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Caught off guard, it took Raine a moment to gather her rattled wits. Had the man lost his mind? She was no sack of potatoes to be toted about in such a manner.
With her legs firmly trapped by his arms, she could do nothing but pound her fists against his solid back.
“What are you doing? Put me down.”
Her efforts were rewarded by an unexpected smack to her backside. “If you do not cease your struggles I will bind and gag you, do you understand?”
“Of course I do not understand.” She gave his back another blow. “Have you taken leave of your senses?”
“Without a doubt,” he muttered, halting before the horse that he had hidden in the nearby trees.
With an ease that revealed the coiled strength in his lean body, Philippe tossed her into the saddle and vaulted behind her. Once settled, he wrapped a binding arm about her waist and urged the stallion into a brisk pace.
Raine was jerked against his chest and instinctively grasped his arm as the mount slipped on the precarious ice.
“Are you attempting to break our necks?”
“You are right,” he whispered next to her ear, slowing the horse to a more cautious pace. “I might be willing to risk your pretty neck, but I am rather fond of my own.”
She tilted back her head to glare into his forbidding countenance. “If you intend to be in such a foul mood for the duration of our journey, I would prefer to walk.”
His arm tightened. “If you are wise you will not press me at this moment, meu amor. My honor prohibits me from striking you, but there are any number of satisfying means of punishing you.”
She opened her lips to inform him precisely what she thought of his dire threats, only to snap them shut again as the horse once again slipped on the ice. For the moment it seemed preferable to allow Philippe to keep his attention on the treacherous road.
Besides, she could not deny the faintest hint of fear that clutched at her stomach. She had seen Philippe in a fury before. Indeed, she seemed to possess a talent for riling his temper. But there was something…implacable about his fierce mood. A remote starkness. As if she had unwittingly crossed some line that had altered their relationship forever.
The thought made her heart clench with a raw pain.
She had known that it was a possibili
ty that Philippe might not understand her desire to assist Seurat. That he might be angry until he realized that this solution was best for all involved. But she had not expected this impregnable barrier that made her wonder if he intended to toss her from the cottage the moment they returned.
The thought plagued her as they climbed the steep hill and at last reached the gardens of the cottage. Philippe was swiftly off the horse and plucking Raine from the saddle when one of the large men that Philippe had hired to keep guard on the cottage stepped from the stables.
Keeping Raine cradled in his arms, Philippe gave a jerk of his head toward his horse.
“Take care of my horse and then come to the kitchen. I will join you there.”
The man did not so much as lift a brow at the sight of Raine being held so intimately by his employer as he gave a nod of his head. Perhaps it was a common sight for hired thugs.
“Oui, monsieur.”
Striding toward the cottage, Philippe did not spare even a glance toward the woman he held in his arms. It was as if he had forgotten her altogether, Raine acknowledged with a jaundiced glare at his perfect countenance. And perhaps it was for the best. It was better to be forgotten than to be dumped in the rose bushes.
They reached the cottage and, lifting his leg, Philippe kicked open the back door to carry Raine over the threshold.
With a squeak of surprise Madame LaSalle rushed forward, her hands pressed to her ample breasts as she regarded Raine clutched to Philippe’s chest.
“Blessed Mary, has there been an accident?”
“We are both well, Madame LaSalle,” Philippe assured the fluttering woman, moving past her with a tight smile. “All we need is a measure of privacy.”
The woman flushed as she gave a small chuckle. “Oh. Très bien.”
“Does it please you to embarrass me?” she muttered as they headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
His cold green gaze lowered to meet her mutinous expression. “The only thing that would please me at the moment is to place you over my knee and acquaint your backside with my hand.”
