Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean Read Free Book Online

clung to her shapely legs with each long step. As she walked, the hem of her dress kicked up, revealing plain walking boots—footwear chosen for function rather than fashion.
    Her black bonnet sat low over her face, shielding her eyes from the sun. Between the low brim of her hat and the placement of her reading material, Nick could not make out anything more than the tip of what looked to be a very straight, very pert nose. Idly, he wondered at the color of her eyes.
    She had nearly reached the street now, having crossed the entire greensward without looking up once. He watched as she turned over a page, missing neither a step of her journey nor a word of her correspondence. Her singular focus was fascinating—he could not help but wonder what it might be like to be the object of such undivided attention. Would she bring such purpose to everything that she did?
    He straightened, turning to look for Rock. Nick had been too long without a woman if he was musing about a nameless, faceless female who had simply happened into his line of vision.
    And then all hell broke loose.
    The loud crack sounded from nearby, followed by a combination of men shouting, horses screaming, and a banging that Nick could not immediately place. He turned in the direction of the sound and initially saw nothing, barely registering that the noise had come from farther down the main street, around a bend in the road, before the seriousness of the situation came into clear, horrifying view.
    Tearing up the road was a team of enormous workhorses, hooves pounding as their muscled haunches moved with unbridled force. Behind them, they pulled a large workman’s cart that had lost two wheels and was dragging on one side. The cart was losing its cargo of flagstones, and the sound of the rocks tumbling off the wooden cart was unnerving the horses, who were now running at breakneck speed. Their driver had been lost along with the wheels, and there was no one in control of the massive vehicle; the horses cared nothing for what was in their path.
    And the girl from the commons was about to put herself squarely in their path.
    She remained engrossed in her reading even as Nick called out to her. She took her final, fateful step onto the main street, and it was then that he knew he would have no other choice but to save her.
    Dammit.
    He took off, running across the courtyard of the inn. A quick glance confirmed that he could get to her barely in time, presuming that he did not miss a step, and that she did not suddenly decide to become aware of her surroundings.
    Not that the latter appeared likely to happen.
    He felt the hardened earth vibrating with the thunder of the horses’ strides beneath his riding boots as he tore across the street, headed for her even as he felt the enormous animals bearing down upon them.
    This was idiocy.
    Whether from the cacophony surrounding her or a latent sense of self-preservation, she looked up.
    Her eyes were brown.
    And wide as saucers.
    Her jaw dropped and she stopped short, frozen with surprise and uncertainty, and all Nick could hope for was that she would not move out of his path, or both of them would be in extremely dire straits.
    Had he not learned his lesson regarding saving young women from impending doom?
    Apparently not.
    He was on her then, the momentum of his large body propelling her backward, his arms wrapping tightly around her as they were lifted off the ground with the force of the collision. Her papers went flying.
    Instinctively, he twisted in midair, protecting her from the impact that would almost certainly rob him of breath—and quite possibly of working limbs.
    When they landed, it was just off center enough to send a shooting pain down Nick’s arm; he gritted his teeth before they tumbled several feet farther in the thick grass. As they came to a halt, Nick felt the horses pass, the earth trembling beneath them as they left scarred earth in their wake.
    He lay still for a long moment, his left