Page 57 of My Secret Duke
“Here,” he said, and made a step with his joined hands.
Olivia gave him a look he found hard to interpret, though fear and trepidation seemed to be two of the components. She needed a distraction, and he was happy to supply it. The coat only hid so much of her body, and she was wearing tight breeches. A bolt of lust went through him as he let himself enjoy the swell of her hips, the nip of her waist, and the plump globes of her breasts beneath her white shirt.
“Very fetching,” he said, his voice dropping to a husky growl.
She narrowed her eyes and jammed her booted foot into the grip of his hands. The next moment, she was in the saddle. Arrow gave a nervous dance, but Roberta’s calming murmurs settled him again. She handed her sister the reins, keeping a tight grip on the halter. Olivia took a deep breath, wriggling to get comfortable.
“Olivia,” Ivo said, no longer able to keep his doubts to himself, “are you sure you want to—”
She shot him a look full of daggers as she cut him off. “Ready, Northam?”
Ivo remounted Star, and they made their way to the start of the popular riding track called Rotten Row. There was a low wooden fence on either side of the preparedsurface, with plenty of room for them to ride abreast. During the day, there were often curious strollers standing outside the fence, watching the toffs showing off on their pedigreed animals. Not this early though. Even the grooms had moved on. The place was empty.
Roberta gave her sister her final instructions. “Remember what I told you. Hold on. That’s all you need to do. Hold on. Arrow will do the rest.”
Olivia nodded jerkily, her face pale beneath her cap. She swallowed, her eyes flicking to Ivo, and he gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile.
“Are we ready?” Roberta said with a frown for her sister. “Will I start you off?”
“Count down from five,” Ivo suggested.
Arrow moved uneasily beneath his inexperienced rider. Olivia’s knuckles were white where she had twisted her fingers into the horse’s mane. Roberta had barely started the count when Arrow took off, and Olivia was flying down the thoroughfare, her borrowed coat flapping like wings.
With a shout of laughter, Ivo gave Star his head, and whatever Roberta called out after him was lost in the excitement of the moment.
Arrow was fast. Roberta was right about that, and now he had been given his head, there was no stopping him. Ivo wondered if the two women had thought about what would happen when Olivia reached the end of the race. Was she going to jump the fence into Kensington Palace? At least, from the way she was lying flat against Arrow’s back, clinging on to him like a limpet, there was no chance of her falling off.
The greenery to the side whizzed past, but there could have been a marching band playing in their honor, and Ivo would have paid it no heed. He only had eyesfor Olivia, her small body was pressed tight to the large horse, and he wanted to call out to tell her how wonderful she was. How brave and beautiful. But she wouldn’t have heard him anyway.
Mist eddied about the horses’ hooves as they thundered along Rotten Row. They were neck and neck. He heard himself laughing with delight, because right now, there was nothing more exciting than pitting himself against this girl. He didn’t care whether he won or lost. All he wanted was to have Olivia in his life.
The end of the riding track was in sight. Their horses were still abreast, and Ivo knew they would need to slow very soon. Olivia had more than fulfilled her part of the challenge, but she showed no sign of pulling up, and Arrow was not going to stop on his own, so Ivo edged closer and reached across the gap between them. He fumbled for Arrow’s reins. When their hands touched, Olivia gave a breathy gasp and turned to stare at him, her eyes huge in her white face.
“It’s over.” He raised his voice to be heard.
As Arrow began to slow, Olivia sat up straighter and looked around her, as if realizing for the first time where they were. Had her eyes been closed for the entire race? Ivo drew the horses up, and finally, they came to a halt, their sides heaving. Ivo was flushed and breathless. It had been one of the most exciting experiences of his life, and he had had a few.
“You’re amazing,” he said, and his smile was so broad that it hurt his cheeks. Her eyes clung to his, bluer than he had ever seen them. “You’re brave and—and wonderful!”
“I was scared witless,” she admitted with a grimace.
Ivo edged closer, wanting to touch her but holding back.
“At least Arrow has finally stopped,” she went on. “Roberta said he was fast, but I had no idea.”
Ivo laughed, and they continued to stare at each other, the excitement bubbling in their veins. It was as if they were meeting for the first time but without hiding their true feelings.
“Is it always like this?” she asked him, a little shyly. “Do you always feel like this?”
He shook his head in wonderment. “No. Never like this.”
She didn’t seem to know how to answer that. Her hair had come loose, and she tried to push it back under her cap. Then, as if suddenly remembering what the race was all about, she said, “Ivo, did I win?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ivo thought her question funny. He threw back his head and laughed in delight, the sound disturbing some birds in a nearby tree so that they flew up into the sky, squawking irritably. Puzzled, Olivia smiled too. Now the surge of excitement was fading, she was feeling shaky. Her hands trembled, her heart was thudding, and she wondered if she would be able to stand up if she climbed down from Arrow. She might fall in a heap on the ground.
Her disguise, which had felt so daring as they set off this morning, was now uncomfortable and poking in places it had no right to. Her hair had come down from the pins she had used to keep it up, and the cap was making her scalp itch. But apart from those mundane matters, the race had been unlike anything else she had ever taken part in before. She didn’t even know how to describe it, or the look on Ivo’s face just now, and the ache of response from her body. Her skin tingled. It was as if he was calling to her and she was answering.
