Telepathy of Hearts by Eve Irving Page B

his body. She picked up a smoother made of straw and groomed his coat. The sweet sound as Eleanor serenaded her mount echoed around the stone barn as she prepared him. “Oh Arthur, times are strange. There is a big world out there and I walk on shaky ground. I fear it. I need to feel the wet ground under my feet, not the marriage noose around my neck. ”
    Arthur nuzzled his mistress and dropped his head so she could fit his bridle. “We do not need a saddle do we? No, I thought not. Pray don ’t tell my gaoler or my captor that I ride you like a man. ” She was laughing as she spoke.
    â€œMy captor, you ask? Arthur, oh yes, he is a bull, a fellow creature. Handsome and strong but so is Lazarus the dray horse. Stable him here you say. Surely not. You are a thoroughbred, a destrier and a stallion. He is a mere farm beast with manners. Did you see how he slung me over his shoulder? Oh and he has the confidence of two men. He looks to me as if he undresses me. Dear God, when he touches me the blush stains me so I fear I will be that colour forever. ”
    Kissing him on his strong neck, Eleanor breathed in the smell of horse, leather and fresh hay. She patted her mount, and he followed her as she proceeded out of the barn. “ Come Arthur let us escape to Eden for this full moon is fair florid and as my gaoler snores and my captor slumbers, I want to bathe in it. ”
    A bitter wind blew her cape about her. Standing in the court yard as if a spectre, Eleanor was calling her mount. “Arthur, come boy. Arthur, come. ” Turning back to the barn Eleanor muttered, “Dear boy, I know you are a little deaf but — ”
    â€œIs this who you are looking for my Lady? ” Leaning against the barn wall, holding Arthurs reins was Matheus, scowling. He pivoted his head, and a faint glimmer of a smile broke as he spoke.
    â€œArthur is a clever beast indeed. He manages to converse with his Mistress, even suggesting appropriate stabling for me. ”
    Eyes open and trembling, Eleanor was sucking at her lip. Releasing it into a pout, she felt the warm sensation of a blush travel from her core, colouring all her body. She was sure she would appear quite red.
    Those eyes; his face scowls but those eyes...
    She swallowed. It ’s as if he sees my whole body blush. Tears started to sting her eyes .
    Hooking Arthur ’s reins, he shouted, “Godwin, please see to my Lady ’s horse. ” He moistened his lips. “And Eleanor, although endearing and slightly unsettling, your pout will not work on me. ” Scooping her up with such force she was winded, Matheus moved her so she was trapped. He pressed her hard, back against the wall, his thigh pinning her still. Gripping her wrists, he raised her arms so her hands were held either side of her head.
    He dropped his shoulders so he could look straight into her eyes. “I should be seething with outrage with you. No man, woman or court would chide me if I upended you now and thrashed you. But — ”
    Eleanor was trembling. The sheer force of his crowding had quietened her voice. His mouth was on hers. This was a demand. Hard and hungry, he forced her to accept his tongue as he breached the seam of her lips.
    Struggling to free herself, she twisted her head. Matheus responded by yanking her gripped wrists closer to the sides of her head, holding her face vice- like. Her senses were stretched and her muscles coiled taut. Caged and confined with no room to escape, she should have screamed. Instead, her body gifted him the ultimate betrayal, and she kissed him back.
    Eleanor could taste her own tears. Crashing waves of emotion were swelling in her belly.
    I need to run. Please let me go. I need to run. I don ’t want this …I do want this …I just want to run.
    Pulling out from the kiss, his gaze searched hers. Flashing with such an azure hue, it was as if the sky itself was in his eyes. Pushing hard at her thigh, he