Read To Pleasure a Lady for Free Online

gaining on her.
    Her pulse was hammering in time with the thudding hooves when he drew even with her. For an instant they raced side by side, while her heart pounded with unexpected exhilaration.
    Then suddenly he reached out to wrap a strong arm about her waist and pluck her from the saddle as if she weighed no more than thistledown.
    Arabella’s gasp of alarm turned to outrage when she found herself hauled sideways in front of his saddle and enveloped in his powerful embrace. As she clung desperately to him for balance, her breathless demand, “Let me go, you devil!” was muffled ineffectively against his shoulder and received no reply. Instead of releasing her, the earl merely tightened his grasp.
    When he finally brought his mount to a plunging halt, Arabella sucked in a panting breath and lifted her head to glare up at him.
    A mistake, she realized at once, for her mouth rested only inches from his. A delicious shock flared through her. She had fantasized about those firm, sensual lips….
    Then their gazes locked, and her breath faltered altogether.
    The sudden silence seemed deafening. Arabella felt her heart nearly pounding out of her chest, yet this time she couldn’t blame her response on physical exertion. Rather, it was because she found herself pressed against his lordship’s hard-muscled male body, her heaving breasts nestled against his broad chest.
    He sat there unmoving, eyeing her in speculation, and she stared back at him, frozen. When his gaze dropped to her bare throat and then even lower, to her breasts that were thrust prominently upward, she wished she had worn something more substantial than a low-collared muslin gown in deference to the warmth of the spring afternoon. She was acutely conscious of the way her nipples had brazenly hardened at the contact.
    He, too, seemed aware of her body’s wanton response, for his blue eyes darkened with a sensual gleam.
    His voice fell to a languid murmur when he observed, “I had anticipated any number of greetings from you, Miss Loring, but I confess this was not one of them.”
    Arabella stiffened at his husky, amused tone. “Nor I, my lord. What do you mean, manhandling me in this brutish way?”
    The glimmer in his eyes deepened. “Why, I was rescuing you, of course.”
    â€œI did not need rescuing!”
    â€œNo? I assumed your horse bolted. You would never have been so rude as to deliberately ignore my request for an audience. I arrived an hour ago at the hall to find you and your sisters nowhere in sight.”
    She had no legitimate reply for that, since her absence had indeed been entirely deliberate.
    â€œYou must have forgotten the time,” the earl prodded, “for I’m certain you didn’t mean to put me to the trouble of searching for you.”
    Arabella had the grace to blush. “I was previously occupied at the hour you demanded.”
    â€œDemanded?” He raised a dark eyebrow. “It was hardly a demand.”
    â€œIt seemed very much so, since you gave me no choice in the matter.”
    His gaze dropped to her lips again. “It appears your flight had consequences you never intended.” At her puzzled look, he shifted slightly beneath her. “Perhaps you didn’t realize that physical exertion rouses a man’s blood. And combined with the thrill of the chase…”
    He let the words hang until she felt the swelling hardness of his loins against her thigh and comprehended his meaning. She had aroused more than his blood, quite obviously!
    Regaining her wits, Arabella pressed her hands against his chest, determined to break free. Yet it was too late. His mouth suddenly lowered to capture hers in a kiss.
    A slow, devastating, spellbinding kiss.
    The unexpectedness of his assault stunned her. She felt light-headed. She couldn’t breathe. At the searing heat of it, panic melded with insidious excitement, but she couldn’t summon the desire to