‘And the other one?’ She glanced at the jet-black gigantic creature on the other side of him.
‘Is mine.’
She didn’t need to look at him to know he was smiling and somehow her pride flared.
‘Okay.’ She drew in a breath and squared her shoulders. ‘I’m fine. This’ll be fine.’
‘Hester,’ he said softly.
She looked at him, confused by his gently warning tone.
‘Don’t hide again. Not with me. Not now.’
‘Hide?’
‘You’ve just assumed your calm demeanour. It’s the way you keep yourself at a distance. You don’t need to do that with me any more. I know the truth.’
‘The truth?’ Her lungs shivered. He knew how much she wanted him?
‘You’ve already told me you’re scared.’
To avoid meeting his gaze and revealing that other truth, Hester moved quickly. She could do this. Lots of people got on horses all the time—how hard could it be? She looked at the horse and stepped on the small stool waiting beside it. She held onto the saddle, eyed the stirrup and braced. But suddenly the horse shifted, she missed the stirrup, lost balance and in a flash had fallen. It turned out the ground was hard.
She shut her eyes, utterly mortified as she heard Alek crouch beside her. ‘Are you hurt?’
‘No.’ But she realised she was unconsciously rubbing her rump. ‘And don’t even think about kissing it better.’
Embarrassment swamped her the following second. What was it with her mouth running off before her brain kicked in? He probably hadn’t thought of doing that at all. She was the one fixated on the thought of kissing—and touching, and everything else.
‘Only this would happen to me,’ she groaned.
‘I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen off.’ He laughed.
‘I didn’t even manage to get on, Alek.’
‘Just sit there for a moment.’ He turned his head. ‘It’s okay.’ He raised his voice. ‘We’re okay.’
Oh, heavens, he wasn’t talking to her. ‘Are there people watching? They saw that? Great.’
His eyes crinkled at the corners and their coal-black centres gleamed. ‘I thought you didn’t care what people thought.’
‘Of course I do. I mean, I try very hard not to and most of the time that works, but sometimes it doesn’t and I...don’t know what I’m saying when you’re just sitting here grinning at me.’ She rubbed her head, feeling so hot and embarrassed while wishing he were closer still and she was still rabbiting on in a way that she never normally did. That ‘calm demeanour’ he reckoned she had? Shattered. Toasted in the fiery brilliance that was Alek himself.
‘Didn’t you see my scar the other night? You know, the one on my butt?’ He chuckled as the heat spread further over her face. ‘I took the most stupid tumble off my pony onto a very pointy stick when I was about seven. Everyone laughed so hard.’
‘Everyone?’
‘My parents, the staff...’ He shrugged. ‘It’s a good scar. I’m sure you saw it...or do you want me to show you now?’
‘No,’ she lied, then laughed, then sighed. ‘You’re going to make me try and get on that horse again, aren’t you?’
‘I’m not sure anyone can make you do anything,’ he teased.
‘Don’t try to make me feel competent at this when we both know I’m not. It’s all right for you,’ she muttered quietly. ‘You’re used to it. You know what to do.’
‘It’s just practice, Hester.’ He reached out to brush her face and whispered, ‘What if you ride with me?’
She stared into his bottomless eyes. ‘On Bess?’
‘No, on Jupiter.’ That wickedness gleamed again. ‘He’s named for his size.’
‘Of course he is.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘If I can’t get on Bess, how do you think I’m going to get on Gigantor?’
‘Jupiter,’ he corrected with another laugh. ‘I’ll help you.’ He took her hand and tugged her to her feet.
She stood nervously as Alek shifted the small stool. His hands were firm on her waist as he hoisted her with ease, ensuring she was safely astride the animal before releasing her. She clung to the reins nervously as Alek vaulted up behind her with superhuman agility.
‘You can let go now. I’ve got him. And you.’ Alek’s breath was warm in her ear and she heard his amusement as he put his arms around her. He pressed his palm against her belly and pulled her back to lean against his chest.
She drew a shaky breath in because this felt extremely intimate and precarious. They were up high.
‘Don’t worry,’ he murmured. ‘We’ll start slow.’
She closed her eyes for an instant, transported back to that magical night when he’d turned her in his arms and made her feel impossibly good things. But then she blinked as Alek made a clicking noise with his mouth and the horse moved.
She heard his laughter as she tensed. He pulled her back against him firmly again and kept his hand pressed on her stomach. She gave up resisting and just leaned against him. He talked endlessly, telling her the names of the horses grazing in the fields as they passed them but she didn’t remember a single one. His voice simply mesmerised her as he pointed out other features of the ranch as Jupiter carried them along a pathway that narrowed as they hea
ded towards a forested area.
‘These islands are volcanic,’ Alek explained. ‘While there’s apparently no threat of an eruption any time soon, we do get some interesting geographical features.’
‘Really?’ She mocked his tour-guide tone. ‘Such as?’
‘Such as wait and see.’
She felt his laughter rumble again and her stomach somersaulted. Being held in his arms like this just made all her unrequited-lust feelings burn brighter still. It would take nothing to turn her head and press her lips to his neck. It took everything to stop herself from doing it.
Alek pressed his knees, urging Jupiter forward, faster. He wanted to get to the forest sooner. Having Hester in front of him like this was pure torture. He’d been pacing downstairs for hours waiting for her to wake up, yet not wanting to disturb her too soon because she’d obviously been exhausted. And now she was in his arms but not the way he really wanted. The battle within was long lost. He wanted her again and damn any complicated consequences. Yet he still ached. With what he’d told her? What she’d told him?
‘I’m sorry we brought your cousins to Triscari,’ he blurted.
‘I wanted to be a princess for a day,’ she said ruefully. ‘I wanted to look like I had the fairy tale. Just for that moment. Just for once. Because I do still care, just a little. That’s pretty stupid, right?’
‘No, I think it’s pretty normal.’ He totally understood that she’d want to prove herself to them. ‘I always wanted not to be a prince for a day, so I get it.’
‘Does it ever happen? Do you ever get to have a day off?’
‘I have one now.’
She was quiet for a while, but he felt her stiffness slowly return.
‘When this ends, I want everyone to think I walked away from you. I don’t want to be the victim all over again. I’d rather be seen as the evil cow who broke your heart. That it was me who chose. That I had the power.’ Slight laughter shook her slim body. ‘Can your ego handle that battering?’
‘Absolutely.’ But he felt choked. He didn’t want to think about this ending yet. He didn’t want to consider the moment when she’d walk out and not look back. But at the same time he wanted her to feel the power that she sought. He wanted her to know she actually had it already. She was strong and beautiful.