To Save a Love - Alexa Aston Page 0,56
and Daisy moved as one. She urged the horse on and Daisy took off. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Dez nudge his horse and begin galloping after her. They raced across the open meadow and both pulled up when they reached the end.
“How is it?” he asked.
“Exhilarating!” she declared. “I think I missed riding almost as much as I missed you.”
He laughed, the sound rich and deep, causing her insides to contract.
Anna loved Dez. He was the only man for her. She would have to free him, though. It would be foolish of him to tie himself to her. He needed a countess who glittered, one who could move easily through society. With his sister a duchess, Dez would move in high circles among Polite Society. She was a lowly viscount’s daughter, one who had been locked away as mad, the ton made to believe she was dead by her own hand. Anna would not embarrass Dez in any way. He had done his time in the army and now he had a brilliant life ahead of him. He didn’t need her as an anchor to weigh him down.
She spurred her horse on and Daisy took off. Dez gave chase and finally passed her as they reached the opposite end of the meadow. Slowing their horses, they walked them back to the cottage. Dez helped her dismount and they led the beasts to the lake, letting them drink their fill. Dez hurried back and retrieved a bucket and then poured water over the pair, cooling them off.
He handed her Daisy’s reins and they led the horses back to the clearing, where Dez loosely tied them to a post on the cottage.
“Coral will return after he has visited with your cousin and take the horses back to Torville Manor. I hope you enjoyed riding.”
“I did. Very much.”
He seemed disappointed and Anna moved to him, the glow of the ride spilling from her. She hugged him tightly and said, “It has been a wonderful day, Dez. Riding was perfect.”
She began to pull away but he held on to her. His gaze searched hers and her insides began to thrum. Anna swallowed, feeling suddenly awkward and nervous.
“I want to make every day a happy one for you,” he said as he lowered his mouth to hers.
Kissing him would be wrong. She didn’t want to lead him on. Yet when his lips touched hers, that wonderful jolt rippled through her and she knew she would not be able to resist his siren’s call. Anna wrapped her arms around his neck and gave in to the kiss.
It was a sweet, leisurely one, with Dez nibbling and nipping on her lips and her answering him in return. Soon, it turned more heated, as they both began to take and then demand more of the other. Dez eased her mouth open and his tongue slipped inside, stroking hers. He tugged on her hair, tilting her head back, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Her insides began humming. The place between her legs started throbbing. Goosebumps sprang up on her arms.
Finally, he broke the kiss, both of them breathless, his forehead leaning against hers.
“I am sorry, Anna. I don’t mean to push you too far. I know you are still recovering from your experience at Gollingham.”
Anna realized they might never have this kind of time together. Alone. Isolated. She knew she couldn’t have Dez for a lifetime—but she could have him for a little while. Enough to create a memory to sustain her once he had left and found happiness with another woman.
She cradled his face and brought it lower, kissing him with determination and the fever she felt.
Breaking the kiss, she said, “I want more than your kisses, Dez. I want all of you.”
Chapter Seventeen
Anna almost giggled at the startled look on Dez’s face.
“Do you understand what I am saying?” she asked. When he didn’t reply, she said, “I want what was denied us by our fathers, Dez. What we would have had if we’d reached Gretna Green. I want that night with you. Now.”
He cupped her cheeks. “Oh, Anna, do you think that is wise? You have been through a terrible ordeal. You need time to heal.”
She glared at him. “I am not some fragile flower, Dez. I never have been. I am a strong woman, one so strong that she did not go mad when placed in a madhouse. I clung to my sanity in any way I could.”
Moving away from him, she began