Author's Note: Alright, so finally here you go. This is the section I struggled with so much. I hope it flows well, and I hope you enjoy the character development. We dive back into a little heat, but I don't think this chapter is worse than my 3 words story in terms of rating.

zzz

Diego pressed his lips against hers, barely brushing over her lips before kissing her cheek. He put a finger under her chin to kiss her more thoroughly, pulling her closer when her fingers threaded into his hair. His hand smoothed over her back, smiling against her lips when she gasped.

"Your rules," he reminded her, raising one eyebrow in challenge. He gave her an innocent kiss on the nose as his hands lifted her soft bottom.

Victoria tried to catch her breath, wondering if she'd been too hasty with her permissions. "It's different out of the water."

"Worse?" Diego smiled broadly, lifting her up for a bone-melting kiss. "Or better?"

Victoria's head was spinning, and she couldn't look away from his lips. He held perfectly still, still cupping her intimately. When she didn't answer, Diego's hand squeezed gently, just once … then smoothed over her hip to her knee. "You didn't give me any rules about your legs." His hand felt huge as stroked his hand back up her thigh, taking his time as she trembled, holding her captive in his gaze.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you were? Standing in front of the ocean, the sun setting behind you, showing me all of your curves." Diego nibbled at her bottom lip, his tongue teasing at something more intimate. His hand caressed her hip, around to her stomach, touching the curve of her waist as he showed her what he enjoyed. His hands smoothed over her bottom again, cupping her to lift her against him for a chaste kiss considering what his hands were doing.

"I wish you would never wear a skirt again. Never hide your body from me again." He found her hip again, pressing closer, his hand smoothing over the inside of her thigh and she couldn't breathe. Her mind felt fuzzy, and she had no clue what she wanted.

Diego saw her faltering, saw the panic pushing at the desire he saw in her eyes. He moved his hand before she could push him away and add more rules. "I could give you that foot rub." Diego kissed her burning cheek, held her innocently for a moment hoping she would calm down.

He patted her knee when he found his voice. "Switch places. We're still missing the sunset. And I need to talk to you."

Once again, Diego moved with a grace and strength which made her eyes pop as he sat her against the blankets. He sat across from her and pulled her feet into his lap, one of his legs stretched out next to hers. He brushed at the sand on her feet, then took a wet cloth and gently ran it over her skin.

Victoria was still floating, her brain struggling to recognize the blankets at her back, the uneven sand beneath her hands. When he kissed her ankle, Victoria could see the goose bumps, could feel his touch everywhere on her body. The world didn't exist except where he touched her, and she couldn't hear the ocean because she only wanted to hear his voice. She felt completely melted, and struggled to find the strength to sit up, to decide if she wanted to pull her ankle out of his grip.

She glanced at his leg, bare below the knee. She knew he was relaxed, that the muscles beneath the soft hair were hidden while he focused on her. Her leg still looked delicate and fragile beside his. Her hand ran over her own thigh where his fingers had gone, trying to wipe away the fog and instead remembering the heat that had flashed through her…

Maybe a foot rub was a bad idea…

In spite of her unease, Victoria leaned back as he held up her foot. Maybe she wanted to see what he would do. She'd never had a foot rub before. She never imagined toes would be seen as sexy. Victoria laughed at the absurdity.

Diego dug his thumbs into the base of her foot, and the laugh caught in her throat. Relaxing became easier as Diego's hands worked magic on her feet.

"I like that smile," Diego said before he concentrated on her toes. Tonight was going to be the best night of his life. "There's a hot spring north of the hacienda. Even has a little waterfall nearby. It's not the ocean, but it's a nice place to relax. We can go there whenever you want. When you're pregnant, you won't have to lift a finger. I'll treat you like a queen, I promise."

Victoria grinned. "Only when I'm pregnant?"

Diego shook his head and kissed her ankle again. The warmth lingered, spreading over her foot and up her leg. "Always."

Victoria took a deep breath, determined to remain in control. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Diego's fingers stilled on her foot briefly and he avoided her eyes.

Victoria shook her foot in his hand to get his attention. "You're the one who brought it up."

"Promise you won't be mad."

Victoria's fingers dug into the blanket beneath her as she narrowed her eyes at her husband. That didn't sound good. "Why will I be mad?"

"You shouldn't be…" Diego still didn't meet her eyes.

Victoria tugged, wanting her leg back.

Diego held onto her foot, capturing the other and holding both in his lap. "What you said this morning … I kept it a secret from everyone. My father knows." Diego's hands wrapped around her ankles and he hoped to come up with some brilliant excuses in the next few seconds. "There's no conference in Monterey."

Victoria's eyebrows shot up, but she said nothing for several moments. "Are we going to Monterey?"

Diego released his hold on her ankles and lifted one foot to begin the massage again. He focused all his attention on her delicate toes for a moment. "Yes. I figure we will stay here a few more days, until you're ready to travel." Until he was ready to let her leave the bedroom. "We can stop and spend the night so we don't have to sleep in the carriage, like I was going to."

Diego caught her eyes again, and had to clear his throat to shake the images which popped up in his mind of camping with his wife. "There's a waterfall about half-way. We could swim in the cove if you wanted." His massage turned into a soft caress, his fingers smoothing over her ankle and higher. He looked up when he felt her flinch, as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to pull her leg away or not. Diego smiled at her red face, kissed the ball of her foot and resumed his massage.

"In Monterey we'll stay with my father's old commander. That was already arranged, I'm sorry. Our hasty marriage might not be received well, but my father said he would send word. I think you heard him trying to set me up with this man's daughter. I have no idea why … my father didn't like him very much. If you don't like it, we'll take a room at the inn or stay with the governor."

The governor! What kind of man had she married? To drop in unannounced on the governor of such a large city?

It meant he was the best of men … but still Victoria swallowed. One room. Diego couldn't arrive in Monterey with a wife who demanded separate quarters.

She'd been a fool yesterday, imagining another trip with her friend who took a room across the hall. This wasn't an overnight trip to Santa Paula with a friend. She glanced out over the vast ocean, once again feeling lost and overwhelmed. Maybe they had different ideas about waiting until she was ready.

"I don't know this family. Sometimes people can be …" Diego examined her foot closely before setting it in his lap to lift the other. "People can say things without thinking. I don't mean to make people angry, but my father puts ideas in peoples' heads."

Diego glanced up at Victoria's distracted chuckle. She'd been witness to many of the times Diego had had to fend off unwanted advances. "You mean women and their fathers are upset when you don't fall at their feet and beg them to marry you."

Diego grinned with a shrug of his shoulders. "They weren't you. Why would I marry them?" Diego's hand stroked over the bottom of her foot again, but now Victoria hardly felt it.

Her thoughts were chaotic, a jumbled mess. Diego said he'd loved her for a long time, even that he'd wanted to marry her for over a year. He said it so casually, as if she had no reason to question it. He never even hinted at love before yesterday. Suddenly he wanted to marry her. It had to be today, right now. Because of a conference, which was a weak excuse at best … but the conference did not exist. The Diego she knew was gentle, passive, always buried in books. He got excited about science, not breasts! Now this bookish man was larger than life. He never used his size to intimidate her, but he never let her forget he was there, waiting on her. Always touching her, demanding more, wanting her in his bed.

Why make up the conference? Why drag her to Monterey? Victoria shook her head, still unsure about the events—or lack of events—leading to their hasty marriage. "So we're staying with people who will be jealous," Victoria understood, still bogged down by her thoughts. It turned out his thoughts mirrored her own. Even he knew people wouldn't accept her as his wife. So why rush things? "People who won't approve of your marriage to someone so obviously beneath your rank."

Victoria sucked in a breath as in the blink of an eye Diego was kneeling over her, her feet forgotten as his hands planted in the blanket beside her waist. She watched a muscle tick in his jaw, his eyes glittering with what might be anger. She leaned away, not afraid … just stunned by this raw passion Diego showed so often now. She never knew, and she was having a hard time adjusting to it.

"All this time, from the beginning … we have been friends. You attended parties at my home. I spent countless hours in the tavern with you. We worked on the newspaper together. Have I ever made you feel as if you were beneath me?"

Victoria tried to slow her racing heart, and one hand came up to rest on his shoulder. She felt the tension in him, felt the flex of his muscles beneath her hand. Deep inside, she liked this possessive Diego. Never in her life had she felt so desired, so loved. It confused her, but she believed him. Her breath was shallow as she shook her head, unable to speak because Diego was stealing all her air.

Diego's head fell as he tried to get hold of himself. This constant trying to prove his love while not touching her was taking him apart piece by piece. Far away from Los Angeles, it was supposed to be easier. Marriage was supposed to remove the boundaries, let him be finally free to show her how much he loved her. Instead, he'd tied his own hands by giving her the choice.

His eyes opened to an up-close view of the buttons she'd undone when he wasn't looking in the water. She confused him. Why had she done that if she didn't want him to touch her? Arch her body into his and then push him away? Her breath was shallow even now, when he wasn't touching her at all.

He lifted his head to take her mouth, hungry, insistent, his tongue thrusting inside as his hand tangled in her hair to hold her still. She gasped against his lips, but then she was kissing him back. Her arms reached up to wrap around his shoulders as his mouth slanted over hers again, his thumb stroking her jaw. When she made a sound deep in her throat, his arm weakened, curled around her back, pulling her even closer. The blankets behind her moved out of his way easily so he could lay her flat and fit his body to hers.

The feel of her soft breasts pressed into his chest had him kissing her again, encouraging her passion, demanding her surrender. Victoria responded, deepening the kiss all on her own. Again she moved against him, teasing, begging for something she'd refused him. He loved feeling her fingers in his hair … her soft body cradling his. He fell deeper into her, wanting to get closer as his leg fell between hers and the rest of the world faded away.

He remembered her damn rules. His wife's rules.

He knew rules could be bent.

He forced himself to pull away, catching his breath and speaking her name against her lips. His hand smoothed up from her waist, pushing against the boundary she'd set then begged him to cross. Waiting, hoping even as she arched her back in complaint when he lifted his chest from hers.

Instead, he felt her tense because he had given her a chance to catch her breath. Her fists clenched in his shirt, and her knees tried to come up, pushing him away. Diego rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he forced his legs off to the side and his fist clenched in the blanket beneath her with a growl of frustration.

What was he doing wrong? She admitted she liked his body. She responded to him. Even now he could see her arousal. He rolled onto his back, refusing to let her go, pulling her on top of him.

"Or I could be beneath you." His hand cupped her neck to bring her down for a kiss before she could sit up, and he gentled his grip even as he insisted. She didn't kiss him back, her hands still tight fists instead of touching him. Was it really too much to hope she might touch him without him begging?

Diego knocked his head on the hard sand as fantasies fell in pieces around him. "Tell me what I'm doing wrong."

After a moment of silence, Diego opened his eyes to see Victoria's astonishment. At what? At him? She knew he wanted her. At herself? Every time he kissed her she lit on fire. Why did she keep pulling away?

He twisted his body, and she fell off of him onto the blanket with a muffled sound of surprise.

"Watch the sunset, Victoria." He didn't look at her as he helped her lay on her side in front of him, facing the vast ocean. His arm wrapped tight around her waist to hold her against him when she tried to find some space. "Stay still. I'm not attacking you. Watch the sunset."

Victoria watched the last slivers of light kiss the waves. He had done nothing wrong. He was right to be angry. She loved his taste, loved how she felt when he kissed her so passionately. She even liked feeling his body on top of hers … until she didn't. She tried to listen to Alicia's passionate words in her head, but still other voices intruded. Passion turned wicked. Comfort turned suffocating. Fire turned to ice.

She felt the cool air slide over her as Diego moved away less than a minute later. After a moment, she looked over her shoulder to see him lying on his back. For the first time since she'd come out on the beach, he wasn't trying to touch her.

She turned her body to face him, cursing herself when she put more space between them. She was afraid of what he would do … or maybe she was only afraid of the voices in her head. She never let the men who said those nasty things ruin her day. She never let any of it be true. Why was she letting them in now? Insults whispered behind her back or propositions posed directly to her face were still not true. She was attracted to one man: her husband.

The way Diego held her was completely different than a stranger's unwelcome touch, she just had to remember that. If Diego wanted the same things … but he didn't. Diego was not trying to use or abuse her – he respected and loved her.

His body was still tense, but his harsh breathing gradually calmed as he scrubbed his face and tugged at his hair. She told herself to reach out for him, but hesitated when his hands fisted again. She sat up straight when he reached into his pants, but it was over before she could protest.

"Don't look at me like that," Diego growled. "It hurts. I have to ..." His voice faded to a grumble, but then he stood and stalked away.

The sun was barely a glow on the horizon, but Diego stared out over the water into the growing darkness. The breeze picked up and Victoria shivered, but she didn't think it was from the wind.

She grabbed a blanket and carefully approached him. When he didn't turn, she unfolded the blanket and reached up to drape it over his back. He eventually took the edges, pulling the blanket close around his shoulders. She took the few steps to stand in front of him, but he didn't move. Victoria glanced around the empty beach, then crossed her arms when the wind blew. She poked a toe at a shell mostly buried in the sand and hugged herself tighter.

"It's a big blanket," Victoria offered.

Finally, she looked up at him, but it was another moment before he met her eyes.

"Diego, it was only yesterday that you said you loved me." Her feelings confused her, and she didn't understand, much less know how to make him understand. "You're the only man I know who never talked rudely about women. Now you're…" Victoria fell silent. He wasn't behaving like those men in her past, she had to remember that. "Everything has changed for me. My head hasn't stopped spinning since yesterday morning."

He really wasn't going to answer her. She looked down at her feet, trying to think of what she could say. She found another shell and started digging with her other toe.

Her shoulders relaxed when he stepped forward and wrapped her in his blanket, pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sought out his heartbeat again.

"Everything has changed for me, too." Diego's chin rested on top of her head as he continued watching the horizon. "All of a sudden I have a wife. I've always been a private man. Now I'm supposed to be a good husband. Take care of you."

Victoria chuckled against his chest, and Diego's face cracked a small smile. His hands moved up to stroke her hair. "No matter what, you're my responsibility. I want to take care of you."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and his arms wrapped around her again as some of his tension started to release. "You're not the only one who had different ideas about courtship and weddings."

Victoria grinned. "Oh really? Not romantic enough for you?"

Diego smiled. "Well, you didn't wake up one morning and rush into my arms, knowing you couldn't live another day without me."

Victoria pulled away, pushing away her surprise to grin at him. "Disappointed?"

Diego shrugged. "Not really. I got to sweep you off your feet. Be the hero for once."

Victoria kept her smile in place, because now it was harder to remember the hero he was talking about. "I think you are my hero." Victoria couldn't hold his eyes, and turned to look out over the ocean, keeping his arms around her. "I might be a little slow, but you're showing me what a relationship means. How it feels to be loved. I've never had that before."

Diego's arms tightened around her, and Victoria tilted her head when he bent to her neck. It was a long moment before he spoke again. "Two months ago you almost died in my arms." Victoria shivered as his hand pressed over her scar. "My nightmares have shown me what my life would be like without you in it."

Victoria reached up to tug the blanket closer. Maybe she should have seen it then. The fear and concern on Diego's face, the hours and days he must have spent at her bedside.

"Forgive me if I rushed you." Diego turned her around, wrapping his hands around her neck to lift her eyes to his. "Now you've married me. I'm jealous. I'm greedy. I want it all. I still want you to be crazy about me. I'm not angry with you. I'll always love you … please forgive me if get ..."

Diego pulled her close so he didn't have to meet her eyes. "I want to be loved, too. I'm not perfect, but I'm not a bad man, am I?"

Victoria shook her head against his chest as she squeezed her arms tighter around him.

"So maybe I'm a little ahead of you. I think you want me..." Diego sighed and skimmed his hands up and down her back, his touch barely there through the blanket. "… but then you don't."

They held each other in silence, and Victoria peeked around him to see a few gulls fighting over their crumbs. If he wanted her to love him, why did he keep everything secret?

She needed to understand, which meant he owed her answers. "You told me about the conference two weeks ago."

Diego glanced over her shoulder, then back at the remains of their picnic. "Will you sit with me? I'll tell you."

Victoria nodded, letting him tuck her under his arm as they walked back toward the blanket. Diego knelt to arrange their seating arrangements, and sat down next to the pile he'd obviously arranged for her. She sat down close to him, and he wrapped the blanket back over their shoulders. She took his hand, and they sat silently and enjoyed the sound of the ocean.

Victoria felt his thumb stroking the back of her hand, and knew he was trying to be noble. He was right, she didn't touch him. Smiling to herself, she released his hand. Once again, the blankets and picnic basket were tossed out of the way. Victoria laughed a bit as she worked on maneuvering herself behind him. It was harder than she imagined, but she figured she should take advantage of wearing pants. It was still indecent … but many of things they'd done today had been indecent.

She had second thoughts … and third and fourth as she grabbed the back of his shirt to keep her balance. After a bit of grunting and a little laughter, she spread her legs around his and wrapped her arms around his chest. It wasn't quite the same ... but at least she'd made the effort.

Diego chuckled as he turned to look at her over his shoulder, covering her hands on his stomach. She pressed her forehead between his shoulder blades in embarrassment for a moment, then peeked around his giant back. His shoulders hardly tucked beneath her chin. Her arms wrapped around him, but she didn't feel like she was wrapping him in the cocoon of warmth he'd held her in earlier. Her feet barely reached his knees. She wiggled them, amused at her brilliant failure.

Diego grinned, and Victoria somehow tugged him back so she could kiss him. "You're pretty big, you know that?"

Diego dropped his hand onto her foot, his arm casually caressing her bare leg. She wiggled her foot again in his hand, and found she didn't mind so much. She protested when he lifted it up onto his thigh, but this time, she was playing with him.

Diego ran a fingertip up the center of her foot and she squealed. "There a problem with that?"

Victoria rested her head against his back, then moved a hand up to feel for his heartbeat. His casual grasp on her foot essentially held her captive, the angle of her leg not quite uncomfortable. His size did scare her, but her sudden imbalance in life scared her more. She wouldn't lie and tell him it wasn't a problem, but she would work on it. While she did that, she'd try to be more honest. "I like feeling your heartbeat. Listening to it. I'm not sure why that should be comforting to me."

She squeezed him, this time not thinking about how solid he was, not letting his strength intimidate her. "I like that you're big, I just need to get used to it." Victoria pulled her hands away, then smoothed her hands up his back, pressing against his shoulder blades and reaching to massage his shoulders. He was solid everywhere, so she needed to get over that quickly.

She felt the stretch in her legs, recognized her thoughts going places she'd rather them not go, and decided she'd pushed herself enough. "Though this isn't very comfortable." She grinned against a shoulder blade. "Can't imagine why you wanted to sit like this."

Diego laughed. "You're softer." He swatted her foot off his leg so he could pull away and sit on his knees in front of her.

Victoria mirrored his position, putting her hands on his shoulders. His hands found her waist, and she told herself to enjoy the compliment. She reached up to smooth his hair into some sort of order. "Your hair is a mess."

Diego lifted a frizzy string of her own curls with a chuckle. "Want to see a mirror?" Victoria gasped, covering her hair and leaning away.

Diego tightened his hands around her waist and brought her close. "It doesn't matter if your hair gets messy. If you have morning breath or steal all the covers at night. If you're all red and blotchy with a cold, if you're covered in mud or throw something at me when you're angry one day." Diego ruffled her hair, then set it back to rights, finishing with a gentle, lingering kiss. "You will always tempt me beyond reason."

Holding her close, Diego pressed his forehead to hers. "When we're old and grey, if you have to use a cane, if I can no longer carry you out of the ocean … I will still love you."

Victoria felt the ground shift beneath her again. "You do have a way with words." She shook her head to clear it. He kept avoiding the subject. Victoria sat on the blanket, tugging him down beside her and lifting his hand into her lap to hold him captive. "You keep saying you're going to explain yourself. What was the big secret? Why did you tell everyone you were going to a conference? Why didn't you tell me …"

"… that I love you?" Diego finished when she trailed off.

Victoria laced their fingers together so she wouldn't pull away. "Yes."

"It wasn't a big conspiracy."

"You said that before, and still you haven't explained. You told me there was an academic conference. You used it to push me into marriage. I think I deserve to know."

Diego shrugged a shoulder, and Victoria sat away from him to watch his eyes.

"I didn't want people speculating about my trip, so I made something up. Sorry if I used you. You listen when I talk about my experiments. Your eyes light up when I talk about science. You liked the switch I made, didn't you?" He reached a hand toward her cheek, but dropped it when she raised an eyebrow. "I needed a reason to go to Monterey. If it happened to give me more of your attention, all the better. If I was planning to show off my invention, maybe you would keep working on it with me. No one else ever pays attention to my experiments."

Victoria dropped her eyes, knowing he was right.

"I missed you when you left the hacienda," Diego continued. "I was going to miss you when I left. It was my first trip since you were shot."

Some of the tension left Victoria's shoulders, and she leaned back on her hands and stretched out her legs. It was a new feeling to be missed. Of course she'd missed him. She missed her father, her brothers, a few friends who had left her behind. No one missed her.

Diego's hands folded into his lap and he shrugged one shoulder, as if he were embarrassed by this admission above all the others. Victoria didn't let herself look away. "I missed you, too."

Diego's grin was innocent and sweet, and Victoria felt another flutter in her chest. He was right about them. She did consider Diego to be her closest friend besides Alicia. She didn't have other friends. She worked. She fought. She counted herself lucky to have Diego's friendship, and it was enough.

She never looked at a man with interest until Zorro … but that was a lie. She had looked at Diego.

Nothing had ever come close to coming between her and the tavern she loved. After a few weeks living in Diego de la Vega's house, sharing meals with him, listening to him read fantastic stories, sitting across the gaming table from him… Maybe that was why she had latched onto Zorro last year: she knew nothing could ever develop between them. Their rumored affair kept the pushy men away, helped her to live in peace with her friends and her tavern, and helped her forget what she was missing.

She had not missed the tavern while she stayed at the hacienda. She had known she would miss Diego when she went back to her life. When she had healed, when Alejandro had talked of her returning to the tavern … she'd jumped a stranger in a mask. She had ignored his surprise, had pushed them both, had desperately grabbed for anything to make her forget.

When she knew her friend Diego was leaving her for two weeks, she'd proposed marriage to that same stranger – Diego's complete opposite, the man she'd convinced herself she loved.

She wasn't as brave as Diego, though. Caring for someone wasn't something that she could admit so easily, especially when she'd hid from her feelings for so long. It was a new treasure she'd uncovered, fragile and delicate.

How did he go from hiding his feelings to demanding an immediate marriage? She admitted there were feelings. They were distracting her. She wanted to believe in them … "Why are you going to Monterey? Why am I here?"

Diego stretched his own legs out behind her, then put his hand on the other side of her legs to lean instead of sit properly. He didn't ask, didn't apologize as he moved to sit opposite her, his leg right up against hers. She could feel the heat of his fingers beneath her calf, watched the muscles in his arm flex as he settled himself to touch as much of her as he could without technically holding her.

Was it back to this then? Victoria frowned.

"I'm going to Monterey to meet with the magistrate."

That was the last thing she'd ever expected him to say, and it was enough to distract her from the touching. "The magistrate?"

Diego nodded. "There's a new one, recently arrived from Spain. My father and I sent letters to the king."

There was power behind the De la Vega name, and Diego was a smart man who knew how to use it. Quietly, without stirring trouble. "What are you going to talk to the magistrate about?"

"I'm going to get rid of the alcalde."

A cold wind blew across her damp clothes, and sea gulls chased each other up and down the beach, unaware of Diego's crazy declaration.

"That easy?" Diego grinned and squeezed her legs, and once again Victoria narrowed her eyes. Couldn't he talk to her without touching her?

"Well, it wasn't going to be, but now I'll have you with me." Diego smiled, but she didn't return it. He nodded. "It won't be easy. It might be dangerous. I don't know this man. He might even accuse me of treason if I say our government is corrupt," here Diego paused, and all traces of the lighthearted grin disappeared. "… and that an outlaw deserves a pardon."

Diego watched her, but Victoria didn't look away. She'd learned a lot about herself today. A pardon for Zorro meant surprisingly little to her. Maybe it would have meant something to her three months ago, but not now. She hoped Zorro would understand, so she could embrace this new life Diego was offering her.

"Did you hear me?"

"He deserves a pardon. If you find a good alcalde, he'll disappear. He shouldn't have to live with a reward on his head because of the people he's helped."

"And after Zorro is pardoned?"

Victoria shook her head. "It has nothing to do with us."

"Us?" Diego dared to hope…

She owed him this. "You know Alicia always said you spent a lot of time in my tavern."

"Did she? And here I thought I was being subtle."

"You were. Too subtle," Victoria half smiled before she caught herself. She wished he'd be more subtle now. She wiggled her feet, but Diego didn't release her. Maybe it was just as well. Let it all out, be completely honest. She cared about him. He'd married her. She would let him do whatever he wanted with her legs, or anything else. Alicia would approve, at least. "She thinks I used Zorro to protect myself."

Diego heard a strange ringing in his ears, felt something squeezing the breath out of his chest. "Used Zorro?"

Victoria missed the pained note in his voice. "Grabby men left me alone when they thought an outlaw had a claim on me. I wasn't looking for a husband. Alicia thought I chased Zorro because I couldn't have you. She was probably right."

Now it was Diego's thoughts which were in chaos. He'd asked himself a million times what she loved about Zorro. She didn't know him. He worried she would be disappointed when she found out, would be angry.

Victoria had kissed Zorro – after a month at Diego's hacienda. Kissed him with and without the mask … on the same day. What kind of woman did that?

"So you kissed Zorro because you were afraid to care for me? Lied to Zorro because you needed protection?"

Victoria's throat threatened to close up. It sounded so cold and calculating when he said it. She turned to him, but he was focused on his hands in his lap. She hadn't even noticed him pull away from her. She pulled his hands out of her way and moved until she leaned into him, one hand wrapping around his waist, the other cupping his cheek to make him meet her eyes. "That's not what I was saying."

Diego glanced around as if waking from a dream. "Are you ready to go inside? We should pack up before it gets any darker."

"Diego."

Diego covered her hand on his cheek and then patted her arm as he reached over to pick up the picnic basket, ignoring her. Victoria intercepted it, pulling it out of his hand and tossing it out of his reach.

"Diego, don't assume you know everything. You don't know what it's like to be alone in the world."

"Your brothers –"

"My brothers … where are they? You can't blame me for being flattered because a nice man gives me a rose once in a while … even if he wears a mask."

He gave her roses once in a while. Nice that he was able to flatter her. So much for the great romance of Los Angeles. Either way, as either man, he couldn't win. Maybe would never win.

"You can stop being jealous."

"I'm not jealous."

Victoria started to smile, but Diego didn't look jealous now. Victoria came to her knees, put pressure on his shoulders to keep him from stalking off again. "Zorro told me he cared about me. I imagined he had the same worries I did. He had to fight to survive, just as I did."

Always Zorro. "Because wealthy landowners don't have to bother with fighting?" Did she really have such a problem with his station?

"I had to protect myself, Diego. You said it yourself: Men like you don't marry women like me."

"I just did." Diego's hand squeezed hers a little harder than necessary, his eyes glittering with something she didn't quite recognize.

Victoria tugged her hand out of his grip, then covered his hand more gently. "Why? After all this time?"

Diego glanced away with an angry exhale. "Well, subtle doesn't get your attention, does it? Now I may be just another grabby man, but you are bought and paid for."

Diego focused on his anger as he watched the color drain from her face. She sat back on her heels, then stretched across the blanket to grab the picnic basket.

He didn't want to fight with her … he didn't want to doubt her. He wanted her to love him. The scientist, the caballero, the landowner. Would he ever get that? Something just for himself?

"Victoria … "

She stopped packing the basket, sat back on her heels in front of him. She didn't look up. Diego wasn't cruel. She must have hurt him so deeply, so many times. She owed him so much, so many apologies. How could she deny him anything?

"I couldn't stand it anymore. If I was jealous of Zorro, it's because I was jealous of everyone who got to spend time with you. You say you're alone in the world … but the entire pueblo loves you. I even think Ramone … " Diego shook his head. "But me? Not even my father cares." Diego barely stroked the back of one hand, but didn't attempt to touch her again.

"You know we've danced together seven times? In Madrid, people would talk. Here, people think you're taking pity on foolish Diego."

Finally, she looked up at him with a shake of her head.

"Funny how two people can see things so differently?" He reached up to her cheek, but stopped before he touched her. "You never saw me, even when we danced. You like my inventions, but I'm not man enough, remember?" He watched the memory surface in her eyes while he tried to forget it himself. "I saw a chance and I took it. I thought if I got you out of Los Angeles and away from everything, you might see me as a man. As someone you might grow to love."

Diego smoothed out the blanket, not sure how to apologize for saying such a cruel thing when she was so fragile. He never thought of her as fragile, though, and he was only human. He didn't expect her to jump into bed with him last night, but … He had never been more confused in his life. If he was doing something wrong, if she didn't like him at all, she wouldn't be so responsive. It was almost as if she could forget who he was up to a certain point … and once again Diego de la Vega wasn't good enough.

"I didn't buy you, you know that. I'm sorry. Subtle wasn't working. If I wanted a chance with you, I had to get you away from … " Diego ran his fingers through his hair. "Did you even notice I've been at your tavern every day since you left the hacienda?"

Victoria picked at her fingernails and hoped he didn't need an answer, but the silence stretched. She mumbled something, but Diego lifted her chin when he didn't hear her.

"I tried not to notice," Victoria repeated. "I spent the last month trying to forget what a wonderful man you were. Having feelings for you would hurt too much."

Diego came to his knees again, reaching for her hands with renewed hope. "You were having feelings for me?"

"I was," Victoria defended herself, looking down at their hands as she laced their fingers together. "I am. I already admitted I missed you."

Diego enjoyed the moment, took a cleansing breath and tried to put the past behind them. "So you forgive me for lying to you?"

Victoria nodded, lifting their joined hands to kiss the back of his. Maybe it was easier to discover things together, after they were already joined in marriage. When you couldn't run away and leave things so confused. "Yes." She smiled to break the tension. "People would have talked. Months of ceremony, planning a big wedding which I wouldn't have wanted."

Victoria sat back on the blanket, tugging him down next to her. "I did notice. Did you notice I stopped serving you?"

Diego squeezed her hand with an emphatic "Yes."

Victoria smiled. "Alicia wouldn't shut up about you, either. Diego wants this and Diego said that and Diego asked how you were doing …"

Victoria remembered peeking through the curtain at him, too, wondering if he would ask about her – knowing he always did. "You were injured, too. Last year, remember?"

Diego didn't remember for a moment, but then smiled at the memory of Ramone's face at Zorro's funeral. He squeezed her gently, then tilted her so he could see her face.

"You took care of me."

"I didn't do much." Her fingers traced his upper lip. "You saved my life."

"I was terrified I was going to lose you. I didn't want to go after the bullet, but you wouldn't stop bleeding."

Victoria knew he'd been worried about making a mistake. "It wouldn't have been your fault. Or Zorro's fault." Diego had been so angry. "Forgive him. Try for his pardon because you're a good man. Then forget him."

Diego tried to straighten her hair, and Victoria turned pink as she reached up to try to smooth out the frizzes. A smile spread across Diego's face, and Victoria folded her hands back into her lap. "You don't care if my hair is messy."

"I love your hair."

Victoria couldn't say anything about it, because the way he was looking at her made her feel beautiful.

"I liked having you in my home."

"Did I beat you at chess, or did you let me win?"

Diego let out a silent chuckle. "Does it matter?"

Victoria crossed her arms, but she didn't look very fierce cradled in his lap. "Then I demand a rematch."

"I think that could be arranged." Diego shook her a little. "I thought you didn't like chess."

Victoria shrugged, settling into him again. "I changed my mind."

Diego started to lean to the side, but Victoria's fists clenched in his shirt before her back hit the blanket. Diego straightened with a small grunt of frustration, then sat her up so she had to look at him. "So you didn't think you would like chess, but once you gave in and played a game, you liked it?"

Victoria's mouth dropped open. "Are you comparing chess to—"

Diego watched her sputter. "To what?"

Diego chuckled and let her off the hook, helping them both to stand. "Well, we are both healthy and happy now …" Diego glanced at her and was relieved by her nod. "There's no sense in dwelling on the past."

He tossed everything best he could into the basket, except for the robe, which he held for her to step into. He gave her the final blanket, picked up the basket, and they walked hand-in-hand back toward the inn.

Zzz

Author's Note 2: Hours and hours of blood and sweat and tears (rewrites) went into this section for your approval. If I made you smile, please review.