Page 34 of Their Brazen Countess
A few days later, Arthur and Linc went for a midday ride through Hyde Park to break in Linc’s new mount. It was not the fashionable hour, but it did allow for them to gallop, and with fewer people, the less likely the colt would be to become skittish.
Well, that had been the hope. Linc had pulled a little ahead of him when they heard a woman cry out.
The next thing Arthur knew Linc had yanked back on the reins of his horse, causing the colt to rear up. A scream sounded from the woman—and he saw it. A white fluff of fur was bolting into the field, having crossed the path. Linc had fallen off his horse and landed flat on his back but the dog was still hot-footing it into the field and toward the tree line on the other side.
With a curse, Arthur looked over at Linc who waved him on. He swerved his stallion to the left and took off after the dog, quickly passing the animal and leaping from his horse to snatch the panicking snowball. The dog squirmed in his arms then began licking his face as he grabbed the reins of his horse and walked back to where the woman knelt over Linc.
She stood as he approached and reached for her dog, freeing Arthur to check on Linc.
Kneeling at his side, he bent over his lover—no, the man he loved. “Linc!”
Linc lay there with his eyes closed, unresponsive. Arthur patted his cheek, trying to bring him around, but had no luck.
Turning to the woman who hovered nearby, Arthur asked, “Do you have any smelling salts?”
“Oh! I do. My Aunt Ida frequently faints so I keep some in my reticule.” She pulled out the little tube and passed it to him. After breaking it beneath Linc’s nose, the man’s eyes fluttered as he moaned.
“Bloody hell! Get that stench away from me.” Linc pushed Arthur’s hand away.
The woman gasped. “Such language!”
Arthur grinned at Linc before turning to look up at the woman. “Madam, please excuse my companion. He is not quite himself after such a fall.”
“Very well.” Her tone was begrudging and her face pinched, but she said no more.
Returning his focus to Linc, Arthur pressed him to the ground when he tried to sit up. “Stay put a moment more. You took a nasty spill.”
“I’m fine, let me up.” Linc frowned and attempted to sit up again.
“Is he feeling better now?” The woman still hovered nearby. “I’m terribly sorry. Fluffy surprised me and escaped, I nearly fainted when she bolted under your hooves.”
“I’m fine. Just glad I didn’t trample the poor little creature.” Linc rubbed his forehead.
Arthur helped him up slowly. Once he’d gained his feet, he handed the injured man his hat after he dusted himself off.
Linc nodded and plopped it on his head before he turned to the woman. “I do hope Fluffy will recover from her ordeal.”
The woman smiled a bit. “Thank you. You’ve been very understanding.” She turned and left the pair of them, crooning to her dog as she went.
“Shall we make our way to your house, Arthur? I believe you live closest to the park, and I’m not sure I’m up for more galloping today.” Linc took hold of his horse’s reins, which had been dangling to the ground.
“I should think so,” Arthur agreed before they ambled carefully toward his home.
All the way back to his house, he fretted over Linc, who continued to assure him he was hale. By the time they arrived in Arthur’s study, he was frazzled by having imagined Linc’s neck had been snapped in the accident. He closed and locked the door before pushing Linc against it. “You scared me to death today.”
Linc grinned. “Worried about who could stand to pal around with you if I was gone?”
“You bloody fool! You could have snapped your neck! I love you, I would have been devastated to lose you!” Arthur crushed his lips against Linc’s.
Their tongues twined around each other as his surge of emotions overflowed. Taking Linc’s face in his hands, slid his tongue deeper to explore. To taste. Soon Linc went soft against him, giving in to the sensuous kiss that had gone from claiming and needy to soft and languorous.
As their lips parted so they could breathe, Linc smiled. “I love you too.”
Arthur’s heart skipped a beat or three as they stared at each other. However this had happened, he would not deny how he felt. He wanted to embrace the happiness and this man was the center of it all.
Linc looked at him with uncertainty and then took a breath. “What now?”
Chapter Seventeen
