Lexi halted, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. “Oh my goodness, this place is so beautiful. What a lovely surprise.”
“Aye, the garden is one of my favorite spots here at Sevenrest, but this is not yer surprise, my lady.” He took her hand and gently tugged. “Come. I think ye will like what I have yet to show ye even better.”
Her lovely brows arched higher. “Really? Even better than this Eden?”
“Even better,” he said. “I promise. Come and see.” He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this excited to give someone a tour of his expansive stable and introduce them to his herd of unicorns. He treasured the sometimes temperamental animals even more than horses, even though he considered both species a great deal more intelligent than many gave them credit.
As soon as they emerged from the grove of fruit trees and passed through the garden’s back gate, Lexi gasped. “You have unicorns!”
“Aye, lass. Quite the herd since they have grown to trust me and know I offer them the shelter of my stables only when they wish it.”
The inquisitive beasts in the adjoining meadow ambled closer, the larger, more mature animals first, followed by the youngsters, some of which had yet to sprout their horns. The older mares, silver white in color, would ensure the frisky, golden colts didn’t venture too close until they deemed Lexi safe. Then they all stopped as one and stared at her for a long moment. The silver stallion, the mares, and every single young one bowed their heads, directing the gracious gesture at Lexi.
“What are they doing?” she whispered.
Jeros smiled at the way she drew closer as if seeking his protection. Unable to resist, he put his arm around her. Her soft warmth tucked against his side almost took him to his knees. He cleared his throat and forced himself to concentrate.“They recognize Pegasus’s mark. He is their alpha, their trusted leader. They honor ye with their fealty because he chose to bless ye as a trusted soul.”
“Oh my,” she said just as softly. “I am the one who is honored.”
Just as he had known she would be. Lexi Vine might be a proud woman with strong opinions, but she was also humble and overflowing with kindness and caring.Thatwas another reason the unicorns bowed to her.
“Can I get closer? Do you think they would mind?” Without waiting for his answer, she eased toward them with her hand outstretched, knuckles first, in case one of them decided to bite. But after the sign of their united fealty, Jeros knew without a doubt that none of them would ever get fractious with Lexi.
“Hello, beautiful ones,” she said quietly to the glorious creatures. “I can’t possibly tell you how overwhelmed I am to meet you. Thank you so very much for allowing it.”
The stallion came forward first, gently grumbling his greeting. The mares followed, and then the youngsters. Soon, they surrounded her, nudging closer and giving her a good sniff until she giggled.
Lexi welcomed them all, petting and talking softly, her giddiness unmistakable.
Jeros had never seen anyone so happy, and it pleased him beyond words. Yes. This had been one of his better ideas. He wished he had thought of it earlier. Her joy gave him joy. It was the first time in his life that such a thing had happened, and he rather liked it. Liked it a lot, as a matter of fact.
She looked back at him and smiled. “This is the best surprise I have ever had. Thank you.”
He accepted her thanks with a graceful nod, reveling even more in her happiness.
“I don’t see any fencing,” she said as she gently stopped a foal from chewing on her sleeve. “Yet this is quite a large herd. What keeps them from wandering off into the woods?”
“They know they are safe here and will never be asked to do anything they are unwilling to do. A unicorn is somewhat different from a horse. One does not simply ride a unicorn or harness it to a carriage; one must always ask the creature if they will go along with whatever ye wish for them to do. One does notowna unicorn.”
“I see. And if they refuse what you ask of them?”
He shrugged. “Then I move on to the next beast and ask it. They stay here because they know I would never attempt to force them into anything. They trust me.”
“That means a lot.”
For some reason, it felt as though she was talking about a great deal more than unicorns—and he prayed that the feeling was correct. “Trust is important to ye, then?”
Her wry smile said much more than any words ever could. “I believe I already told you that trust and honesty are biggies with me. They are the deal breakers.”
“Deal breakers?”
She twitched a faint shrug. “Past relationships have ended because of trust issues or when I’ve been lied to. When someone lies to me, I feel like they’re calling me stupid.” She locked eyes with him. “And nobody better call me stupid. I may be a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them.” She slowly extricated herself from the beasties vying for her attention and returned to him.
“What is it?” she asked. “You suddenly went all dark and scowly.”
He couldn’t get past the fact that she’d had relationships with others. A possessiveness, a raging jealousy that burned like an eternal fire, surged through him. Whether or not she knew it, she belonged to him and always would. “Yer past relationships. How many have hurt ye?”
She wrinkled her nose and grew thoughtful. “All of them, I guess. With the guys I dated, I mean. A few friendships fizzled out, but not many. I haven’t circulated all that much or worked at finding someone to settle down with. I discovered early on that it just wasn’t worth the effort to get emotionally attached only to get hurt.” She jutted her chin higher. “How have your past relationships gone?”
