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“Aye, you did.”
“Well, what I meant was –”
He never finished his sentence. Willow stood on her tiptoes and pressed her full lips against his in a sensuous kiss. It was so passionate that when she broke the connection, he almost stumbled backward.
“God’s eyes,” he said, touching his hand to his mouth. “You have one hell of a kiss, Willow. Why did you do that?”
“I don’t know,” she said, pulling back a bit. “I suppose I was just trying to use the element of surprise on you.”
“I’ll say.”
“What’s the matter, Conrad?” She looked up at him and batted her thick, black lashes. Her big, brown eyes drew him in. “Didn’t you like it?”
Like it? It made him randy, and that was the trouble. He was supposed to be protecting the girl from men and, instead, he wanted nothing more than to throw her down on the bed and make sweet love to her. His mind filled with erotic thoughts that only caused him to harden below his belt. Unfortunately, she noticed.
“I see you did like it after all.” She giggled and held her hand to her mouth. Thunder boomed so near and loud that it scared her and made her jump. Her crown fell from her head in the process and landed on the floor. She ended up in his arms clinging to him with her head against his chest. “I’m frightened, Conrad,” she told him with a quaver of her voice.
Suddenly, the past all came crashing back into his memories. He felt as if she were that same frightened girl of so many years ago, but now in an adult body. He’d been the one to scare and anger her while growing up. But now it was his duty to protect her from boys who turned into men like him.
“It’s all right,” he told her in a calming voice, rubbing his hand up and down her back. It was almost as if he felt he needed to make up for all the wrong he did in the past that caused her to hate him. “I’m sorry, Willow.”
She looked up in question, still clinging to him as if her life depended on it. “What are you apologizing for?”
“For all the times I teased you when we were children. I never meant to hurt you. What can I do to make up for it?”
Another crash of thunder sounded, followed by the crack of wood and a branch falling from a tree in the secret garden. His horse whinnied. Then he heard the sound of hoofbeats against the damp earth.
“Damn,” he cursed, letting go of Willow and running to the entrance. He threw the door open only to see the tail of his horse as it disappeared through the gate of the secret garden. The rain came down in a torrential downpour, already causing deep puddles on the earth. “That last bolt of lightning took down a branch. Between that and the crash of thunder, it spooked the horse. I should have tied her up. I’m going after her.”
He had one foot out the door when Willow’s words stopped him.
“Kiss me and stay here with me until the storm lets up.”
“What did you say?” He turned back to see her picking up her crown from the floor. Her rounded bottom end, the curve of her hips, and her small waist were just too much for a man to bear. She stood up, unintentionally showing him cleavage as she cradled the crown against her bosom.
“You asked me how you could make up for torturing me so many years ago.”
“Torture? It wasn’t that bad,” he answered with a chuckle.
Her eyes opened wide. “I found a snake in my shoe one day, and it almost bit me. I am terrified of snakes. So, if that isn’t torture, I don’t know what is.”
“All right, I suppose I went overboard just a little. But you were so fun to tease.” He smiled, thinking of the past. “And your father never believed it was anyone’s fault but yours. That’s the funniest part.”
“Forget it,” she said, slapping her crown on her head and storming to the door. “And don’t bother about going after the horse because I’m walking back to the castle.”
She was just about out the door when Conrad realized she wasn’t jesting. He couldn’t let her leave being angry with him. If she walked back in a storm, the earl, not to mention her father, would have his head. Nay, he had to do something to stop her. The only trouble was, she was a determined, headstrong woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Well, he decided two could play this game.
“You’re not going anywhere until the storm lets up.” He grabbed her by the wrist and swung her around, pulling her closer to him and kissing her as she had done to him.
She pulled back and slapped him. “I’m not the kind of girl who will forget all about my grievances with just a kiss.”
“Then perhaps I need to try a little harder. But I promise you, some way, I’ll make you smile before we leave here if it is the last thing I ever do.”
He realized she would only fight him, so he did what any man would do in a dire situation. He dipped down, lowering his shoulder. Pulling her over it, he stood back up. Her crown fell from her head in the process. Carrying her, he headed toward the bed.
“Let me down, Conrad,” she bit off, hitting his back with her fists and kicking her legs.
“You do realize staring at your bottom end with you wriggling like that is only making me feel randy.”
