Ravished (11 page)

          “Get yer mind from
betwixt yer legs,” Kiara scowled, glancing up.  Seeing they had passed out of
sight of the house, she said, “Come, I tire of these guises.  I cannot wait to
tell Father my plan was a success.”

          “Aye, rub it in,”
he grumbled, keeping up.  When Kiara got an idea in her head ... there was
naught anyone could do to stop her....

CHAPTER NINE

          Over a week went by
while Alex waited impatiently for an opportunity to go to the stables, rescue
her horse, and escape.  In that time, she’d had an eerie sense that she was
being pursued, but surrounded by the brood as she was, there was little doubt
why she felt that way.  Bronson, she’d decided, was a thorn in her side, best
removed as soon as possible lest illness set in.

          Finally, when she’d
nearly given up hope of disentangling herself from their midst, the Blackmore
watch lessened enough so that she had a spare moment to herself.  Relieved more
than she could ever say, Alex made ready to escape.  She didn’t gather up her
clothing, since that would appear too suspicious, so she went empty handed down
the stairs.

          Alex slipped out
the door, hugging the wall as she peered around the corner to the clearing that
circled the manor.  In the distance, she could see the men training.  To her
left sat the stables, free of activity at this time of day.  She should know. 
She’d watched from every vantage point above it enough in the past week to know
that after the noonday meal, the stables were left untouched while the men
continued their training.

          Slowly, Alex
straightened and stepped out, cringing in anticipation of discovery as she
crossed the harrowing distance to the stable.  Reaching the building without
detection, Alex pushed the door open a wide crack and moved inside.  There
appeared to be no one inside.  Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

          Sunlight streamed
through thin spots on the thatched roof and through rough hewn slats, giving
the wide, open area a hazy look of summer dusk.  On one end of the stables
there stood another door, but from the hay coating that end of the building,
she surmised it hadn’t been opened in quite a while.  She would have to exit
the front entrance.  Firedancer should be able to outrun the men if they
traveled by foot, and she’d certainly have a good head start regardless of
whether or not they saddled horses and gave chase.

          Firedancer, sensing
her nearness, poked his head over a gate and whinnied at her.  Alex smiled and
went to him, petting his nose as he nuzzled one hand.  “Did you actually miss
me, you ornery beast?  I missed you too.”

          Alex continued
petting him, casting about for her saddle when a dread voice interrupted her
sparse search and sent chills up her spine.

          “There you are. 
I’ve been looking for you.”

          Alex whirled, a
smile pasted on her lips.  “Lady Constance!”  Alex eyed her surroundings
frantically, wondering if they were truly as alone as she feared.  To her
dismay, she discovered they were.

          Constance danced
over to her, giving her a saucy smile.  “Were you about to go for a ride?”

          “Uh, no,” Alex
said.  “I just came out to check on this lazy beast to make certain he faired
well in your father’s stables.”

          Constance stepped
up to Firedancer and began to stroke his forelock.  Alex took a step back to
put a more comfortable distance between them, tripped over a pail, and abruptly
sat.  Constance was upon her before she could scramble to her feet.  “Oh you
poor dear!  Have you hurt yourself?”

          Alex stood and
grabbed her forearms, thwarting Constance’s attempt at a cuddle.  “Why no, Lady
Constance.  No more than my pride.”

          Undeterred by
Alex’s attempts to hold her at bay, Constance puckered her lips and dove for
the kill like a hawk with its prey in sight.  Before Alex could gather enough
presence of mind to dodge, Constance pressed her lips
firmly
to her
own.  If that wasn’t bad enough, the hussy stuck her tongue out and licked her.

          Saints above!  Her
first kiss--and it was a girl!

          Shuddering, Alex
gave her a shove.  Unfortunately, she had been too preoccupied to realize that
Constance had her in a firm grip as well.  As Constance fell backward, she
dragged Alex with her, insinuating one leg around one of Alex’s thighs.  Almost
frantic now, Alex fought to break free.  The girl was surprisingly strong,
however.  The effort quickly evolved into a full scale tussle.  When Alex tried
to roll away, Constance rolled with her, taking first position on top.

          Arching her back,
Alex managed to throw Constance off, but the girl’s grip was unbelievable. 
Even as she rolled onto her back, she dragged Alex on top of her once more. 
Rearing back, Alex placed one hand in the middle of each breast and pushed for
all she was worth.  It was at that precise moment that Bronson strode into the
stables and came to an abrupt halt, his face darkening like thunder.

          “What the hell?”

          The bellowed words
were enough to break through Constance’s haze of lust, and Alex’s haze of
consternation.  Two heads whipped in his direction.  Two identical looks of
horror studied him for perhaps two heartbeats before they both scrambled
guiltily to their feet.

          “You brazen little
pissant,” Bronson roared, striding toward them with murder in his eye.

          Alex gaped at him
in horror, but quickly decided on the better part of valor.  Whirling, she took
off as fast as her feet could carry her, heading for the door at the back of
the stables.

          Constance shrieked
as Bronson raced past her, throwing herself at him and catching him around one
leg.  Bronson hit the dirt hard enough it knocked the air from his lungs in a
loud woof.  Unfortunately, the shriek so traumatized Alex, her knees turned to
water, and she tripped and rooted through a pile of hay.

          The cursing behind
her, as Bronson regained his feet, was enough to get her on her feet once
more.  She’d barely managed to cover half the distance, however, when something
flew upon her, laying her out flat on her face in the middle of the pile of
hay.  As she struggled to rise, something landed upon the heavy boulder already
weighing her down, and she realized Constance had arrived to the rescue even
before she’d heard Constance’s shriek, “Leave him alone, you bully!”

          Bronson heaved
upward, throwing his sister off.  Stunned as she was by the impact of having
both of them land on her, Alex knew her only chance of survival might be to run
now while Constance held him off.  Even as she struggled to her feet, however,
Bronson reached out and grabbed her by one ankle, jerking her down again and
clamping one ankle firmly between his thighs.  Grabbing Constance by one arm,
he dragged her across his lap and spanked her soundly.

          She was still
shrieking when he stopped and shoved her off his lap.  “You, get to the house
this instant while I deal with this cur, or I’ll give you a beating you won’t
soon forget.”

          Rubbing her
buttocks, Constance glanced from Bronson to Alex and finally whirled and fled.

         
Coward
, Alex
thought.  “I swear, I never touched her!” she exclaimed when Bronson turned to
her with blood in his eyes.

          “Liar,” Bronson
growled, releasing his grip on Alex’s ankle and turning to get to his feet.

          The very moment he
released her, Alex swung a kick directly at his face.  She wasn’t certain
whether she was glad or sorry that she missed.  It seemed doubtful that she
would have stunned him, even if she’d managed to connect, and pretty nigh
impossible that he could be angrier than he was at this moment.

          Before she could do
more than gape at him, he launched himself toward her, flattening her against
the hay.  Desperate to escape, but unable in her current position to throw an
effective punch, Alex swung at him anyway, letting her blows fall where they
might.  A short tussle ensued while Bronson fought to catch hold of her flying
fists, but in moments, he’d gripped both and borne them down into the hay on
either side of her head.

          For several
heartbeats, they merely stared at each other, gasping for breath.  Before Alex
could think of anything that she might say that could possibly calm the
situation, Bronson lowered his head, opening his mouth over hers in a kiss that
shocked her to her toes.

          Stunned, she didn’t
even think to breathe for several moments as his lips slanted over her own. 
Alex gasped in horror and outrage, and his tongue—his
tongue—
thrust into
her mouth in a rough, possessive glide, filling her with the taste and feel of
him.  Alex’s frightened, excited whimper seemed to increase his appetite, for
he fair devoured her with his mouth like a starved beast.  His fingers caressed
her open palms, eliciting shivers as he swept his tongue through her crevices,
touching and tasting with ravenous abandon.

          A deep growl
rumbled in Bronson’s chest as he crushed down upon her, as if he wanted to sink
into her flesh and meld to her bones.  Alex moaned at the weight of him, the
erotic glide of his tongue, the feel of his callused finger tips stroking her
sensitive palms as if he wanted to touch more of her and would not.  A hard
knee parted her wanton thighs, pinning her ever harder to the ground, so close
to her womanhood, she could scream with want of that heavy muscle against her
most intimate parts.

          Her veins felt
flooded with liquid fire, her skin felt wondrously alive, highly sensitive to
the slightest breath of movement.  Heat suffused her belly, pooling in the crux
of her thighs.  Finally, when she thought she would expire from lack of breath
and the sensation bursting for release inside her, he ceased the tender
invasion.

          Saints, she had not
thought a man’s mouth could create such pleasurable anticipation.  Her body
hungered for him.

          Weak in the
aftermath of his assault, it took an effort of will even to lift her eyelids
when he released her hands finally and pulled away.  Dreamily, she gazed up at
him.  Something about him did not seem quite right, however, and then it dawned
on her.

          Her mustache was
stuck to his lip.

          Her eyes widened in
horror.  Her mind went blank.  It was only instinct that guided her as she
jackknifed upright, hooked a hand around the back of his head, and kissed him
firmly on the mouth in an effort to retrieve her lost disguise.

          Gasps of revulsion
immediately followed that clever recovery, and Alex drew back in surprise.  It
wasn’t Bronson who’d uttered the gasps, however.  It was his brothers, huddled
behind them now, their expressions varying from plain shock, to shocked
revulsion.  Alex quickly checked her lip, thankful to find her mustache was
back in place, even if a little crooked.  She held her hand over her mouth as
if in horror of … something….

          “What is it?” her
nemesis cried at their sounds of distaste.  “Is he hurt?  Is he dead?  Tell me!”

          Rafael grabbed
Constance’s shoulders and quickly shoved her back, placing his body between her
and the scene behind him.  “You don’t want to see this.  Believe me.”

          “Oh my god, he’s
killed him!”

          “No, it’s worse
than that,” Gray said, shuddering.

          “Worse?  Let me
see,” Constance cried, attempting to peer around the bulk of her two brothers
to little avail.

          With a growl of
rage, Bronson rolled off of Alex, dragging her to her feet as he stood.  Alex
looked at Gray and Rafael, feeling herself color straight to her hairline.  She
wondered exactly how much they had seen….

          “Are you all right,
Bronson?” Gray asked a little doubtfully.

          Bronson glared at
him, shoved him out of the way, and stalked from the stable.

* * * *

          With the barrier
broken by Bronson’s retreating backside, Constance slipped through the opening
and rushed into Alex’s arms.  Alex grunted at the impact, patting her back in
embarrassment before Constance pulled away and checked her for signs of injury
or head trauma.

          “How do you fair?” she
asked as Alex pulled free and held her arms out to keep her at bay.

          “I am well, dear
lady, now that you have returned for help,” Alex said, feeling her collar
tighten about her throat.  All this trouble, and she still had not managed to
retrieve her horse.  She doubted now that she would have a moment alone the
remainder of her ‘stay’ with the Blackmores.

          She absolutely
refused to think about what Bronson had done to her.  She found him to be the
most attractive man she’d ever met.  It horrified her to even consider that he
could be attracted to her as she was now—a boy.  Alex shuddered.  What a tangle
she had made of things.