The smile that curved his mouth sent a shiver running through her. “If I were in your position, I think I’d be praying that you were wrong about that.”
She ignored the warning. “But I will fall,” she protested.
He eyed the distance from her feet to the ground. “I wouldn’t advise it.”
“You can’t be serious.” Caitrina was at a loss—never having encountered a situation like this. In truth, she wasn’t used to being told no—particularly by men. Was he in earnest or merely toying with her? His expression was infuriatingly unreadable.
She’d gone about this all wrong. But he’d irritated her with his amusement at her predicament and his bold appraisal of her body. Taking a deep breath, she forced a broad, playful smile to her face and batted her lashes for good measure. “For a moment I thought you were serious, but I know a gallant knight such as yourself would never refuse a lady in peril.”
Gallant knight, ha!He wasn’t likely to be confused with a knight in shining armor anytime soon.
He arched a brow. It was obvious he knew exactly what she was up to. He gave her another long, penetrating look, one that she felt all the way to her toes. “Perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement.”
Something in his voice caused the hair to prickle at the back of her neck. “What sort of arrangement?”
“I believe it is customary in such situations to offer a boon.” Their eyes met, and she could see the unspoken challenge in his gaze. “A kiss, perhaps?”
Her eyes widened. Of all the arrogant . . . Outrage coursed through her body, but somehow she held her temper in check. “I believe it is customary in such situations for a gentleman to offer to help a woman without condition.”
He turned back to his horse, gathered the reins, and started to lead it away. “Suit yourself.”
She gaped at his retreating back. “Where are you going? You can’t just leave me here.”
He turned and gave an infuriating lift of his brow. He didn’t need to say anything, the gesture said it all: He could indeed.
The branch under her feet cracked and sagged a few more inches. He might have made a movement toward her, but she couldn’t be sure. Her arms had begun to ache from the strain of supporting most of her weight; she didn’t know how much longer she could hold on. Her face was hot with anger and indignation. She would argue with him later. “Very well. Just get me down.”
He gave a mocking bow. “As you wish, my lady.”
For such a tall, muscular man, he negotiated the branches of the tree with surprising agility and speed, stopping a few branches below the weakened branch that was partially supporting her. In the span of only a few seconds, his hands circled her waist. She sucked in her breath at the unfamiliar sensation. His hands were big and strong, and she was acutely aware of his thumbs positioned under her breasts.
Their eyes met. Shock reverberated through her. Up close, he was even more handsome that she’d realized: piercing slate blue eyes, dark brown hair that in the sunlight contained hints of the red it had probably been in his youth, a wide mouth, and a hard, square jaw. It was a harshly masculine face, but also an incredibly attractive one. Given his abominable behavior, it shouldn’t affect her, but she found herself flushing nonetheless. Though his expression betrayed nothing, somehow she knew that he was not as indifferent as he seemed.
His hold was firm and sure as he plucked her from the cracked branch and lowered her toward him, bringing her to rest securely against the hard length of his body.
Relieved, she sagged against him. Her arms felt like jelly, and for a moment she allowed herself to take refuge against his warm, solid strength. Solid was perhaps an understatement. His chest and arms were like granite. But rather than intimidate, the powerful evidence of his strength made her flush with a strange, heavy heat.
She’d never been this close to a man, where it seemed as if every inch of her body were melded to his. It felt . . . exciting—disturbingly so. One of her legs was caught between his powerful thighs, and her breasts were crushed against his chest. She could feel the steady pounding of his heart, all the more disconcerting because of the erratic beat of hers. He was so warm and smelled incredible—clean and soapy, with the faint hint of an exotic spice.
She had to tilt her chin to meet his gaze and realized he was every bit as tall as she’d imagined. The top of her head barely reached his shoulders. “You can let go of me,” she said unevenly. “I can get down from here.”
At first she thought he would refuse, but after a moment he released her.
Thankfully, the feeling had returned in her arms and she was able to follow his lead the rest of the way down. He dropped to the ground from the lowest branch and reached for her. She stared at his outstretched hand and hesitated. It seemed somehow significant. Cautiously, she slipped her hand into his and jumped. He caught her by the waist and lowered her down as if she weighed no more than that kitten she’d just rescued.
When her feet touched the ground, she wanted to sigh with relief. Instead she found herself unable to breathe, caught in the web of his magnetic gaze—and the strange sensations wrought by the realization that only a very thin piece of linen separated her nakedness from him.
What if he wasn’t a gentleman?It was probably something she should have thought of earlier, but she’d never been in such a vulnerable predicament. And she’d never met anyone like him.
Her heart fluttered like the wings of a bird trapped in a cage. His arms were still around her. She should pull away—he was a stranger, a man who hadn’t even told her his name—but her body seemed to have a will of its own. She stood there, transfixed by a connection that was unlike anything she’d ever experienced.
But its strength frightened her, enough to give her the sense to jerk away.
“Thank you,” she said quickly, her voice unsteady. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear nervously. He watched the movement with an intensity that unnerved her. Actually, everything about him unnerved her. “I can manage from here.” But all six-foot-plus, heavily muscled inch of him stayed exactly where he was—too close. If she weren’t feeling so strangely vulnerable and unsettled, she might have admired the impressive physique she’d just been plastered to. “You can go now.”
Again she’d taken the wrong tone, she realized.
“Dismissed, my lady? Aren’t you forgetting something?”
