A Secret Passion by Sophia Nash Page A

four times, he changed tactics.
    She was going to get hurt. She could feel her tenuous control over the animal slipping from her grasp. Desperate to unseat her, the stallion began bucking and twisting in midair. An abrupt stop after a near-fatal sideswipe of a tree found Jane somersaulting off the horse’s back. She fought for control of her lungs when she realized the wind had been knocked out of her. The earl’s shadow fell across her face as she tried to sit up.
    “Are you hurt?” he asked. When she did not respond, he began feeling her legs and arms. She pushed away his hands and tried to get enough air to speak. Really, she just wished he would give her space and time to regain her senses. When she opened her eyes and sat up, she noticed a gash on her thigh. The earl examined the wound as she tried to compose herself.
    “You are in luck,” he said grimly. “Looks like you’ll not need stitches.” He pulled a flask out of the leather saddlebag lying in the grass and began sprinkling the contents on the slash. She bit her tongue as the liquid burned the raw edges of her skin. He untied his loose neckcloth to bind the wound.
    “I’ll send a doctor to see to this, once you return to your aunt’s house. It should be fine as long as it doesn’t become putrid,” the earl added, rocking back on his knees.
    “I’m fine, really, just fine,” insisted Jane, embarrassed. She paused before continuing, “I now see how your breeches came to be in their current state of disrepair.”
    He smiled. A heavy silence descended on them as the earl looked at the widow’s person for any other signs of misfortune.
    “Well, then.”
    “Well, then, what?” asked Jane, trying on her most innocent voice but feeling all the nervousness of a never-been-kissed girl of six and ten.
    The corners of his lips curled when he looked at her and pushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “I fear you have a bit of dirt on your face.” His large hand felt warm as he brushed the earth from her face. She could read desire in his gaze.
    “As do you, my lord.” His hand touched her cheek again and she held her breath with anticipation and a bit of fear. “Are you going to kiss me now?”
    “Was that not the wager?” he asked with a lazy drawl.
    She looked up at his heavy-lidded eyes and whispered, “Yes.” Jane felt as if it were inevitable, yet she was so uncertain. She had always been in control of every situation. This was uncharted territory. Forbidden territory, really.
    As he pulled her to her feet, he took her hands. “Come, come, Mrs. Lovering. I am a gentleman. I would not take advantage of you without your permission, especially when you have already suffered battle wounds.”
    She looked at him.
    “I’ll take that as permission to continue.” He cupped one side of her face with his palm and lightly kissed her. She could feel the hot creep of a blush forming and dared not look up at him. “You are embarrassed now,” he said.
    She raised her eyes to his with anger. “I am not.” She deliberately reached up and placed her arms around his neck. She tugged his head down to her and placed her passive lips on his.
    She felt him laugh against her lips. “Oh, no, Mrs. Lovering,” he said. “That’s not the way of it at all.” He leaned one of his hands against the apple tree behind her and pulled her waist close to his body with the other arm, forcing her to arch into his broad chest. “This is the way,” he whispered as he lightly bit at her lower lip and then used the tip of his tongue to gain entrance beyond her lips. She felt awash with heretofore-unknown longing and excitement. No one had ever kissed her like this. His tongue urged her to respond in kind, as she yielded fully to his embrace. She shivered with desire, and a small moan escaped her lips.
    His fingers moved to her buttocks and pressed her to his arousal. Jane almost recoiled in shock. She had been around horses all her life and knew exactly what was