A Scandalous Midnight In Madrid. Susan Stephens

straps on her backpack gave way, the worst that could happen was that she would roll a couple of yards down the hill. ‘I’m not sure I’ve got time for this,’ he said as he wheeled his horse around. ‘Thor is hungry and impatient to get home. If he should bolt—’

      ‘Bolt?’ she scoffed. ‘Weren’t you born in the saddle?’

      ‘In a caravan, actually.’

      She shrugged. ‘If you’ve finished staring, I’d appreciate a hand getting down.’

      ‘You haven’t told me why you’re here,’ he said, and with considerable restraint, in his opinion.

      ‘I’m supposed to be checking out your kitchens, as requested by Chef Sorollo, so I can advise on a refurbishment,’ she informed him tetchily, ‘but I can hardly do that while I’m swinging from a tree.’

      ‘Clearly.’ His lips pressed down as he frowned. ‘I did ask Chef Sorollo for advice.’

      ‘And he decided to send me. Now can you please get me down?’

      He was in no hurry. The view was good from here. Sadie’s hair was a rich, vibrant red-gold, and he’d never seen it cascading free before. It fell to her waist in such glorious abandon, he could imagine it would look that way after they made love.

      ‘And Annalisa said you needed someone to take care of you,’ she added. ‘Apparently, there was some damage to your voice? Are you okay?’ she asked with sudden concern.

      ‘I appear to be.’

      She appeared relieved, and then she bridled. ‘No hurry,’ she said sarcastically. ‘I’m happy to hang around here all day.’

      ‘In that case—’

      ‘Don’t you dare,’ she warned as he turned his horse.

      ‘You’ll keep.’

      ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ she yelled after him.

      He rode a short distance before coming back. ‘Thank goodness,’ she exclaimed with relief. ‘You are going to get me down?’ she asked with sudden doubt ringing in her voice.

      He shrugged. ‘Both Thor and I need feeding.’

      She said something rude under her breath while he positioned his stallion beneath her. Unsheathing his knife, he sliced through the straps of her backpack, and as she fell, he caught her. Lifting her onto the saddle in front of him, he locked an arm around her waist. ‘You are the most annoying woman I have ever met. Either you won’t see me, or I can’t get away from you. And only the fact that I refuse to leave you to plague the poor mountain lions when they come to eat you encourages me to take you with me. We’ll discuss your stupidity in the morning,’ he added over Sadie’s spluttering reply.

      ‘My stupidity?’ she exclaimed with affront.

      ‘Wandering around a mountain you’re unfamiliar with, in unsuitable clothing? What else would you call it?’

      ‘I was told I’d be met when I arrived,’ she countered hotly.

      ‘Well, no one told me,’ he assured her, ‘or I would have instructed you not to come.’

      ‘Instructed me?’ she exclaimed with outrage.

      So, there was fire beneath that cool exterior. It seemed the mountains had changed them both.

      Urging his stallion forward when they hit a flatter piece of ground, he said, ‘I hope you can ride.’

      ‘I’ve been riding since I was a child,’ she told him. ‘So, you’re quite safe to let me go.’

      ‘I’ll be the judge of that. My stallion’s suffered enough delay for one day, and the last thing I need is you falling off.’

      As she huffed her displeasure, he registered how good it felt to have Sadie pressed up hard against him. She was more toned than he had expected, though soft in all the right places. Strong, yet vulnerable, he thought, and, though he had briefly resented the fact that his precious solitude had been interrupted, he found himself looking forward to the next few days. ‘Hold on,’ he said as he pushed Thor into a gallop when they reached some flat ground.

      ‘Do you think I’m going to drop off like a pile of old rubbish?’

      ‘I wouldn’t describe you quite like that,’ he said dryly as Sadie turned to flash him an angry glance.

      ‘How would you describe me?’ she asked after a few moments when she had settled into the rhythm of his horse.

      He smiled and said nothing. That was one question he had no intention of answering just yet.