The Reluctant Princess - a Novella

Chapter 8 - The Stables

***Warning - Explicit Sexual Content***

She hurried across the lawn, towards the stables, her skirts hiked up nearly to her calves. Mildred had complained the whole time she had helped her out of her morning dress and into a riding habit, but somehow, she had managed to be ready in just under thirty minutes. They only had a few hours before dinner, and she was damned if she was going to miss this. She had stopped denying she had developed a soft spot for her fiancée three days ago, when she had realized she enjoyed his kisses very much. She had not been able to think about much else, in fact. The prospect of spending another afternoon riding with him was exciting enough, but the possibility of another kiss was even more so.

When she entered the stables, she was a little breathless. She looked around and noted, aside from its usual equine inhabitants in their stalls, the large structure was deserted. Where were all the stable hands?

She stood there a moment, listening, and made out the soft scraping sound of metal on stone. Curious, she moved towards the noise, which seemed to be coming from the far end of the stables.

Henry was busy raking up hay from the floor of the storage room and did not notice her approach, so she stood quietly in the door and watched him for a few minutes. He had dispatched with his coat and was wearing only a shirt, the sleeves rolled up over his powerful arms. She felt a little pang of awareness as she watched his large body move with grace and confidence. This, she realized, was not his first time doing manual work and it surprised her. She had not expected this from her lazy, spoiled fiancée. He most definitely looked at ease here, with the dust swirling around him like glitter in the afternoon sun. She found herself staring boldly at the way his riding breeches stretched over his thighs and bottom and found herself wondering what on earth was wrong with her. Ladies did not ogle gentlemen's behinds, did they?

When he finally noticed her arrival, he straightened and leaned against the pitchfork, studying her in her smart blue habit, and her matching riding gloves clutched in a small, delicate hand.

"I was starting to think you had changed your mind..." he said, setting the pitchfork against the wall and dusting himself off, "We don't have much time before sunset."

She shrugged and stood awkwardly on the threshold.

"We will have to make it a short ride, then," she said as he approached with a mischievous grin.

Her breath caught a little when she noted that his loose lawn shirt was open at the neck. She could see the bronzed skin of his neck and collarbone and... She blinked as he came closer still and she could see the light dusting of dark hair across his chest peeking over the fabric. He looked positively scandalous. Her mouth went dry, and she forced herself to look up at his face, lest she should go up in flames right there in the middle of the barn.

He reached her in a couple of steps and gripped her waist, pulling her close. She stiffened a little at first, but the heat of his body and the musky scent of him mixed with that of fresh hay quickly enveloped her, calming her and when he bent down to kiss her, she forgot to protest and melted into his embrace.

"I'm leaning towards skipping the ride altogether," he murmured, as his mouth neared hers.

His lips were at once soft and firm on hers, eliciting in her a now familiar ache deep in her middle and a little breathy sigh escaped her when his tongue began to explore, silently urging her to do the same, distracting her as he began to walk her back, away from the threshold and further into the barn's darkest corner. When he tossed her onto a heap of fresh hay in a flurry of skirts and dust, she made a startled sound and glared at him as he climbed over her. He laughed and tilted his head, looking down at her flushed face and outraged expression.