Savage Thunder by Johanna Lindsey Page B

wore no shirt. The jacket hung nearly closed, but still, there was no shirt beneath it, just the same smooth bronzed skin as on his face—smooth, hairless skin. He actually had not a single hair on the several inches of chest and stomach that she could see, definitely unusual as far as she knew, though of course, how much did she really know about Americans, and how much about a man’s chest, for that matter?
    Truthfully, she had never seen anything quite like him. His strangeness unnerved her, but not nearly as much as his swarthy handsomeness.
    “Do you always go about—half dressed?”
    “Is that all you have to say to me, ma’am?”
    She could feel the heat seeping into her cheeks. “Oh, dear, please don’t take offense. I can’t imagine where that question…I’m not usually so impertinent.” A loud “Ha!” came from inside the coach, and Jocelyn grinned. “I believe the countess disagrees with me, and rightly so. I suppose my outspokenness does border on rudeness more times than not.”
    “Ask a stupid question…” the man mumbled as he turned away and jumped to the ground.
    Jocelyn frowned, watching him move toward hishorse, a beautiful, big-boned animal the like of which she had never seen before, with black-and-white spotted markings on its rump and loins. She would love to look the horse over, to ride it even, but at the moment, her only concern was the man’s intentions.
    “You’re not leaving, are you?”
    He didn’t bother to look back. “You mentioned someone would be along shortly. No point in my—”
    “But you can’t go!” she cried in alarm, not certain why it was alarm she felt, but it was. “You haven’t let me thank you yet, and—and how am I supposed to get down from here if you don’t assist me?”
    “Shit,” she heard, and felt her cheeks heating again. But he was coming back. “All right, jump.”
    She looked at his hands reaching up to her and didn’t hesitate. He had already proved his strength. Not for a moment did she consider how likely he was to miss her if she just threw herself down at him. He didn’t miss her. But she did slam into him. Only that wasn’t so startling as being set on her feet and away from him almost in the same breath. And again he turned away.
    “No, wait.” She put out a hand, but he didn’t stop to see it, so she lifted her skirts to follow him. “Are you really in such a hurry that you must rush off?”
    She plowed into his back when he stopped this time, and heard him swear again before he whipped around to glare at her. “Look, lady, as it happens, I left my gear, and my shirt, back at the river, where I was fixing to wash up before heading into town. You can’t just leave things lying around in this country and expect them to be there when you get back.”
    “I’ll replace anything you might lose, but please don’t leave us yet. Since my people haven’t come along by now, they must have been trapped in the mountains behind us. We honestly need your—”
    “You’ve left a trail anyone can follow, ma’am.”
    “Yes, but we were separated when some men set upon us, men who mean to do me harm. They are as likely to come along as my people.”
    “Your ‘people’?”
    “My entourage.” When that failed to erase his frown, she added, “My guards and servants, those I travel with.”
    His eyes moved over her at that, taking in her velvet skirt and ruffled silk blouse, the kind of clothes he had only seen worn back East. And then he spared another look at the shining teal-blue coach that one glance inside had made him think he was doubting his eyes. Them fancy private railroad cars didn’t come as luxurious as this.
    When he’d seen it downed, he hadn’t expected to find women inside, especially women like this, one a countess of some kind. Wasn’t that royalty or something? Whatever it was, it wasn’t from this country. And this one with her flaming hair and, Christ, eyes brighter than new spring leaves. His first