Seduce Me by Robyn DeHart Read Free Book Online Page B

smelled of lilac, despite the mud covering her.
    He merely nodded and returned his attention to the landscape before them.
    “Won’t they come after us?” she asked.
    “Probably.” Her legs brushed against his, and he looked down—milky white thighs straddled his own. He couldn’t help remembering
     how those thighs had felt beneath his hands. Firm yet pliant. His senses stirred as his body once again responded to hers.
     Damn it all.
    He could only imagine her indignation if she happened to notice his growing erection. He’d heard more than enough of her prattling
     earlier to know she was a well-bred lady. A prim one at that, despite the fact that her body was obviously made for sin.
    They couldn’t very well ride back to London this way. It was more than twelve hours away, and if she noticed his reaction,
     chatterer that she was, she’d no doubt preach to him the whole way about sins of the flesh or some such nonsense. The ride
     would be interminable even if his body didn’t have a mind of its own.
    They needed to either take the train or find a coach. He eyed her mud-splattered nightgown. Clearly they couldn’t take the
     train and avoid being seen, even with a private car. He didn’t even know who this woman was. The last thing he needed was
     some angry papa coming after him demanding Fielding marry the girl. That left finding a carriage. He’d seen a sign for a carriage
     house on his way to the ruins.
    As he turned his horse down the appropriate road, he detected the sound of pounding hooves behind them. He did his best to
     isolate the noise, to be certain of what he heard. Definitely horses coming their way.
    “Hold on tight,” he told the woman.
    “Why?”
    “Because we’re being followed.”

Chapter Five

    E sme wrapped her arms around the man’s torso and did as he bade. He turned the horse so abruptly she was certain they’d all
     fall to the ground, but the steed kept his footing. They cut into a dense patch of trees. Branches and leaves swatted at her
     bare legs as they made their way deeper into the forest.
    He slowed the horse to a trot, then stopped him altogether. “Shhh,” he told her.
    She could see only his face as they waited in the trees for their pursuers to catch up, and his expression told her nothing.
     The moments stretched by, and Esme’s own labored breathing and pounding heart roared in her ears so loudly she was almost
     certain their hiding place would be discovered. The man’s hands tightened on the reins. Those same hands that had caressed
     her body only moments before. Her cheeks flamed as an unfamiliar rush of heat spread through her.
    The hooves got closer and closer, slamming against the dirt road. The two horsemen slowed to a trot.
    “I don’t see ’em,” Waters said.
    Esme couldn’t see the road, but she could gauge how close the men were by the dark expression on her rescuer’s face. A muscle
     in his jaw ticked, but he made no movement. She wasn’t even certain he blinked.
    “We’ve lost ’em,” Waters cried.
    Thatcher let out a string of curses that had Esme’s ears burning. “We’ll catch him. We know all his hiding places.”
    Then the men turned and rode back in the direction from which they’d come.
    Esme released a breath and sagged against her rescuer. “That was close.”
    They waited a handful of minutes longer before continuing on their way to the carriage house.
    Nearly an hour later, Esme pulled the overcoat tighter around her. She didn’t think she’d ever been so cold or filthy. But
     the warmth of her savior’s coat was certainly helping. Not to mention the enclosed carriage as opposed to the frigid air she’d
     been exposed to on the horse ride. He’d hired a driver and currently sat opposite her inside the rig.
    So much had happened in the last day. The kidnapping and subsequent rescue by this handsome stranger. And Pandora’s box had
     been found. She wished it had been under different circumstances so she could