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There was that pesky business about the family finances, but surely Zander exaggerated the situation to make a point and to push her into an unwanted marriage. Well, she’d shown him.
Her hat flew off as she dodged through traffic on her escape. Sections of her hair came loose and hung about her shoulders, bouncing with the movement of her ride.
Arriving at the stable behind Slattery Hall, she hurriedly dismounted, tossed the reins and riding crop to one of the stable hands, and rushed toward the house. With the element of surprise and a head start, she had the advantage over Zander, but just barely and she did not wish to encounter him until he had had ample time to cool down.
However, she had misjudged his speed and determination and as she exited the stable, he came barreling in on his horse and screeched to a halt in front of her. Before she realized it, he had jumped from his horse and also tossed his reins to a stunned yet quick reflexed stable boy, then gathered her up and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Sir,” the stable boy called after him, “what about your crop?”
“Oh, you may rest assured, I am far from finished with the crop for the day.”
From her position hanging over Zander’s back, Tallie glanced up at the boy whose face no doubt reflected the shock she felt, and a knot of dread formed in her stomach. A cold chill ran through her body.
Perhaps she had gone just a bit too far.
Well, what was done was done, there was nothing she could do about it now. Zander’s arm clutched across her thighs and she could feel the tension in his body.
Yes, she had definitely gone too far.
“Zander, you must put me down right now.”
The riding crop cracked across her bottom. “What have I told you about using my Christian name? Though, considering the scene you just orchestrated and the irreparable damage you have done, that is the least of your transgressions.”
He slammed the door to Slattery Hall open with a bang and headed for the main staircase. Desperate, Tallie began to shout for help. Maids and footmen appeared as if from thin air and stared at the spectacle playing out in front of their eyes. One of the footmen took a step forward. Zander paused and speared the young man with his gaze. “If you value your job, you will get back to it.” Turning to address the rest, he said, “That goes for all of you.”
His ominous words hung in the air for a moment before they all scurried to their assigned tasks.
There would be no reprieve for Tallie.
Taking the stairs in several long strides, within moments they were inside Zander’s bedchamber. He closed and locked the door with a resounding snap, then set her upon her feet in front of him.
His eyes raked over her. A muscle in his jaw twitched. His fingers flexed around the riding crop.
Her cunny spasmed and clenched.
Oh, what had she done?
Tucking the crop into his boot, he used both hands to open the closures on the coat of her riding habit, roughly tugging the sleeves off her arms, wadding and tossing the garment into a corner.
Beneath the coat, she wore a heavy skirt attached to a lightweight bodice that easily fell away once Zander got his hands on it. Soon, she stood before him completely naked, her riding boots topping the heap of her garments in a corner by the door.
Never had she seen him in such a state. Determined. Resolute. It was as though he had not even noticed her nudity.
As she watched in silence, he removed his jacket and tossed it on a chair. Next, he unknotted his neck cloth and carefully unwound it, revealing the dark flesh of his throat, a few crisp chest hairs showing in the opening of his shirt.
Her eyes were drawn to those black curls, irrefutable proof of his virility and the intimacy of the moment. Between her thighs, a pulse throbbed.
He opened the cuffs of his shirt and with slow, deliberate movements he rolled his sleeves up. Tallie’s eyes were drawn to the flexing muscles of his forearms.
In all her one and twenty years, she had never seen so much exposed male flesh. Her breath hitched in her throat.
“Zan—sir, I am truly sorry. Please—”
He cut her off. “I am in no humor for your excuses.” Pointing to a corner of the room, he said only one word, “Go.”
* * *
With her back to him, Zander took a moment to study his errant ward. Between her wild ride home and him carrying her through the house hanging over his shoulder, all of the pins had come out of her hair and it fell in waves over her bare flesh.
