Page 11 of A Season Beyond A Kiss (Birmingham #2)

“Is this the one?”

“None other than Ariadne,”

her husband acknowledged reluctantly.

Raelynn tilted her head aslant as she looked back at him.

“As in Greek lore?”

“Aye, the daughter who was turned to gold by her father, King Midas.”

“Is the mare truly a treasure?”

“She has the bloodlines to make an excellent brood mare,”

Jeff acknowledged.

“But she’s spirited and not easily ridden, definitely not by novices.”

“She’s beautiful,”

Raelynn replied with a measure of awe as she reached a hand through the bars of the stall.

The mare snorted and danced back instantly, but as Raelynn’s slow, coaxing voice encouraged her, the animal tossed her fine head and paced forward cautiously, obviously curious.

Murmuring softly, Raelynn stroked the velvety nose as Ariadne stood very still and blinked her large eyes, relishing the attention and the soothing tones.

“I wish I had an apple to give you, Ariadne, but if you’d let me ride you today, I promise to bring you one after we return.

Would you like that?”

Blowing into the extended palm, the mare arched her elegant neck and nickered softly, drawing laughter from Raelynn.

Pleased that she was making progress, she continued stroking the steed even as she became mindful of her husband’s approach.

“I don’t think you should ride Ariadne,”

he announced with measured care.

“She’s high-strung and can’t be trusted.

Quite simply, madam, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Riding was one of my greatest pleasures before my family’s fortunes changed so drastically, Jeffrey.

We not only lost our home and all our possessions, we had to stand and watch our horses being led away by the king’s stable hands.

We were told that they would be given to the men who had brought evidence of treason against my father once their claims were verified.

Regrettably he died before his trial, and the accusations against him were allowed to stand.”

Jeff understood only too well how a magnificent animal like Ariadne could placate a distressed soul and heal it of past hurts.

Consolingly he laid an arm around his wife’s shoulders and drew her near.

“Perhaps Ariadne will be a better mount for you once she has been worked for several more months.

She needs to learn some manners before she can be trusted.”

Raelynn gazed up at him pleadingly.

“But couldn’t I exercise her today while we’re out riding?”

“She’ll get all the exercise she needs, madam, but with the trainers, at least until she starts behaving herself.

We can decide later if she’s fit for you.”

“But she seems perfectly suited for me now,”

Raelynn cajoled.

“She came to me readily enough and seems quite gentle.”

“Nevertheless, madam, I must stand by my decision.

I’ll not chance your getting thrown, perhaps even seriously injured.

You’re too precious to me.”

Raelynn doubted that any amount of pleading would make her husband change his mind.

He knew the mare far better than she, and she had to respect him for doing what he considered right under the circumstances, no matter how disappointed she might be.

After all, this was no weak-willed individual she had married.

He was considerate and kind, far more than the men whom she had casually known in her lifetime, yet he wasn’t at all reluctant to deny her request when he thought it prudent.

Realizing that she hadn’t yet asked his opinion, Raelynn peered up at him from underneath the brim of her bonnet as her lips curved upward flirtatiously at the corners.

“So which steed would you suggest I ride, Jeffrey?”

He smiled, relieved that she hadn’t become miffed by his refusal to yield to her pleas.

“I have in mind a nice-tempered gelding that I’m sure you’ll enjoy taking out for your first tour of the area.”

Lifting his head, Jeff gestured to O’Malley.

“Saddle Stargazer with the sidesaddle Miss Heather uses when she comes.”

“ ‘At I’ll be doin’ right away, sir,”

the Irishman answered and scurried off to do his employer’s bidding.

Several moments later, Raelynn gasped in pure delight as O’Malley led a tall, handsome bay from the last stall on the right.

Raelynn couldn’t remember ever seeing a gelding so striking.

His neck was wonderfully arched, his ears small and pointed inward, his head and large eyes seemingly without flaw.

But that was hardly the best of it, for the animal seemed to literally dance sideways down the aisle, elevating his hocks in a flashy, high-stepping gait.

“Oh, Jeffrey, he’s gorgeous!”

“I thought you might like him.

He’s got a lot of action in his gait, but he minds well and is very gentle with Heather.”

“Would ye be wantin’ Brutus saddled, sir?”

the elder queried.

“I’d like to enjoy the ride with my wife today, O’Malley, instead of cursing that beast from here to hell and back again.

Saddle Majestic for me, if you please.”

The wiry man grinned and touched his brow in a brisk salute.

“Right away, sir.”

A short time later, Jeff lifted Raelynn to the back of Stargazer and then swung up onto the handsome stallion that had been readied for him.

They rode away from the stables but, upon espying Cora waiting near the house with a basket and an old cotton quilt slung over her arms, they reined their steeds to a halt near the housekeeper.

The black woman grinned up at her master.

“Ah thought yo’d be agreeable ta havin’ a picnic somewhere, Mistah Jeffery, so’s ah packed this here satchel wit’ lemon cake, fried chicken, corn fritters, an’ de lak.

Dere’s even some chilled lemonade in a corked jug if’n yo’ gets thirsty.

Maybe today it’ll even stay cool for a change.”

Cora glanced about and drew in a deep breath, as if savoring the fragrance of the day.

“Yo’ sho’ picked a fine day ta take off from work, Mistah Jeffrey.

Ain’t many days yo’ve given yo’self ta relax lately, so’s I figgered yo’ is well deservin’ o’ some time off ta enjoy a picnic.”

“Cora, you’re a dream,”

Jeff declared with a chuckle as he dismounted.

Taking the items from her, he secured them behind Raelynn’s sidesaddle before swinging up on the stallion again.

Reining Majestic alongside the prancing gelding, Jeff took his wife past the crops closest to the grounds of the main house, letting her see the plants from which cotton was harvested.

The bolls were still green, but Jeff dismounted, cut one open, and allowed her to view what was inside.

In the weeks to come the cotton would be maturing, the pods would be opening, and the field hands would be sent out to pluck the white fluff from its sharp nest, no easy task when the bolls pricked nearly every finger bloody and the broiling sun beat down upon their backs.

The couple progressed to the rice fields, and there Raelynn saw acres of land flooded over with water, creating the essential conditions and nutrients to produce a bountiful crop.

From there, they traversed along a winding lane, looking over fields, one where a small herd of cattle grazed and, nearby, another where cornstalks had grown taller than a man.

They rode leisurely on for another pair of hours and, upon passing through a wooded copse, finally halted near a live oak which dominated a knoll beside a sunlit stream.

The tree’s widely spreading, gracefully draping limbs not only furnished abundant shade for the area but also provided a protective screen around the tree.

Jeff swung down and came around the back of the gelding to sweep Raelynn off its back.

Holding his wife clasped within his arms, he let her slide down the length of his body until his parting lips snared hers.

For a long moment he kissed her without reserve, and when he finally relented and tried to set Raelynn to her feet, she refused to stand alone.

Sighing dreamily, she leaned against him, seeming as weak as a rag doll.

Jeff did the only sensible thing and laid her over his shoulder, drawing giggles as he fondled her very fetching backside through the cloth of her gown.

When he freed the ties securing the quilt and basket, he slipped his free arm beneath them and gathered them up within the crook of his elbow.

Taking his burdens to a spot beneath the wide canopy of moss-draped limbs, Jeff lowered the leather pouches to the ground before whipping the quilt around and spreading it out, at least as much as he was able while still holding Raelynn.

He kicked the curled and rumpled corners flat with a booted toe, and then leaned forward to lower his giggling wife to the quilt.

Smiling at her with eyes glinting puckishly, he bent near with a suggestion.

“ ‘Tis a perfect spot for sporting on a quilt, don’t you agree, my sweet?”

“ ‘Twould truly seem that way,”

Raelynn agreed, smiling coyly.

His opening mouth lowered, almost covering hers until she added, “The food smells wonderful though.

Shall we eat now? I’m starving.”

Jeff growled in mock anger.

“You, madam, are definitely an imp.”

When he sat back upon his heels, she immediately followed and, bracing up on her knees, gave him a kiss that fairly fanned his imagination, encouraging him to reach out to take her to him again, but, with a mischievous little laugh, Raelynn wiggled away.

Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, she peered at him with eyes sparkling with delight as she doffed her bonnet and tossed it aside.

Then she promptly presented her back and began unpacking the basket.

“You little tease,”

Jeff accused, reaching out to pinch her buttock.

“Ouch!”

she cried and tossed back an exaggerated pout.

“You bruised me.”

“Let me see,”

he urged and sought to lift her skirts.

A swat on his knuckles drew nothing more than a deep chuckle from him.

It hardly discouraged him.

Reaching out, he drew his wife back upon his lap and cupped a round breast possessively.

“Now I have you, vixen, and this time you won’t get away.”

Raelynn tilted her head aside accommodatingly and closed her eyes in sublime pleasure as he nibbled at her neck and brushed his fingers across a nipple until it grew taut beneath her gown.

Deftly he plucked open the fasteners at the back of the garment and began pulling it over her head.

“What about the food?”

she breathed in a trembling sigh as his hands slid upward from her waist to encompass the swelling mounds.

“We’ll eat later,”

he whispered near her ear, unfastening the tiny buttons running down the front of her chemise.

Her undergarments followed the way of her gown, allowing his hands to roam unhindered.

In the bright, scintillating flashes of light reflecting off the water, her naked breasts looked unusually pale beneath his darkly bronzed fingers, much as they had done earlier that morning, yet they warmed readily to his attention.

He grew bolder still as his hands wandered downward, snatching her breath in pleasurable gasps as she yielded herself in rapturous awe to his whim.

They finally went on to savor other things, the food that Cora had packed and, some time later, the nearby stream into which Jeff led Raelynn.

They approached it as naked as the day they had been born, but he was a lot more comfort able about that fact than Raelynn was.

She had never ventured past the doors of a bedroom in a state of nudity before and was timid about going into the open areas surrounding the stream.

Yet when Jeff swam away from her, leaving her safely near shore, she waded farther out into the deeper water.

“Come, love,”

he bade from the middle of the stream.

“The water is nice out here.”

“I can’t swim,”

she confessed, never having imagined herself being devoid of clothes outdoors, much less being naked in a pool of water.

Jeff’s lips curved in a devilish grin.

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to throw you out into the deep and see how quickly you can tread water.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

she gasped and, seeing the knavish glint in his eyes, quickly turned toward shore, not at all willing to trust him.

She squealed in sudden distress as she heard him swimming rapidly toward her and glanced back to confirm her fears.

He was definitely approaching a lot faster than she could trudge through the water.

In growing anxiety, she renewed her efforts to reach dry land, which to her horror now seemed an ocean’s length away.

Suddenly Jeff’s arm swept around her waist, and she was dragged back against a long, muscular body where she was snugly imprisoned by an encompassing arm.

His hips and thighs formed a chair for her buttocks as his free hand moved over the tempting curves of her body.

“Now I have you, wench.”

Raelynn was nearly frantic.

“Please, Jeffrey, don’t throw me out into the deep water.

I’ll go under for sure, and what will all the servants think when they see me with my hair dangling wet around my ears? They’ll be suspicious, for sure.”

“Never fear, my love,”

he breathed, nibbling at her ear.

“I just want to hold you again for a while.

It isn’t often that I get to see you stripped bare in the full light of the sun.”

Laughing in relief, Raelynn jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow.

“Beast! What you really wanted was to see me panic.”

“Aye, I like the way your breasts bounce when you’re trying to run through water,”

he teased with a chuckle.

“But I really would like to teach you how to swim....”

She stiffened apprehensively.

“Jeffrey Birmingham, if you throw me in, I’ll never forgive you.”

“I don’t intend to, madam.

Just lean back and relax in the safety of my arms,”

he coaxed.

“I won’t let you go until you know how to float on your back.

Then I’ll see about teaching you how to swim.”

“My hair will get wet,”

she fretted aloud.

“We’ll sneak into the house when no one is looking.”

Relenting, she leaned her head back against his shoulder.

“You can be very sly when you want your way, sir.”

“When I want you, my love, I can be downright devious,”

he breathed, nibbling at her ear.

Cautiously she gave herself over into his supporting arms and allowed him to hold her as she floated on the surface of the water.

Jeff’s grin became increasingly lecherous as he perused the sights.

Never before had he seen such a delectable view, two ripe melons and an island of reddish brush floating in a calm sea beneath a bright sun.

Until now, the like of such scenes had been strictly evoked in dreams, not right beneath his very nose.

It was not to say, however, that he hadn’t indulged in a few fantasies of his own creation in his lifetime.

It wasn’t long before Raelynn actually began stroking through water without aid.

Jeff hovered near for the sake of safety, at least until he realized the fair skin was taking on a pinkish cast.

Then he began scrambling toward her in anxious haste.

“We’d better get you dressed, madam, or you’ll be howling your head off in pain.

I only hope it’s not too late.”

“Call a carriage,”

Raelynn groaned, feeling weighted down by iron bands as she waded out of the water.

“I don’t think I can get back into the saddle again for a whole month.

My backside definitely feels as if it has turned to stone.”

Jeff swept her up into his arms.

“No need for a carriage, madam.

I’ll drape the quilt across in front of me to provide some cushioning for you and take you home on the back of Stargazer.”

Raelynn smiled contentedly as she pressed her brow against his cheek.

“You can attend me, sir, anytime you wish to.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Raelynn was already wincing by the time they arrived home, but not necessarily from the aftermath of the sun, rather from the hours she had spent in the sidesaddle.

She refused to call Tizzy to help her bathe, envisioning the shame she’d suffer once the girl became aware of her problem.

Without a doubt, every part of her was tinged beyond her normal fair coloring.

Thus she relied upon Jeff to assist her.

He did so tenderly, first bathing her in tepid water, rubbing a soothing balm over her skin, and then, afterwards, massaging her aching muscles and the bruised posterior.

“I suppose this means I won’t be taking you to the Sunday social,”

he mused aloud in droll humor as he plied her backside with a cooling ointment.

He fought a battle to subdue his laughter.

“By then, you should be able to pass as a brown-skinned Mohican or perhaps even a toad with all the freckles that are bound to appear.

You know, you should probably resign yourself to the fact that your once flawless skin won’t ever be the same.”

Jeff could restrain himself no longer, and his laughter burst forth as if with a will of its own, prompting Raelynn to toss a glare over her shoulder.

“Jeffrey Birmingham, you’re making light of all this, despite the fact that I’m simply mortified by my present predicament.

I can neither stand, sit, nor lie down with any reasonable comfort, and yet you’re guf fawing like you’ve never seen anything funnier.

Believe me, sir, if I had my wits entirely together, I’d find some way to leave your chambers and seek seclusion in mine.”

“Preen your feathers, my pretty dove,”

he cajoled, leaning near to nuzzle her cheek.

“I’ll still love you no matter what color you are or how spotted you may get.”

At that, Raelynn seized a pillow and swung it with all her might into the grinning face of her husband who stumbled back in uproarious mirth.

Diligently she tried to curb her own amusement, but it slipped out until she was laughing as hard as he.

Never had the house rang with such merriment before, but Jeff had every hope and expectation that in the months and years to come, there would be much more of it to nurture their hearts and minds.