Free Stealing Kathryn by Jacquelyn Frank

she’d ever once seen the inside of a kitchen. She seemed too refined and far too wealthy to waste time and her beautiful skin on tuna fish sandwiches and dish soap.
    But Kathryn did take note of one very important detail.
    She’d left the door open.
    Just a crack, but it was open. Not locked.
    Kathryn couldn’t help herself. She crept out of bed, wincing when her steps made the floor creak. She made it to the door and realized that she was utterly exhausted by the trip. It lent credence to the claims that she had, indeed, been ill. Just the same, though, she peeked out the door and into a hallway. She could see stairs nearby. There was no one about. No toady-looking little men, no huge frightening ones either. She was tempted to find the front door and walk out, just to prove she could, but her legs were beginning to shake. She hurried back to the bed, but before she climbed in she heard loud voices. A woman calling out.
    “Adrian!”
    Kathryn hurried to her window and quickly pulled it open. It was a brisk, cool day, but she didn’t care. What she did care about was the huge amount of land she saw, the enormous paddocks and meadows all boasting the most beautiful horses with their brilliant gleaming coats. Not too far off there was a dust trail being kicked up, a horse and rider turned to race toward the house.
    They were a magnificent thing to behold. The large man in the saddle leaning close to the horse’s neck and the shining, rippling muscle of a well-made beast. Actually, she thought as he came close enough for her to see him in better detail, he was a well-made beast as well. A very big man, but not as big as the creature she had encountered. She shivered, glad to think it had just been a dream.
    He reached the back of the house and dismounted to speak to his sister, holding the horse with one hand and using his hat to smack dust off himself with the other. He had long, black hair, settled into curls similar to his sister’s, and it was caught in a rather full ponytail at the nape of his strong neck. He was taller than her by almost a full head, and he was roped with thick and powerful muscle. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could hear how deep his voice was. Then, suddenly, he looked up at her window and she gasped and ducked back without even understanding why. In that brief instant, though, she’d seen his handsome face and the very grimly serious expression on it. She had seen the chiseled definition of his features even from this vantage point. He was stunning and remarkably good-looking. Well, in a dark sort of fashion. But very striking just the same.
    After a moment she dared to peek back around through the window. His attention was back on his conversation with his sister. She took advantage of the situation to slowly run her eyes over him. He had fine broad shoulders; his close-fitting clothes enhanced their shape and width as well as the defined curve of his very masculine chest. His waist and hips were quite lean, flowing into the strongest, sturdiest legs she had ever seen on a man. Damn, but he was far too striking for his own good. Or maybe for her own good, she amended her thoughts as she smiled.
    She did notice that never once in the conversation did he smile. It looked as though he was more likely to frown than anything. She wondered why that was. Then, with remarkable speed, he was mounting the horse and reeling away from his sister. But before he went he looked back up at Kathryn. His expression was inscrutable, but it left her with the impression that he was not very happy she was there.
    Of course she was just guessing, she thought as horse and rider raced off away from the house. Her heart went with him, for she knew that he was going to see her family…or at least find out what had become of them.
    Please let it be good news, she thought. It was all she could think. The alternative was unacceptable, and her mind rejected the images that were stirred up by the