“I wanted to watch you at work. See how you prepare my horse for his competition. I know you have been doing well up until now, but I still felt I should observe, just for a while.”
“Oh,” she nibbled at her lower lip, blushing when his gaze dropped to her mouth, then slowly working back up to her eyes. “That’s – I suppose that’s fine. But you don’t have to –”
Silas leaned in close, smirking down at her and the barely-there distance that existed between them. “Do you want me to leave? I will if you feel uncomfortable.”
Agnes swallowed, suddenly lightheaded, and stepped back quickly.
“No… no, that is not necessary. But do not distract me or give me any orders on how to do things.”
Silas agreed easily. “It is you who has been training him. I have no place to speak here. As for distracting you… perhaps it is you who should try not to be distracted by me.”
She huffed and rolled her eyes, leaving to fetch Scar, the heat in her cheeks spreading to her ears at the sound of his laughter.
On the other side of the property, the older ladies sat in the garden, watching their wards speak in front of the stable as they nibbled on cookies and cakes with tea.
“Oh, they seem to be getting along swimmingly.” Lady Anna observed.
“And not a moment too soon,” the Dowager Duchess nodded. “I must say – they do make a wonderful couple to see. Just look – look how he leans towards her and how she shyly avoids his gaze. Oh, what a precious thing young love is.”
Lady Anna agreed with a nod, lifting her teacup in a toast.
“Here’s to them – may their romance kick off quickly so we will be gifted the opportunity to laugh at their displays of affection.”
Her friend grinned and raised her own cup in solidarity.
Agnes found it difficult to focus, with Silas watching her every move.
He had been as quiet as he promised, but she could feel his stare on her, heavy and imposing, as she conducted the drills Scars had long since mastered and put him through the new trickagain. The horse was doing a great job of taking most of her attention, but every so often, she would look over to Silas and see him looking right back, his expression unreadable.
It sent shivers down her spine and parched her throat, and rather quickly, she began to pray for the training to end.
Eventually, it did, and she thankfully dismounted with a sigh of relief, leading Scar back to the stable. Simon met her halfway and retrieved the horse, taking him back to the stables in her stead. As Agnes took off her riding gloves, Silas walked up to her and instructed,
“Henceforth, you are to meet me in my study in the evening to give me a report about the day’s training session. If I deem your performance satisfactory, I will reward you.”
Agnes wanted to object – was there a need to give a report when he had just witnessed all that she had done? – but stopped herself in time, deciding that it was best to obey, especially if it satisfied the cravings she had been unable to ignore since last night, and nodded wordlessly.
That was how she found herself in his study an hour later, fresh from a bath – a luxury she had not been given a chance to indulge in the day before – feeling soft and warm beneath his gaze. He wasn’t sitting behind his desk today, instead lounging on a chaise with a relaxed expression.
“Well?” he enquired expectantly.
She cleared her throat and began.
“Since the competition is only a few days away, Scar’s training henceforth is focused on fortifying his strengths and eliminating any weaknesses that might remain. He has already mastered all the tricks I taught him, so the best course of action is to have him run through all of them to ensure that he remains at an expert level, and that is what we did today,” she paused, then added, “I noticed that he was a little shaky after landing his jumps, so we worked on his stability and balance as well. That’s… that is all.”
He nodded curtly.
“You did well. It is always nice… watching your ride.”
His words sent a rush of heat flowing from her head to her toes, and she fought not to seem too affected, failing as he beckoned her closer, wordlessly inviting her to collect her reward.
She easily fell into his embrace and settled on his thighs, sighing as their lips met in a hot, wet slide. It did not take her long to come undone, melting in his arms as he held her securely, ravishing her with his lips and tongue. Her arms came up to circle around his neck as she tried to press closer to him, desiring to share the heat burning her up from within, panting desperately for more.
He seemed willing to give her what she wanted, his hands wandering and groping as his lips worked hers nonstop. She did not even realize he had somehow lowered her down on her back on top of the chaise until his lips trailed gentle kisses down fromher jaw to her throat, biting and sucking at the pale flesh there and humming in satisfaction when a particular spot left her moaning.
His hands tugged her skirts up, lightly running over the exposed skin that had just been exposed, his touch sending shivers through her body. He sat back between her legs and stared at her with a hungry expression, and for a moment, she felt too exposed, wondering if he would think less of her because of how easy it had been to reduce her to this state.
She reached out to pull him back to her, aching to hide beneath his broad form and strong muscles, her heart skipping a beat as he took hold of the hand she had extended, turning it over to kiss her wrist. The unexpected tenderness made her heart swell with warmth, and the desire to hold him multiplied.