Three Kisses Before Christmas by Wilde, Tanya (good novels to read .txt) 📗

was the most erotic thing Wolfstan had ever felt in his life.

He could not savor the moment, though, for Sergeant did not expect the added weight and reared, dislodging Wolfstan and Rebecca without an ounce of shame.

REBECCA BRACED HERSELF as Wolfstan caught her up in his arms. The horse bucked, and her heart gave an uneasy beat as she shut her eyes to the fall. Arms of steel tightened around her waist.

A loud grunt fired in her ears as the jarring impact knocked the breath from her lungs.

The landing could have been worse, Rebecca told herself. She was no stranger to tumbling from horses. She had tumbled from her fair share. It was still hard, but not as hard. Wolfstan had borne the brunt of it.

Several seconds passed as she listened to the hooves of yet another horse grow dimmer and fade into the chirps and croaks of the songs of the forest. Then, slowly, she became aware of the rise and fall of Wolfstan’s chest beneath her. Goodness! She lay flat on her back over him!

“Bloody hell.”

She twisted around, the tangle of her skirts and their legs keeping her trapped against his chest. Her lashes fluttered open to gaze into his familiar brown eyes. He stared at her, a peculiar expression on his features. She blinked, marveling at the warmth of his eyes. Always warm, humor never far. They were the kind of eyes that made you feel safe and protected under their guard.

He shifted beneath her, a mere flex, but enough to draw her awareness to the fact that she was fully plastered against him, his arms keeping her locked against his chest.

“You said you would not let me fall.” Her attempt at humor came out strangled. And she suddenly found herself reluctant to rise.

“Never said Sergeant would not give it a go.” His voice sounded strained too. Why she couldn’t say. She was the one shamelessly draped over him by way of her skirts.

Rebecca pressed down on his chest preparing to untangle herself when she became aware of a sharp object pressing into her thigh. Her brows drew together. “What do you have in your pocket?”

He stared at her unblinkingly. “I beg your pardon?”

She wiggled over the hardness. “Is it some kind of rod for your horse?”

A sudden fit of coughing seized him. A shade of red spread across his cheeks. He rolled out from under her, taking her with him as her skirts entangled with his legs.

Rebecca blinked up at him as he was now the one on top and she at the bottom. He froze above her. His eyes caught in hers.

“Are you alright?” Rebecca asked.

She had known Wolfstan all her life and never had she seen him this out of sorts. He scrambled off her, waving her concern away as he turned his back to her. Rebecca frowned, but stood and dusted off her riding habit. If Wolfstan wanted space to recover from the fall, she’d give him that.

She winced when a cramp shot through her foot. Balancing on a branch of a tree seemed to have tired her feet. She still could not believe Dream had bolted. She had merely stopped to inspect a cluster of plants she’d never before encountered. Instead, she had come across something much more terrifying—a fox.

“Christ,” Wolfstan said as he slanted a brief glance at her. “I cannot believe you asked me that.”

“Whether you are alright or the rod?”

“Please do not say that word again.”

“Rod?” Rebecca lifted a brow. She would like to believe that she knew everything there was about Wolfstan. But she had never, not once, ever, seen him this uncomfortable. “Is it not a rod?”

“What it is will surely embarrass you.”

“Care to wager on that?” What could Wolfstan ever do or say that would embarrass her? Rebecca could not think of a single thing.

“Never mind that, why did your horse bolt?”

“We happened upon a fox.”

He frowned. “A fox? Are you sure? I didn’t see any fox.”

“I certainly did not imagine its beady eyes. I escaped the fox only to be felled by my steed.”

He turned to peruse her then. “I thought you said you weren’t hurt.”

“I’m not.” She shrugged. “Except for my pride. That is very much bruised. How did you know I was here?”

“I saw a lone horse burst from the thicket of trees and came investigating. And found you.”

“Well, at least Dream knows to go home.”

“She is a recent purchase?”

Rebecca nodded. “A gift from my brother. Still a bit skittish, and horses like foxes less than I do.”

A grunt. “We should head back.”

Rebecca nodded and headed in the direction of the stables. She paused when Wolfstan hunched to retrieve something from the ground. “Are you coming?” He nodded and fell in beside her as they started through the woodlands. “Mason returned to London.”

“I know. Lonsdale called on me. He is worried about Caroline.”

“Spying for my brother, are you?”

“I have better things to do with my time than to spy.”

She grinned at him. “Such as sow your youthful oats?”

His gaze whipped to her, equal parts horror and astonishment. “Christ, Rebecca. You cannot say such things!”

“Why not? I heard Lady Chestbury mention Lord Haywood is still sowing his wild oats which is why he is not actively looking for a wife. You aren’t actively looking for a wife, so I gathered you must be sowing these oats as well.”

“Bloody hell,” Wolfstan barked out. “That’s beside the point. You should not be saying such things!”

“Why? Does it not mean merrymaking?” Her eyes widened. “It does not, does it?”

“No. It does not.”

Rebecca laughed. “What does it mean then?”

“Nothing I care to speak about.”

“Oh?”

“Rebecca.”

“Settle down. I am only teasing. And it’s hard not to hear about things when I have ears. It is one of the perks of being inappreciable.”

“You are not inappreciable.”

“I’m a wallflower, ergo of no account.”

“You do not behave like any wallflower I’ve ever met.”

“That is because you have known me all my life. Which is why I am allowed to mercifully tease