Master of Desire by Kinley MacGregor Page A

bully?”
    â€œWhat else would you call it? You expect the entire world to dance when you snap your fingers. You know, milord, there are other people here besides yourself.”
    Draven felt his jaw slacken. “I could certainly say the same of you.”
    Instead of being offended, she gave him a sweet, beguiling smile. “I admit freely that I am spoiled. My father and sisters have harped upon it at great leisure. For that I would beg your indulgence. Now, is my maid to come along, or shall I send her back inside?”
    That was well done, he thought as he watched her. He’d often heard people remark on someone being charming, but this was the first time he had ever witnessed it. No wonder her father spoiled her. How could one stay perturbed at such a sweet, innocent look as she admitted her flaws and begged indulgence?
    â€œBring her.”
    â€œThank you.”
    Her head held high, she walked past him to the side of her horse.
    Simon moved to assist her, but Draven pulled him back. “If I am the one she insults, then I shall be the one to set her on her arse,” he said under his breath.
    Knowing when not to laugh, Simon cleared his throat. “I’ll see her maid settled.”
    As Draven approached Emily, he couldn’t miss the look of challenge in her eyes, or the enjoyment she took from having bested him.
    â€œDid you make me wait apurpose?” he asked.
    She gave a tiny smile. “My maid said a lady should make a man wait for her. If a man stews long enough in anticipation, then he is more likely to savor a lady’s presence.”
    â€œWell, if pleasures are greatest in anticipation, then the same can be said of trouble.”
    â€œAre you flirting with me?” she teased.
    Draven went cold. Aye, he was indeed flirting with her! He, who had never attempted such before, was actually doing it now and with a woman who would be his death.
    â€œI never flirt,” he said, then placed his hands around her waist.
    The smallness of her bones amazed him. She scarce weighed anything at all. His hands looked large in comparison to the size of her hips, and he could feel the heat of her skin through the cloth of her kirtle. What had he been thinking? He should have allowed Simon to do this.
    But he hadn’t.
    Committed to the deed, he sought to end it as quickly as possible. He lifted her from the ground and set her on the back of her steed.
    He diverted his gaze from her thankful smile and made the mistake of looking at her leg at the precise moment she adjusted her skirt around her. She flashed him the sight of one trim ankle encased by finely woven stocking that also hugged the contours of her calf.
    Draven stifled a curse as his body reacted instantly. From what little he had seen, she had a beautiful leg, and nothing would give him greater pleasure than to lift her skirt and explore the length of it with his lips. His tongue.
    Grinding his teeth, he forced the thought from his mind. He would think no more of her ankle, her toes, her…whatever.
    She would be banished from his thoughts!
    Leaving her side, he walked stiffly to his horse and mounted. Once Simon swung himself up on his horse, he gave the signal to start the journey.
    Â 
    Emily rode in silence. But her mind raced at all that had transpired.
    You are mad for teasing him. You’re lucky he didn’t strangle you for your behavior, and in front of his men no less! What would Father say?
    Well, he would be delighted since she tweaked the nose of his adversary, but were it any other man, her father would be appalled by her behavior. And in truth she was as well.
    A little anyway.
    But there had been no mistaking the fire of admiration that sparked in his eyes when she stood up to him.
    And when he touched her…
    Her body still tingled from the memory. His hands had been strong, sure, and he had hefted her up with no effort at all. Oh, but it had been wonderful to be in his arms if even for so