“I promise,” he replied, taking her waist in his hands and lifting her effortlessly onto the back of the beast. She tried to think about balancing, not about the feel of his hands on her a moment earlier, the tingle that remained long after he’d let go.
He jumped on behind her and they set off toward the gate. “Open up,” Eddard shouted to the porter sitting by his winch. “We have most urgent business on behalf of the steward.”
The man had the gate open before he had time to stop and think. By the time he called them to stop they were already out and riding hard.
Eddard had one hand on her stomach, his arm pressing into her side, holding her firmly in place. The other hand was on the rein, guiding, not forcing the horse onward. The pace was tremendous. They thundered down the track, the horse breathing as heavily as her.
She was jolted back and forth in place and if it wasn’t for Eddard, she would have fallen many times. Each corner sent her sliding off to the side and on those occasions he pulled her against his chest. How was he breathing so calmly? How was he not as worried as her?
Her thighs burned from gripping the side of the horse, her hands holding Eddard’s arm. His muscles bulged and flexed until he seemed as brutish as the horse, the two beasts working together to reach the foot of the mountain faster than she ever thought possible.
“See that gap over there,” Eddard shouted in her ear over the sound of the hooves. “That’s where the steward is.”
“How can you tell? I see nothing.”
“The dust cloud, it rises from his horses. We have time but not much. He will soon be slowed by the steepness of a dozen crags he must top. We have an easier journey but soon we must continue on foot.”
The horse didn’t stop for another ten minutes and when it did, Jessica had to be helped down. Her legs had turned to jelly. “We have no time to waste,” Eddard said, pushing her onto her back and massaging her thighs in his enormous hands, his fingers rubbing the cramps and spasms from her body.
She lay back and looked up at him, trying to work out what was going on in his head. Did he know he’d touched her more today than anyone ever before? Was it possible that the kiss he’d given her meant more than it had seemed at the time?
She found herself thinking about the kiss again. It obviously meant little to him yet why had he done it? She had no answer. She wanted it to mean something but she dared not hope too much. To hope was to invite disappointment especially as she would be going home soon. There was no point becoming attached to him.
“Better?” he asked, helping her to her feet.
“Much.”
“You have strong legs. The best of riders could have lasted half that length of time on Apollo. You did well.”
“Thanks,” she said, unable to resist smiling. “I never knew I could ride.”
“Can you climb though?”
“Climb? I thought you said it was a goat track we were following.”
“Aye but we must get up to it.” He pointed and she looked.
She felt her blood run cold. “We’re climbing that?”
Where he’d pointed was a vertical cliff face. They were standing near the bottom of it and far above she could see tufts of grass hanging over the edge. Otherwise it was nothing but rock. She gulped as he tapped the horse on its flank. “Back home with you,” he said. “You’ve done good.”
The horse ignored him, crossing over to a stream on their left and taking a long drink.
“Stubborn,” Eddard said with a smile. “I like him.”
“Can we get back to the point in hand?” she asked, looking up at the cliff again. “I cannot climb that.”
“You dinnae have to.”
“You expect me to wait here for you to come back?”
“Nope.” He turned and tapped his shoulder. “Hop on.”
“What? You’re going to piggyback me? You’re crazy.”
“We used to train here with full barrels strapped on our back as kids. You’re half the weight and much softer than ash.”
“If you drop me…” She couldn’t think how to end the sentence but given her limited choices, she jumped onto his back, arms around his neck.
