The Angel's Assassin by Samantha Holt Read Free Book Online

sloped meadowland. A
muddy path carved its way through, just wide enough for a single mount.
    Hazel trees lined
their route, scattered in amongst the larger oak trees, and intermittently
threatening to scratch and tear at them. Nicholas guided the rouncey slowly
through, gallantly holding aside any branches so that Annabel would emerge
unscathed.
    The weather finally
gave way to a light drizzle and, though the trees protected them from the worst
of it, Annabel could feel the damp begin to seep into her clothes. She shivered
slightly and subtly burrowed back into Nicholas. A slight grunt sounded from
him and she decided the mayhap she had not been as careful as she had hoped.
    However, instead of
moving away from her, he pulled his long mantle around them, tucking it
underneath her chin and thrusting his arm out from underneath it to take the
reins once more. Swathed in the dark material and pressed against his
unrelenting chest, Annabel wondered if it was the thick cloth or the knowledge
of his proximity that caused her body to heat.
    Nicholas was beginning to
question his reasoning behind purchasing the mount. Telling himself that the
sooner their journey was over the better, he had bartered with a local man for the
steed, spending enough coin so that this job was going to bring little profit.
He had hoped to speed up their journey and end his time with Annabel. He was
becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the odd sensations she caused. A vague
part of him considered that mayhap he wished her to spend these few days in
comfort but he quickly tamped down that notion.
    With her bottom
nestling into him and her sweet fragrance washing over him, he realised what a mistake
he had made. His desire for her seemed to be intensifying, yet it was no normal
attraction. Nicholas had never been so preoccupied with a woman or so
intimidated by whatever sway it was that she held over him.
    They pushed on
through the forest until the rain eased, Nicholas’ discomfort growing with each
moment. Annabel’s hair tickled at his cheek as he leant over to check on her.
He tried to prevent himself from doing so, telling himself there was no need,
but somehow he could not resist. The sweet softness of her cheeks taunted him
as she tilted her head towards him, murmuring her assurances.
    The rain eased and
Nicholas made for the open roads once more, knowing they would make better
time. He hoped to reach an inn he knew of with a fair repute before dusk.
Annabel slept intermittently, her head lolling against his chest and
occasionally slipping to one side, where he would have to push her back upright
for fear of her tumbling off altogether. She would murmur and mumble before
burrowing back into him and Nicholas’ body began to ache with tension as he
attempted to resist her soft body.
    The day became hazy
as the sun lowered in the sky and Annabel seemed to become restless from their
long journey, having only stopped briefly for food and drink. Her unique
vibrant energy seemed to simmer within her, no longer subdued by exhaustion.
She stretched languorously, arching her body into him and he bit back a grunt.
    “We shall be at the
inn within the hour, my lady. You can take rest then.”
    Annabel turned slightly
towards him, meeting his eyes briefly and affording him a long look at her
profile. “I fear I have slept too much this day. All this travelling has had
rather the opposite effect of wearying me and now I feel as if I could walk
miles.”
    Nicholas flicked
his eyes away from her creamy skin and stared straight ahead, unsure of how to
respond to her statement.
    “Do you travel a
lot, Nicholas?”
    “Aye.”
    “Do you not find it
a lonesome existence? I suppose you have no land either?”
    He stiffened
slightly at this. “I have land.”
    And lonesome? Nay,
he did not find it lonesome. Or did he? It had never bothered him before,
drifting from one job to the next, but with Annabel in his arms he struggled to
remember why he lived the life