Page 43 of The Scandal You Started
“Likewise, Mr Griffin. And please call me Dominic,” he said and dropped an accusing glance on Rayna. “I have been stripped of my title as of recent.”
“Ah, I see,” Declan Griffin said, grinning. “Well, Boris and I apologise for startling you.” He looked to Rayna as she gently scratched Beast’s snout. “It’s just that this madam here has a tendency to sneak Beast an extra carrot or handful of grapes whenever my back is turned.”
The madam in question flashed a guilty, childlike grin at her uncle as Dominic stroked Boris’s head. “Only sometimes. And Igrabbed these so I could introduce Beast to Dominic, so I’m not really the one giving Beast anything.”
Declan shook his head slowly like a father who was trying to stay mad but was failing awfully.
“Here.” Rayna held her closed fist out to Dominic, and he let her drop half a dozen grapes onto his palm. “Grapes are his favourite.”
An animal of his heart, Dominic thought. Grapes were his favourite too.
Beast buried his nose in Rayna’s empty palm, searching for the sweet treats she no longer held, as Boris nosed the back of Dominic’s hand, hoping they were for him.
“No, Beast,” she said and gently pushed the horse’s face away. “Go to Dominic. He’s got your grapes.”
With a few more words of encouragement, Beast plodded closer to Dominic and inspected his offering. The horse hoovered up four grapes before allowing Dominic to rub his nose.
“Hello, you wondrous creature,” he whispered to the horse.
“I was told you rear your own horses, Dominic,” Declan Griffin then said.
“I do. Jackel Thoroughbreds for racing. But I am intrigued to know more about Beast. He is a Cheronclyde, correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct. A powerhouse of a draft horse, but modern machinery means Beast here gets to frolic around to his heart’s content mostly.”
“As he should,” Rayna mumbled with Boris sitting between her legs.
Declan nodded towards the stable building. “I was about to bring both Beauty and Beast back in for a brush down, so why don’t you follow me, and we can keep the conversation going? And if you’re up for riding while you’re here, Dominic, we can get you better acquainted with the horses too.”
Dominic smiled at the older man. “I would greatly appreciate that, thank you.”
Chapter 13
Rayna
When Rayna and Dominic were leaving the stables the previous day, Declan Griffin invited them over for a family dinner that he said Victor and George would be attending too.
So on Friday evening, Rayna wore a warm prickle of awareness on her skin, along with a calf-length split-skirt and a fitted T-shirt as she knocked on the Griffins’ farmhouse door.
“Dominic,” she grumbled, glancing across to him. “Stop staring at my legs.”
His gaze snapped up, and the sleepy glaze that coated his irises had her fingers tightening around the small bouquet in her hand. “It is not simply your legs I cannot take my eyes off, sweetheart,” he muttered hoarsely. “You…”
He faded off as his throat bobbed slowly, and the heat under Rayna’s skin stroked down her midsection with more purpose. If it hadn’t been for the bowl of salad in his hands, she was entirely sure he would have pounced and pinned her to the grass so he could paw her all over. At least, that’s what his feverish eyes were telling her.
“I am at war with myself,” he admitted. “I cannot for the life of me decide if I ought to cover you up and scold you for your state of undress or allow myself to admire how delightful you look. I feel as though I am losing all sense of propriety around you.”
Rayna grunted automatically. “Losing? When did you ever have it?”
There wasn’t a day or damn freaking chance that he let pass without flirting with her or ogling her, and that was excluding all the unprovoked erections he tried to hide.
His mouth flourished in a lopsided grin. “I assure you, sweet Rayna, I was a very proper gentleman before meeting you.”
She looked away with a playfully disbelieving roll of her eyes just before the front door to the Griffins’ house flew open.
“Ah, there you two are,” Declan said with a cheerful grin with Boris circling behind him.
He greeted them individually and closed the door behind them. Then Rayna led the way, with Boris bounding ahead of her through the straight corridor to the back of the farmhouse.
