by Vella, Wendy
“Ride, Phoebe, we are being watched!”
Turning Boris Livvy charged after her sister, who was by now a few feet in front. Crouching low over his neck she urged her mount on as she followed Phoebe who was weaving in and out of the trees. The thunder of hooves told her that whoever was pursuing them was gaining fast.
Sending Boris a silent apology she kicked him in the stomach which sent him leaping forward until she drew level with her sister.
“Split up!” Livvy called and then she veered left as Phoebe kept going straight, seconds later the sound of hooves told her that whoever was chasing them had elected to follow her.
Livvy knew the roads well and was about an hour’s ride from Twoaks, so she would need to try to lose whoever followed her by changing direction frequently before she reached her home.
Urging Boris on he sailed over a fence and then Livvy pulled hard to the right and headed back along the road. Whoever followed her was an excellent rider as her maneuver did not deter him. They rode at breakneck speed for a time until Livvy felt Boris slowing beneath her. Desperate now to lose their pursuer she saw the forest ahead and charged recklessly into it. Branches tore at her hat and scarf but Boris kept going as she turned him left and right until finally she dared to look behind her once more and saw that she was now alone. Pulling Boris to a halt she ran a trembling hand down his sweaty neck and listened. There was no sound of hoofs or breaking twigs. She would stay here for a while until she was sure her pursuer had finally gone.
Livvy waited until her teeth were chattering from the cold before she urged Boris from the trees and back onto the road. She missed Phoebe’s company as the darkness closed in around her and she tried not to look at every shadow and jump at every sound. It would not be fair to ride Boris hard again so soon, yet she longed to crouch over his neck again and race home. Urging him into a gentle trot instead, Livvy sang softly until she saw the welcoming light of her home.
“Livvy! Dear God, I thought you had been caught and I did not know what to do,” Phoebe said, hurrying towards her.
“I’m all right, Phoebe.” Livvy climbed wearily down from Boris’s back. Leading him to his stall she unsaddled and brushed him down and then threw a blanket over his sweaty flanks before filling up his trough with food and water. “You did well tonight,” she said, patting his cheek before shutting the stable door and leaving him to his much needed rest.
I was so scared,” Phoebe said, following her up the path to the kitchen door. “I turned around to look behind me and found you had disappeared with whoever was following us behind you.”
“We will talk inside, Phoebe, we need to warm up my hands and face are so cold,” Livvy said, hurrying towards the house, she then yelped as her feet started to slide on a patch of ice but she could do nothing to stop falling. Landing on her bottom she slid several feet and came to a rest against the kitchen door. Turning the air blue with several choice curses, Livvy tried to regain her feet.
“Did you just cuss, Olivia Mary Elizabeth Langley?”
“Oh and you’ve never heard those words before, Phoebe Jane Emily Langley,” Livvy said, taking the hand her sister held out to her.
“Let go!” Phoebe cried as her feet started to slide too.
“Ouch,” Livvy grunted as her sister sat on her. “Get off me you lump.”
“Lump? I’ll have you know I’m considered petite.”
“By whom, not those blind idiots you call admirers surely?” Livvy hissed as she tried to push Phoebe to her feet.
Phoebe started giggling as she struggled to get off her sister only to fall back into her lap. The aftermath of fear soon had Livvy joining her and in seconds they were both laughing hysterically. It was their youngest sister who found them minutes later rolling around on the icy ground laughing like two candidates fit for Bedlam.
***
Will was weary when he finally returned to Rossetter after pursuing the highwayman. Stabling his mount he then made his way through the silent house to his rooms. A fire had been lit and the warmth was welcome as he shrugged out of his jacket. The scarf and hat he had tucked inside fell to the floor. The foolish highwayman had plunged recklessly into the thick forest in hopes of escaping him and in doing so he had lost his belongings. Lifting them to his face Will sniffed. Frowning he did so again and felt ice fill his veins.
Knocking on the front door of Willow Hall early the following morning Will’s mood could be termed at best, dark. He’d spent the night with visions of Olivia being clamped in irons and him visiting her in Newgate prison. Any sleep he’d got had been fleeting and he was feeling mean after a long restless night. Maybe he was wrong about her being a highwayman, and he was willing to ask questions before he shook her so hard her teeth rattled, yet the gnawing anger inside him told him he was not
“Good morning, Mrs Bell, I have called to see Olivia.”
“She is in the stables, my lord. If you like to come inside I shall fetch her for you.”
“Don’t trouble yourself, Mrs Bell, I know the way,” Will said, heading around the side of the house before she could refuse. Lengthening his stride he walked down the path to the rear and then over the grass towards the stables. There had been no fresh falls of snow for several days now and although it was still bloody chilly he was relieved to be outside without something icy dripping down the back of his neck. His boots made crunching noises as they walked on dewy grass and he could see the trail of Olivia’s footprints to his right leading towards the stables.
The Langley estate was not huge but it had plenty of rolling hills and enough green pasture so that it was pleasing to the eye, however all Will could think about was what he would say to the eldest Langley when he got hold of her. Entering the stables he passed several empty stalls, one he noted held a carriage leaning drunkenly on its side which indicated the wheels were broken. Yet more evidence that the Langley sisters were without funds.
The sound of humming reached him as he neared the end of the row. He stroked the black head of one of the only two horses in residence as he looked over the half door and studied the animal. There was no doubt to Will’s mind that he had seen this animal twice before. The tightness in his chest intensified as a roaring sound filled his ears. Rage suffused him at the thought of what she had done.
“I’m sorry you had to gallop so hard last night, Boris, however after the effort you put in I have come to realize you are a big fake for letting Harvey beat you all this time.”
Will stood listening to Livvy as she talked to the horse. He was happy to let her incriminate herself further and then he’d show himself and tell her exactly what he thought of her foolish behavior. Just thinking about the speed she rode and risks she had taken last night plunged his stomach to his feet.
“I shall get you some fresh water, Boris.”
Realizing she would see him as soon as she reached the door Will stepped up to it and rested his hand on the top.
“Care to explain why you galloped your horse so hard last night, Olivia?”
She literally froze in a half-crouch position. Her knuckles quickly turned white as they clenched around the handle of the bucket.
“L—Lord Ryder!”
Her words came out squeaky and high-pitched and she looked like a cornered rabbit.
“Shall I repeat the question, Olivia?” Will couldn’t believe he wasn’t breathing fire and was even more surprised at how polite he sounded, although his hands were gripping the wood, the edges biting into his palms as he fought the urge to reach for her.
“I—I ah, took Boris out for a run yesterday and pushed him too hard. I was t—training for the D—Derby.”
Will let her words hang in the air between them as he studied her. She wore an old dress and cloak with her sunset curls pulled back with a simple band at the nape of her neck. She looked like a young country maid and he wanted to grab her and shake her hard. What was she thinking taking such risks? Even now she could be in a jail cell somewhere awaiting the hangman’s n
oose.
“A training run,” Will said, stretching the last word out for a few seconds. “Is that how you got that scratch on your face?”
Her hand crept up to cover the mark that ran the length of her forehead. An angry red welt that was no doubt received after she flew into the woods to escape him.
“Yes,” she said, shooting him a look before dropping her eyes to her hands.
“Well I think that proves you are not ready to ride with the men in the Derby, Olivia, if you cannot even manage a simple training run on a snail like Boris without injuring yourself.”
“Boris is not a snail!” she said, defending her horse before herself.
She could have been taken from him last night.
“I have seen Boris and this other horse next door before but cannot remember where,” he said, opening the latch and letting himself into the stall. Olivia he noted shuffled round Boris’s rump to appear on the opposite side from where he now stood. “Did you buy him from someone local; perhaps I have seen his sire somewhere?”
“Why are you here?” she whispered once again looking nervous.
“You know why I’m here, Olivia, to return the things you lost last night,” Will said, urging Boris back a couple of paces until his rump nearly touched the wall, he then circled the front.
“What things?”
He saw the minute she realized what he had done. By moving Boris and approaching from the front he had caged her in.
“These things.” Will kept his eyes on her face as he pulled the hat and scarf from the inside of his jacket.
Her eyes widened as she looked at the items and then she turned away. “Th—they’re not mine.”
“Yes they are, and it was you who robbed me on my way to Rossetter House and it was you I chased last night!” Will snapped out the last word as his anger got the better of him. “Have you any idea how foolish you have been?”
She didn’t yield or admit defeat and Will could almost admire her courage as she faced him with her shoulders drawn back. She’d dropped the bucket and was now gripping Boris’s tail tightly and her cinnamon eyes were wary, as if he was a four-headed creature and she was uncertain of its next move.
“Have you resorted to your old ways, my lord, and started drinking throughout the night?”
“No, and you will not help this situation by insulting me.”
“W—well this story you have concocted is pre… pre…”
“…prosperous,” Will finished for her as he took a step closer.
“If you needed money, Olivia, you should have gone to my brother for help and if not he, then to me when I returned.”
“You are speaking of things I have no knowledge of, Lord Ryder, now please step to one side so I may freshen B—Boris’s water.”
Will advanced on Olivia until he had her back pressed to the wall and his hands braced on either side of her head. She grabbed his wrists and tried to move them and then pushed against his shoulders but he did not yield, instead he pressed his body into hers.
“Let me go!” She begged him.
“I chased you last night while you flew over fences and rode under trees at speeds which, had you fallen, would have broken your neck, Olivia Langley! Do not tell me to let you go! I want to bloody shake you until your teeth rattle!”
“Please, let me go.”
“A highwayman! Could you not have stolen a silver tea service from a neighbor or something from my brother? He would never have noticed in that bloody great palace he lives in!”
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” she said, clinging stubbornly to her story.
“You could have been shot!” Will roared, his temper now unleashed. “And I suppose your accomplice was Phoebe?”
She kissed him, threw her arms around his neck and pressed her body into his. Will was so surprised he didn’t react and then he felt her, the soft sweet curves that were Olivia Langley. Fighting the need that was filling his body, he wrenched his mouth away.
“If you think one kiss can stop me this time from saying what needs to be said,” he rasped. “Then think again.”
She bit his bottom lip and then licked it and Will shuddered.
“Olivia.”
She didn’t heed his warning, instead kissing his chin she then lowered her hands and ran them up his back.
Her innocence was provocative, each touch and kiss may be one of inexperience but it drove Will wild in seconds.
Kissing her way back to his mouth, she opened her lips and once again placed them on his.
Will felt his anger turn to lust as Livvy touched and kissed him. Suddenly he was aware of her breasts crushed against his chest and the feel of her fingers running over his back. He tried to push the sensations aside, tried to speak again, demand that she tell him the truth but as he opened his mouth she pushed her tongue inside and he was lost. Cupping her face he tilted her head and took control of the kiss, his anger making him take her lips with furious hunger. Teeth clashed as they struggled to taste each other. Reaching for her cloak he pushed it aside and then cupped her breasts through her dress and instead of shying away she arched, forward filling his palms.
“I’m going to take you here and now,” he whispered, tugging the bodice down and freeing her flesh. Lowering his head he took one hard nipple into his mouth and bit down. She moaned so he did it again.
“I have carried the taste and feel of you since our first kiss,” his words were harsh against the straining flesh.
Livvy opened his jacket and waistcoat then pulled his shirt free from his breeches. Slipping her hands beneath she then touched his chest, running her fingers over the muscled plans of his stomach and Will could do nothing to stop the moan that left his lips.
“You’re so warm,” she whispered, stroking the flesh above the waistband.
“Christ, Livvy.”
His eyes closed as she trailed her fingers over his skin then with fingers that trembled Livvy released the buttons and slipped one hand inside his breeches to cup the hot, hard length of him.
“You’re killing me, love,” Will rasped as she caressed him. “But what a way to die.” He groaned as she ran a finger over the tip of his arousal. When he could stand the torture no longer, Will grabbed her wrist and lifted it to his chest, he then reached for her skirts and pulled them to her waist.
“Hold your skirts, Livvy.” She did as he told her to, her eyes glazed with desire, cheeks flushed.
“Now, Will, please I need you now,” Livvy begged him.
Will kissed her swollen lips and then touched the soft plump petals that shielded the secrets between her thighs. She was wet and ready for him, and was soon making small incoherent noises urging him on as he stroked and caressed her heated flesh. Slipping two fingers inside her tight sheath, he felt her clench around him.
“Yes, sweetheart.” She gasped and he knew what was coming so he kissed the cry that tore from her lips and then as she leant into him trying to draw a breath he lifted her.
“Wrap your legs around my waist.”
In seconds he was driving up as he lowered her onto his length. It was heaven to be encased in her velvet heat again.
Livvy urged him on taking each silken slide and thrust as he pushed her passions higher until she was sobbing his name over and over again. She kissed his jaw and then he claimed her lips as he thrust into her hard again and again. It was rough and fierce and soon the pressure reached its pinnacle and they both cried out their release.
Will’s chest heaved as he drew in a deep breath. Need had driven them to take each other with none of the tenderness they had experienced before and he felt no remorse as she had been with him through every thrust and moan. She lay boneless against him; her arms wrapped around his neck her breath brushing his skin.
“Livvy, we need to talk.” Will ran his chin over her hair.
“I don’t want to talk I want to sleep.”
He snorted but lowered her gently to her feet. Readjusting her bodice he then str
aightened his own clothes.
“No, love, not this time. This time I want the truth.”
“What truth?”
Standing once again he lifted her chin, forcing her look at him. Her lashes were at half-mast and her lips rosy from his kisses and she looked lush and sensual and she was his, every last maddening inch of her.
“You will tell me and now,” he said in a voice that usually got him exactly what he wanted.
“Livvy!”
“It’s Bella, dear lord she can’t see me like this!” Livvy hissed, looking for somewhere to hide.
“Tell me, Livvy, now before your sister sees the flush in your cheeks and your kiss-swollen lips and I tell her what we have just been doing.”
“You wouldn’t, please don’t upset Bella, not now.”
The pleading in her eyes was his undoing.
“Pick up Boris’s hoof and pretend to inspect it,” Will said. When she didn’t move he turned her and then lifted the hoof and wrapped her hands around it.
Dropping to his knees Will looked at her. Her eyes were still dazed and had anyone really looked at her they would have known instantly that something was not right.
“This conversation is not over, Olivia, so don’t think it is. And if I hear that you have attempted to don the guise of highwayman again, my wrath will make you wish you had never been born, do you understand?”
She remained stubbornly silently.
“Answer me, love, or I will tell Bella how responsive you are to my touch.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Livvy gasped.
“Try me,” he said, holding her eyes until she relented.
“Yes, I understand, however I still do not know what you are talking about.”
“It would not be wise for you to think me a fool, Olivia, or to think I will eventually give up.” Placing a brief kiss on her lips he added. “I will know the truth and it will be you that tells me.”
“Livvy?”
“In Boris’s stall, Bella!” Livvy called to her sister.
“Horrid Lord Langley has sent us another letter and Phoebe is threatening to open it if you do not hurry.”
When Bella peered over the door Will had his knife in one hand and was flicking nothing out of Boris’s hoof. To give him credit, the horse played his part perfectly, especially after what he had been forced to witness.