would never tired of hearing such things.

"Three weeks is incredibly difficult, Victoria." He murmured, brushing his cheek against her soft hair.

"I know." Her voice was a wispy sigh that was lost on the wind.

"Moderation in all things, my father is fond of saying." Diego turned Toronado down a small path and regarded Victoria with a longing look. "I don't agree."

Victoria's shoulders began to shake with laughter and he scowled down at her. "This was your idea."

They rode on in silence for a few more minutes until the small path they'd been following ended at a barricade of rock.

"Where are we?" Victoria asked, her eyes scanning the beach behind them and the rocky landscape in front of them.

"There is a small cove concealed between the rocks here, but it overlooks the beach." Diego swung down and lifted Victoria out of the saddle. "It's very beautiful."

"Oh?" Her eyes narrowed curiously. "How did you ever discover this place?"

"My cousin and I discovered this place when we were children. We loved to come here and pretend we were pirates looking for buried treasure." He removed the saddlebags from Toronado's back and slung them over his shoulder. He handed Victoria the thick blanket and smiled wickedly at her.

Victoria's heart skipped a beat when he held out a hand to her and bowed low. How many times had Zorro executed that move with elegant precision? Dios, she was a lucky woman. She slid her hand into his and he squeezed it gently as they wound their way around and up the slight incline between the rocks.

When they reached the cove, Victoria simply stood there in awe.

Diego had been right. The sight was absolutely breathtaking. The crisp, clear blue water lapped at the rocks below as well as the sand-covered beach to their right. The sun was at its zenith now, beating heavily down on them. But the cool ocean breeze prevented it from becoming too hot.

The cove was big enough for someone Diego's height to stand and it was wide enough for several grown men to sleep in if need be.

She spread the blanket at their feet and pulled off her sandals while Diego rummaged through the saddlebags.

"A perfect setting for a picnic, don't you think?"

Victoria simply nodded and settled down onto the blanket, Diego joining her in silence after spreading out the food the de la Vega cook had prepared.

They ate in mostly silence, simply enjoying the sound of the waves as they broke against the rocky shore. When Diego leaned back and opened his arms, Victoria fell into them with a sigh, pillowing her head on his chest.

They hadn't lain this close in weeks and even though the separation was her choice, the desire for him to roll her over and make sweet love to her was so strong that she nearly broke her vow and asked him to do just that.

When she stole a glance at him through her eyelashes, she found him looking at her with a small smile. He simply tightened his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Doubt thou the stars are fire; doubt that the sun doth move; doubt truth to be a liar; but never doubt I love you. I love thee, I love but thee with a love that shall not die. Till the sun grows cold and the stars grow old." The deep husky timbre of his voice caused a shudder to race through her body. She loved the way he quoted poems to her, pulling them out of his mind as if they were written expressly for them and whatever situation they faced.

Her eyes fluttered sleepily and soon the gulls squawking in the air and the water lapping at the shore lulled them into a deep, restful sleep.

When Victoria woke, she stretched languidly against the firm, solid body beneath her cheek. She yawned and arched her neck to find Diego watching her with bright eyes. Her heart somersaulted as she recognized that familiar heated look. She buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes tight.

After a few moments, she murmured. "You understand why I want to wait?"

She could feel his heartbeat quicken beneath her cheek and she flattened her hand against his chest, fingers sliding between the buttons to touch the warm smooth skin.

She felt rather than heard his quick intake of breath at her touch. "Querida. If you wish to keep the promise you made to God, then tempting me like this is not the way to do it."

She smiled against his chest but didn't remove her fingers. "I've sensed a strain, even though you've done well to hide it, and I - I just wanted to make sure you understood."

"I don't." He said simply. It was the truth and something he had pondered over for days after she'd made her decision. Was there something that frightened or scared her by him taking her to his bed? She had given him no indication for the first day after their impromptu betrothal in the plaza.

Her head shot up and her eyes caught his worried look before he could mask it. "I love you so very much. I hope you know that."

A wry grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I thought I did." Diego took a deep breath and continued. "But after your decision, I thought perhaps you regretted your hasty actions that night, or, that I'd done something that made you afraid to share a bed with me."

"Oh, Diego. No." Victoria sighed and reached up to wrap her fingers around her husband's neck. She drew his lips down to hers and kissed him with all the passion her little body held. After a few moments, she pulled away and smiled coyly at him. "The rest will have to wait until our wedding day."

Diego looked up at the rocky ceiling. "We are, essentially, married, Victoria."

"I know, but . . ." she trailed off, but knew she would have to continue so that he truly understood.

He waited impatiently for her to continue by lacing his fingers through her dark hair and rubbing gently.

"I felt so guilty, Diego."

He took a deep breath.

"De Soto had just died, I had just learned your greatest secret. You could have died. I could have died if Felipe hadn't pulled me out of the way of de Soto's blade."

"And you regretted agreeing so quickly to my proposal." It wasn't a question.

"Yes and no."

Diego closed his eyes, feeling dread wash over him.

"I will never regret my decision to marry you." She met his eyes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "The next day, after the funeral, I - I just wanted to make sure that we hadn't done something foolish because of everything that happened."

"And now that you've had nearly two weeks to think about it?" He dreaded her answer but he had to know if her feelings had changed for him.

She pushed herself up to lean on one of her arms, resting her free hand on his chest. Her eyes held a sadness that caused his heart to constrict and he held his breath, waiting for her answer. If she changed her mind now, it would break him.

"Living with you, being your wife for the last two weeks has shown me that there is no place in this world that I would rather be." Her hand slid along his jaw and into his hair. "I think I always knew that I would marry you. It didn't matter where you were. When you were in Spain at the University, I remembered you. Even when I was with Zorro, I wished that he would turn out to be someone like you. My best friend in this world. Even when I slept, you were always dancing along the edge of my dreams."

He smiled then and pulled her into his arms. His hands slid into her hair and tugged her mouth to his. He drank hungrily from her lips, stealing her very breath until they parted from lack of oxygen, panting heavily.

"We should go, querida, lest your betrothed force you to break your vow."

"You wouldn't," She breathed.

"Do you doubt me?"

She laughed, remembering with frustrating delight that one morning when he could have taken anything he wished from her willing body and she wouldn't have stopped him. "No, I believe you could render me whimpering and helpless beneath you at any time."

He grinned and got to his feet, pulling her up with him. "That goes both ways, querida."

They embraced wordlessly as the setting sun blazed down on them, casting their skin in a yellowish hue. As an afterthought, Diego whispered against her ear. "I expect to be repaid in kind for that morning. I beg of you that it not be our wedding night."

Victoria's delighted laugh echoed off the rocks and into the wind-swept sky.

TBC