Page 57 of Dangerous

He released her and rose from the tub. Her toast-free hand shot out and grabbed him.

By God, she was fast!

Adam took her by the wrist and gently pried away her fingers, gritting his teeth.

“You can play with that later.” He stepped away from her dangerous body and wrapped one of the large towels around his waist. “Dress for riding and meet me in the library in an hour.” He delivered the order with a stern look.

“I have a brand-new habit. I must warn you, it is of my own design and will most likely cause a sensation,” she called after him.

“I would expect nothing less.”

Chapter Eighteen

When Mia came down to the library—a whole fifteen minutes before the scheduled time—Adam could see she’d not exaggerated. Her riding habit was a bold black-and-white-striped affair. The stripes were full over her breasts and hips and narrowed at the waist, making her small figure appear a perfect hourglass.

The hat she wore was high-crowned with enormous white and black plumes on one side. The starkness of her black-and-white ensemble made her flame-colored hair and emerald green eyes even more stunning.

She stood before the desk and held her hands out to her sides, cocking one hip.

Adam surveyed her from head to toe before making a circular motion with his hand.

“Your father cannot have seen this,” he said, admiring the view of her small, pert bottom.

She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes twinkling. “The first batch of items I ordered he deemed much too unusual. He ordered them given away to some charity. I learned from that experience and allowed my cousin to influence the rest of my choices.”

Adam winced. “Ah. The estimable—and weepy—Miss Devane.” He paused. “She is not to accompany you to Exham as a companion?”

“I am afraid you shall not have that pleasure. I was happy to recommend her to my aunt Elizabeth, who is desperately in need of a companion due to her imminent lying-in. If I couldn’t have found poor Rebecca a place, you would have found yourself saddled with her. Indeed, you might find her in our home again sometime. I’m afraid she has only a small annuity. Such women are terribly vulnerable and reliant on the kindness of relatives.”

Adam didn’t say what he was thinking: that he would gladly settle a fortune and a house on the woman in order to keep her far away. Instead he said, “That reminds me. We must talk about your pin money and the account I have set up for you. Unless your father spoke to you?”

“He told me a little.” She gave him a look he couldn’t decipher.

Hill opened the door. “My lord, Townshend is bringing your gift around front.”

“Very good, Hill.” Adam stood, barely stopping himself from rubbing his hands together with excitement. He was worse than a young idiot on Christmas morning.

The mare he’d purchased for Mia was a superb animal, perfect for a rider with Mia’s limited experience yet young enough to grow with her. She was black except for a blaze on her forehead and two white socks, one in front and one in back.

Townshend brought the horses around front just as he and Mia descended the steps.

“Adam!” She instinctively went toward the smaller black horse instead of the tall, smoky gray. “She’s just gorgeous.”

She stripped off her gloves and dropped them and her crop to the sidewalk in her haste to stroke the glossy black neck. She murmured foreign words into the curiously bent ear.

“What is her name?” she asked, her eyes still on the horse.

“Her name is Maven but you may change that if it does not suit. I was given to understand the word means ‘one who understands. ’” Adam collected her gloves and whip and handed them to Thompson before taking Mia lightly around the waist and lifting her into the saddle.

“Thank you, Adam,” she said, suddenly shy.

Adam frowned and made a harrumphing sound, unable to come up with anything more sensible. Instead, he helped her with the long habit train and adjusted the stirrup. For once, the street was blessedly free of gawkers. Adam had hired several large men to patrol the block and encourage people to move along. It had served to diminish the carnival atmosphere that tended to develop wherever Mia went.

It was an unfashionable hour to ride and the park was thin. They were able to ride with almost no interruption, which suited Adam perfectly. He kept his attention on Mia, careful to make sure she was comfortable with their pace.

“You must have ridden a great deal as a child?” he asked, noticing her natural grace in the saddle. It was clear that she would quickly become comfortable again with only a little practice.

“Oh yes, too much, my mother said. In fact, my hoydenish obsession with horses and my inability to keep to my embroidery was a large part of why I was sent away to begin with.”