Beloved Abductor Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    Felicia hesitated, looking up at him, remembering. ‘I do not want to go with you,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I am grateful that you rescued me from those men, but our paths part here.’ She attempted to tug her hand from his grasp.
    ‘Don’t be foolish!’ he rasped. ‘What do you think I was doing within the castle walls but looking for you? You will pay for that blow you dealt me, Mistress Meriet.’ His fingers tightened about her wrist. ‘Now, up with you.’
    ‘Let me go!’ she panted, struggling in his hold. ‘I will not go with you.’
    He paid no heed, but lifted her and flung her on to the horse. Before she had a chance even to raise her head, he was in the saddle, his hand pressing firmly on the middle of her back. When the horse began to move, she had to cling to the skirt of his surcote. The breeze that rippled the grass caught her veil, fluttering it out like some giant moth. She attempted to smooth it down, but was forced to abandon her efforts and renew her hold on him. The ground flashed beneath her and she had a vision of falling and her heart was in her mouth. The hand on her back grasped the fabric of her gown more firmly when she felt herself most in danger of sliding from the horse. At last they came to the forest.
    Felicia wriggled, lifting her head as the horse slowed its pace. ‘Are you taking me back to that hovel?’ she gasped. He did not answer but held her more firmly. ‘At least let me sit up!’ she added. ‘I—I feel sick!’ The pressure on her spine eased, but still he kept hold of her as she carefully eased herself upright. Frustration stirred within her as his arms imprisoned hers against her sides. ‘Is there really any need to hold me so tightly?’ she asked vexedly.
    ‘I do not wish you to fall,’ he muttered against her ear as they entered the dark confines of the forest. ‘Now keep still and do not distract me. I need all my wits about me, wench!’
    Trees swayed and creaked overhead; the undergrowth rustled and shifted. All the tales of hobgoblins, demons, wolves and witches that her nurse had told her long years ago were suddenly vivid in her mind. She gasped as she caught the gleam of eyes in a tangle of leaves, and shrank against Edmund. He, at least, was flesh and blood. She shut her eyes and weariness swamped her as they plunged further into the forest.
    A lavender-scented curl tickled Edmund’s chin and brought him out of his reverie. While they had been out in the open, most of his mind had been focussed on getting under cover, for at any moment he had expected the drawbridge to rattle down and to hear the thunder of hooves. It had not happened, and he had succeeded in his aim to recapture Mistress Meriet. Yet even now he could not relax. Against all his inclinations, his senses were stirred. Her head rested beneath his chin and her body was warm and pliable against his own. Her breathing was soft and even. Had she really dozed off or was she only pretending, thinking to trick him again into lowering his guard? Incredibly, he felt like laughing, having expected her, now that they had seemingly escaped, to try to persuade him by any means within her power that she was innocent of all that he had said about her and her cousin. Perhaps she would make excuses for having hit him that morning when they reached the cottage. It was not much further now.
    She stifled a yawn as he lifted her down from the horse and then grasped hold of his arm as he set her firmly on the ground. ‘It is as black as the devil’s heart here!’ she whispered. ‘Where are we?’
    He did not reply but strode purposely towards the dark huddle a few yards away, aware that she still clung to him. He opened the door and with a mocking bow, bade Felicia enter. Hesitantly, she released her grip on him and entered the building, her hands clasped tightly against her chest. She felt him brush past her and the next moment the interior brightened as he lifted the iron-domed cover