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CHAPTER FOUR

THAT FOREST SMELL WAS nice. Comforting. It reminded her of home.

When her and Philomena and her cousins would run around in the woods.

Freya was the cousin she was closest to, and they would always play silly little games of make believe.

All eight of them, two sisters and six cousins.

All female. All squealing, at some point in the day.

Yes, the forest was a happy place for her.

And that warmth radiating from the forest. That was nice too. What a delightful little place to be.

But then the forest snored.

Paulina’s eyes flew open as the rest of her body remained preternaturally still.

Clearly, she was not in a forest, but she was attached to a forest-smelling man like a monkey clung to a tree.

God, what was she doing? How did she get here? And why the deuce did her head hurt?

Gingerly, she brought a hand to her head and felt around until her fingers glided over a small bump.

And then it all came back to her. The foolproof plan. Well, apparently Providence was no fool.

And Broderick…wait…why was she in a bed with him?

Thunder rumbled outside. And that’s when she noticed the pattering—no, the banging—of the rain. It sounded like a terrible storm. Instinctively she curled up into the warm body beside her.

Her movements must have disrupted his sleep because his hand slapped down on his eyes and rubbed them open.

“You awake? Finally?” he asked in a throaty voice.

And oh…that voice, was he whispering those words right in front of her nether regions? She swore she felt a warmth trickle through her center.

And his face…God, why did he have to be so handsome. And such a rake. But…he had protected her. And all of her clothes were still on. He couldn’t be that bad of a man. And he loved his horse. And he was here in this bed with her, comforting her.

“Yes,” she finally replied.

“How’s your head?” His hand smoothed over the bump on her temple and a tremor shook through her like thunder.

“I’ll be fine,” she reached up for the same spot and caught his hand in hers. It was so strong. So manly.

Releasing her, he pushed up and sat against the headboard. Clearly the man woke quickly, unlike her. “Why do you want my horse?” he asked.

It wasn’t a demanding question, just curious. It caught her off guard.

It couldn’t hurt to tell him. Maybe she just needed to get it off of her chest and hear some perspective from someone else who was not trying to force her to be a lady and marry some duke.

“I just want something different. Something new.”

“I can understand that.”

“You can?”

He chuckled. “Why do you think I ride?” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “It’s all about the thrill. Doing something that others don’t expect of you.”

His words rumbled into her and sunk into her bones. Everyone was always expecting something of her. Even she was always expecting something from herself. What if she just didn’t do that anymore? At least for today.

“Have you ever done something no one would expect from you?” he asked another question.

“Like demand to buy a horse?” she teased him, liking what she saw when he smiled back at her.

“Like that.”

But she wanted to see more of him. And then a pink leather bound book came to mind with images she had indulged in by herself. She could see in her mind what she wanted to do. With him.

It was one hundred percent impulsive that gave her the impetus to do what she did next.

“Or like…this?” She went up on her knees, placing one on either side of his lap. Then she leaned in toward his lips, leaving an inch of room. It was clear what she was doing, but how was he going to respond?

His hands gripped her hips to make her immovable. He pressed in the last inch with a soft kiss over her lips.

“Yes, like this,” he whispered. “I would have never expected this from you.”

Feeling the heat pool in between her legs, and the spark in her heart, she wanted to feel more. “What about this?” She pressed her aching nipples into his chest.

His voice was raspy as he said, “Never would have thought that either.”

And while his hands loosened just a smidge, she rolled the part of her that was calling out over the part of him that was shouting.

He groaned at the contact and she melted. Her body melted into his. She couldn’t find where she ended and he began. She only wanted more contact.

“Broderick,” she moaned.

“Mmm…” he replied. “Does that feel good?”

“Yes.” And she could feel all of her senses awakening.

Craving. Yearning. She reached down to touch him, cup him with her hand.

Having never done that before to a man, she didn’t know what to expect, had nothing to compare it to, but he felt huge.

And his groans were enough to encourage her to do more to him, only, she had an aching part of her that needed relief.

“Do what feels good for you,” he encouraged, stroking her hair.

“All of it feels good.” She rubbed herself over his bulge again to hear that groan from him. When he gave her what she wanted to hear, she said, “Kiss me.”

Swift hands cradled her jaw and swept into her hair.

His lips slanted over hers, and he angled his head to pull her in and devour her.

He spread his legs wider so she could feel more of him.

The movement jostled her and she found her body craving a rhythm.

Instinct took over as she rode him. Slowly.

Softly. Then his tongue entered her mouth, teasing, dancing.

And her arousal exploded. She could feel the heat of her body competing with the heat of his, intermingling, intensifying.

All she wanted was more. She rode him faster and harder, crying his name. She was close to jumping over something with him. The other side awaited her like a promised paradise. She wanted to get there. With him. His hands were massaging her breasts and when he softly pinched her nipple, she keened.

He grew even harder between her folds and then she was right there. “Broderick, uh, uh, uh. Mmmm….”

“That’s it. I’m right there with you. One more.”

She rubbed against him squeezing the last drop of pleasure from him, “Say my name, Broderick.” At the same time she made her request, his hips arched up into her and he grunted his release.

Paulina felt…limp. First and foremost. But she felt wild. And free. The same feeling she had from watching the horses reach their full potential, that’s how she felt now.

She wanted to giggle. She wanted to sleep. She wanted. She just wanted. And maybe that something she wanted was something with him. And maybe…her mind was a fluffy mess right now…maybe she hadn’t been drawn to the horse so much as the rider. And maybe this was fate’s way of?—

“What do we do now?” he asked it so cavalierly that it shook her, despite the fact that she was essentially asking the same thing.

“The rain has stopped,” she observed just as casually as he had done.

Clearly this was something he just did with women.

She was nothing special, so she just needed to keep her head on straight and tell her pesky heart to mind some other business.

The best way to sever hope was to cut it off with a sharp knife. “I have somewhere I need to be.”

“Right now?”

“Yes.” It was a lie. But now she just wanted out of there. If he was a rake, she knew the best way to put the fear of God in him. “I can’t stay here. If people find out about this, you’ll have to propose marriage to me.”

He chuckled, “We’re already husband and wife in the eyes of this tavern. I think we’re safe.”

“You didn’t!” she cried, clamoring to get off of him.

“I sure did. Says the woman who snuck into my trailer and followed me here.”

“And you thought it was the best course of action to fake marriage and then…then…share a room with me.”

“How else was I supposed to protect you?” he growled back.

“Protect me? I needed the most protection from you.”

His eyes look wounded, but that couldn’t be. And she just didn’t care in this moment. She was overwhelmed. She couldn’t be here.

“I’m leaving,” she announced.

“Not without me, you aren’t, honey.”

Honey? And then she realized a devastating truth and hurled it at him. “You don’t even know my name, do you?” She was shaking. “I would never marry you. Not if you were the last man on earth and you were waiting for me at the end of the church aisle in your best tailcoat.”

Ugh! She had had enough of this arrogant rake. She had places to be that were much more important than this. So what if she had grabbed the bull by his horn and it had been part of the most significant experience of her life? Horns were not what life was all about.

But she could see in his eyes that he was set on his decision not to let her leave alone, so she needed to bide her time. They spent the next hour eating food in air that was so thick they ought to be eating it instead. When he decided to take a nap, she saw her chance.

She stomped down to the tavern owner, scribbling down a note for him to give to her husband , and then she took off on Providence.