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I dropped my forehead onto my knees again and squeezed my eyes closed, focusing on maintaining control. I did not wish to grow light-headed enough to faint. Not now.
James’s arms came around me, and before I realized what had happened, he pulled me onto his lap. I curled against his chest, burying my face in the dip between his shoulder and his neck, and his arms went around my back, his spicy scent engulfing me. He applied enough pressure to make me feel wholly surrounded, and I gasped lightly. The feeling of helplessness seeped away while I was in his arms, and the more pressure he applied, the better I felt.
“Sorry,” he said, misunderstanding my gasp and releasing me.
“No, please.” I reached for his arms and put them around me again, burying my face once again in his spicy scent. “I need you.”
His breath caught, and he wrapped his arms around me tighter. James held me until my breathing returned to normal, and sense filtered back into my mind. By the time I was lucid again, embarrassment had settled upon my skin and in my stomach.
I leaned back, breaking his tight hold. “Forgive me, James. I should not have—”
“No, it is I who must apologize. I did not expect Luna would frighten so easily. She has been so docile and calm for me.”
“Yes, but you are a skilled rider. I believe I would be better suited to a pony.”
He smiled, and his hands rubbed soft circles over my back, soothing my injured pride. “I would not wish for you to ever feel that way again, but I must admit that this is a pleasant way to spend the morning.”
I shook my head. “You must think me the most childish creature.”
“Far from it, I assure you.” His voice was hoarse, and I found myself drawn to his lips.
But I did not want to kiss the man after such an awful experience. How ridiculous it would be for him to always remember that the first time I kissed him was shortly after proving how utterly inept I was at one of his favorite activities.
I tore my attention away from his lips and crawled from his lap. His hands were reluctant to release me, and they slid over my body as I rose. My heart raced again, but this time because of the way James made me feel, and nothing about it was unpleasant.
He stood beside me, much closer than usual, and I had to bend my neck back to look in his eyes. “Thank you.”
“The pleasure was entirely mine.” He lifted a hand and scrubbed it over his chin. “Do you think you will be able to mount Luna to return home?”
My chest went cold. “I don’t think I can.”
“It is such a long walk.”
“Do you need to return for something in particular?”
“No, but you do. Mother would like to write out the invitations. I believe she has a hundred cards, and that doesn’t include addressing the envelopes.”
“Drat.” I looked to where the horses stood idly side-by-side at the water’s edge, their elegant necks bent to the stream. “I do not think I can do it.”
“Would you be willing to ride with me?”
“On a horse that . . . how did you phrase it last night?” My lips curved softly. “He believes himself to be smarter than his rider?”
“Yes, he is that, but he will obey me.” James shook his head and let out a soft sigh. “You will always be safe with me, Felicity.”
I looked from Solis to James and could not deny the earnestness in his gaze. His ardent pleading was enough to tempt me back onto a horse—but only because he would be in control this time. “We can try.”
James broke out in a smile that was worth the entire ordeal I’d suffered so far that morning. “I shall mount first, and then you can sit in front of me. I think that is our best course of action to avoid ruining your habit.”
“I assure you, I shan’t have need of it again.”
He looked at me sharply, and I regretted my words. But I did mean them, so I did not attempt to take them back.
James tossed Luna’s reins in front of her and tied them to Solis’s bridle beneath his throat so she would follow us home. He mounted Solis with the greatest ease, as though it was no effort at all to lift his body and swing his leg over the saddle. He slid back as far as he could and walked Solis to the edge of the stream near a few larger rocks. I climbed up on one of them, though it was awfully angled and not at all like a mounting block, and lifted my foot to slide it into the stirrup.
Using James’s help beneath my arms, I jumped up onto his saddle and landed hard. His arms went around my waist, and I turned, seated sideways, so I could hold him around the middle. “I do not like this very much,” I said, feeling extremely high up from the ground.
“Would you be vexed if I admitted that I am enjoying it excessively?”
