Taming the Legend by Kat Latham Page B

Already his mind had begun conjuring images of the two of them together. Once he found the right girl, he wanted to kick his virginity into touch as quickly as possible. The thought of fumbling around with another virgin, both of them awkward and embarrassed, made him cringe.
    “Don’t judge me.”
    He jerked back. “What? I’m not.”
    “I can see fromyour face you are.”
    “My face?”
    “You’re cringing.”
    “Jesus. Look, I think it’s great you’re not a virgin.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “Just because I’ve slept with other guys doesn’t mean I’ll sleep with you.”
    He threw his arms into the air. “I give up. All I wanted to say was you’re fine the way you are. You might not like your arse, but I think you’re cute and clever. You coulddo with being a little less defensive, though.”
    Whether it was his admission that he thought she was cute and clever, or his admonition not to be so defensive, something melted her mask. For the first time, her face seemed to relax. Her shoulders lowered, and she gave him a shy, uncertain smile.
    “Thank you.”
    Confused, he said, “You’re welcome. Want something to drink?”
    “Sure.I’ve sorta become addicted to Fanta since I got here. Can you bring it in the bottle? Unopened.”
    “One Fanta, undrugged. I’ll be right back. Don’t seduce any other guys with your sexy talk about Chicano literature while I’m gone, okay?”
    Her laughter followed him halfway across the room, making him grin like an idiot. Winning that laugh had felt like a huge victory. Even today, with aWorld Cup medal and a hell of a lot of other hardware choking his display cases, that laugh ranked up there with the greatest prizes of his life.
    Now she wanted him to win another prize. As sure as he’d been when he’d woken up that he would turn her down, he couldn’t help wondering whether winning the San Diego Sevens would bring back the triumph he’d felt at winning her laughter.

Chapter Five
    The journey to Legends stadium took nearly an hour on the Tube, since their hotel was in West London and the stadium was in the East End. On the way, Ash asked for the big envelope the letters had been returned to her in. He stared at it for several long minutes before silently handing it back, leaving Camila guessing about what the handwritten address revealed.
    He didn’t utter another word until the Tube train stopped at Stratford. “This is us.”
    She followed him out of the station to a stadium that seemed like it was right in the middle of the city. A grassy square in front of the entrance was dominated by a bronze statue three times her height showing a man flying through the air, holding a ball in his outstretched hand as a tackler grabbedhis ankles. As they passed it, Camila slowed down to study the sheer determination on the men’s faces. Neither of the men looked like Ash, but she’d seen photos of him playing, freezing in time that win-at-all-costs expression that warned others to step back or he would mow them down.
    That expression was one of the reasons she was here. He would win for her—if he agreed to help her. She hadno doubt about that. The other reason was that she’d felt like he owed her, but now she wasn’t so sure. The story she’d believed for so long wasn’t even true.
    She brushed her fingertips over the tackler’s bronze calf.
    “Mila?”
    She shook her head to clear the memories. “Sorry. Still sleepy from jet lag.”
    He nodded toward the stadium. “The security guard’s holding the door openfor us.”
    She raised her hand in apology. Ash led her through the stadium’s outer office and down corridors, pointing out the gym and other facilities along the way. She followed wordlessly but made appropriate noises here and there. Then he led her down a tunnel and onto a grassy green field, and the sight stole the breath from her lungs.
    “Wow. So this is where the magic happens, huh?”Camila stood on the sidelines and turned in a circle, taking