The Promise of a Kiss by K. C. Bateman

Author:K. C. Bateman [Bateman, K. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-01T18:30:00+00:00

THEY LAPSED into a companionable silence as Hester led them out of the village and found a barely-discernible trail that led off into the hills. Harry would have thought it was nothing more than a goat track, but she seemed confident of their bearings, and he had enough confidence in her abilities to allow her to lead.

For now.

After a while she glanced sideways at him. “You ride very well.”

Harry fought not to smile at the grudging compliment.

“You were in the Horse Guards, were you not?” she prodded.

“Yes. I love horses, so it made sense to join a cavalry regiment. It was a stupid mistake, in hindsight. I hated seeing them killed.”

Harry frowned, amazed that he’d said such a thing. He never would have admitted to such a weakness back in London, but Hester was so easy to talk to, and they were in the middle of nowhere. Maintaining a stiff upper lip seemed rather pointless.

He shrugged. “I learned not to get too attached to them. It was less painful when I lost one, that way. Some died of battle wounds, others from not enough to eat.” He stared straight ahead, concentrating on the stony trail they were following.

“I had a horse shot out from under me at Badajoz. It fell and pinned me, and I couldn’t escape. The French came to finish off the wounded, but I was saved by darkness falling. I managed to crawl back to my own line.”

He noticed the look of pity and concern on her face and sent her an easy smile to lighten the tone. “You, too, ride very well. Although I can’t quite picture you riding that monstrous beast down Rotten Row. You’d give the ladies of the ton heart palpitations.”

He smiled when she snorted in amusement.

“I’m not sure my reputation would recover from the scandal. An unattached heiress can be forgiven a great deal, but riding a dromedary in Hyde Park might be taking it too far.” She sighed, as if the thought of being back in London depressed her. “I suppose I could always learn to drive a curricle and pair. I do enjoy acquiring new skills.”

Harry glanced at her profile, at the lush perfection of her lips, and his mind—naturally—wondered whether she’d extend that enthusiasm to learning new sexual experiences. God, the things he could show her.

Her fair skin had been caressed by the sun’s rays, and he found her freckles ridiculously attractive. He wanted to lick them, like cinnamon sprinkles on an iced bun. In London she would be decried as a sun-browned heathen, but compared to the semi-transparent watery misses of the ton, whose skin was so pale you could see their blue veins beneath their sallow skin, Hester was a vibrant, sun-kissed goddess.

Why should the sun be the only one to kiss her? Harry’s eyes roved the curve of her jaw, the straight line of her nose. Was she that beautiful peachy color all over? Or did she have paler areas on the places that seldom saw the sun?

He readjusted his position in the saddle.

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