He abruptly dropped his fork to his plate. “I find I’ve quite lost my appetite. Would you care for a ride, my lady?”
Victoria wasn’t precisely at home on a horse. Equestrienne had never been one of her talents. She hesitated. “I’m not certain I’m in the mood to be jostled about.”
Of course, the opportunity to spend more time with Will was appealing indeed. She very much wanted to continue in their tentative pax. Perhaps the awkwardness of the morning could be mollified, at least in part.
“Pray take pity on me, my dear. I’ve had a rough morning.” He gave her a grin that sent heat straight to her core.
The man knew how to make her bend to his whims. He was dangerous.
“Very well,” she agreed after a bit of introspection. “I’ll accompany you.”
ill had given her the most docile marein the stables. The horse was so calm, in fact, that Victoria would have sworn she was sleeping on her hooves except that she kept plodding along at an exceedingly slow pace. Pembroke, meanwhile, rode a horse as sleek as it was fast. They’d only been riding for a few minutes and already she grew tired of having a view of his mount’s hindquarters.
“Will,” she called.
He stopped and turned back to her. “What is it, my dear?”
“I thought you said you wanted me to accompany you.”
He frowned as she caught up to him and reined in her sluggish horse. “Youareaccompanying me.”
“Not precisely.” Her mare began nosing through a clump of grass, deciding it was time for a second breakfast. “I’ve been staring at your back the entire time.”
“I’ve been told I have a delightfully broad back. I thought you may have wanted to admire it.”
His tone was deadly serious. Victoria searched his bland expression, trying to discern if he was having her on. She couldn’t tell. Each day with him proved an altogether enlightening experience. Finally, he laughed, the hard planes of his handsome face softening. There was much more to him, she thought, than the stranger who had abandoned her in favor of living a wastrel’s life in London. He continued to surprise her and work his way deeper into her heart. Drat the man.
“I’m teasing you, Victoria.” He grinned at her. “Don’t you Americans ever laugh?”
An answering smile tugged at her lips. “Of course we do.”
He sobered. “I suppose I haven’t given you much cause for levity.” He paused, his gaze intense upon hers. “Let’s dismount and take a walk.”
Without waiting for her response, he dropped from his mount with effortless grace and reached up to assist her. His hands circled her waist as he helped her to the ground. When her feet were safely in the grass once more, however, he didn’t release her from his hold. Instead, his hands lingered upon her, his tall form pressing into her diminutive one.
“You are impossibly lovely,” he murmured, his head lowering toward hers.
She turned her face at the last moment, presenting him with her cheek instead of her lips. He kissed her just the same, but his grip tightened on her.
“Am I being punished for this morning?”
Victoria tore her eyes from his, lest she allow him to charm her into indulging in the passion flaring even now between them. She wanted to show him she could be as unaffected as he by their encounters. Of course, that wasn’t at all true, but she had a suspicion that she shouldn’t allow him to see her entire hand in the game they played.
“What have you done that requires punishment?” she asked in lieu of answering his query.
He released his grip on her waist with one hand and gently touched her chin, forcing her to look at him once more. His gaze was blue, snapping with seductive fire and something indefinable. Penance? She couldn’t be certain.
“I left you in haste this morning,” he said lowly. “I’m aware I was an ass. I cannot make an excuse for myself, save to say that I meant you no insult. My mind was simply weighed down with weightier matters.”
She raised a brow. “Weightier matters?”
He cleared his throat, looking ill at ease. “Estate business,” he clarified with obvious ambiguity.
“Indeed?” It was her turn to raise a brow. “I was under the impression you haven’t ever handled estate matters here at Carrington House.”
“Devil take it, you’re a prying woman,” he groused. “Very well, if you must have it, I was overwhelmed by the realization that I cannot seem to get enough of my lovely wife.”
She didn’t think she believed that explanation any more than his first. But his words sent desire slipping through her wanton body just the same. “Somehow, I suspect you’re mocking me.”
