Unexpected Pleasures by Mary Wine Page A

horizon. Patches of it covered the ground and clung to the leafless branches of the trees.
    She cursed, muttering the foulest words her overwhelmed mind might recall.
    â€œMy thoughts exactly, Justina.”
    She turned in a swirl of brocade skirts to discover Synclair behind her. His face was still darkened by temper and his eyes were narrow with dissatisfaction. But the cloth in her hands drew his attention.
    â€œThat bastard bloodied you.”
    Justina felt her hand begin shaking and she turned back around to look away from the palace. She felt as if her every muscle was quivering, and was on the verge of either collapsing or running away.
    â€œIt shouldn’t matter but I find that I cannot stomach these walls.” Her voice sounded far too needy but she didn’t care; all that mattered was gaining freedom. She saw a reflection of her own desperation in his eyes and she didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought. The sound of horses came around the side of the building and Synclair grinned. It wasn’t a kind expression, but it was a relief from the rage that had transformed his features into a stranger.
    A groom led his stallion, the animal more than eager to see his owner.
    â€œThen let us escape, at least for the moment.” He took the reins from the groom and mounted, his body showing all the tension that she herself was battling. He looked down at her and offered his hand.
    â€œCome with me, Justina. The night will give us the solace we seek.”
    She didn’t think. Her hand lifted and his fingers closed around her wrist. He lifted her off her feet and she landed in front of him, sitting side saddle with his arms going around her to control the animal.
    She didn’t need to think and she didn’t believe that she was capable of it at the moment. All that filled her head was the sound of his voice when he used the word solace .
    With his arms around her, Justina was sure that she had found exactly what he had promised her.
    She needed to feel the warmth of his body, encasing her while they rode away from the palace and all its worries. The snow drifted down on them but she wasn’t chilled, didn’t shiver with the cold.

C HAPTER T HREE
    Y et she did shiver.
    Her body began to pulse with excitement in a way she had never felt. It surged through her blood, rushing to her head and making her want to giggle like a girl. The air rushed past her cheeks, turning them cold, but she smiled, enjoying the contrast between her face and the rest of her body that was turning hot. In her belly, that excitement brewed, until it was bubbling with need that rose up to draw her nipples hard once more. It happened faster this time, because she seemed to recall the sensation from before and her flesh craved more pleasure from Synclair’s touch.
    She’d known that she’d lose all control if she allowed herself to lean on him ...
    He rode into the woods without a care for the fact that permission was needed to enter the king’s forest, or that the first storm of winter was falling around them. There was no hesitation in him, only hard strength that drew still more quivers from her body. She should have worried that they might freeze but she didn’t. The man sitting next to her was too warm and confident for her to truly worry.
    â€œThere.”
    He leaned low, to make sure his words found her ear. She felt the warm brush of his breath against her ear and it sent a ripple of delight through her.
    â€œThe hunting house.”
    She had heard rumors of such a place. The house itself was far more appealing to her than the palace with all its grandeur. This was a two-story house with wide stairs that led up to the front doors. Twin panels opened outward, beneath an arched doorframe set with sculpted leaves and grapes. It was refuted to be where Henry Tudor came to consort with his mistresses.
    â€œThis is the King’s house.”
    â€œYet mine for the time that I am