Patience (29 page)

He nodded and touched the brim of his hat. A blush darkened her cheeks but she didn’t look away. Indeed, her green gaze almost seemed to challenge him. But in the next moment, she was blocked from his view as the call for the hunt was sounded, and everyone began to move out. Falling in at the rear with Farnsby and Asher, he located Patience ahead of him and then settled into his saddle to await the chase.

It seemed to Matthew that the hounds took an interminably long time to catch the scent of the fox. During which, Farnsby and Asher engaged him in idle and seemingly endless conversation. At another time, he would have enjoyed their company more, for they were actually decent and amusing fellows. But he was anxious for the hunt, and kept his eye on the straight back and bright hair of his personal prey.

When the horn finally sounded, his heart leapt and his blood rushed.
Finally!
With a touch of his heels, he urged Dante forward. He yearned to ride full-out as he watched the lead group of riders quickly break from the rest. But today he needed to be patient.

In only moments, they were gone, leaving scattered groups of riders to follow in their wake. His lovely prey rode straight and strong, in a group toward the middle. Keeping to an easy canter, Matthew stayed with Farnsby and Asher, who did their best to keep up with him. He indulged them for some time as he watched the distance between Patience and him grow wider. But when she finally disappeared into a stretch of woodland, he made his decision to break from them.

A tall hedge loomed in the distance. His companions would have to go around. He called over his shoulder to them. “I’ve got to give Dante his head. I’ll see you later.”

Farnsby and Asher raised their hands in farewell, and Matthew was off. Beneath the darkening sky, he bent low over Dante’s neck and urged the horse to a gallop. The gray bolted, and Matthew felt his heart quicken as the big horse found his stride. The hedge grew ever closer and ever taller. Dante’s hooves churned the earth with a drumming power that echoed Matthew’s heart. Thunder rolled in the distance. Faster and faster Dante galloped. The hedge grew closer, until it seemed a great wall before them.

Matthew sucked in his breath, and then they leapt. Suddenly, everything was silent as they flew through the air, hooves and heart stretched and straining. Then, almost as soon as it had begun, their flight ended as the ground rose up to meet them. And once again, hooves and heart pounded together.

Hedge after hedge, gate after gate, Matthew closed in on his prey. His blood rushed as he broke through some woodland and caught sight of her topping the ridge before him. Like the hounds that bayed in the distance, he let out a whoop of victory.

 

Patience could hear the horn in the distance. Plunging down a steep hill into a dense grove of oak and birch trees, she followed its call. Those with whom she rode appeared and disappeared between the trees. The ladies were fleeting shadows, the gentlemen bright flashes of color. But less experienced than they, she was forced to slow considerably as she made her way through the thick wood. It wasn’t long before she wondered if she’d somehow gotten turned around.

Wind moved the crowded canopy of foliage above her. The leaves and branches rustled and whispered, but then they quieted and a heavy silence followed. Despite the muffled thump of her mare’s hooves on the leafy ground, she was distinctly aware of the quiet. It crept through the still vegetation, and hovered in the static air.

Patience urged her horse forward, looking for a break in the darkening wood. It was then that she heard it—the sound of thunder. It rolled upon her from behind, and seemed to grow louder and louder.

A chill scurried down her spine as she set her heels to her mare’s sides. The trees began to thin and she increased her pace. But the thunder became a drum in her ears. It echoed the swift pounding of her horse’s hooves. And the faster she rode, the faster it seemed to follow. She gasped thanks to God as she saw a break in the trees. Veering to the right, she took her mare over a broad stump and leapt into the wide expanse of an empty meadow.

Relief flooded her, but in two strides she cried out in fright as a huge horse and rider hit the ground alongside her. Gasping with fear and spurring her steed, she looked briefly into dark, predatory eyes.

Her heart pounded, but though her fear turned to a dangerous excitement, she did not slow. Rather, she gave her mount its head and urged her to greater speed. The surging body of the beast beneath her became an extension of herself. The cold wind whipped Patience’s face, but the thunder of hooves was too loud to be her horse alone. Chancing a glance over her shoulder, she gasped to see Matthew only a half a length behind her. His expression was fierce and deadly serious, and, God, his huge gray didn’t even seem to be straining.

With a small cry, Patience set her heels to her mare’s sides yet again, but the lovely beast was at her limit. Thunder rolled overhead and thunder rolled behind her. Both seemed to be overtaking her. Suddenly she saw the gray’s giant head beside her, his black mane flying. She veered away, but he followed. Her blood pounded in her ears as she tried to evade him. But he was as unshakable as his rider, whom she could feel at her side. She tensed. Turning, she stared directly into Matthew’s fiery eyes.

A clap of thunder crashed as he snatched her from her horse.

SONG OF SOLOMON 4:11

 

 

 

 

Patience gasped as Matthew pulled her firmly against him. Flushed from the excitement of the chase, she was suddenly overcome by a deep and primitive exhilaration at being captured. Matthew’s arm was strong around her waist and his chest hard against her back. She could hear his breathing, quick and shallow, and she could feel his power. It enveloped her like a warm cloak.

This was where she belonged—with him.

He said nothing, but turning his horse about, he cantered back to the tree line. Remembering her lovely mare, Patience glanced over her shoulder. Surprisingly, the soft- eyed beauty was following right behind them.

Matthew’s voice came by her ear. “Beatrice is Dante’s stall mate. She follows wherever he leads.”

Patience shivered at the feel of Matthew’s breath. Lightning flashed behind the clouds and thunder rolled overhead. The sky was growing darker. They reentered the wood and waited for Beatrice to draw up beside them. Once she had, Matthew tethered her reins to the back of his saddle.

“The storm may frighten her,” he said, turning back to Patience and gathering her tightly against him. “She’ll feel more secure tied to her mate.”

“Yes,” Patience breathed as she leaned into the warmth of Matthew’s body.

And then they were riding quickly through the dense trees—faster than she had ridden through before. But he did not follow the path she had taken. Instead, they were traveling deeper into the forest. A thrill tingled just under her skin. Where was he taking her?

She pressed herself more snugly into the shelter of his arms as a sharp wind began to buffet the wood. Thunder rumbled and lightning cracked, but still they rode on. At last, the rain began to fall. Cold and heavy, it permeated the dense canopy above them.

Slowing only slightly, Matthew bent his head near hers. Just as Patience began to wonder if they would ever reach their destination, she glimpsed a light through the trees. A moment later, they broke from the wood. Beneath a circle of open sky sat a rambling Tudor house. With its mellowed brick exterior and light glimmering from a couple of the lower windows, it looked warm and inviting.

Riding around the side of the house and across a wide courtyard, Matthew brought them straight into an open stable. It was dim but dry.

Matthew’s hold on her loosened as he leapt down. But then he reached for her. His hands circled her waist, and he pulled her against him as he lowered her to the ground. She could feel his tension.

“Stay,” he ordered.

She drew in her breath. Her clitoris pulsed. But other than removing her hat and placing it atop a barrel, she didn’t move.

Turning, Matthew led his horse and her mare into the shadows and lit a lamp. The soft light illuminated him. He hung the lamp from a hook affixed to a center beam between two stalls, which were now occupied by the horses.

As Patience watched, he removed his hat and riding jacket before tending first to her horse and then to his. He didn’t even look in her direction as he removed the saddles and tack from the mare and the big gray. There must have been fresh water and food in the trough, for the beasts dipped their heads in repeatedly. Outside, the rain continued to pour down.

Though she was wet, Patience stood completely still. But as she watched Matthew throw a blanket over the mare’s back, an inescapable inclination to disobey began to overcome her. It bubbled up beneath the heat of a rising excitement, and her bruised pride from earlier lifted its head and said,
Yes, do it
.

Tense, she waited for him to finish. He blanketed the big gray and murmured some words to the beasts. Then he grabbed the lamp and latched the stall doors before finally turning to her.

Patience met his dark gaze across the distance. Her heart quickened. Then she took one large step backward.

Matthew’s brows lowered. “I said, stay.”

She shivered at the ominous sound of his voice, but her blood was rushing in her veins. She took another large step back.

In the light of the lamp at his side, she could see his penis bulging beneath his tight riding breeches. Her mouth watered.

His frown grew fierce as he hung the lamp on a hook outside the stall and then slowly removed his gloves. “Take one more step and I shall make you sorry for it.”

She stared at him. Her quim moistened. There was nowhere to go. Wherever she went, he would catch her. But she’d already begun, and something—something more than just her pride—wouldn’t let her submit so easily. So she turned and fled into the rain.

Her blood raced as she lifted her skirts and flew across the broad courtyard to a leafy lane that bordered the house. Cold droplets pelted her, but she barely felt them as she made her wild dash. God, it was farther than she’d thought. She glanced back. Lightning flashed, and she gasped as she saw Matthew running at her at full speed.

Her heart leapt and she tried to run even faster, but her wet skirts were heavy and cumbersome. She turned the bend toward the front of the house. She could see the broad, shallow steps of the entry.
Almost there!
She looked back again and shrieked at finding Matthew just behind her. Then his arms clamped around her waist and he hauled her back against his body.

Beneath the noise of the storm his breathing was ragged by her ear, and a hot thrill coursed through her veins at being captured yet again. But then he was dragging her, not to the house, but across the wide drive to the circular front garden. A waist- high wall of brick enclosed it, and Patience gasped when he forcefully bent her over the top.

Exhilaration washed through her, followed by a shock of mortification as he threw her skirts over her back and proceeded to tear her pantalets to shreds. The low wall pressed against her abdomen, and she felt the cold and wet on her bottom and legs. Her face grew hot even as her clitoris began to throb. She thought of trying to bolt once more, but then Matthew’s arm clamped around her waist, and with the rain pouring over her bared bottom she felt the first sharp and stinging swat of his hand.

She sucked in her breath and her body jolted, but Matthew immediately spanked her again, and then again and again. Flashes of heat burst across her flesh. Each quick strike landed in a different spot, igniting a new fire. A prickling warmth spread rapidly across the entirety of her bottom. Her cunt pulsed. The rain fell and thunder rolled above them. Patience found herself pushing against Matthew’s body—leaning into his strength even as he laid on more stinging spanks. Her tears welled. Not because of pain, but because of promise. Every spank seemed full of it. Powerful and seductive in its beauty, it called to her and drew her ever closer to its source. Matthew—

Patience yelped and her tears overflowed as Matthew’s hand came down much harder. The sudden pain of the heavy- handed blow suffused her body and overwhelmed her thoughts. She tensed for more, but no more came.

As Matthew pulled her up and spun her away from the wall, she felt a flicker of disappointment. But when she looked into his beautiful face, rain dripping from the strong planes and angles, she shuddered at the dark passion etched across his features—the dark promise.

He wasn’t done with her.

Without a word, he grabbed the lapels of her velvet jacket and ripped it open. Buttons flew and Patience gasped as he pulled it roughly from her arms and tossed it on the wall. Her blouse and corset cover followed, each one torn from her more swiftly than she had imagined possible and then thrown with her jacket.

The trees encircling them swayed with gusts of wind. Patience shivered, but Matthew didn’t pause. He and the elements were one—powerful and primal. His mouth was set in a tight line, and his nostrils flared as he yanked at her laces and then unhooked her corset. He tossed it with her other garments and Patience shuddered at the realization that she would soon be naked.

A soft cry escaped her as he sundered her chemise down the front and pulled it to her waist. Rain fell on her bare breasts, and her thick, hardened nipples. Matthew paid them no mind as he whirled her around and yanked at the fastenings of her skirts and crinoline. Patience tensed as she felt them loosen, and her fingers gripped reflexively at the drenched layers of fabric as they began to fall. But Matthew snatched them down, and then tore at the remnants of her chemise and pantalets.