I turned the animal towards the normal trail that we took around my property, heading out towards where a trail cut through the nearest bank of trees. On the other side of that bank of trees, I knew, the land leveled out into a wide plain for a half mile or so, before diving once again into trees, this time a taller old-growth forest for which I'd refused several lucrative logging offers.
As we crested out of the trees, onto the plain, the skies opened up with a crack as the rain began. It came down much harder than I'd expected; before long, I was completely drenched, starting to shiver as I sat atop Merlot.
Merlot, meanwhile, wasn't liking the thunder. He grew increasingly edgy, and I could feel him shifting with each flash of lightning.
Finally, I made the decision. "Let's turn around," I called out, hauling on the reins to pull the horse around.
Unfortunately, just at that moment, the loudest crack of thunder yet echoed across the plain - and I felt Merlot, already skittish, lose his remaining control and pitch up. Before I could tighten my grip on the reins and recover, I felt myself flying through the air, off of my perch and down towards the ground.
Chapter seven
"...and that's how I ended up here," I finished, taking a moment to catch my breath after this story. "Sorry for talking your ear off."
Pressed up against me, I felt Lance shrug. "It's a good story," he admitted. "And I'm glad that you've kept from passing out. How do you feel?"
I considered the question for a moment. As I'd talked, I had curled up closer to the man, and had ended up lying between his legs, leaning back against his chest, his upper body and arms draped over me like a heavy, warm blanket. It was far too close and inappropriate, I was sure, but the man did feel warm, and although I still occasionally shivered, I felt much more comfortable than I had when we first reached the fire.
In addition, the fuzzy fog that had previously suffused my mind had receded. I could still feel the seductive call to go to sleep, but it was much easier to resist now, and I felt more convinced that, even if I did fall asleep at this point, I'd wake up at a later point, instead of just growing colder and colder.
"I feel better," I replied after taking all of these thoughts into consideration, glancing up at Lance. From this angle, closer to him, he didn't look quite as stern and intimidating as he had before. "Are you doing okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah. And it sounds like the storm is moving past us."
I perked up. I hadn't realized, but now that I listened to the sound of rain falling against the tarp that covered us, I realized that the sound was much softer. A drizzle still fell on us, but the sheets of water dropping out of the sky had stopped, and even though I waited for a good thirty seconds, I didn't see a single flash of lightning or hear a single crack of thunder.
"And so," Lance continued, patting me on the arm, "we should see about getting you home."
I started at that. "What?"
"Oh, did you intend to sleep out here on the hard ground all night? Even if you weren't still soaking wet, that wouldn't be a good idea." Lance nodded over across the fire to a dark shape sitting on the ground across from us. "I've only got the one sleeping bag."
I opened my mouth to respond, but then closed it again, feeling myself blush furiously as I bit down on the thought that had nearly just emerged from my mouth. What in the world was wrong with me? I didn't know this man at all - and besides, I had a fiancé!
"I guess it's a good idea," I gave in, leaning forward to detach myself from the man. Immediately, I felt my back missing the warmth of the man's body as the cool air sent a chill through me, but I steadfastly ignored it and pulled myself up to my knees. "I'll have to go slow, since it's dark. I hope Merlot has calmed down by now."
I glanced over at my horse, still standing calmly where Lance had tethered him to the tree. He did look much calmer, now, his eyes half-closed. He probably wouldn't be thrilled at my waking him up to take him home, but he'd definitely appreciate the dryness and warmth of the barn once we made it back.
I stood up - and then stopped as I heard a rustling of leaves from behind me. When I glanced around, I saw that Lance was also on his feet, stretching his hands up above his head and bouncing slightly on the toes of his boots.
"What are you doing?" I tried to ignore how, when standing, his wool shirt rose up above the waist of his jeans, revealing an inch or so of tight abs. I forced my eyes to pull away from that little patch of exposed skin. Just because you've been cuddling - no, not even that! I said to myself. I've only been laying against him for his warmth! Fiance!
Lance raised an eyebrow at me as he lowered his hands. "I'm coming with you, of course. I don't want to find you tomorrow, pitched off your horse or hopelessly lost, after I went to all the trouble to keep you from dying of hypothermia."
My mouth gaped open for a moment before I could respond. Did the man really have such little faith in me? "This is my property! You think that I'm going to get turned around and end up dying somewhere?"
He at least was smart enough to not answer that question. Instead, Lance acted as if I hadn't spoken, moving past me to pat his own horse on the nose. "Shadow, wake up," he called softly to his horse.
"Shadow?" I hadn't caught the name of the man's horse before. "Seems like a pretty obvious name for a black horse, doesn't it?"
Lance just chuckled back at me. "You haven't dealt with him sneaking up on you and putting his head over your shoulder to grab a bite of whatever you're eating," he replied without turning around.
Feeling a bit annoyed that my little snipe hadn't phased Lance, I busied myself with checking Merlot's gear. Fortunately, everything still looked in place, and although I had to tighten up his girdle a little after the rain, he seemed in good condition to ride. I tested him by putting one foot up in a stirrup, and he didn't shy away as I hopped halfway up, putting my weight on him.
Meanwhile, my new companion had left his horse alone and was now undoing the ropes that bound the tarp covering our heads to the trees. He pulled the canvas sheet down, quickly and efficiently folding it up. He stowed it in one of the pockets on his bag, and then slung the entire bundle up onto Shadow's back and strapped it into place.
"Ready?" he asked me as he kicked dirt onto the fire, already starting to gutter and die away. He hadn't fed it in some time, and the drizzle that still fell down between the trees helped extinguish the remaining little flames.
I sighed. It didn't seem like I had any way to get rid of the man. And, to tell the truth, I did kind of appreciate his insistence on escorting me back. The darkness made me feel a little uncomfortable.
Besides, even though I'd never admit it out loud, he had already saved my life once tonight, maybe twice. He'd pulled Merlot aside, and had kept me from freezing to death out in the rain.
"Ready," I called back, climbing up into Merlot's saddle. I picked up the reins, giving them a little twitch, and the horse between my legs responded smoothly.
"Take the lead," he suggested, swinging up onto Shadow.
"Really? Me? You don't want to take the lead, too?"
Lance grinned at me, and even in the darkness, I could see the dim light glint off of his teeth. "As you said, it's your land, Gilly."
For a moment, I rankled at his use of my childhood nickname, but I decided not to bother fighting over the issue right now. Instead, I picked up Merlot's reins, gave them a little twitch to get him walking forward, and headed out of the forested area, back towards the more open grassland.
The ride back took longer than I expected, but I didn't mind sacrificing some speed in exchange for letting Merlot take his time, picking his footing carefully to ensure that he didn't accidentally step into a hole or divot and hurt himself. By the time we'd passed through the second bank of forest, I could feel myself starting to nod off in the saddle, soothed into a semi-conscious daze by the repetitive rocking motion of the animal beneath me.
As we emerged, however, and I spotted the lights of the barn and my farmhouse up ahead, I p
erked back up. "We made it!" I cheered, tossing my hands up in the air in joking celebration.
Lance followed me on Shadow up to the barn, but although I dismounted to pull the barn door open and lead Merlot inside, he stayed sitting up on his horse. "Well, good to see you've made it back," he called out.
I turned, confused, as he started to turn Shadow away. "Wait! Where are you going?" I called out.
He paused, but still didn't dismount. "Off on my way, now that you're back and safe," he replied to me.
"No, wait!" He stopped again, giving me a second to collect my thoughts. I had to stop for a moment, trying to figure out what I wanted to say.
"Listen, why don't you stay the rest of the night?" I finally suggested to him. I gestured back at my house. "I mean, I've got the whole house to my own. And it will certainly be warmer than out on the trail. The night's half over already, anyway - you can always get going in the morning, or later."
Lance turned and looked down at me for a moment. I couldn't read anything from his expression in the dim light, but after a long second, he finally nodded. "A soft bed does sound nice, if you're okay with having me," he said softly with the slight drawl in his voice.
I waved him down off his horse. "Come on, put that black beast of yours away in the stable!" Not waiting for him to obey my order, I led Merlot into the barn and out of the rain.
Chapter eight
I heard the soft sound of Shadow's hooves stepping into the barn as I undid the straps on Merlot's gear. I smiled to myself for a brief little second, but made sure to wipe that expression off of my face as I turned to put the gear away.
Lance similarly didn't say anything as he unsaddled Shadow, but I caught his eyes flicking over my own face, only briefly making contact with me before pulling away. I frowned a little to myself. What was he thinking when he looked at me like that?
"Listen, Gilly, I'll stay the night," Lance spoke up as I finished giving Merlot a little brushing down. "But I think maybe I'll take a couch or something. I appreciate the offer, but I don't think we, um, know each other well enough."
I turned to look back at him, my mouth dropping open. "What are you talking about?" I asked.
He blinked, shaking his head for a moment. "Well, you said that you had the whole house to yourself - I thought-" he began helplessly, and then stopped, clicking his mouth shut.
It took a moment before I realized what he'd been thinking. "Oh my god!" I exclaimed in shock, throwing the horse brush at him. "I'm engaged! I wasn't intending to ask anything like that! I just meant that I have some spare bedrooms where you could stay!"
The man yelped as the brush connected with his shoulder, but I didn't feel any better. How dare he! Why would this man think that, just because he'd helped me out when I was temporarily inconvenienced out in the woods, I would throw my body at him? Did he imagine that I had absolutely no respect for myself?
For a moment, I almost considered revoking my invitation, kicking this stranger back out into the cold. But just as I opened my mouth to suggest such a thing, I saw the panicked and ashamed expression on his face, and relented. Lance might have completely misread my suggestion, but he appeared very apologetic for thinking such a terrible thing.
Still, I made sure to toss my hair back haughtily over my shoulder and snort a bit at him as I passed him, leading him up to the farmhouse. That would show him that I was not yet mollified, no matter how much he apologized. The nerve of the man, thinking that I'd just offer my body up to him like that!
Inside, I kept the frosty tone in my voice as I pointed out the bathroom and the guest bedroom located up the stairs, at the opposite end of the hall from my own master bedroom. To his credit, Lance didn't say anything to rock the boat, but simply nodded as I pointed out anything that he might need.
"And if you need to use the shower, well, it can be kind of temperamental in terms of hot versus cold water," I finished, aware that I was running out of words to say. "I guess that's about everything. Any questions?"
Lance just shook his head. "If it's all right, I think I'm going to hit the bed right away," he replied. "I can barely keep my eyes open."
I nodded. Now that he mentioned it, I felt the same way. "Sure thing," I said. "Well, er, have a good night. And thanks for helping me out there, I guess."
If the man had made any sort of comment about how it was nothing, or his duty, I would have felt justified in hating him. But instead, Lance just nodded without saying a word, glanced at my eyes for a split second, and then ducked into his bedroom.
I stood outside the man's bedroom for a moment longer, trying to think through the tangle of sleepy half-conscious thoughts in my head. Was I being too hard on the man? After all, he had jumped in with no prompting to save me from getting trampled by Merlot's hooves.
But on the other hand, I pointed out to myself, I didn't know anything about him, aside from his name - and even that, Lance Umbral, could be fake. I didn't know who he was, what he did as a job, or how he truly was as a person. I shouldn't let myself be too overly trusting, I told myself. That's a great way to have someone take advantage of me.
After another minute, I finally came to a decision. Go to bed, I said to myself. I can figure out what to do next in the morning - assuming that Lance is even still around.
He probably won't be, I went on as I crawled into the wonderfully soft warmth of my sheets, pulling them around me into a little cocoon. He'll probably head out first thing in the morning, and I won't have to worry about dealing with him any longer. I'm blowing this whole thing out of proportion.
Gosh, these pillows and blankets feel amazing.
And with that, I slipped off into comfortable, dreamless sleep.
*
I opened my eyes to solid whiteness and soft, enveloping warmth.
I fought my way up from the blankets that had wrapped around me, yawning and stretching out my hands as I felt my consciousness slowly returning. I glanced down at myself in confusion. Why did my hair feel like a matted mess, as if I'd fallen asleep right after a shower?
It wasn't until I'd struggled up to a sitting position that I remembered what had happened the night before. I'd gone out riding, had been thrown from Merlot, and then that man had appeared out of nowhere to save me.
Lance! I sat up a bit straighter in bed, craning my senses. Had he left already?
I couldn't hear any noise - but my nose wrinkled a little as I caught a strange scent drifting in from the crack under my door. It smelled like-
Breakfast!
I jumped up from bed, making it halfway to the door before I glanced down at myself and realized that I was totally naked! I'd stripped off all of my wet clothes the night before, dumping them all in the growing pile of dirty laundry on my floor as I climbed into bed. I hadn't had enough energy left to even hunt for wherever I'd discarded my pajamas before crawling into the sheets and falling asleep.
Quickly, I grabbed a tee shirt and a pair of boxers, pulling them on. I glanced down at myself, and then on second thought, added in a nightgown that reached down to just above my knees. No need to worry about any nipple popping out through the tee shirt fabric, I thought approvingly to myself.
Once dressed, I headed out of my room, following that intoxicatingly tasty smelling scent with my nose.
The smell led me downstairs, into the kitchen. For a second, I didn't recognize the man standing at my stove, facing away from me and casually tossing a pan full of something smelling absolutely amazing. The man wore a pair of jeans but no shirt, and I could see all of the muscles in his back rippling as he hefted the pan.
Damn, I couldn't help thinking to myself as I watched the man cook, unaware of my presence. Broad shoulders, clearly in great shape - he looks great!
A second later, I shook myself. Knock it off! He's definitely not your fiancé, and you shouldn't be checking out another man like this!
Then again, I reminded myself, I still caught Marsden occasionally watching a woman walk by with a low-cut t
op or a lot of leg showing. It was probably still okay to look, as long as I didn't actually do anything to act on it.
Having convinced myself, I spent another couple moments admiring the man's muscles and figure as he cooked. Whatever he was doing, it smelled amazing. Man, I ought to get someone to come cook for me more often like this!
Chapter nine
There was a man in my kitchen cooking! I couldn't get over the strangeness of this. It definitely wasn't Marsden, I thought to myself. My fiancé tended to live off of pizza and takeout if I let him. I wasn't a cook either, but I at least tried my hand at a few basic dishes that were supposedly more healthy than just frozen pizzas.
I cleared my throat after another second. I didn't want the man to turn around and catch me staring at him, did I? "Er, Lance?" I spoke aloud.
The man twitched for a moment, as if he'd forgotten that this wasn't his house, but when he turned around to me, I could see a little smile gracing his normally stern face. "Morning, Gilly," he greeted me, bringing the pan full of food with him.
He'd managed to find my plates in one of the cupboards, and he doled out the mixture from the skillet onto the two plates, splitting it equally. "You don't have much in terms of food around," he commented as he used a spoon to scrape out the cubes of whatever he'd been cooking. "I found some potatoes, but I kind of had to cut around some of the moldy parts of your vegetables in the fridge."
I stared down at the delicious smelling food on the plate. "Yeah, I'm not a big cook. What is this?"
"Potato scramble with some zucchini and red pepper flakes," Lance replied, dropping the empty pan into the sink and then reaching back for a pot still on the stove. "Hold on, it's going to have a poached egg on top."
I watched, my mouth hanging slightly open, as the man lifted the lid off of the pot and ladled a couple of cooked eggs out of the water inside. "Poached?" I repeated blankly, watching the egg's white quiver a little as he carefully set it down on top of the hash.
Lance nodded - and then laughed as he caught sight of my expression. "You really weren't kidding when you said that you don't cook much, were you?" he asked. "It's basically like a soft-boiled egg. You cut into it, and the yolk runs into the scramble underneath."
Dark Horse: Bad Boy Cowboy Romance Page 4