Now that his presentation was over, the groups disbanded and she handed her silver cup to Lorenzo, who would be staying to talk to the officials.
He smiled at her. “I’ll see you at the entrance in an hour?”
“That’s perfect. Thank you!”
In a quiet voice he said, “I know why you’ve always been so excited to ride in every concorso possible, and I’ve kept a blind eye. Have fun, but be careful and remember—you’ve been promised to Prince Arnaud. Need I remind you that the Rossianos and the Montedoros have been in a feud over trade rights for two hundred years. If your parents ever find out about you and Prince Enrico...”
“Don’t worry. I’m always careful and I know you won’t tell.” None of his warnings bothered her a bit. She was excited to be with Enrico. They loved being together whenever they could, especially knowing it was forbidden by their two families.
Now was her chance to get away and be alone with him. She started walking her horse toward the stable, knowing he would catch up.
“Donetta?”
She trembled as that seductive voice did unexpected things to her, but she didn’t want people to know she was waiting for him. It was always better if he was the one who approached her. Her legs felt less substantial as she turned to him.
“Enrico!” She was so excited to see him she could hardly stand it.
“Congratulations! You gave a superb performance!”
“I wanted to tell you the same thing, but we can’t talk here. How about we both mount our horses and take a ride away from the track?”
Donetta wanted to be with him all day. Right now she was too eager to spend time with him to worry about an ancient feud, or her parents’ plan that she marry Arnaud one day. Enrico’s parents had promised him to Princess Valentina of Vallefiore one day, but like Donetta, he didn’t give it any thought.
They walked to the stable. She found her horse’s stall, where her groomsman had brought Blaze after her last event. “I’ll meet you here after you’ve retrieved Rajah. We’ll have to ride bareback.”
A smile broke out on his handsome face. “Do me one favor? Don’t wear your helmet.” His eyes played over her features, sending a thrill of excitement through her body.
She chuckled. “Why?”
“Because for once I’d like to see your hair completely uncovered.” On that unexpected note he strode away from her on his long, powerful legs. No guy could look better in riding breeches than he did. At six-two, he was becoming a man.
His comment had caused her to tremble. She removed her Devon riding jacket and helmet. After shaking her head to loosen her hair, she walked over to Blaze and offered him a treat and gave him a hug.
“You were brilliant today. I love you. How would you like to take me for a ride without the saddle? We’re going on a walk with Rajah.”
She removed the trappings and her devoted horse nudged her. “Ah...that feels good, doesn’t it?”
Donetta reached for the reins and mounted him. No more competition today. No more rules. Just pure fun with the most gorgeous guy she’d ever known. For him to have asked her to go riding with him on this special day made her happier than she’d ever been in her life.
As they backed out, she saw Enrico without his helmet, coming on his stallion. Normally they didn’t allow stallions to enter the competitions, but it seemed they’d made an exception for the prince in this competition. He had total control over his animal.
Enrico, too, had shed his jacket and had loosened his white show shirt at the throat. When they walked out into the sun, the rays glistened on his luxuriant black hair.
* * *
Donetta’s willingness to ride bareback was one of the reasons Enrico found it so exhilarating to be with the princess. Her spirit of adventure made her different from all the other princesses his family forced him to spend time with.
None of them could ride the way she did or be more entertaining. As his best friend and first cousin Prince Giovanni had been saying since they’d been coming to the concorsos together, Princess Donetta was poetry in motion, on or off her mare.
Her five-foot-seven-inch height gave her a regal elegance that had nothing to do with her title. In her navy-and-beige riding kit she looked spectacular, especially with her silvery gold hair cascading down her shoulders and back, shining like one of the waterfalls secreted in the mountains of Vallefiore.
She’d been very pretty, but now with those shimmering light green eyes that reminded him of the South Seas he’d seen in his travels, she’d turned into a raving beauty. Whenever he saw her in a crowd—always surrounded by more males than females—he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“You rode a new horse today, Enrico. Why did you name him Rajah?”
Her question brought him back to the present. “To befit his kingly Arabian ancestry. His breed runs wild on the plains in my country and his instincts are phenomenal.”
“I’d love to see a sight like that. He’s absolutely gorgeous. With him you’ll continue to win every competition from now on.”