So now, here she was, doing children’s work, all because of that man who called himself the Raider.
Near the blackberry patch, under some trees, was a bed of moss that looked very inviting. It might do Eleanor some good to have her sister come back very late and give her a little something to worry about. Smiling somewhat smugly, she stretched out on the moss and was asleep in minutes. Unfortunately, she began to dream about the masked man who was upsetting her life so badly. She was reliving the time he had humiliated her and the time he had kissed her when she’d been helping him to escape.
“Jessica! Jessica, are you all right?”
Jess awoke with difficulty, clutching at the strong arms that held her. “I was dreaming,” she said. “He—” She stopped because the person holding her was the man who was causing all her problems: the Raider.
“You!” she gasped. “You!” Without another thought, she drew back her fist and hit him on the jaw.
“Why you little brat!” he seethed at her, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her to the ground. The worn-out fabric of her dress front split open, exposing a thin line of soft, white fabric from neck to waist. The pink of her skin showed beneath the fabric.
Jessica felt the dress split, then saw the look in the eyes behind the black mask. “If you touch me, I’ll—”
“Feel rewarded,” he said angrily, keeping her pinned to the ground while his lips came down on hers.
Jessica felt his lips for the second time and began to fight. She’d die before she let this man force himself on her. She kicked out at him, catching him once on the shins. She felt him suck his stomach in at the pain, but he kept his lips glued to hers.
He threw his leg over hers to keep it still. Jess tried to wiggle out from under him. She flung her head sharply to one side, away from his torturous kiss.
The Raider pinned both her hands above her head with one of his, then took her chin in his other hand and forced her mouth back under his. To keep her hips still, he put his full body weight on her.
For a moment, Jessica was still. There were emotions shooting through her that she’d never felt before. Was this what the newly married women giggled about? Was this the emotion that made engaged girls starry-eyed?
The Raider pulled away from her lips, but kept his face close to hers. It was evening and the starlight made his face darker, his eyes more brilliant than ever.
“Jessica,” he said, and there was some wonder in his voice.
She blinked at him a couple of times, then in one violent motion pushed him off her and stood.
The Raider, that finely chiseled mouth of his smiling, looked up at her. “Well, Jessica, for all your men’s airs, you are a woman after all.”
Jess grabbed a handful of blackberries from her basket and prepared to throw them at him.
Like a big cat, he leapt to his feet and grabbed her hand. He closed his hand over her little one and squeezed until the berries oozed out between her fingers. Looking into her eyes, he began to lick the juice from between her fingers. For some reason, the sight of his tongue made Jessica’s heart beat a little faster.
He easily pulled her hand behind her back and moved so his body was touching hers. “I believe I missed a few berries,” he whispered, then bent and pressed his face to her chest and began kissing the top of her heaving breast.
He looked back at her.
Jessica was staring at him in wide-eyed astonishment, not understanding at all what she was feeling. She couldn’t move but just stood
there stupidly, allowing this man to touch her.
“Good-bye, my sweet Jessica. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
As he mounted his horse, Jessica just stood there, hands to her side, crushed blackberries running down her skirt, and watched.
He raised his fingertips to his lips.
It was his smile, that knowing, smug smile, that made Jessica come out of her stupor. She grabbed another handful of berries and sent them flying at his head. But he was already gone and all that was left was the sound of his laughter echoing through the trees.
“I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!” she said, stamping her foot and snatching the two baskets of berries she’d picked. “I really, truly, honestly, absolutely hate him.” She started down the path toward town, but on impulse looked back at the bed of moss where she’d lain with the Raider. Without thinking about what she was doing, she plucked a little yellow flower from the edge of the moss and tucked it into the torn bodice of her dress.
“Have to fix that,” she murmured as she ran her hand along the edge of her dress.
“I hate him, I really do,” she repeated, as if she hadn’t really believed herself the first time, then started home.
* * *