efforts to get away. Only
when the wind filled her sail and carried her out to sea did she
feel safe. His shouts for her to come back were soon swallowed by
the sounds of the waves crashing to shore.
Back on the island,
Julie ran the boat up on the beach. She stepped out and ran all the
way to the castle door. Once inside the castle, she ran up to her
room, threw on her riding habit, and ran down to the stables before
Mrs. Highet could waylay her. She mounted a fine Arabian stallion
called Crusader, and raced him down an old familiar path like the
ghostly hound Old Black Shuck was on their trail. Julie needed to
feel the wind in her hair and have it blow away the repugnance
consuming her. The stallion enjoyed the workout and the chance to
chase the wind. There were more than eight thousand acres to run
through, and Julie had no intention of stopping until she chased
away Geoffrey’s tainted proposition and touch.
* * *
Matthew, who had
returned home before dawn, and his groom, Jarvis, were looking over
a tenant farm when they spied Julie and Crusader flying down the
lane. Julie hovered low over the horse’s neck. From a distance, it
looked as if she were hanging onto the horse’s mane. Possibly a
runaway.
He mounted his horse
and charged across his tenant’s fields hoping to reach Julie before
she fell from her horse. With his heart in his throat, he urged his
horse to go faster. Dodging limbs and jumping ditches, he made it
to Julie’s side.
Matthew snatched her
from Crusader, but instead of being grateful and relieved, she
fought his hold. Her flying fists and writhing sent them both
tumbling to the hard earth.
Matthew pinned her to
the ground and tried to still Julie’s struggling, but she wiggled
like a snake and broke his grip. When the dust cleared, they were
tangled together like lovers. Her blouse gaped open, exposing the
tantalizing sight of her voluptuous breasts. Shocked by the contact
of their two bodies, Julie momentarily stopped her struggling.
Her open-eyed gaze
seemed surprised, as if she had not known who held her. Something
or someone had startled her. Julie began to struggle again. Matthew
tried to gain the upper hand. Blinded by the dust and her flying
hair, he reached out and gripped her bare flesh. His hand closed
over her breast, and instinctively he cupped it. Stung by the shock
of his discovery and aroused by her naked flesh, his blood stirred
in his loins. He struggled to control the fire threatening to rage
out of control.
Matthew looked down at
her glowing skin and what he hoped was the beginning of desire
darkening her eyes. A moan rumbled from deep inside him. His mouth
went dry, making it difficult for him to speak or think.
“Miss Hastings,
please, for God’s sake, keep still. You don’t know what you’re
doing. I’m just a man, made of flesh and blood like any other. I
beg of you, lie still while I untangle myself and catch my
breath.”
“Lie still while you
hold me? I most certainly will not! How dare you hold me down? Let
me go!” she said huskily, her words coming out in whispered
breaths.
He moved off her and
reached down to help her up. She refused his hand and stood up on
her own. Brushing the leaves and dirt from her skirt and hair, she
tried to repair the damage to her blouse.
“How dare you attack
me and pull me off my horse. If I were a man, I’d call you
out!”
“I’m quite sure you
would, my dear. You gave me quite a struggle, but never have I
enjoyed being locked in mortal combat more,” he said, trying to
catch his breath and calm the shock he’d received.
He had never lost
control before this, and the realization that she could bring him
to the brink unnerved him. He took pride in the fact that for most
of his life, he’d practiced control in every way.
“If you didn’t want me
to ride your stallion, you could have just said so. You very nearly
killed me,” she said, daggers shooting from her gaze.
“What are you babbling
about? I just
when the wind filled her sail and carried her out to sea did she
feel safe. His shouts for her to come back were soon swallowed by
the sounds of the waves crashing to shore.
Back on the island,
Julie ran the boat up on the beach. She stepped out and ran all the
way to the castle door. Once inside the castle, she ran up to her
room, threw on her riding habit, and ran down to the stables before
Mrs. Highet could waylay her. She mounted a fine Arabian stallion
called Crusader, and raced him down an old familiar path like the
ghostly hound Old Black Shuck was on their trail. Julie needed to
feel the wind in her hair and have it blow away the repugnance
consuming her. The stallion enjoyed the workout and the chance to
chase the wind. There were more than eight thousand acres to run
through, and Julie had no intention of stopping until she chased
away Geoffrey’s tainted proposition and touch.
* * *
Matthew, who had
returned home before dawn, and his groom, Jarvis, were looking over
a tenant farm when they spied Julie and Crusader flying down the
lane. Julie hovered low over the horse’s neck. From a distance, it
looked as if she were hanging onto the horse’s mane. Possibly a
runaway.
He mounted his horse
and charged across his tenant’s fields hoping to reach Julie before
she fell from her horse. With his heart in his throat, he urged his
horse to go faster. Dodging limbs and jumping ditches, he made it
to Julie’s side.
Matthew snatched her
from Crusader, but instead of being grateful and relieved, she
fought his hold. Her flying fists and writhing sent them both
tumbling to the hard earth.
Matthew pinned her to
the ground and tried to still Julie’s struggling, but she wiggled
like a snake and broke his grip. When the dust cleared, they were
tangled together like lovers. Her blouse gaped open, exposing the
tantalizing sight of her voluptuous breasts. Shocked by the contact
of their two bodies, Julie momentarily stopped her struggling.
Her open-eyed gaze
seemed surprised, as if she had not known who held her. Something
or someone had startled her. Julie began to struggle again. Matthew
tried to gain the upper hand. Blinded by the dust and her flying
hair, he reached out and gripped her bare flesh. His hand closed
over her breast, and instinctively he cupped it. Stung by the shock
of his discovery and aroused by her naked flesh, his blood stirred
in his loins. He struggled to control the fire threatening to rage
out of control.
Matthew looked down at
her glowing skin and what he hoped was the beginning of desire
darkening her eyes. A moan rumbled from deep inside him. His mouth
went dry, making it difficult for him to speak or think.
“Miss Hastings,
please, for God’s sake, keep still. You don’t know what you’re
doing. I’m just a man, made of flesh and blood like any other. I
beg of you, lie still while I untangle myself and catch my
breath.”
“Lie still while you
hold me? I most certainly will not! How dare you hold me down? Let
me go!” she said huskily, her words coming out in whispered
breaths.
He moved off her and
reached down to help her up. She refused his hand and stood up on
her own. Brushing the leaves and dirt from her skirt and hair, she
tried to repair the damage to her blouse.
“How dare you attack
me and pull me off my horse. If I were a man, I’d call you
out!”
“I’m quite sure you
would, my dear. You gave me quite a struggle, but never have I
enjoyed being locked in mortal combat more,” he said, trying to
catch his breath and calm the shock he’d received.
He had never lost
control before this, and the realization that she could bring him
to the brink unnerved him. He took pride in the fact that for most
of his life, he’d practiced control in every way.
“If you didn’t want me
to ride your stallion, you could have just said so. You very nearly
killed me,” she said, daggers shooting from her gaze.
“What are you babbling
about? I just
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