“Silas? I didn’t mean to interrupt you…” stammered Honora, her hand falling away.
God. He hated to hear her sound so uncertain.
This was what she would have to look forward to if he gave in to his most selfish desire. A life with him would be beyond miserable.
He needed to push her away, once and for all. Save them both from heartbreak.
“Would you like to go for a ride with me in the morning?” he heard himself say, instead.
Fourteen
The next morningdawned unusually bright and warm, even for the time of year, as Silas found himself saddling a stallion for Honora, much to his consternation.
How she had managed to talk him into allowing her to ride the notoriously bad-tempered mount, he couldn’t quite say.
“Are you sure you want to ride Hephaestus?” he asked with some concern, as the black beast flung his head and pawed the ground in ire, mist rising above the lush green fields in the distance.
“Oh, yes! He reminds me of my Samson,” Honora gushed, catching the reins and bringing the horse’s head down with a no-nonsense tug, to where she could gleefully stroke his nose as if he were some docile pony. “I do hope he is not pining away too dreadfully while I am gone.”
The horse snorted, appearing as confounded as Silas for a moment, and then he relaxed into her touch, butting against her hand for more petting even as he rolled an eye towards Silas with a spiteful glare.
You are a goner, sir. Just as I am,thought Silas with amusement, shaking his head as Honora proceeded to win over the willful stallion.
“I hope the horses are well exercised, I am looking forward to a good run,” said Honora, smoothing her hand along Hephaestus’s flanks.
“Naturally. The entire stable is put through their paces daily.”
Silas checked the girth for Honora one last time, sending away the groom with a single stern look, then leant down to offer her a hand up into the saddle.
It was impossible not to notice the flash of ankle, or resist cupping her lush bottom as he guided her leg up over the pommel of the side saddle.
Silas had to turn away for a moment, adjusting himself discreetly as his cock twitched and rose to attention, hungry lust thrumming through his blood as he remembered how he had held those delicate feet to the side, rocking himself against her moist heat until he spent copiously across her belly.
How he intended to keep to his earlier resolution to keep this distance, he hadn’t the faintest idea. His body obviously had not received the message.
Honora clicked her tongue, urging the horse forward into a springing trot. “Do you think you will be able to keep up, old man?” she called cheekily over her shoulder, laughing with delight at the look on his face as the jab found its mark.
Silas gritted his teeth and swiftly mounted his bay gelding, kicking after her with grim determination.
Within minutes, as he chased Honora across the misty fields, it was clear that this was, in fact, a race.
What the winner’s prize would be, was anyone’s guess.
Honora cantered ahead, clearly in the lead, her experience as a horsewoman undeniable as she skillfully steered the horse, jumping a low hedge effortlessly with an exultant whoop of glee as her hat tumbled away in her wake.
Silas took the fence easily, hot on her heels as he moulded himself to the back of his horse, urging the beast faster.
It was absolutely exhilarating, and as he pulled even with Honora, she flashed him a wicked smile that sent his heart lurching to his stomach, an answering grin straining his cheeks as they raced together now for the far reaches of the meadow.
By the time they approached the river near the border of his estate, Honora’s horse was lathered in sweat, her hair a tumbling riot hanging loose down her back.
She slowed Hephaestus, and Silas followed suit, aiming for an avenue of trees at the bank of the river.
Honora swung nimbly from the saddle as they pulled up, dropping the reins and skipping as light as a nymph towards the stream.
It seemed she was still itching to be caught.
Silas threw himself after her with a huff of amusement, watching as she picked up the trailing hem of her burgundy habit and ran without care for propriety, glancing back over her shoulder towards him with a flirtatious glance that caused his breath to seize in his lungs.
