Behind the Courtesan - By Bronwyn Stuart Page 0,88
with power beneath him. When he was close enough, he reined in, but before the animal had stopped, he kicked free of the stirrups and leapt from his back.
Blake was so unashamedly glad to see her, he threw his arms around her and lifted her from the ground. She fit in his arms as if she was made to be held by him and only him. It was a few seconds before Blake realized how he held her and went to put her back on her feet. It was only a second more until he realized she held him just as hard.
“Thank God you’re all right. You could have died.”
“You’re here,” she whispered.
“Where else would I be?”
The thunder of hoof beats brought them back to the fact they stood in the middle of the road. Daemon averted his gaze, his horse shifting after sensing her rider’s discomfort.
Matthew pulled the reins hard and finally came to a stop, looked Sophie from head to toes and back again. “Where the hell have you been?”
“You were supposed to be downstream, Matthew,” Blake pointed out.
“I did go that way, but then I found the remains of the bridge and the tree branches are completely blocking the bend down by the Patrick place. I figured if she had been in the water, the tree would have stopped her swim.”
“How nice of you to put it that way,” Sophie commented with a shiver. “As you can see, I didn’t require a swim at all.”
“Is that blood on your dress?” he asked, ignoring her attempt at sarcasm.
“It’s not mine.”
Matthew stared at her for a moment, his gaze shifting from her face to the road she had walked down. “Violet?”
* * *
Sophie didn’t get the chance to answer before he’d kicked his heels to his horse’s sides and took off down the lane.
“Do I need to go after him?” Daemon asked.
“She is fine, as are the babies.”
“Babies?” both men echoed.
“A boy and a girl.”
Blake blew out a breath before speaking. “Are they all right? Jesus, Sophie, what happened last night?”
“After I left the inn, I headed to say my goodbyes to Violet and found her in labor.”
“Do I want to know the rest of this story?” Daemon groaned.
Sophie laughed. “Perhaps not.”
“Then I’ll go and make sure your brother doesn’t kill himself on his way home.”
“Blake, I—”
“Sophie—”
Sophie thought Blake would do the gentlemanly thing and let her speak first but when she opened her mouth, he clapped a hand over it and shushed her. He shushed her?
“I have to tell you something before you ruin the moment and distract me from my purpose. Will you cease your noise?”
She nodded and he took his hand away a heartbeat before she would have tried to bite him for manhandling her. “What—”
“Sophie!” His warning was received. She nodded again and snapped her mouth shut.
“You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met. Even as a girl, you had to have everything your way. If you could have controlled the sun rising you would have told it to give you an extra hour in the day to get your hands dirty.”
He was right.
“You also never listen. You hear, but you don’t listen.”
“Are you going to stand there and list my flaws? I’m tired, Blake, I want to get back and wash and rest.”
“Will you shut up? I’m trying to tell you that I want you to stay. I want you to stay in Blakiston.”
“Why?” She wasn’t going to tell him she’d already decided to stay. She wanted to hear what he had to say.
“Because I don’t think I could live through losing you again. Because this past week has shown me that life with you is a hell of a lot more interesting than without you.”
“But we fight. All the time. Interesting isn’t a word I would associate with our friendship.”
Blake stepped toward her and cupped her dirt-smudged cheek. “What if ours isn’t only a friendship?”
She blinked. Held her breath.
“I love you, Sophie, and I want you to stay here with me. I want you to work alongside me, sleep alongside me, live with me.”
She gulped. Gulped again. Sophie racked her brain trying to think of a reason he would have to say all of the things he was saying. Was it because she’d been gone and he’d worried for her? Did he mistake fear of loss with love? The look on his face when he’d seen her was one of pure relief. Perhaps he thought he owed it to her to