Relief surged through her. Her increasing terror at being on the back of the out-of-control animal trumped the dread of his reaction.
“Jax!” Lucien shouted in a hard voice several moments later from behind her. Jax whipped up his head sharply and let out a throat-tearing whinny, the action and sound making her fear he’d rear.
“Hang on, Elise. Do not leg go. Jax, slow down, you demon,” Lucien bellowed from behind her, sounding wild with worry, not to mention furious. Could he catch up before she lost her strength and fell off? she wondered frantically. Elise could tell by Kesara’s sleek form that she came from a family of racers, while Jax came from a long line of horses bred initially for the brute force and perseverance required on the battlefield, and in modern times for polo. But Jax was pitched into a frenzy.
She had herself to thank for that.
She heard the sharp cracking noise of a crop on horseflesh and had an image of Lucien back there, urging Kesara onward. For a crazy, brief second she hoped Jax would keep running.
“Jax,” Lucien called sternly, his voice sounding closer this time.
Jax snorted loudly. At first, she noticed no change in the animal’s pace, but it began to enter her awareness that he slowed. The sound of Kesara’s clattering hooves drew nearer, mixing with the sound of Jax’s ragged pants. He was tiring. He slowed to a fast trot. She heaved a sigh of relief, easing some of the brutal pressure she’d placed on her thigh muscles. She pulled on the reins and Jax finally responded, slowing even more.
The horse came to a halt. She remained bent over, panting, holding the reins in a death grip. She heard Kesara and Lucien come up beside them and come to a stop.
“Lucien?” she asked shakily a moment later when she felt his body brush her leg. She could just make out his tall shadow from the weak starlight. He put his hand in front of hers on the reins. Jax pranced and her heart again leapt into her throat.
“Whoa,” Lucien said in a low tone. Jax calmed, and Elise wondered if Lucien wasn’t patting his hindquarters with his talented hands, soothing him.
“Take your foot out of the stirrup,” he said.
She did what he said. He grabbed ahold of the pommel, and the next thing she knew he was straddling the saddle behind her, his large body reassuringly solid and warm behind her. Without comment, he firmly took the reins from her and chirruped. Jax slowly turned in the path.
“Kesara?” Lucien prompted. Jax began to walk in the path in the direction of the stables. She heard Kesara’s hooves on the path, following them.
“I’m so sorry,” she began breathlessly. “I didn’t mean to startle him. He bolted out of the stables before I could do anything to stop him. I only wanted to sit on him,” she added lamely when Lucien remained intimidatingly silent behind her.
“You opened the stable doors,” he said, his voice like frozen steel. She felt the tension coiled in his hard muscles as she leaned against him.
The fury.
Her heart quailed and then began to throb in her breast.
“Thank you for saving me,” she said over her shoulder, part of her wishing she could read his expression, part of her glad she couldn’t.
“Lucien?” she queried shakily when he urged Jax to a slow trot and Kesara followed.
“You would do best to be quiet. I’m furious enough as it is.” He placed a hand on her belly and pressed back, forcing her into close contact with his crotch. Her eyes sprang wide when she felt the fullness of his flagrant erection, the heat of him seeming to pour into her body.
Oh no. He was a barely contained explosion.
“If it weren’t for your white jeans, Kesara never would have been able to follow you in the dark. She doesn’t know the trail yet. Jax could have easily broken your neck.”
“I honestly didn’t mean to—”
“I know exactly what you meant—to push both Jax and me into a frenzy, isn’t that right?” he asked in a rough tone near her ear. She shivered uncontrollably against him. “Well you’ve finally pushed hard enough, ma fifille. I’m going to give you precisely what you deserve.”
She felt a long, rigid rod replace his hand on her belly. Dread and excitement pulsed through her when she recognized it was the crop. Well, this is what she’d wanted, wasn’t it?
She must be out of her mind.
He held the crop firmly against her for the entire silent, simmering ride back to the stables, making sure her ass remained pressed tight to his cock . . . a constant, intimidating warning of what was to come.
* * *
When they reached the stables and dismounted, Elise nervously took Kesara’s reins and went to unsaddle her and give her a rubdown.
“Just put a blanket on her,” Lucien said sharply. “We’ll give them a rubdown after.”
After.
She knew after what. She avoided Lucien’s gaze as she led the mare into her large stall.
“Come out here,” he said a moment later.
She spun around in the process of covering Kesara with a blanket, freezing at the sight of him standing next to the closed half door of the stall. He rested one hand on the top of the door. In it, he held a length of leather tether.
She walked toward him slowly, her head held high, holding his stare. She wasn’t afraid, necessarily. How could she be, when she’d been the one to instigate this?
She was almost unbearably excited. Not to mention worried she’d bit off more than she could chew.
He closed Kesara’s door behind her and reached for her. The second before he seized her mouth with his own, her eyes sprang wide. He looked furious and wild with lust. His mouth settled on hers. He kissed her forcefully. Everything vacated her brain for a moment . . . evaporated to mist. There was no way thought could exist at the same moment as Lucien’s hot, demanding possession. He’d kissed her before, but never like this. She felt sexually scorched by him. His hands came up to bracket her jaw. She went up on her toes, pressing her body against him, a willing, eager hostage to his mouth.