Page 28 of Toxic Vengeance

And offer other things that would probably either revolt or terrify her now.

He rolled his shoulders as a wave of self-loathing washed through him. “Not fine, brilliant,” he corrected, leading her up the hill to the lower pasture. Maybe this impulsive decision hadn’t been a good idea. He purposely limited his time with her because of his growing attraction, and because she held the power to test the restraint he prided himself on.

The steely core beneath that alluring exterior drew him the most powerfully of all.

He walked the horse up the slope, through the gate, and through the field. Karas loped ahead, then stopped to look back at them. Marcus threw the ball for her and she raced after it. “Ready for me to get on Jack now?” he asked Kiyomi. “I’ll keep hold of your reins too if you want, but she’ll follow me like a lamb without it.”

“Okay.”

He hid a smile. She wasn’t sure about it but didn’t want him to know she was nervous. Handing her Maple’s reins, he made sure she was holding them properly before mounting Jack, putting him a few inches above her, then tucked his cane under his arm. Getting on a horse pulled at the damaged muscles in his hips and thigh. Getting off was worse.

“Right, off we go.” He urged Jack into a walk, keeping a close eye on Kiyomi as Maple stayed close. “Awright?”

Kiyomi nodded, a grin tugging at her mouth. “She’s totally following you.”

“Aye, she’s a good lass.” They rode in silence through the upper pasture toward the hills.

“How is Eden settling in?” he asked a few minutes later. She and Trinity had gone down to London for a meeting.

“Pretty well, I think. It’ll take time for her to really trust us, though.”

“Aye, trust needs to be earned. The building of it can’t be rushed.”

The look she gave him was so full of meaning it triggered an echo deep inside him. “No, it can’t.” She went back to studying the terrain, no doubt reading it like a topographical map. “Where does Megan ride?”

“Through the tracks and bridle paths there,” he said, gesturing to the rolling hills beyond it, bordered with lush green hedgerows and copses of trees turning amber and orange in the distance.

“It’s beautiful. Can we go there?”

“Course.” He angled them across the pasture, cutting toward one of the most used paths. “Reckon you’re ready to try a trot now?”

She slanted him a sideways glance. “I can handle whatever you throw at me.”

“Aye, I reckon you can.” He clicked his tongue to set Jack into a trot, kept a close watch on Kiyomi as he gave her instructions on how to position herself in the stirrups and saddle.

After a few seconds, she broke into a laugh. “It’s so bumpy!”

“Want something smoother?”

“Yes.”

After giving Kiyomi a few quick pointers, he clicked his tongue and nudged Jack with his heels, sending him into an easy canter. Kiyomi instinctively leaned forward in the saddle a bit, a laugh bursting out of her. The happy sound made his heart swell.

They cantered side by side for a couple of minutes before Marcus slowed them to a walk.

“Did you know you would inherit all this one day?” she asked.

“No. I used to spend time here every summer as a lad. I didn’t know my great-uncle had named me to inherit the place until I was called to hear the reading of his will six years ago.”

“It’s so beautiful here.” The wonder and enjoyment in her expression tugged at him. She made him feel things he hadn’t felt in a very long time, woke parts of him he’d thought dead. Without even trying she’d lit the banked fire burning inside him, and it threatened to burst into an inferno at the first hint of encouragement from her.

“We should head back,” he said abruptly, earning a questioning look from her.

“All right.”

Taking her out here alone might not have been wise, but he didn’t regret it. It only made him want more.

The others were unsaddling their horses when they arrived at the stable yard. Megan raised her eyebrows at him in surprise when he and Kiyomi rode up. He dismounted, hiding a grimace as the muscles in his hip grabbed, and came around to help Kiyomi, trying his damndest to disguise the worsening of his limp. “Drop the reins, lean forward and swing your right leg ov—”

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