“You’re leading me astray.” Once upright, she patted and straightened her skirts. She wasted her time. With her loose hair, creased clothing, and indefinable air of fulfillment, she looked thoroughly tupped.
Dear God, what he’d give to have her again. Lying over her, he hadn’t been able to think beyond her accessibility. The merest hitch of her skirts and he’d take her from behind. She’d squirm deliciously and make those luscious sounds that became more addictive than brandy to a drunkard.
He stifled the urge to keep her here. They’d already had one close call. He couldn’t chance another. He led her toward the edge. “I’ll go first and make sure it’s safe.”
When Richard set foot on the ladder, Sirius barked and trotted forward. “Quiet, you blockhead.”
As if the dog understood—Richard wasn’t entirely convinced that he didn’t—he sat on his haunches as his master descended.
“Stay there. I’ll check outside,” he called to Genevieve, who peeped down, thick golden hair framing her face.
His heart turned over. If he’d been close enough to haul her into his arms, she wouldn’t be going anywhere until tomorrow morning. If then. Prudence be damned.
Sirius watched with cool consideration. He shot the hound a quelling glare. “Mind your manners.”
“What did you say?” Genevieve asked from above.
“Nothing,” he muttered.
After checking the stable yard, he returned to the ladder. “Nobody’s around. Can we get back into the house without being seen?”
“I hope so. I can’t stay up here forever.”
How he wished she could. How he wished he could stay with her. She descended as he held the ladder steady. He couldn’t help regretting that she’d put her drawers on.
She glanced down with laughing disapproval. “Stop looking up my skirt.”
“You have the most magnificent legs. It’s a crime not to admire them.”
She blushed. “Arrant nonsense.”
He caught her round the waist and swung her to the floor. Then inevitably he kissed her. If she protested, he’d stop. Well, he’d consider it. But Genevieve, foolish woman she was, responded with a passion that set his blood rushing.
Eventually he raised his head. “We can’t.”
She was rosy and heavy-eyed, resting against him as if she had no thought of being anywhere else. “Will you come to the summerhouse tonight?”
He tightened his embrace, basking in her lithe warmth. With her, the anger that had smoldered most of his life faded. Even vanished. With her, he was free as never before. “We’re being reckless, my darling.”
She tilted her head. “I’ve never been reckless before. I’m beginning to enjoy it.”
“Only beginning?”
She laughed softly. “You’re so conceited.”
“With you in my arms, I feel like a god.” He pretended to tease. Whereas the woeful truth was that she made him feel immortal. By Jove, if a dragon poked his scaly head through the barn door, Richard would repel the beast with his bare hands.
“Will you meet me?” Her smile faded, revealing a need that stoked his own.
His heart crashed hard against his ribs. He bent and kissed her quickly. Anything more and he’d let the world hang itself from the nearest tree while he bundled her up the ladder into the fragrant hay. “I can’t stay away.”
She stroked his beard-roughened cheek. “Good.”
He smiled, loving her frank desire. Still he couldn’t let her go. “First we must decide what to do about Fairbrother.”
He loathed the way the swine’s name stole the joy from her eyes. He took her hand and drew her toward the door, Sirius trotting behind. After the barn’s dimness, the light outside was blinding. Richard squinted as he stepped into the yard. Sirius growled, low and menacing.
Genevieve released a horrified gasp. Richard’s vision cleared. Hector Greengrass sauntered through the gate, beefy arms crossed over his barrel chest and a sneer on his thick lips.