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Her look softened a fraction, or perhaps it was his imagination. The corners of her mouth turning up, her gaze seeming far away. It almost appeared wistful, but the moment was lost as she went back to her drawing. He could have asked her any question at all, but that fleeting look on her face spoke to him in some way.
‘Do you ride, Signorina Barrington?’
Her pencil dragged to a stop on the page. Her eyes a little wider as she paled, looking almost...fearful.
‘I—I haven’t...not for a long time.’
He wondered whether she would answer more questions if he asked them, but a respectful knock sounded at the door. He let out a long, slow breath. The knock reminded Alessio of his real life, not the fantasy that he could do what he wished, without all the responsibilities he had. He rose from his chair as the door opened and Stefano walked inside. Holding a pair of black socks. An eyebrow raised, meaning he would ask questions about what went on in this room whilst he was away, which Alessio would not deign to answer. He needed to go now, but his decision was simple. She wanted to get to know the man? He had the perfect answer.
‘Prepare yourself. Tomorrow, meet me at the stables. Then we’ll ride.’
CHAPTER FOUR
HANNAHHESITATEDATthe door of the magnificent stables on the lower reaches of the palace grounds. Assailed by the earthy scents she’d once loved, of lucerne, hay and straw. In the past that smell had signalled her happiest moments. Spending time with her precious horse, Beau. The hours brushing him, mucking out the stables, never a chore. She’d dreamed of owning stables like this back then. Such fleeting, futile fantasies before everything had turned to dust.
The awe of the space mingled with a heaviness in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She didn’t want the memories now. This stable, riding, were symbols of a life lost to her. There was no escaping it here. The glint of crushed metal, the tick of a hot, broken engine. The dread silence from her parents. The terrified whinnies of her mortally injured horse. It all came back with a sickening rush. She faltered for a second. Stood to take it in, work it through. For a moment, the pain of that day was as sharp and bright as if it had just happened. But she had no choice other than to be here. Hannah took a deep breath. This was simply a job. Though it didn’t stop the sense of regret and loss almost overwhelming her.
She walked to where she’d been told to go. Where two horses now stood saddled, with a person she assumed was the groom. Their tack was shiny and perfect.
That sick feeling intensified...the roar of blood surging in her ears, her heart pounding against her ribcage. Everything was swirling in a dizzying attack to her senses of a day when life as she knew it had ended. She’d lost her hopes and dreams in the accident. Her whole life had changed. She’d rebuilt it, but some days the foundations seemed a little unstable. As if everything could fall apart again. Which was more truth than a lie, after what her uncle had done. A sense of betrayal sliced through her again, that the people she should have been able to trust had failed her. It all came down to work in the end, yet right now if she could turn around and flee, leave handsome princes and shattered dreams behind, she would. But her choices ended with her uncle’s embezzlement. Hannah faltered, stopped for a second. Took some steadying breaths as her legs trembled.
How was she going to get on a horse’s back, when she could barely walk to where they stood?
‘Signorina Barrington?’
That voice from behind. Deep, with a lilting accent. Smoothing over her like some balm to her troubled soul. The prickling sensation of someone close. Alessio’s presence penetrating the cold grief threatening to overwhelm her.
She turned. He crowded out everything else in the space, not as close as she’d thought, but it didn’t matter how far away he stood, she was sure she’d still feel him. It was as if he had an aura a mile wide, obliterating her awareness of anything else. And if she’d been faltering before, right now she was paralysed.
She’d glimpsed him a few times at a distance when she’d been competing, dressed for competition himself. He’d been overwhelming then, to a young girl with hormones making themselves known in confusing ways, like a fairy tale brought to life. But nothing prepared her for this, Alessio in a short-sleeved polo shirt which showed off his tanned skin, the swell of his impressive biceps, the strength of his forearms. His legs, encased in buff breeches and riding boots, caused her mouth to dry. Because, whilst all of him was only hinted at under a suit, this figure before her wasn’t the young man she’d pined over, whose riding she’d watched obsessively whenever she could find it. He was a thirty-one year old in his prime and it showed in every inch of him. His broad chest, muscular thighs. Which she probably shouldn’t be staring at, and...was her mouth open? She closed it. She was only trying to get air, that was all. Trying to stop her heart pounding. But it wasn’t the sickening rhythm of before, instead morphing into something harder, more insistent. The drumbeat of a pulse that spoke of a sultry type of rhythm she tried hard to ignore.
As she looked up from how well his breeches fitted and into his face, he frowned, the merest of creases in his otherwise unmarred forehead. Probably judging the worn old jeans she’d sneaked into her bag almost out of spite, because she was sure nothing that much past their prime would ever grace the palace walls.
‘Are you all right?’ Something about his question made everything inside her still. It was as if he saw her. ‘You look pale. You’re not afraid of horses, are you?’
She shook her head. The fear was not of the animals, but of the memories. ‘No. Probably a little late to sleep, a little early to wake.’ It wasn’t exactly a lie. The thought of riding with him today had left her tossing and turning, with dreams of running after things she couldn’t catch, of accidents she couldn’t prevent. ‘As I said, I haven’t ridden for a while.’
Still, his gaze searched her. As if he realised she wasn’t telling the truth. ‘Come. Meet your horse. If you have any fears, she should allay them.’
He walked ahead of her, and for once she was happy to follow as his rule book dictated. It was no chore to watch his long, assured stride, taking in her fill of the broad shoulders tapering to his narrow waist. She shouldn’t look, really, but what woman wouldn’t stare at that backside? Her cheeks burned hot at the prickling awareness of him, and how magnificent he was. They arrived at the groom, and Alessio turned, the corner of his mouth quirking in a smile which told her heknewshe’d been staring and didn’t really mind.
Typical.
He reached out and rubbed the silky nose of an impossibly pretty dapple grey. ‘This is Kestia. She’s a placid mare who knows what she’s doing. You’ll have no trouble with her. I promise.’ Alessio stared at Hannah as he said it, narrowed his eyes. Cocked his head a fraction.
She didn’t like that look. It was as if he was contemplating things he didn’t want to say. Hannah narrowed her own eyes back at him.
‘You’re not thinking that I’m a...troublesome mare, are you?’
His full and perfect mouth curled into something of a wry grin. Her breath caught. When he wasn’t so stern and forbidding, he was the type of man who could cleave a woman’s heart in two if she allowed it. Which was risky, when there were so few pieces of her heart left to break. Alessio placed a hand flat over his chest. ‘I’d never think such a thing.’
She needed a distraction from him so she reached out and stroked down her horse’s side with her flat hand. The coat was smooth and warm to the touch. Alessio watched the gentle move, before his umber eyes held her gaze for a heartbeat. Then it was as if he came to himself and stepped back, his face cool and impassive again. He moved to his own horse. A dark bay stallion. Tall. Clipped mane. Gleaming coat. His ears were pricked high and his eyes were alert. Nostrils flaring. The sort of horse she would have given anything to ride.
‘He’s magnificent,’ she said, as Alessio took his mount’s reins.
‘Apollo’s special. However, I’ve been ignoring him lately and if I don’t take him out soon he’ll punish me. His groom rides him but for some reason he prefers me. It seems we have an affinity.’
‘You’re both hot-blooded?’ She didn’t know where those words had come from. They blurted out of her but both Alessio and his horse seemed tense, as if they were bristling to break into a run and never stop.
