Love Takes Time by Adrianne Byrd Read Free Book Online Page A

as they headed down the hallway toward their old bedrooms. Quentin eyed his bed and thought about taking a quick nap, but the laughter outside penetrated his window. He strolled over and caught sight of the two women riding two chestnut Thoroughbreds.
    He still couldn’t make out who they were, but the one with the thick, rich ebony hair held his attention just by the graceful and expert way she rode and handled the animal.
    â€œNo need to be rude. I should go introduce myself.” He jetted for the door and almost crashed into Antonio who was bringing up his luggage.
    â€œIs there anything wrong, sir?” Antonio called after him.
    â€œNo. Everything’s great.” Q took the stairs two at a time, raced through the house and then escaped out the back door toward the stable. When he got closer, his run slowed to a light jog. The women’s melodic laughter carved a smile onto his lips, but when he finally reached the fence, his smile melted and his eyes widened in shock.
    â€œI don’t believe it,” he muttered, recognizing the face that had stalked him from the cover of Vogue.

Chapter 4
    A lyssa loved horses and growing up on the Hinton estate meant that there were plenty around. Years ago Roger Hinton tried his hand at horse racing, mainly because that was what men of his stature did. However, it never really panned out. Bad luck coupled with bad investments caused her father’s employer to lose interest in his Thoroughbred ambitions.
    But the horses remained.
    Throughout Alyssa’s childhood, when she wasn’t climbing a tree or shadowing Quentin whenever he came home, she was living and breathing everything about horses or swimming like a fish. Who knows, maybe one day when her career settled down a bit, she would invest in a stable of her own.
    â€œOkay, I’m heading in,” Tangela said. “My butt can’t stand too much more of this.”
    Alyssa laughed. “But I thought we were going to race?”
    â€œYou win,” Tangela announced, wincing and turning her horse toward the stable. “I’ll see you back in your room.”
    â€œFine. Be that way.” Alyssa pretended to be miffed. “Tell Jimmie, I’m going to keep Charlie here out a little longer.” She leaned forward and stroked Charlie’s long neck. “You don’t mind, do you, boy?”
    Charlie shook his head. Alyssa smiled and patted the top of his head.
    â€œI think he likes you,” a masculine voice rang out, startling both Alyssa and Charlie.
    With a quick, firm squeeze of her thighs, Alyssa kept Charlie under her control while she turned her head to see Quentin standing at the fence and smiling back at her. Alyssa sucked in a surprise gasp but in the next second a wide smile blossomed across her face. “Well, the feeling is mutual,” she said, finally responding to his statement.
    Q opened the fence and stepped inside. “That’s good. It’s good to know that the animals are in such good care.”
    Alyssa’s gaze followed his languid strut toward her and Charlie. It sort of reminded her of one of those slick panthers she’d seen on the Discovery Channel. Plus, there was an unusual look on his face. One she recognized, but one that had never beendirected toward her before: lust. Pure and simple and raw as hell.
    The muscles in her stomach quivered like Jell-O while she struggled to suck enough oxygen into her lungs in order not to pass out.
    â€œYou look like a natural up there,” he praised. “Been riding long?”
    Her smile dimmed a little at the odd question. “Most of my life,” she answered.
    Quentin stopped before Charlie and reached up to stroke his head. “Hey, boy. How are you doing?”
    Charlie stepped forward and nuzzled the side of Quentin’s face.
    â€œWhoa, boy. Whoa.” He laughed. “You know I don’t get down like that.”
    Alyssa laughed and with her thighs commanded