Page 10 of Seduced By the Squire (Diamonds in the Rough #1)

They had barely left the village when the whole company had to come to a halt. Lady Mary’s horse had cast a shoe.

“We will have to retrace our steps and see if we can find a farrier,” Lord Masterson declared, doing his best not to let his irritation show.

“No, we won’t,” Lady Mary interposed swiftly. “Not all of us need to ride back. One of your men will wait with my horse at the farrier while the rest of us ride on. Lady Llinos will give me her mount. She can ride pillion with one of the men.”

Llinos worked hard not to bristle at this demonstration of high-handedness. One of the men had been volunteered to stay behind, which meant he would have to travel dozens of miles with a horse in tow, alone and exposed to danger. As for her, her preferences had been being dismissed out of hand. She was fine on her own horse, thank you very much, she didn’t want to ride with one of the men like a child! Except…

Her gaze landed on Duncan. Perhaps she could make her peace with riding pillion if it was with him. But how to ask for him in particular without appearing suspicious?

“Would you mind riding with one of the men, my lady?” Lord Masterson inquired. It was obvious he was eager to press on and thought it a neat solution to the problem.

“Of course she would not!” Lady Mary interposed before she could answer. “There’s nothing of her! The horse will barely register the added weight.”

Well. Llinos wasn’t sure that was the case but she could hardly contradict the lady. “It should be fine,” she whispered.

“Very well. Davies, you will — ”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Once again Lady Mary interrupted her son, a habit that was quickly becoming irksome. Llinos marvelled that the man did not put her back in her place. She was itching to do so. “Davies is as round as a barrel, the poor dear will be squashed!”

Lord Masterson rolled his eyes in surrender. “Who do you suggest, then, Mother?” It was obvious the lady had already made her choice and would not allow anyone else to have their say. Llinos braced herself.

“Well, the black gelding is already lame, and of course she cannot ride with you.” Why that was, the woman did not explain and Llinos did not ask. It suited her just fine to have Lord Masterson ruled out. The last thing she wanted was to spend the day with her arms around him. “So it’s either the grey stallion or the roan mare.”

In other words, Duncan or a young lad called Alexander. Llinos knew which one she would prefer to ride with, even if they had not talked since he had sent her away so harshly the other day.

The boy glanced at her and gave a cough. “With your permission, my lord, I think her ladyship would fare better with MacQuarrie. I’m afraid I’ve never…”

Although it was obvious he meant he had never ridden with someone else pillion, the colour on his cheeks made it look as if he was owning to having never been that close to a woman before. Which he probably had not.

Lord Masterson eyed him up and seemed to agree that he looked too nervous to ride with her safely. After all, as he’d told her only the other day, he was supposed to ensure Sir Benedict found her hale and healthy upon his return, so he had little choice but to select a safe means of transport for her.

“Yes,” he said slowly. “She will go with MacQuarrie. He knows what he’s doing.”

It was Llinos’ turn to blush like a maiden. Yes. Duncan did know what he was doing with a woman.

A moment later she was seated on the grey stallion, her arms wrapped about Duncan’s lean waist, his heat warming her body. It was quite a scandalous position to be in. Duncan was literally between her legs but because he had his back to her rather than his front and they were sitting on a horse instead of lying on a bed, no one thought to object. What hypocrisy! Apparently, he was below her notice but good enough to be entrusted with her life. She was allowed to wrap her arms around him and press her breasts against his body all she wanted while they rode across fields but heaven forbid she should dare touch his little finger once they had dismounted.

It was all ridiculous.

Well, she would make the most of it while she could. She would make sure that this day of riding with Duncan was a day to remember. For once they were allowed to be together and touch in public and she would revel in the opportunity. The first thing she should do was to set things right between them. The last time they had spoken he had barked at her and she had been too stunned to reply. She didn’t want any misunderstanding to linger.

“I’m sorry about the other night,” she said before she could lose her nerve. They were rounding up the rear of the company and would not be overheard if they spoke quietly. “I did not mean to make you uncomfortable, only I did not like the way Lady Mary — ”

“It’s all right, lass,” Duncan cut in. “In truth I should be the one apologising to ye. I shouldn’t have snapped at ye that way. I ken yer heart is in the right place.”

She let out a sigh of relief. Things were going to be all right. Closing her eyes, she allowed her body to relax further against him. He was so warm, so comforting!

“How do ye like riding a stallion then, lass?” he asked her a moment later.

“I like it almost as much as I liked riding its master,” she whispered back, feeling deliciously naughty.

Unfortunately, she could not see Duncan’s reaction but she heard – and felt – the rumbling in his chest. Her heart picked up speed. Was he amused? Annoyed? Aroused? Did it even matter? She had coaxed a reaction out of the stoic man. She knew enough about him by now to appreciate the achievement for what it was worth.

Thank God Alexander had been a timid virgin, wary of feeling a woman pressed tight against him because now she was right where she wanted to be. Knowing no one could see her, she allowed herself to place her cheek against Duncan’s shoulder blade. Oh, he smelled so good! Felt even better, so strong and protective. The way his muscles twisted and corded to accompany the horse’s movements put her in mind of their afternoon at the cottage. He had been so wild, poised over her, riding her for what had felt like hours without tiring, until she —

“Stop doing that!”

The rebuke was like a cold shower on her heated senses.

“D-doing what?” Llinos stammered, shaken out of her erotic reverie.

“Moaning and squirming against me,” Duncan answered, sounding as gruff as a bear. “Ye’re making me harder than the blade of my sword. Not comfortable in a saddle, not to mention unwise while we’re in full view of everyone!”

Llinos bit her bottom lip. She hadn’t realised she had been doing any squirming or moaning. And Duncan was saying that it had sent him hard? She could scarcely credit it, for she guessed he was used to much more overt seduction ploys from women. Surely it took more than having one pressed against this back to arouse him? Could she dare reach out and feel for herself if he was as hard as he said? She flushed to the soles of her feet. Of course she could not do anything like that! He had objected to her moaning, what would he say if she started stroking him in full view of everyone!

“I’m sorry. I’ll stop,” she mumbled.

“Och, lass, ye’ll be the death of me,” she thought she heard him say between his teeth.

Heat bloomed inside her at what felt like the most heartfelt compliment she had ever received.

Making sure not to distract him, Llinos focused on the parts of Duncan she could see or feel. His stomach, hard and flat, his neck, strong and tanned, his hair, sleek and soft, his shoulders, broad and —

“Halt!”

Somewhere at the head of the retinue a commotion was heard. Lost in her contemplation, Llinos had not noticed anything. Had another horse cast a shoe? No. Everyone was keeping silent, even Lady Mary. Something must be seriously wrong if the woman thought it best to keep her mouth shut. Llinos felt Duncan tense against her.

“What’s happening?” she mouthed to Lord Masterson when they drew to his side.

He nodded towards an opening between the trees. Frowning, she surveyed the landscape until she spotted a group of men camping at the bottom of the hillock. The outlaws! There was at least a dozen of them, almost twice as many men as there were in their retinue. If they were seen, it could spell disaster.

“Davies, MacQuarrie, ride with the ladies back to Pitcairn Castle as quickly as you can and come back with two dozen men. We will wait for you here. If they move before you arrive, we will leave Alexander behind to indicate which direction they took.”

Duncan nodded and the four of them set off as quietly as they could.

Once they were a comfortable distance away they started cantering to reach Pitcairn Castle as fast as possible. Llinos pressed herself close to Duncan to speak in his ear.

“Promise me you will be careful.”

It felt silly to make him promise such a thing but she couldn’t bear to imagine him being hurt – or worse.

“Dinnae fash yerself about me,” he growled.

Oh, but she did, ‘fash herself’. She did more than that.

The rest of the ride was accomplished in silence. It did not take Davies long to assemble the men Lord Masterson had required and get ready to ride back. There was no opportunity for Llinos to see Duncan alone. Lady Mary was hovering at her side like a bothersome fly, commenting on everything that was happening, as if it had not been clear enough.

“They are getting the horses ready, I see. They should be making sure they have a bite to eat before leaving or they will not be able to fight…”

Llinos wished she could shut her ears to the incessant chatter.

Dusk had already set in when the men left the castle in a thunder of hooves. They would ride hard to reach Lord Masterson and presumably attack at dawn, taking the outlaws by surprise. Llinos already knew she wouldn’t be able to close an eye that night.

*

Duncan had to focus.

Only a week ago he would not have given any thought to facing the outlaws, he might even have relished this opportunity to do something other than patrol the battlements and endure Masterson’s constant boasting. But now… He wasn’t afraid or worried about his well-being but he knew someone who would be. It was an odd sensation, not one he was certain to enjoy but all the same, he did not want to get injured, because he did not want that certain someone to be afraid or worried about him.

In truth he should not want Llinos to think about him at all. But he did. He …

Duncan shook his head in disbelief. He liked it! Damnation, he liked having someone thinking about him, asking him to be careful when he left on a dangerous mission. It gave meaning to the life he had been leading at Pitcairn Castle. Without Llinos there was no reason for him to return to the castle unscathed.

With her, there was the best incentive to make it back hale and hearty.

As the sun pierced the horizon, Masterson raised his arm and gave the order in a whisper. “We attack.”

Duncan drew out his sword.