Velvet Embrace

When Dominic had recuperated enough from his wounds to travel, they returned to Rutland. They planned to be married by special license, but Brie wanted the ceremony to take place at Greenwood with her family and friends present. She was relieved to find the scandal Julian had predicted had never materialized. No one had even known about her journey to France with Dominic, since her aunt and uncle had made up a story to cover her sudden absence from London.

Dominic stayed at the Lodge during the week before the wedding and called daily at Greenwood, but even though he spent the majority of his time with Brie, he rarely saw her alone. Finally, the day before they were to be married, he was able to get her to himself—by the simple expediency of inviting her to go riding.

She was waiting for him in the stableyard when he rode up on Diablo.

"Still wearing breeches, I see," Dominic observed when he saw how she was dressed.

Brie glanced up at him uncertainly. "You said you didn't mind."

His eyes raked her body, lingering on the swell of her breasts. Then he grinned. "No, ma belle, I don't mind. I even find myself growing quite fond of your breeches. And at least you've rid yourself of that disreputable coat. Remind me, though, to recommend a decent tailor to you—one who can fashion you something with a bit more style."

Seeing the teasing glint in his eyes, Brie felt her pulse quicken. Dominic looked impossibly handsome, she thought as she gazed up at him. His flowing lawn shirt was opened at the throat, its whiteness contrasting with his dark features, while his ebony hair was ruffled by the fresh spring breeze, glinting blue-black in the sunlight.

"What was it you wanted to show me?" she asked, trying to dismiss her fluttering heartbeat.

"You'll see. Come here." He urged Diablo closer, reaching down to pull Brie into the saddle before him.

Brie leaned back in his arms, never suspecting what such intimate contact with Dominic would do to her. Immediately she sat bolt upright, startled by the throbbing tremor that ran though her.

She sat rigidly erect as they rode out of the stableyard, but Dominic's arm remained wrapped around her waist, his hand resting directly below her breast, making her skin burn. She could feel the strength of his muscled chest against her back, the iron hardness of his thighs against her legs.

"Is it a secret?" she asked breathlessly, trying to take her mind off Dominic's nearness.

"No, I merely want to show you a horse I recently acquired. I had considered asking you to train him for me."

"A simple business proposition, then? Why didn't you say so?"

Dominic didn't reply, since he too was trying to ignore the warm currents radiating between them. He hadn't counted on his body's instant reaction to Brie's soft thighs, but he could already feel himself stiffening. "Perhaps riding double wasn't such a good idea," he murmured, removing his arm from about her waist.

When he fell silent, Brie kept her thoughts occupied by concentrating on her surroundings. It was a mellow spring morning, one whose beauty couldn't fail to enchant. Lush green fields stretched before them, glowing emerald in the bright sunlight, and in the distance, cattle and sheep grazed peacefully. The hedgerows and coverts that dappled the rolling landscape were bursting with hawthorn, agrimony, and meadowsweet, their sweetness adding to the scent of new grass and damp earth, while black and yellow butterflies vied for space with larks, goldfinches, and hedge sparrows.

Dominic was more enchanted with the woman in his arms, though, than with the lovely morning. Brie's fragrant scent was teasing his senses, arousing a fierce hunger in him that was only aggravated by the feel of her warm, lithe body pressing against him.

When Brie squirmed in his arms, Dominic sucked in his breath. "Unless you want to be ravished, ma belle, you had better be still," he warned. "It's been far too long since I last had you to myself, and my control is rather tenuous at the moment."

They rode for a while longer, but when the ache in his loins grew too painful to ignore, Dominic touched his heels to Diablo's flanks and the powerful stallion bounded forward.

They cantered across a field, heading south when they reached a lane. About a mile further, Dominic checked their speed and turned off the lane into a wooded area. He followed the path until it ended, then brought Diablo to a halt.

"Here we are," he announced, gazing down at Brie to watch her reaction. The woods had given way to a meadow, and in the center, some distance away, a bay horse was grazing with apparent contentment.

When she spotted the bay, Brie leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. Then suddenly she gasped. "It couldn't be," she breathed.

Dominic's mouth twisted in a tender smile. "What you see in that sorry specimen of horseflesh I'll never understand. But, yes, it is Jester, alive and well."

Brie was off Diablo's back in a flash, her cry of excitement startling the high-strung stallion as she broke into a run. "Sorry, boy," Dominic murmured, soothing the nervous animal. "She isn't always this flighty, I promise you."

Dominic watched her race across the meadow, smiling when she flung her arms around Jester's neck in obvious delight. All the effort to save the injured horse had been worth the trouble, he decided. Swinging down from his horse, he tethered Diablo to a branch, the followed Brie across the meadow.

She looked up when he approached, and Dominic's heart skipped a beat at the lovely picture she made. The ribbon holding her hair had come undone, and the vibrant tresses cascaded over her shoulders, shining like fire in the sunlight. She had been crying and her eyes sparkled like emeralds through her tears. Seeing her happiness, Dominic wished it were his neck she had wrapped her arms around, rather than the bay's.

"Dominic, I . . . Thank you," Brie said simply, gazing up at him.

He took a step closer, reaching out to gently brush away a glistening teardrop.

Brie caught her breath at the tenderness in his gray eyes. When Dominic drew her into his arms, she went willingly. He looked at her for a long moment, then lowered his head slowly, just letting his lips brush hers.

Brie was lost. With an anguished moan, she melted against him, needing to feel his arms around her, needing his strength and warmth and love. Her hands clutched at his shoulders for support, digging into the rippling muscles beneath his shirt. When Dominic's lips grew more demanding, more insistent, she opened to his searching tongue, responding with all the passion she was capable of.