Tenacious Trents 03 - A Reluctant Rake (21 page)

It didn’t matter, she reminded herself
as she pulled the man’s shirt over her head. She knew what he was.
A rake, cad, rogue and all around immoral gentleman with whom she
shouldn’t even be associating with.

If only her heart would listen to her
head all would be well, but that was not the case. Yet, he had
rescued her last night. Audrey still wasn’t sure what Everton was
intent on doing with her, but she had a fairly good idea that if
Trent had not arrived when he did, all her questions regarding the
differences between men and women would have been answered, and
against her wishes.

It chilled her to realize how close she
had come to being thoroughly ruined.

Audrey stood back and looked in the
long mirror Mr. Slaine had placed in the old wood cutters cottage.
The shirt practically came down to her knees, shielding the tight
fit of her breeches. She pulled on an equally long jacket before
slipping her stocking feet into boots. Lastly, she tied her hair
back behind her. Audrey hadn’t bothered to have it arranged in a
proper style this morning because she knew the moment she was
riding the pins would fall and the hair would come loose and fly in
her face. It was better just to leave it down and tied behind her
at the neck. At least she wouldn’t be blinded this way.

She walked across the room and glanced
out the window. There wasn’t much foliage between the cottage and
back racing track. Since she had first started visiting Slaine,
this is where he had directed her to change her clothing. It was
out of the way of the stables and by working on the back track it
was unlikely anyone would see her.

The area was deserted with the
exception of the horse Slaine had loaned her. Actually, her visit
had served two purposes. Not only would she be able to spend time
with Trent but Slaine had asked her to test one of his newest mares
to see if she had it in her to become a racer. She was a beautiful
creature with a slick, black coat and long legs. If the horse’s
bloodlines ran true then she would be a magnificent ride.
Unfortunately, no matter how perfect the bloodline and breeding,
some horses did not live up to the sire’s reputation. But this
beauty had been sired by her father’s best stud and Audrey knew in
her heart the horse would not be a disappointment. If she was, the
fault would lay with the trainer and not with the horse.

She looked beyond the horse to the
narrow lane leading to the track. There was still no sign of Trent.
What if he decided not to come? Had she insulted him by offering?
He was a gentleman after all and most did take exception to a lady
offering advice on something considered a man’s domain. Yet he
hadn’t seemed shocked or insulted, but rather a bit
intrigued.

With a huff she fell back into a chair.
Why had she even suggested this in the first place? Wasn’t she
going to distance herself from Trent? Why would she put herself in
a position to like him even more than she already did? Hadn’t her
heart suffered enough already? Was she trying to see that it was
completely destroyed? And why was she attracted to a gentleman who
was so very wrong for her and not even interested in courting
her?

Perhaps she and Millicent had more in
common than she realized.

With a sigh Audrey pulled herself up
out of the chair and left the cottage. It would be best if he
didn’t keep the appointment. Then it would be easier to dismiss him
from her life and move on to find a more suitable gentleman, if one
existed.

The horse’s ears perked as she drew
near and Audrey soothed her in a low voice and stroked her neck.
She was a beauty. Taking the reins Audrey led Midnight Vixen to the
mounting block and hopped up in to the saddle. “It is time to see
what you can do.”

Jordan followed the narrow dirt road
Mr. Slaine had directed him to and wondered if he had taken a wrong
turn. But then he rounded the corner and was greeted by one of the
most beautiful sights he had ever beheld. In silence he watched as
Audrey raced a black mare down the track. Her pale blonde hair flew
behind her on the wind as she kept in rhythm with the horse as it
galloped. She rode low on the horse, bent so far forward that she
was almost one with the horse. Her very nicely rounded behind was
raised, not touching the saddle as her legs supported her weight.
He could see the outline of her long, sleek, muscled thigh as she
rode past him. If her legs were strong enough to hold her weight
and position on a racing horse they must be very strong. He could
just imagine how else she could use that strength and the various
positions.

Jordan shifted in his seat. This was
not a good idea. He wouldn’t be able to ride in this state, let
along race. If he didn’t do something about his rising lust for
Miss Montgomery he would have to cancel their appointment, though
he could think of no reasonable excuse. He certainly couldn’t tell
her the truth.

Audrey rode past him again and didn’t
even glance his way, too focused on the horse and the track. She
was one with the horse, leaning only slightly to her left as the
horse took the curve. Watching Audrey ride was more beautiful than
the dancers on the stage at the ballet and he didn’t think anything
could match its grace, art and poetry until now.

He shifted again, finally jumping from
the saddle. It had been far too long since he had been with a woman
if just watching Audrey Montgomery riding a horse brought him to
this state. Perhaps he should visit Angelique or take Lady
Rothsbury up on her offer.

The idea was dismissed the moment it
crossed his mind. Jordan didn’t want either of those women, though
his hand could easily ease some of his burden. But, he would not
bed another woman while he was courting Miss Montgomery and if
matters continued he would be proposing soon and obtaining a
special license. There was no way he was going to survive until the
end of the Season before he made her his wife.

Audrey glanced up and spotted him from
the other side of the track. She grinned, sat straighter and began
to slow the horse. Jordan panicked. He could not sit a horse right
now. At least not in comfort and she certainly couldn’t see him in
this state, even if she wasn’t aware of what it meant.

He closed his eyes and tried to force
his desire away. Think man. Cold water, snow, the icy pond Madeline
had fallen into last winter, Lady Lydell. Those seemed to do the
trick and his member began to relax. Jordan suspected it was
thoughts of Lady Lydell more than anything else and kept his mind
focused on that unbalanced woman.

Audrey cantered toward him and Jordan
blew out a breath as his riding breeches became comfortable once
again. When they rode he would need to stay at her side, or
hopefully ahead of her. It would be impossible to race behind
Audrey and keep his seat and his sanity because he would be too
focused on her bum.

“I wasn’t sure you were going to keep
the appointment.” She grinned down at him. Her brown eyes were
bright and there was a lovely flush to her cheeks which was
probably from the exertion and wind. The cause didn’t matter
because the color was lovely on her.

“I apologize for my tardiness.” He
hadn’t thought he was late.

“It is of no consequence, I needed to
work with Midnight Vixen.” She patted the horse’s neck as she said
the name. “She is new and Mr. Slaine wanted me to test her
out.”

“Will she be a racer?”

Audrey’s grin widened. “She is going to
be magnificent.”

As if knowing she was being praised the
horse threw back her head and pranced to the side.

“Shall we?” She asked with a
questioning brow.

Jordan hooked his booted foot into the
stirrup and swung his leg over the side before grasping the reins
in both hands. “I am your pupil.”

“First, adjust your grip.” She leaned
over and showed him how to hold the reins. “Hold them securely but
don’t pull too tight.”

He relaxed his hands.

“When you want to guide the horse, use
your wrists, much the way you do in your phaeton. It is a smoother
motion.”

Jordan nodded, testing different
movements.

“Let’s try that first.” She grabbed her
own reins and adjusted her seat. “Let’s race to the end of the
track first.”

He barely nodded when she said,
“Go.”

Audrey held her horse back though
Jordan knew she could beat him at the moment no matter how tired
her horse was. She watched him, calling instructions until he could
feel the difference in how he had handled the horse before and how
he was now.

“Your horse responded well,” she said
when they stopped at the end of the track.

“Much better than before,” Jordan
admitted.

“You gave her the lead,” Audrey
shrugged. “When you hold too tight, they hold back.”

It made sense to him but he could tell
the horse wasn’t quite sure. It would take time and training for
her to get used to this new way he would handle the
reins.

They raced three more times with his
horse becoming more comfortable with each one, getting used to the
freedom.

“Now it is time to adjust your seat,”
Audrey announced after the last run.

He wasn’t sure if he could race as she,
not touching the saddle. Were his legs strong enough?

She stood up in the stirrups. “Try
this.”

He did, it was a bit unsteady and he
had to grab the horses’ mane to keep from falling.

“Now, bend your knees. You will be able
to keep your balance better.”

Jordan did and felt some control
return.

“It is best, if you can, to grasp the
horse with your thighs and once you get used to riding in such a
way you will be able to guide movements with the shifting of a leg,
much as you do when sitting in the saddle.”

“I am not so sure I will get the hang
of that.”

Audrey chuckled. “You will in
time.”

They rode from one end of the track to
the other and Jordan tried to keep from sitting in the saddle by
leaning forward and keeping his legs bent.

“It will help if you adjust the
stirrups next time you try,” Audrey said.

Jordan glanced over and realized hers
adjusted perfectly for her.

They continued racing, though slowly,
from one end of the track to the other, never going completely
around, until the horses began to tire.

“I think we should stop for today.”
Audrey glanced toward the sky. “If we don’t leave soon it will be
dark before we return to London.”

Jordan hadn’t realized how long they
had been out here. The moments flew by when he was in her company
and they discussed very little. He had spent most of his time
concentrating on her lessons and trying not to fall out of the
saddle and completely embarrassing himself. Thank goodness his
attention had been diverted because he almost forgot she was
wearing breeches.

He followed as she rode the horse down
a narrow path to an old cottage. She dismounted and tied the horse
to a low limb of a tree. “I’ll return in a moment.” With that she
disappeared into the building.

What was she doing? Jordan swung down
from his own horse and nearly collapsed. His legs felt as if they
were filled with Cook’s preserves. He grabbed the saddle at the
last moment before he fell. He had ridden horses for as long as he
could remember, sometimes spending hours in the saddle and his legs
never felt like this? Then again, he had always been sitting in the
saddle, not standing only high enough to keep his arse from
touching it.

His arms had been like this a few times
after sessions at Gentleman Jacksons and Jordan knew that getting
out of bed tomorrow morning would not be a pleasant
experience.

He stomped his feet a few times to get
used to solid ground again and glanced back toward the door. What
was she doing in there? It seemed an odd place to stop when they
needed to head back to London.

Jordan slowly approached the door
wondering if he should follow her in. Was there a necessary in
there and that is why they stopped? It was the only thing he could
think of. Should he wait for her out here? She did say she would be
back, but that was few moments ago.