Shadowlander by Theresa Meyers

buckled a sheathed sword about his waist and slid a dangerous-looking dagger into the edge of his boot.
    He stared for a moment at her bare feet. “It’s a shame we must cover such beautiful feet,” he murmured as he went back to the cupboard and pulled out a pair of knee-high dark brown boots with soft soles that looked similar to the black ones he wore. He knelt beside her.
    “May I?” he asked as he undid the leather laces that crisscrossed one boot, then opened it for her to slip her foot inside. For a giddy moment Cate felt like a twisted Cinderella. She’d never had someone see to her comforts; she was always too busy caring for her sisters or her grandmother. It was decadent and lovely. He slid the second boot on her other foot, then took the small straps with wicked-looking six-inch-long silver points and wrapped one securely around each of her ankles. He stood and smiled down at her.
    “There. Now you are ready to ride a catamount.”
    Cate winced. Judging by the dangerous-looking spurs, she didn’t think the catamount would be some docile kind of a horse. “Look, I was never good at riding horses. Fell off my first one at seven and never looked back. My sister Clare is the equestrian in our family.”
    His smile widened. “Your hands seem to work well enough holding onto my chest. If you can do that, you can hold tight enough to ride a catamount.”
    With that pronouncement, he opened the door to his chamber and strode down the long hall. Cate jogged to catch up as he opened one of the doors and headed a different direction than the way they’d originally come. In this new hallway, huge glass windows reached from ceiling to floor, bringing the sights of the outdoors inside.
    The soft slopes of powder-fine white sand around the bay turned a toffee color where the water lapped at the shore. The green of the tropical forest framed it all against the achingly clear blue sky.
    Cate caught a glimpse of herself in one of the long gilt-framed mirrors and was surprised at how different she looked. The dark red velvet and brown suede swinging around her legs made her look as if she were floating over the marble floor rather than walking. Only the clink of spurs across the gleaming marble floors kept her grounded.
    It was tempting to stay—to finish what she and Rook had started—but she wasn’t here on vacation. Cate forced herself to stop gawking at the postcard view and turn her mind back to more pressing matters. “How fast are catamounts?”
    “They can cover better than a hundred leagues in a day.”
    Which led Cate to her next assumption. If they were that fast, then they were likely very big. She slid her hand around his arm, reveling in the thick curve of his muscle there. “Just how big are these things?”
    Rook opened one of the two large, heavily carved doors and sunshine poured in, casting him in an almost angelic light. “See for yourself.”
    Cate peeked around him into the courtyard and saw two enormous black panthers lying on their bellies, haltered and saddled, tails twitching, their growls amplified by chests the size of an average SUV. The catamounts weren’t just lion big, but dinosaur-era big. One let out a great roar that rumbled through her solar plexus and turned her stomach into a quivering mass of jelly.
    She tried to swallow past the thick lump clogging her throat. “You expect me to ride one of those?”
    “They are well-trained. You’ll be fine.”
    Rook lifted her by the waist and swung her up into the saddle before she could even protest. Her legs were forced to spread wide over the back of the animal.
    The sun beating down on them forced Cate to squint. Already she was questioning if wearing the heavy coat was a bad idea as her forehead and back perspired.
    “Grab hold of the reins,” he instructed. Cate snatched them up. The saddle was made of smooth brown leather that rose at the back and front in a slight U , but there was no pommel. There was nothing else to hold on