The Lady and the Earl (24 page)

Allana jumped at the sound of his voice and spun around in surprise.  “What are you doing here
?”
 

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him.  He was leaning in a relaxed stance up against the gatepost to Lancelot’s stall
not doing anything special to catch her attention, yet it seemed he held it quite easily.  And he realized he liked that.

“Watching you,” he answered casually.  He came toward her until they were so close
he could smell flowers on her skin.  She smelled wonderful.  He almost reached out and touched her
just to feel her soft skin beneath his fingers.  He did not, though.  He simply ran his eyes over her face and hair until something caught his eye. 
He reached toward her, and she
inhaled sharply.
 

“You
have
straw in your hair, right…here.  Ah, there we go.”
He pulled something from her hair
and noticed her shiver in response. 

“
Thank you,” she whispered as heat filled her cheeks.

He twiddled the straw between his fingers, not looking at it, and watched her fumble with her hair.  Suddenly, he felt very drawn to the
woman
standing before him.  The thought of pulling her in for a kiss played across his mind. 
A kiss?
  Standing there watching her made him want more than just a kiss. 
The
innocent act of pulling straw from her hair was now causing great desires to swell within.  An alarm
seared
through his head, telling him to back away and leave, but his body said
to
get closer.  She was affecting him greatly, and she didn’t even realize it. 
He was
baffled.  He’
d already kissed her on a whim, and the day of the hunt he was ready to do so again. 
He needed to leave before he gave in to that desire to touch her sweet face like
he’d
done two days ago. 

“Well, Allana, I…
,
”
h
e stopped short.  The piece of straw was shredding limply between his fingers.  It wasn’t crumbling like it should have, but was pulling apart like a piece of wet, soaked grass
.
  “That’s odd.”  He’d assumed it was straw, but a closer look said otherwise.

“Is everything alright?”
Allana asked curiously. 

“Yes, I was simply wondering
how you got wet grass in your hair.”  He noticed her reddening face with his comment.  He studied her a moment then smiled.  “Did your horse throw you in the river this time, Allana?”

She stared a
t him in horror.  “I…you…no!” s
he finished indignantly.  “Lancelot would never do such a thing.” 

“I see. 
Then
why the wet hair and damp cloth
ing
?” he
asked still smiling amusedly at her.

“I…
,
” she cleared her throat uncomfortably.  “I went for a swim.”

He raised his eyebrows in mocked surprise. 
“Oh really.”
  He looked at her a moment, then frowned.  “Alone?”

“
Lord
Cunningham, what are you implying?  Of course I went alone.  How dare you even think otherwise,” she said, shocked and insulted. 

This time his surprise was genuine. 
“Oh no!
  I did
not
mean that.  I was
simply
surprised you went alone
…again
. 
I believe I told you of the dangers last week.  There are unkind men who would take advantage of an innocent
woman
if found alone.”

She stared at him
uncertainly. 
“I have
never had troubles in the past.  Why would now be any different?”

“You do this often then
?” he
asked, yet again surprised.

She blushed.  “What do you mean?” 

“Do you
often
go swim
ming alone,” he stated
rather than asked
, clearly showing his
di
sapproval
.

*
             
*
             
*

Allana stared at
Lord
Cunningham.  Should she tell him the truth? 
“
Er
…well…
.
”  She couldn’t tell him of her secret lake
, could she?
 
It was her sanctuary.

“You do, don’t you?”  He frowned.

“
I…well…
i
t just depends on where I go riding,” Allana defended weakly.

“Do you go riding
every day
?” 

Allana nodded. 

“Alone?”

She shrank back from his scrutiny and nodded weakly this time.
 
 

“Allana, I disapprove,”
Declan
finished bluntly.

“You disapprove?”
Allana asked, uncertain
she’d
heard him right.
 
“I thought from our conversation last week you knew this,” she said.

“I assumed last week was a rare occurrence.  I thought Connor rode with you most times,” he admitted.

“No, I prefer riding alone.
I’
m certain I said as much.
”

“
And I’
m certain I pointed out the dangers of such activities.  T
here are dangerous men about these days.  If you go alone and
cross paths with one
, you have no one there to protect you.
It
truly i
s not safe,”
Declan
argued.  “I’ve heard rumors of a band of men who reside in the woods around here.  I, myself, have never had any troubles with them, but a
woman
alone? 
And swimming nonetheless.”

“But I’m very careful,”
Allana
said meekly.  She sighed inwardly. 
She sounded like a child.
  She was a lady, and she shouldn’t
allow
him
to push her around. 
She wasn’t incapable of taking care of herself.  She didn’t need a man to rescue her from every little
incident
. 

“Even if you are careful, there i
s still the chance something could happen.  If it were up to me, I would not
allow
you
to
take that chance.  I would make you take someone with you,” he finished determinedly.  “In fact, I insist upon it.”  He looked at her directly.

Her mouth dropped open in stunned disbelief.  He insisted upon it?  Did he think her completely helpless?
And what right did he have to order her about?
“
Lord
Cu
nningham, if you think you can—
”

“Stop, stop, stop,” he said, interrupting her and receiving a bewildered look in return. 
“
Declan
.  Not
Lord
Cunningham, not
m
y
Lord
. 
Declan
.  Now
,
please
say it.”

She stared at him indignantly.  She
was finally prepared to
defend herself, and he interrupts her for this? 

“Go ahead, say it,” he said again.

She let out a puff of air as she struggled to say his first name aloud.  “
Declan
,” she finally mumbled

“
I beg your pardon
.  I do not believe I heard you.
”  His eyes danced in amusement
, and he flashed a crooked smile
.

Her stomach flipped somersaults. 
“
Declan
,
”
s
he said airily. 
Truly All
ana?
She scolded herself.  She was supposed to sound
irritabl
e, but instead she sounded like a girl about to swoon
.  How was she supposed to argue her case if she continued to let him fluster her this way?

H
is smile softened.
 
“That
i
s
better.  Now what were you saying?” 

Her heart was beating rapidly
, too rapidly
.  When did he get so close?  “
I was saying…
.
”  He ran the backs of his fingers across her cheek.  She suddenly couldn’t breathe right.
  Why did he keep doing this to her?
  “
I don’t remember what I was saying
,
”
she whispered.

“Very well, then.  What time are we leaving tomorrow
?” he
asked.

“What?  Why
?” she
asked in confusion. 

“Because I
mean
to go with you
,
”
he said simply.
  He was staring at her quite intently.

“Oh.
”  He was going with her?
  “But…why?” 

He
gave her a patient look
. 
“Because it
isn’t
safe for a lady to be riding alone.”

She blushed as she realized the answer before he said it. 
It’s only what he’s been talking about this entire time, Allana,
she
reminded
herself.
  If he hadn’t
run
his fingers so lightly across her cheek, she might be able to think properly.
  “M
y
Lord
—
”

“
Declan
,” he reminded her.
  He cupped her face gently with the same hand
he’d
touched her with not moments ago.  His eyes searched hers.
 

She sighed
in pleasure
.  “
Declan
,” she whispered.
   

He smiled.  “Go ahead.  You were saying.”

He was too close.
Was he doing this on purpose,
caressing her cheek with his thumb to keep her from her arguments
?
 
Or was this some sort of habit of his when talking to women alone?
  This was the second time she found herself in this situation with him.  Surely there was a logic
al reason he continued to corner her with such familiarity.  It couldn’t be the obvious one, could it?  Perhaps it could.

Declan Cunningham was leaning toward her and she toward him. 
He was going to kiss her, and
Connor was not here to interrupt this time.

“My
Lord
, your horse is ready,” a boy’s voice
said
rather loudly
. 

Allana jumped
at the sound and
jerked away
from
Lord
Cunningham, who
in turn
sighed heavily.
   
 

The
interruption
had come from
Fredric, and the boy was scowling at her.
 
“Oh
…
Lady Allana.
  I did not know you were
back
here,”
he
said
far
too
forced
.

If Allana wasn’t so embarrassed at being caught nearly kissing a man in a private corner of the stables, she might have shot the boy a very dark look.  As it was, the look and the scolding she wanted to give would have to wait. 
“Of course not
.
”
She braved a look at
Lord
Cunningham and found him simply staring at her.  His eyes were beautiful!

“What time
tomorrow
, Allana
?” he
reiterated
.

“Midmorning.
  I like to go midmorning.”

“
I will
be here after breakfast
.  I simply hope you will be as cordial to me then as you
have
been
in the past
.
”