She was being daring, she realized. But when he stood tall like that, she wanted to stand with him. She wanted to lift her chin, square her shoulders, and let her body move the way his had.
Foolish, foolish girl. She needed to go back.
Then she heard a noise—not from him—but directly in her left ear. A low hiss accompanied the heat of a breath. She might not have noticed it except that the air was so still.
She jerked her head, thinking the movement would dispel whatever insect plagued her. Her eyes were still trained on Zhi Hao, but her movement forced her gaze to waver, and at the edge of her vision she saw something dark, with reddish black fur. And white, glowing eyes?
She jolted away, scrambling backwards as if she were on the ground. But the animal followed, hissing at her and she screamed. Except it wasn’t a scream. Her breath was choked off in terror. And she wasn’t on the ground. She was on the wall, and there was nowhere to go.
Then the creature lunged forward. She saw now that it was a fox, and she threw herself sideways…and toppled over on the wrong side of the wall.
This time, she only gasped. She was too focused on falling without marking her face. She could cover up scratches anywhere else, but her face would be seen by everyone.
She clutched at branches, feeling the leaves rip through her grip. There was a sting in her palm, a clatter as pebbles fell… She twisted. She had to protect her face. She stretched one hand out, but it was too late. She knew it even as—
Her descent abruptly halted. Zhi Hao—the gorgeous student—had caught her about the waist. Her legs flopped over andbanged hard against the wall. It was all she could do to muffle her scream. But then she was completely bent over with his hands supporting her waist and she was on the wrong side of the wall. In the wrong garden!
She slowly straightened up while her body thrummed with heat and relief and terror. Where was that fox with the eyes and the huge teeth? Why had it seemed to attack? And how deliciously strong were his hands where they held her in place?
She was too embarrassed to answer her own questions. Instead, she began to squirm. “Watch out for the fox! I think it might be rabid.”
“Where?”
She twisted to look. He was already easing his hold on her. She stretched out and touched the hard stone of the courtyard, wincing as one of her nails scraped the hard surface. Her mother would surely notice if one of her nails broke.
Then she pushed herself upright, wincing as she finally righted herself. Looking up, she saw that the fox had disappeared. There was nothing but fallen leaves to show what had happened. A lock of hair flopped into her face.
Damn, damn, damn!
Her hair was likely destroyed. There was no way to hide that from her mother, though she could claim that she’d had a bad dream and mussed it. She’d have to be very careful to pull any leaves out of it.
Her mind was running away with her. It was that or the feeling of having his arms around her body. He was sweaty, and she’d felt the slide of his slick muscles against her skin. And his scent was strong.
She turned to face him, her face burning crimson. This close, she could see just how big he was, not to mention muscled.
Seeing that she was all right, he stepped back and lowered his head in a bow.
So formal. After she’d dropped into his arms like a toppled vase.
How disappointing.
Of course, she hadn’t wanted him to cry out…or take advantage of the fact that he held her so closely. Well, not a lot. He was larger than her and skilled as a fighter. He could do anything to her right now, but rather than impose his will upon her, he stepped back and bowed his head.
An honorable man.
She respected that, but she was still disappointed. Everything had happened so fast, she hadn’t been able to appreciate the sensation of having his hands on her body. She shouldn’t want that, she scolded herself. She was chaste. But now that she stood beside him, she wanted to touch him. What would it feel like to stroke her hands down his muscled chest?
Chiding herself for her thoughts, she smoothed her skirt so that not an inch of flesh showed and tried to smile demurely at him. As if she made a practice of falling into a man’s arms.
“Thank you,” she said, but her voice came out too husky. She cleared her throat. “Thank you,” she repeated. “I… I thought I was going to be attacked. It was a fox.”
“It’s gone now,” he said, his lips curved in a small smile.
Did he doubt her?
“Never mind,” she said as she surveyed the wall from this side. How was she to get back up? And how could she do it with dignity, clad only in a nightgown and robe? Unfortunately, the moment she shifted her weight, she gasped and froze. The toes of her left foot shot spikes of pain up her leg. Damn, damn, damn. Had she broken them?
“Your feet are hurt?” His voice was deep but hushed, his words barely audible. He obviously realized the importance of keeping her presence a secret.