The Heiress - Lynsay Sands [80]
The question made him glance around at her again and he frowned at the suggestion, but said firmly, “No, of course not.”
“Then why can’t I come?” she asked, and then her eyes narrowed with suspicion as another thought struck her. “You are coming back?”
“Of course I am,” he said with a laugh, not even bothering to look at her this time. He then caught the reins of the horse he’d saddled and led it out of the stall. Pausing before her, he gave her a quick kiss and then took her arm to turn her around, saying, “Now go on back inside.”
Suzette tried to turn back, but he kept his hand on her arm and urged her forward, walking her to the stable doors and out into the courtyard, leading the horse by its reins as they went.
“Inside. Now,” Daniel said firmly then and released her arm to give her a gentle push in the direction of the inn.
Suzette sighed, but continued forward, walking to the inn door before stopping to turn back. Daniel was mounted by then. He gave her a smile and a salute and then urged his mount to move. Suddenly plagued by the superstitious thought that if she watched him out of sight it might be the last time she saw him, Suzette immediately turned and slipped inside the inn.
The main room was as silent and empty as it had been when she passed through it on the way out, and Suzette was grateful for that. Silly as it might sound, she was sure that anyone who looked at her would somehow know she was no longer a virgin, as if the experience had marked her somehow.
Shaking her head at the flight of fancy, Suzette started upstairs to return to the room she shared with Lisa. She thought she might be able to sleep now, and felt sure the rest would do her good. She really was tender at the moment. Perhaps a nap would give her body a chance to heal.
Daniel couldn’t get the grin off his face for the first half hour of the journey to Woodrow. While his body automatically steered the horse along the path to reach his home, his mind was filled with memories of Suzette, her neckline down below her breasts, her skirts up around her waist, and her eyes burning with passion as he’d driven himself into her. It had felt like going home. Her arms, legs and entire body had hugged his with each thrust, and her sighs, gasps and mewls of pleasure had filled his ears. The woman was all that he’d hoped for and more. She was as uninhibited with her body as she was with her words. He had a lifetime to enjoy the pleasure of both and was truly looking forward to it.
His grin softened to a smile at that thought. Daniel had never been very keen on the idea of marriage. He’d resented the idea of a wife. He knew his mother was a rare creature among the ton, one who rolled up her sleeves and did what needed doing. From what he had seen of most women in the ton, this was indeed a rare and wonderful thing. Most of the women he’d met over the years had been spoiled creatures, as demanding as princesses, who insisted on scads of clothes because they couldn’t possibly be seen in the same dress twice, chests full of jewelry to show off their status, and, he was sure, would have demanded his attention and company to attend every ball, every play at the theater and every entertainment available when he had work to attend to in order to ensure their continued comfort.
But Suzette wasn’t like that. Daniel knew without a doubt that she too would roll up her own sleeves and do what was required if the need should arise. The very fact that she had been willing to sacrifice herself to avoid scandal for the rest of her family said as much. She had stepped forward to take up the chore herself rather than even considering that Lisa too could marry and claim her dower to aid in the endeavor.
Daniel was pretty sure he needn’t fear her dragging him to every social event of the season either. Suzette had already told him she preferred the quiet and beauty of the countryside to the crowded, polluted city. As for fashion and jewels, while her clothes were