Free Come Be My Love by Patricia Watters Page B

and follow along the hillside to the cottage."
    Sarah studied the long wide road ahead while inhaling deliciously cool air fragrant with wild roses. Her eager anticipation, and the heady aroma of the blossoms, was almost intoxicating. Tightening her leg around the horn, she urged the animal into an easy lope.
    Jon was immediately at her side, his gelding straining at the bit. "Don't give the mare her head," he said, his words more a command than a warning.
    Sarah slanted him a wry smile. "Why not, Governor, she's as eager as I." With that, she clicked her tongue and laid the crop on the mare's rump. The animal bolted forward. Leaning over the mare's withers, Sarah pressed the horse into a full gallop. The animal extended its stride, hooves beating a thrumming rhythm, mane flowing back and slapping Sarah's hands, and as the horse raced along the road, the wind whipped tendrils of hair from the coil at Sarah's nape, and soon the tresses broke free and flowed as unrestrained as the movements of the galloping horse.
    Jon urged his mount on, but when he'd almost reached Sarah, she turned the mare sharply and the animal lunged up a slope. At the crest of the hill she tugged on the reins, but the mare protested, rearing and pawing the air, eager to keep going. Sarah let the animal have its head.
    They galloped along the wide flat ridge overlooking the bay, then descended the slope and met the road again. Abruptly, the mare turned onto a wide trail that cut between giant oaks and headed into the woods. Almost immediately, Sarah heard Jon's cry of warning. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him racing toward her and waving. When she turned back, she understood. Directly ahead, a tree lay across the path. Leaning over the mare's withers, she gave full rein. The mare soared over the log and landed gracefully on the other side.
    Sarah reined in beside an enormous maple tree with spreading branches rich with bright green foliage. At the foot of the tree, a spring bubbled up to form a clear, moss-lined pool. The mare lowered her head to drink, and Sarah shook out her hair, sending a wealth of curls rippling down her back.
    Jon brought his horse up short. " What the bloody hell do you think you're doing!"
    Sarah gazed into eyes sparking with anger. "You needn't get your hackles up," she said. "I was just enjoying the ride."
    "You were running that mare like she was in a steeplechase!"
    "Goodness, but you exaggerate," Sarah said. "The mare loved it. Besides, if I had been running in a steeplechase, I would not have reined in at the crest of the hill, nor would I have held the mare back on the downgrade."
    "So you ride like a lancer and no doubt smoke like a blackguard and handle a pistol like a dragoon," Jon said.
    Sarah gave him a waggish smile. "As a matter of fact, I can handle a pistol quite skillfully. And on one occasion, I did puff on a cigar to prove a point." She shifted in the saddle, prepared to dismount. "Would you please help me down?"
    "Me, help you down?" Jon gave a short, ironic laugh. "You seem an independent little hellcat. I'm surprised you'd ask for a man's help."
    "I wouldn't," Sarah said, "if I were permitted to ride astride instead of being forced to perch on the side of the horse like a wood tick."
    Jon jumped from his horse and tethered it. Standing below Sarah, he raised his arms. She braced her hands on his shoulders, and he lifted her to the ground. "Now I intend to prove a point," he said. He tangled his fingers in her hair, drawing her head back and her lips up to meet his, and his mouth came down on hers. As Sarah pushed against the rock-hard wall of his chest, he drew her tighter, and his lips became more demanding. Sarah's nostrils filled with the musky male scent of leather and warm wool and spicy soap, drugging her senses, making her limbs feel weak and her heart thrum heavily against her ribs. Then, abruptly, Jon broke the kiss.
    Sarah looked up at him in startled surprise. "What exactly did you prove by