The American Bride - By Karla Darcy Page 0,59

of her eye she saw Tyrr's head come alongside her own horse. She groaned as Julian's hand shot out closing on Gentian's bridle, pulling the mare to a stop. As the two horses slowed, Cara disengaged her knee from the sidesaddle and leapt from the saddle, hitting the ground at a run.

It was a stunned moment before Julian realized the girl was still set on escape.

Cara ran as though pursued by the Devil. She prayed she wouldn't stumble over the uneven ground as she dashed for the safety of the trees. She dodged branches as well as she could, paying little heed to them as they tore at her hair and clothes. Her lungs were near bursting when Julian's arm snaked out, swinging her feet off the ground as he hauled her back against his chest. Exhausted, the will to escape went out of Cara and she collapsed against him, sending them both to the grass in a heap.

In the sudden quiet of the forest the only sound to be heard was the rasp of labored breathing as the two fought to compose themselves.

Julian's burning eyes flicked across the crumpled figure beside him, her chest heaving as she gulped air into her lungs. Her head was bent, hair billowing around her in flaming disarray. Leaves and small twigs were caught in the silken strands and without hesitation, Julian reached out to pluck them from her hair. He was filled with exhilaration at his triumph, his senses quivering with a heightened awareness. As his fingers touched the burnished tresses they dug in as with his other hand he grasped the girl's body in a hard embrace.

The girl gasped and he felt the whisper of air on his cheek before he lowered his mouth to her parted lips.

Petal soft skin met his and he savored the taste of her mouth even as she writhed in his arms. He could feel the tumultuous beat of her heart against his own chest as the tentative kiss grew more demanding. Julian felt a completeness with this unknown girl in his arms. She had haunted and consumed his thoughts and now he had found her. Yet with this kiss he had the feeling of discovering a treasure that went far deeper than the mere triumph of the chase. His hand reached up to smooth back the veil of hair that hid her features from his searching eyes.

Blue-green eyes, flashing fire, assailed him as he gasped in recognition.

"Miss Farraday!"

Cara was too stunned by the course of events to even attempt to speak. Her mind and body reeled from the effects of Julian's kiss. Her cheeks burned and her lips tingled. Fighting for time, she sat up, brushing futilely at the stains on her skirts. Knowing herself for a coward she kept her head bent, thus avoiding the steady brown eyes she knew to be boring into her.

"Have you anything to say, Miss Farraday?" Julian's voice grated out the question as he bolted to his feet and stood towering over the tiny figure.

Cara glanced up in trepidation, wincing at the black scowl on Julian's face and then in a rush, spoke the first thought to come into her head.

"Just once I would like you to see me clean," she said wistfully.

Julian's face turned red with anger. In weary detachment, Cara watched the vein in his temple throbbing with suppressed emotion. For a moment she wondered if in his anger he might strike her but was just too exhausted to care. She witnessed the complex of emotions that rippled through Julian's body as he stared down at her. She held her breath as he threw back his head and a great explosion of air burst from his mouth in rolling bellows of laughter. He cast himself down beside the nonplussed girl, still laughing until tears stood in the corners of his eyes.

Positive that the man had become unhinged, Cara edged away, sending Julian into another fit of laughter at the anxious expression on her face. She waited, poised on the edge of flight, as he fought to control his amusement. Finally his gasps and wheezes quieted and he stared at her through still watering eyes.

"Miss Farraday, you are a constant amazement to me."

Julian's eyes appraised the girl as though seeing her for the first time. He smiled in approval at what he was now discovering. He should have seen before that she was beautiful, even behind the dowdy dresses and the bound hair. Her skin was flawless, cheeks dusted