Free Taken by Storm by Danelle Harmon

because . . .”
    Her face went crimson, and she looked away.
    “Yes?” he goaded, pleased to have turned the tables on her at her own game. “Because why?”
    Her chin shot up and she stared straight ahead. “I have no wish to further this conversation.”
    “A pity. And here I thought I was going to be enlightened as to why a beautiful young heiress might take a fancy to me. Such a cruel and unfair world, this! Never mind.”
    “Dr. Lord?”
    He was hard-pressed to contain his grin. “Yes, my lady?”
    She was still staring ahead, spine as straight as a frigate’s mainmast, hands fisted between her knees. “I think it’s time we leave.”

CHAPTER 5
    Shareb-er-rehh, however, had other ideas.
    Ariadne was quick to recognize the alarm and indignation in the stallion’s eyes. “Really, Dr. Lord, I think this is a very bad idea. You’re asking for trouble, I tell you.”
    “He’ll be fine.”
    “No he won’t. Look at him, you can see how angry he is. He gets very unpredictable when he’s angry—”
    Colin tried again to urge the stallion forward, but the horse only hunched his back and froze, one hind leg coming up with dangerous intent. Ariadne couldn’t prevent her smug smile; but then the animal doctor called a firm command and this time, Shareb-er-rehh moved ahead, not smoothly, not confidently, but in jolting, frightened rabbit-leaps that made his mane and tail snap out in the wind with each violent motion and nearly dislocated Ariadne’s head from her neck.
    “You are right, he possesses very unusual gaits,” the veterinarian observed dryly. “I should think he is a most uncomfortable animal to ride.”
    “Very—funny— Doctor Lord,” she managed, between the erratic jolts.
    “How on earth do you sit to such motion?”
    “Years of practice.”
    Ears flattened, Shareb moved forward, his head and neck at an unnaturally high angle, his lips pulled back in an angry grimace, his mouth dripping foam. Despite the fact that blinkers hid his eyes, Ariadne knew the dark orbs were wild and ringed with white.
    But he was moving, and Ariadne had to admit grudging admiration for the veterinarian’s skill. Pulling a chaise was a lot to ask of an untrained horse, especially one who had been bred to do something entirely different.
    Yes, I am glad I chose him to be Shareb’s doctor , she thought, despite her earlier views to the contrary. There is something about him, something I cannot quite put my finger on . . . something more than his gentle strength, his quiet demeanor, his dry humor. He is smart, strong, and sensible, and I feel safe when he is near.
    Now that was an odd notion. Safe?
    Safe. But how long before she dared trust him enough with the truth about what Shareb really was?
    Gait-horse, indeed!
    The jerky, jolting motion began to ease off as Shareb-er-rehh found his stride, and his confidence, and soon the stallion’s head had returned to its proper angle and the powerful hindquarters were churning in a fast trot. The veterinarian guided him out of the little courtyard, and shaking his head, Shareb moved into the street, his hoofbeats echoing loudly against the buildings that rose up on either side.
    “Why, this is actually fun ! Imagine, Shareb-er-rehh, pulling a chaise! My goodness, I never thought to see the day—can you believe how well behaved he’s being? And here I thought we’d both be killed by now! Give me the reins, Dr. Lord, I want to try driving him!”
    Such boundless delight was infectious. Colin chuckled, the wind on his face, buildings and glimpses of the silvered Thames passing in a blur as Shareb-er-rehh’s fast, ground-eating trot sped them through London. As he’d predicted, his charge wasn’t so hard to manage, after all.
    The horse was one thing.
    Her Ladyship was quite another.
    His mouth still tingled where she had touched it, her comment about his eyes still rang in his head, both awakening some unexplored part of his soul that responded to the attention and