Page 6 of The Duke's Second Bride

“You were very brave,” she said.

The boy smiled.

“And see? Nothing to be afraid of,” Ava continued. “He is a very gentle horse. Would you like to?—”

Anothercrackechoed from the field.

The horse once again reared up, kicking those strong, dangerous hooves into the air above Ava’s head?—

CHAPTER 3

“Luke!” Christian rushed forward to where his son was with the strange woman before the newly frightened horse.

His heart beat in his chest as he ran, convinced his son was about to be struck on the head.

With surprising speed, however, the woman nudged Luke back—before stepping closer forward herself.

Christian opened his mouth, prepared to cry at her to not be foolish, and to step out of the way. However, before he could say anything, she pressed forward fearlessly, stroking the horse’s tawny dappled neck.

“Easy, easy,” the woman cooed softly.

Within a few repetitions of the petting movement, she had calmed the horse completely.

Christian tore his gaze from this strange woman to look at his son. Surely such a turn of events would have left Luke’s already nervous disposition in shreds.

And yet, looking at Luke, he didn’t look frightened at all. Instead, he gazed at the woman, his small face lit with a kind of peaceful smile that Christian had never seen before.

Still, the protectiveness in him led him to pull Luke away from the woman.

“Are you mad?” he demanded to her back. “Or simply reckless? Endangering a child for your own foolish whims?”

The woman turned, and for a moment, Christian’s anger faded away. She was of average height, with honey-blonde hair artfully tucked into an updo. The modest grey gown she was wearing, though it reached her neck and wrists, did nothing to hide the luscious curves of her waist, hips, and bust.

It was her eyes, however, that truly took his breath away—hazel, just a shade darker than her hair, and lit up with a fire that matched his own.

Almost immediately, he felt a deep pull towards her. He hadn’t felt this heat in a long, long time, and it was almost foreign, unrecognizably so, until his eyes traced along her curves once more.

Desire, he realized. He was feeling desire.

“If you had been watching at all, you would know Isavedthe boy. I didn’t endanger him,” she snapped.

“Strange manner of rescue. Is this a habit of yours, pulling children towards beasts twice their size?”

“Only when the beast isn’t the greatest danger nearby,” she retorted. Her eyes slipped from his face to Luke’s; immediately, her expression softened, as did her voice when she asked, “Is this your father?”

Luke nodded. Tugging on Christian’s coat sleeve, he looked up at his father. “It’s t-true, Father,” he said. Though a trace of his stutter remained, his tone was firm and calm in a way Christian had never heard before. “She saved me.”

The lack of stammer took Christian aback. He scanned his son’s face. Not only was it filled with honesty—it was also completely tranquil, completely sure. Nowhere to be seen was the nervous, timid boy he had known for the past eleven years.

“Your son loves animals,” she said. “You ought to let him pet one, now and then.”

“Not ones with hooves and no sense,” Christian muttered.

“Horses get scared on occasion,” the woman said, a touch of exasperation re-entering her tone. “You ought to prepare your son for that, particularly seeing as he has such a fondness for them.”

Christian could not remember the last time he was spoken to in such a way—and by a stranger, no less! A beautiful stranger, yes, but such an impertinent one.

“And do you have any children of your own?”