“I don’t think a fairy-tale husband would do this,” she said, arching as he began to pump inside her.
“The villain might,” he countered with a strong thrust. Her body convulsed against him, and she squeezed him again. “If he’s ravishing the woman he wants.”
“This is too dangerous,” she warned, trying to hold back the storm of desire building. Being here with him, in this garden where anyone could happen upon them, only heightened every sensation. She could feel the thick hardness of him as he entered and withdrew.
“You’d better ride me fast, then,” he told her. “Before we’re found.”He gripped her waist, urging her to find the right pace, and Amelia sighed while he filled her. The intimacy of being joined with the man she loved evoked an emotion so strong, her eyes stung.
She was losing control, unable to grasp any more thoughts. He kissed her roughly, thrusting against her as she accepted his body into her own. It was fast and hard, a reckless lovemaking that she’d never expected her quiet husband to initiate. Her breathing was coming faster, and his hands suddenly were everywhere. Not only at her hips, but he filled his palms with her breasts, fingering the nipples beneath the muslin. Her chemise was made of a flimsy lace, and she could feel his touch burning her like a brand.
He jerked against her, and in time, her body slipped over the edge in a violent rush. He kissed her to silence the broken cry, and continued lifting her up and down until she provoked his own release.
It was a swift pleasure, one that made her want to go back to the house and do it all over again. Her hair was tangled around her shoulders, her body utterly sated.
“You were right. Someone’s coming after all.” David buttoned his trousers again and moved her off his lap.
Amelia’s knees buckled as she held the chair for balance. “I can’t believe what we just did. I never dreamed that a man and a woman would ever risk that.”
He stood up, kissing her again and pulling her to his side. “I would risk it with you.”
She leaned back, taking his face between her hands. “Do you promise?”
He nodded. Then abruptly his expression shifted as he shoved her down, and the deafening sound of a gunshot interrupted their reverie.
Amelia screamed when she saw a bloodstain widening across David’s shirt.
Chapter Sixteen
Fire blazed through his shoulder with an unholy pain. But the moment of agony was overcome by the need to protect his wife. David ignored the wound and moved through the shrubbery until he could see where the gunman was. A man was retreating on horseback, and he could hear the shouting of servants. He tried to make out the assailant’s features, but the man was already riding hard through the hills.
Two of his footmen spied him, but David ordered, “Go!” It took only moments for them to seize horses and pursue the man.
Then he turned back to Amelia, who had come up behind him. The bullet wound was so intense, he could hardly breathe. Yet his greater concern was his wife.
“You’re bleeding,” she whispered in horror. “David, you’re covered in blood.”
“It’s only my shoulder,” he admitted, shrugging it off. He didn’t know what instinct had made him react. The moment he’d seen the glint of the pistol, he’d thrown himself in front of her, shoving her down.
It didn’t matter that he’d been wounded on her behalf. He’d have done it again without question.
“Who did this to you?” she demanded. Then she paled, as if she’d come to the same conclusion he’d realized. Slowly, she reached to touch his bleeding shoulder. “That bullet was meant for me. He shot…where I was standing.”
David nodded in silent agreement. He didn’t know who would ever threaten Amelia, but she was already walking with him back to the house.
“We need Dr. Fraser,” Amelia continued. “He’ll know how to fix your shoulder.” She pressed a handkerchief against the blood, trying to stanch the flow.
“Don’t press too hard against it,” he warned, grimacing at the pain.
She softened the pressure, and when her worried green eyes met his, she said, “You saved my life.”
Despite the fiery ache, he leaned in and kissed her. “I would do it again.”
She sent one of the footmen to fetch Dr. Fraser, and it took only moments for him to appear with his wife. Lady Falsham was holding Grace, and the moment Juliette saw David’s wound, she handed her daughter to Mrs. Menford. The older housekeeper was startled, but her face softened when she took the young girl.
Amelia started to explain what happened while Dr. Fraser examined David’s shoulder. Thankfully, the bullet had gone through, but her husband bit his lip to fight against the pain.
“Who did this to you, Hartford?” the doctor asked.
“I didn’t see him clearly. He was older, though, closer to the age of Amelia’s father.”
