“Rufus, perhaps Rheda would feel revived with some fresh air.”
“Excellent idea. I have brought Caesar with me. Shall we see if he is in the mood to play?” His mocking gaze traveled over her body. “I hear you are after some servicing ...” He paused before adding, “Your horses, that is. They were the topic of discussion last night. Perhaps I could see them?”
Gooseflesh rose on her arms. She did not want to be alone with him. He would ask her too many questions. She was not ready; her body was far too aware of him.
“We have not had any refreshments yet. I am sure Lady Hale would like some tea.”
Rheda sank farther back in her chair, hoping it would swallow her and she would never have to get up. Folding her hands nervously in her lap, she watched for his next move, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Do not wait for me, dear girl. When a handsome man asks for a stroll on a sunny day, a young woman should accept with relish.”
Rheda felt her face begin to heat. “I will ring for my maid; she can chaperone us.”
“Nonsense, you do not need a chaperone. I trust Lord Strathmore implicitly. He is a fine gentleman.” Lady Hale aimed a frigid stare in his direction. “Besides, your two mothers were my best friends. Rufus knows the penalty I would extract for any inappropriate behavior, do you not, my boy?”
Rufus laughed, relaxing the tension in the room. “I shall consider myself duly warned.” He offered Rheda his arm. “Shall we?”
She took his outstretched arm. Why did his simple nearness affect her so? It wasn’t merely that he was handsome. She’d always considered herself immune to a handsome face. She was hard pressed to explain the deplorable effect that Rufus Knight, Lord Strathmore, had on her.
Conscious of Lady Hale’s eyes on her she said, “I will show you to the stables. I might as well instruct Jamieson to put Caesar to work while you are here.”
More likely it was the threat he posed. She kept looking straight ahead, ignoring the disturbing presence beside her. Whatever his attributes, they made her absurdly breathless and agitated.
As they made their way in silence across to the stable block, her excitement grew—Caesar. Today her dream began in earnest. No one could understand her driving need to implement her plan. It spelled the first step in her independence.
She was startled by Strathmore’s smooth velvet voice. “Having your own horse stud means much to you, does it not?”
If she were honest with herself, she would admit it meant everything. Rheda gave a low laugh, which helped staunch the ache in her throat at the poignant memories she was trying to hold at bay.
This moment signaled the end of her constant and denigrating dependence on men. She would never accept her mother’s life of servitude to a man. A piece of property to be bartered, a breeder, only taken out to either show off, or worse, to falsely charm so that her father could have his way.
She swallowed her disturbing memories. It was becoming extremely hard to bear that Daniel was beginning to think like most men.
She straightened her spine. She would rather go and live with Meg in her small cottage than be forced to marry, to endure as her mother had. She would soon have enough money to buy a few acres. She would use the land and her horses to make her own way in the world. Besides, she could always continue to use Dark Shadow. She did not really want to, but the alternative, the thought of relying on any man, even Daniel, was too scary.
“Does it not?” he repeated softy.
“Yes.” She finally answered his question. “My horses mean everything to me.”
“Everything or simply a means to an end? A way to build yourself some security. To ensure your life is your own.”
She started and gave him a sideways glance. Bother the man. He was too perceptive by far. What else had he gleaned in their brief encounters? “Does that surprise you?”
His jeweled eyes glinted down from beneath perfectly arched brows. “No. Having seen you in action, nothing about you surprises me.”
That honest observation won a reluctant laugh from Rheda. “I am nothing like the other ladies of the
ton
then?”
“You are a spitfire and a hoyden. A woman who goes after what she wants with dogged determination.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That almost sounds like praise. Or perhaps envy. I thought men like you always did what you wanted, when you wanted ...” She added dryly, “With anyone you wanted.”
“You have experienced a lot of men then?”
“My father and his friends.”
His eyes held hers as if trying to uncover all her secrets. “I can admire a person who chases their dreams,” he said, his tone edged with respect.
Was he toying with her? “Is that why you are in Kent, my lord? To chase your dreams?”
His laugh was husky and charming—and quite disarming. “Perhaps you are my dream, Miss Kerrich.”
“I think for a man such as you, seducing women is sport.”
But not a bloodsport. She studied the viscount measuringly, as if she’d catch him out. He was a powerfully built man, broad chested and muscular. The top of her head barely came to his shoulder. Ordinarily, she was wary of powerful men. Yet surprisingly Lord Strathmore did not make her apprehensive. The few smugglers she’d met had a hint of violence about them. She had the measure of the man before her. His height and strength were not used to frighten; he had subtle weapons far more dangerous to a woman—his face and virility.
No, he did not physically frighten her. Her fear of him was seated on a deeper, more personal level. He tempted her. His aura of masculinity seduced her. She could feel her body succumbing to his presence as easily as a drunkard succumbed to free brandy.
“Come now, Miss Kerrich, not all men are like your father,” Lord Strathmore observed, interrupting her intent perusal.
She caught herself before she stumbled over the cobblestones of the courtyard. Blast him. He really
was
too perceptive.
“My father is the only experience of men I have. I have yet to meet a man who makes me want to take a risk and test my knowledge.”
Her uneasiness grew. Had he realized that statement was a lie? She did not want to admit her attraction to Lord Strathmore. He made her feel urges she had until recently successfully suppressed. She did not care for the sensations at all. Indeed, the sense of power, of vitality, about him was suffocating.
The sound of Caesar’s neighing greeted them as they approached the stable. He was off to the left in the corral, the scent of the mares making him agitated.
They entered the stables together, Desert Rose calling out a welcome to her mistress. Jamieson appeared out of the shadows.
He nodded his head. “Your lordship. Miss Kerrich.”
To her annoyance Lord Strathmore took over. “Jamieson, can you halter Desert Rose? We’ll start with her since she seemed to take a fancy to Caesar last night.” He turned to Rheda. “Did you wish to go back to the house and keep Lady Hale company? This is not an occupation for a lady to witness. Jamieson and I can take it from here.”
She knew that she should do as he suggested. It was not proper. A proper young lady would never consent to watch animals mating. Besides, Lady Hale was alone. However, his manner of taking charge irked her. “I will stay. They are my horses, after all. I should learn the procedure for future reference.”
His handsome mouth quirked. “I shall look forward to teaching you the ins and outs of breeding.”
Her face heated. “I know what happens. I have seen it before.”
“It?”
Her face was burning. “I have seen animals mating before.”
His tone turned wry as he stripped off his jacket and waistcoat. He discarded his cravat and began rolling up his shirtsleeves. “You may wish to stand back. It can be a messy business.”
She dragged her eyes away from the sight of his sinewy bare forearms, tanned and thick with muscle. The glimpse of smooth skin at the open neck of his shirt made her stomach flutter. She could see his chestnut eyes dancing with laughter. Stiffening her spine, Rheda opened her mouth to remonstrate, but he spoke again. “Caesar can smell Desert Rose. He can tell she is ready for him. A stallion is much like a man. Once he has his sights set on a mare, he will let nothing get in the way of having her.”
“Then this mating should be a success.”
Rufus turned to check that Jamieson was leading the mare out toward the corral. “Don’t introduce them until I get there. We need to check the mare is still receptive and tease the pair for a bit. It’s essential that Caesar knows I’m fully in control, long before Desert Rose reaches him, because if the stallion suspects for one minute that I’m the weaker party, then he’ll become difficult to control.”
“Jamieson had no problems last night. I think you are making this seem more difficult than it is.” And she moved to go around him.
His hand circled her upper arm and pulled her back. At her yelp of pain he dropped her arm as if he’d been burned. “I’m sorry. I did not think my grip was that firm.”
She rubbed her upper arm. “It’s not. My arms are tender from holding Desert Rose steady last night. Your stallion weighs a ton, and poor Desert Rose almost buckled under his weight.”
A frown deepened on his face. “That is why I suggested leaving the task to men,” he said gruffly.
“I am not disagreeing with you. Today I merely want to learn. It is my empire we are trying to build.” She marched passed him out toward the corral.
She did not have to turn around to know his eyes followed her. She could feel the heat of his gaze like a caress.
As soon as they reached the fence Rufus took control of his stallion. “Caesar, here. He’s experienced in breeding and will obey my command. Like all well-trained stallions, even if he is in the middle of copulation he would dismount if instructed.”
The horse obeyed his summons even though Desert Rose was being tethered across the other side of the enclosure, well away from where Rufus stood. “Good boy. Are you ready to have some fun, Caesar? We have an audience today. A woman you must try to impress,” he whispered loud enough for Rheda to hear. He was so transparent. He thought watching horses mating would make her uncomfortable.
He did not know her very well.
“Jamieson, are you ready?”
Jamieson nodded. Rufus put the lead on Caesar and walked him toward the mare. “You always approach the mare diagonally from the side. Don’t let the stallion come up behind her; he will often get too excited and make the mare nervous.”
Rheda watched the stallion’s approach in fascination.
“Notice that I am keeping Caesar far enough away from the mare so that all he can do is reach his neck over and nuzzle her hindquarters. I’m letting the stallion tease her for a couple minutes. To both further assess her willingness to allow him to mount her and to enforce to Caesar that I’m in control. If he knows I‘m in charge he’ll behave himself and he’ll only mount when I give permission.”
Keeping full control of Caesar, Rufus moved the stallion back behind Desert Rose. Caesar began prancing and snorting. On Rufus’s command, “Up, Caesar,” the big stallion mounted the mare. With cheeks flaming, Rheda squirmed upon seeing the size of the stallion’s phallus as Rufus guided it into the mare. Her body flushed with heat. The act of copulation was very different from last night. It had been dark and she had been holding Desert Rose’s head. She could not believe the size of the stallion. No wonder Desert Rose squirmed.
Rufus, damn him, noted her embarrassment. “Unlike people, horses do not thrust.”
Instantly an image of Rufus thrusting inside her filled her head. He would be large, too. Everything about the man was oversized: his ego, his presence, the anatomy of his groin ... What would it feel like? Would she enjoy it as her mare seemed to be doing? She raised a hand to her hot face.
“Hold her steady, Jamieson; it won’t be long now.”
Rufus was right. Suddenly, Caesar gave an almighty groan, and Rufus began to urge the large stallion to dismount. “The sound he made indicates he has ejaculated. Jamieson, walk Desert Rose around the stable yard for about quarter of an hour.”
Jamieson nodded and moved off.
Rufus let Caesar off the harness, and the horse took off galloping around the enclosure. “He’s pleased with himself.” They walked in silence back to the stable. Jamieson was still walking the mare in the yard.
Once inside the dark and shadowy stables, Rufus walked deliberately toward her. She tried to move out of his way, but she wasn’t quick enough and soon found herself up against the stable wall. Rufus’s voice was soft and sensual, calling to her. “Men, too, can tell when a woman is ripe for the taking.”
Rheda found her gaze riveted on his lips. Her heart began to pound in her chest. Her eyes swept across the rest of his face and froze at the expression that greeted her. He had gone quite still. There was soft fire in his eyes, and his gaze held her spellbound.
He reached up and slid his fingers behind her nape. Her breathing faltered altogether. Then shockingly, he lowered his mouth to meet hers in a feather-light contact.