The Argentinian's Virgin Conquest. Bella Frances

mother was babbling on in her ear, but what did it matter? It was just one more example of where she featured in her mother’s list—Badass Black at the top, then her beautiful boy Simon, then her friends, her charities, her houses, clothes and jewellery—and the thing lolling about at the bottom was Lucie.

      ‘I’m calling to say I might be a little late.’

      She sounded clipped, defensive. Or was that just wishful thinking?

      ‘I’m almost sure I will still manage to make it—some of it—but things are really rather difficult at the moment... I’m sure Simon has got himself into a little trouble, and I can’t just up and off until I know he’s all right!’

      Simon and trouble were like strawberries and cream. For twenty years her half-brother had been getting himself into trouble. He was quite the expert.

      ‘I know your little party is important to you, but clearly I have to look after Simon—and, really, it was a bit selfish to expect that I could drop everything and fly over the Atlantic for something as trivial as a tortoise, or whatever it is, when I’ve got all these other commitments...’

      Lucie didn’t hear the end of the sentence. She stood in a daze, hearing the crystal clipped vowels and imagining the perfect nails drumming. James Haston-Black would be pouring a Scotch and Simon Haston-Black would be lying in someone’s bed, lining up his next party.

      And Lucie? She would be getting on with it. Herself.

      She wondered if she would ever, ever feature to her mother as anything other than the irritating, overweight, unattractive daughter of her first husband.

      ‘I have to go,’ she said woodenly into the air, and then stood. Her shoulders sank and her head dipped and a sigh as heavy and wide as the gunmetal skies of home poured from her soul.

      ‘Go where?’ her mother whined, her voice like claws on thin wood. ‘Look, Lucie, you’ll be absolutely fine. You’ve watched me a thousand times. You simply speak into the microphone, pick a face in the crowd. And smile!’

      ‘I have to get some—air. I have to go. For a swim.’

      Lucie’s mouth almost formed her Love to Simon, love to James standard response, but this time it choked her. She swallowed it back.

      ‘Love you, Mother,’ she said, and she clicked off the call, powered off the phone and walked, one flat sole after another, to her cabin. She’d clear her head. She’d work this out. She had to. Because, once again, she had no other option.

      * * *

      It was the morning after the night before—and the night before that—and if he could focus enough he knew that he might be able to recall exactly when this party had started. Because for Dante Salvatore Vidal Hermida—Dante to his several thousand friends, acquaintances and fans—this was turning into one hell of a hangover. Not that he had been drinking too much—he’d long since outgrown that particular route to oblivion. But the whole effort involved in happily hosting was catching up with him.

      What he needed now was a clear run of mindless athleticism before getting back on a horse and leading the team to the glory of the Middle Eastern circuit.

      There were noises behind him—a slurred squeal, a crash, a muffled laugh—and there was only so much more he could stomach. It was already nearly eleven a.m., and the day surely held a lot more than getting back ‘on it’ with Vasquez and Raoul and whoever else was left.

      He scanned the bay. He was glad they had come here. Such a beautiful part of the world. He normally never ventured farther than the mid-Caribbean islands of Dominica and Costa Rica—he didn’t have the time. But they were heading out to a full-on schedule that would last weeks, and he’d planned to squeeze every last drop of fun from the run-up to finally sealing the deal on the new polo club with Marco in the Hamptons.

      All that before the big sober-up in New York with his family.

      Five days until New York. The clock was ticking and his mother had been remarkably patient—for her. He’d sort that out later today—his date for the awards ceremony. There had to be someone he could take. Someone who would know that attending with his family didn’t mean she was next on the list to join it. And that ‘white tie’ didn’t mean turning up like a gift-wrapped Playmate. He smiled to himself. Though admittedly that held a certain appeal.

      Five days. He could achieve a lot in five days. Starting with a trip on board Lord Louis’s infamous Marengo.

      He looked at it where it was berthed in the bay, dwarfing everything—like an iceberg in an ice floe of dinghies. He braced his arms on the balcony and really scanned it. He’d never been on it, but according to Raoul it was the Playboy Mansion of the seas. Well, he’d judge that for himself. Maybe. He had at least three offers tonight—and they were in the middle of nowhere.

      His reputation was getting out of hand. But the oblivion of hedonism was sometimes exactly what he needed.

      Tonight...? He might make an appearance and then call it a day. Though how many times had he said that? And how many times had he woken up buried underneath another blanket of limbs and loving, with another mindless, numbing headache and people wanting more than he was ever prepared to give.

      He dropped his head, stared at his braced hands, white knuckles, and tensed his jaw. Happy-go-lucky Dante. What a sham. Like the happy family they’d show the world at the Woman of the Year Awards. A united front of high-achievers, with perfect lives and perfect partners, the Argentinian Hermidas would be honouring their American-born mother as she collected a Lifetime Award for services to charity. Charities that didn’t begin at home, of course.

      Yes, his mother would be back on the case at any moment—asking who his ‘mystery date’ was. The mystery was why everyone. including the press, thought he had one. He hadn’t! Not yet, anyway. But he would—all he had to do was call up one of the endless stream of women they were speculating he’d bring. As long as she had an IQ above eighty and dug her own gold.

      He chuckled as he recalled the list of minimum assets his mother had rattled off when she’d first told him about tonight.

      He would figure it out. He always did.

      Right after he figured out what was going on over there on the Marengo...

      He frowned, lifted his binoculars. A woman was climbing up and along the very edge of the bottom deck. A woman in a bikini. Even from this distance she was uniquely, outstandingly female. Nothing unusual in that on the Marengo, he supposed, but there was something strange about her.

      She made her way to the side and stood completely upright on the railing. as if on the ledge of a skyscraper. waiting to jump. Tall, proud, dignified. Seconds passed. Minutes, even—and still he stared. And then, with an almost regal shake of her head, she stepped into mid-air and plunged.

      God! He dropped his binoculars. She’d disappeared. Straight down into the water. No elegant dive...no playful jump. Just down like a lead pipe.

      He grabbed the binoculars, paced forward. ‘What the hell?’

      He waited a moment, scanned the water round the yacht, but it was a shimmer of brilliant white and blue. He forced his focus as the sun needled his eyes. There was no sign of life—just the glitter and glare of heat and light. He pulled his binoculars away, rubbed at his eyes. Put them back. Nothing. Not. One. Single. Thing.

      Dante paused. Surely there was nothing wrong? Surely the people on the yacht would be on hand if something had happened? Surely he should mind his own business?

      But he had no option. Hand on the rail, he vaulted—right over into the speedboat that was tied up as a tender. Music blasted behind him, and Raoul called his name, but he landed in front of the wheel, turned the key and was off.

      The party could wait.

      The boat bumped, soared and crashed over the water but he kept his gaze still and steady. What the hell had he just seen? It could just have been a daredevil jump, but it wouldn’t be the first