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FOUR
Apowerful hand took the reins and brought her horse to a halt. “Why the devil did you flee from me?” His words shot out like steel-tipped arrows.
For the sheer pleasure of it!Bess gazed at him wide-eyed, breathless. “Because I was afraid.” It was not wholly a lie. Would he vent his anger on her?
“God's death, I won't rape you!”
Her breasts rose and fell as she gasped for air. “Do I have your word on it, sir?”
“Certainly.” His eyes narrowed. “God's blood, you're a clever wench; you've already got me on the defensive.”
“A position you detest.” Her eyes danced with laughter.
“I'll show you a position,” he growled, but the amusement was back in his eyes and she decided to trust him, though not too far. His hand never left her bridle, and now he led her deeper into the woods at a leisurely pace. They rode at least three miles before he found a small clearing beside a shallow brook.
“Privacy is a precious commodity.” He dismounted and tethered their horses where the animals could nibble the grass. Then he moved close to her stirrup and looked up into her face. “For the next few hours you are for my eyes only.”
He held up powerful arms and watched Bess linger long over her hesitation before she came down into his arms in a flurry of velvet skirt and petticoats. Audaciously, he held her captive against him after her feet touched the ground—not long enough to frighten her, but long enough to savor her lemon scent of verbena, and certainly long enough to press her breasts against his chest and brush his hard shaft against her soft belly. When she pulled away, he did not prevent her.
Cavendish wore a short, rakish cloak, which he unfastened from his shoulders and spread on the grass in a patch of sunshine. “Be at ease, sweeting.”
She accepted his invitation and sat down upon the cloak. He knelt beside her. “The real reason for wearing green is so that the grass stains won't show,” he murmured intimately.
“Rogue Cavendish, you are far too experienced for my liking!” she said bluntly, and made as if she would arise and leave him.
“And you are far too innocent for mine,” he said, taking possession of her hand to keep her beside him.
Her dark eyes were enormous. “Liar,” she whispered softly. “My innocence excites you.”
He groaned. “Oh, Christ, you speak the truth; I don't know what to do to you first.”
“Oh, you rogue!” she gasped. Then she looked straight into his eyes. “Will you always be so honest with me?”
He nodded. “If my honesty excites you.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and ran the tip of his tongue across her palm, then placed his lips upon her wrist to feel her rapid pulsebeat.
Bess watched him avidly as he began to toy with her fingers, tracing their delicate length, then he separated them and slipped one into his mouth. She gasped as he began to suck on it. She experienced a tiny pulsebeat between her legs, and she saw that he was so wise in the ways of women, he knew what had happened to her. She snatched away her hand and heard his deep chuckle.
When Cavendish raised his hand toward her face, Bess drew back slightly. “I promised not to ravish you, but I do intend to awaken you a little.”
She considered for a moment and decided to let him take a few liberties. It was time to dispel some of her ignorance about the things that happened between men and women. Bess had heard endless gossip about sexual matters but had no firsthand experience. She had chosen him for her tutor, so why not let him commence his lesson?
When he brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek, the corners of her mouth lifted. “You are so un-earthly fair.” He pulled off her snood and caught her silken hair as it tumbled into his hands. The sight of the red-gold mass took his breath away. His fingers splayed through it sensuously. “Bess, you have the most glorious hair I've ever seen.”
“Why does my hair fascinate you? Is it the color?”
“Aye, it's like flames. I could warm my hands at the blaze, and it marks you as special; you make blondes and brunettes seem commonplace.”
“ 'Tis said it is the mark of a hot temper, and in my case it is true,” she confided.
“That in itself is exciting. What man can resist the urge to tame a hellcat?”
She laughed with delight. “Tell me more.”
“Do you want the truth?”
She looked into his eyes. “Always.”
“It's a constant reminder that the curls between your legs must be red too.”
