Virgin Seduction

Something had happened to her when he kissed her, something awesome and frightening. Something wonderful. She had trembled with it.

And then, like a lightning bolt, it struck her. It happened to him, too. I know it did. Because I felt him tremble, too.

Seized by a tremendous exhilaration, she urged her mount forward until she had caught up with Cade. There was barely enough room on the path for two horses to go abreast, but she nudged her roan mare right up beside the chestnut, until her leg brushed Cade's. She looked over at him, not smiling, her gaze intent and searching. He looked back at her…

There was almost no warning at all. Just a sizzling sound. An instant later a flash and a tremendous Crack.

Leila's mount tensed, then lunged forward in full stampede. It took Leila only a few seconds to bring the terrified animal back under control, and as she was walking the mare in calming circles, crooning to her in Arabic and patting her sweat-slick neck, Cade's chestnut mare came galloping past her, eyes wild, white-ringed with panic. Without Cade.

Chapter 11

Leila stared after the riderless mare, refusing to accept the evidence of her own eyes. Then her heart grew cold and she wheeled the panting roan sharply on the narrow path and raced back the way she had come. As she rode she called Cade's name and whispered prayers under her breath. Oh please, God, most merciful God, please let him be all right…

She found him without any trouble at all. Cade was only a short distance from the path, lying on his back on the ground with the upper part of his body raised and his weight on his elbows. Once she was assured- both by his position and the glare of helpless fury on his face-that her prayers had been answered, Leila's next impulse was to laugh. As she had laughed when her brother Rashid had been thrown from his pony once while they were racing on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Oh, how she had laughed to see the regal and arrogant Rashid flat on his backside in the grass! But crown prince or not, Rashid was only her brother. Cade was her husband! She should not laugh at her husband!

Horrified-and helpless to stop it-Leila clapped a hand over her mouth as she reined the roan mare to a halt. She was snuffling with mirth as she hurled herself from the saddle.

'Cade-what has happened? Are you all right?'

'Not…really.' His voice sounded airless and strained, and she realized that he was trying to hide a grimace of pain.

She started to go to him, feeling even more terrible for laughing when he must be hurt after all. But he threw up a warning hand with an urgent gasp. 'No-don't come any closer. There's cactus everywhere.' His lips drew back over tightly clenched teeth. 'I think I must have landed in a patch of it.'

This time her hand flew to her mouth in time to muffle her horrified cry. 'Oh, Cade-what must I do? How can I help you?' She was bending over him, having disregarded his warning and picked her way through the cactus to his side.

He shifted in an experimental way and then grunted. 'Not…much you can do to help. Unless you think you could throw me over your shoulder and carry me home.' He flicked her a glance and a crooked, embarrassed smile.

Cade Gallagher-embarrassed? Only this morning such a thing would have seemed impossible to her, but now…oh yes, she could see it very clearly. Her so very imposing, intimidating, commanding husband was embarrassed. Quite humiliated, in fact.

Realizing that, she felt a surge of feeling so alien to her that it was a minute or two before she understood what it was. Power. For the first time in her life, Leila felt…powerful.

'No, I do not think I would be able to carry you,' she said as a strange, protective tenderness began to layer itself with the newfound strength inside of her. 'But perhaps the horse-'

He snorted disgustedly. 'Don't think I'm going to be sitting on a horse-or anything else-not until I get these damn spines out of my backside, anyway.'

Leila smiled, gently sympathetic. 'I was not suggesting that you should sit. But I think, if you were to lay yourself on your stomach across the saddle-'

'Hell no!' He reminded Leila very much of an unhappy child. 'I'm not about to be carried home like a sack of oats-no way.'

She lowered her eyes. 'I am sorry. I was only trying-'

'Look-' He touched her cheek, and she felt a stirring of pleasure, understanding then that he was only gruff with her because he was so frustrated. 'I told you-there's nothing you can do, okay?' But he made a liar of himself by adding, 'Just…give me a hand up.'

'Forgive me, but I must ask,' said Leila, when he was more or less on his feet again and working himself carefully inch by inch upright. 'If you cannot ride, how doyou propose to get back to the ranch?' Before he could answer, she touched her fingertips to her lips and exclaimed, 'Oh! And your poor horse, will she be all right? Should I not go and look for her?'

He gave her a sideways, reproachful look. 'My 'poor horse?' Hell, she's long back at the barn by now. Bibi.' He snorted, then muttered, 'Never did like that horse.'

'What happened to her? I heard such a loud noise-'

'Lightning struck a tree,' said Cade, and his voice was tight with pain as he cautiously eased his weight from one foot to the other. 'Pretty close by, too. Didn't you feel it?' As if to underline the question, thunder grumbled and rolled across the grove of trees, and leaves rustled in the rising wind.

'Well, yes, but then I was too busy trying to control my Kamilah, here-yes, and you are my 'perfect one,' yes, you are…' Leila crooned, as the roan mare, perhaps recognizing her name, began to nibble at her hair. The mare had been waiting on the path-like cow ponies, all of Cade's horses were trained to 'ground tie,' or stand still when their reins were dropped to the ground-and she was growing impatient for Leila's return. 'Kamilah was also very frightened-weren't you, my sweet? She tried to run away.' Leila took great care not to mention the fact that she had not landed in the cactus.

Nevertheless, Cade gave her a dark look and grunted like a bad-tempered camel. 'At least yours took off in a straight line. Mine went sideways. Next thing I knew, my butt was bouncing through the cactus.' He paused as if listening to the words he had just spoken, then grinned crookedly at her, in a way that made her heart feel fluttery and soft. 'This is probably going to seem funny as hell to me someday, but right now it hurts too damn much to laugh.'

Leila didn't feel like laughing, either. She realized that what she wanted more than anything in the world was to put her arms around him-or at least touch his face…stroke and soothe him. But she sensed that would be the last thing he would want from her now. Still, she could not resist asking, in a voice husky with concern, 'Are you…in very much pain?'

Then, of course, being a man, he must try to be heroic and act as though he was not. 'Oh, hell-I'll live. I guess I' ve been in worse shape.' He paused in the middle of hobbling back to the path to tilt his head sideways. 'Been awhile, though.'

Leila gave a small gasp. 'Do you mean that this has happened to you before?'

'No, no-' his laugh was dark rather than humorous '-I was thinking of the last time my dad tanned my backside with his belt. I guess I must have been twelve.'

'You do not mean-he beat you?' Her tender heart was appalled. 'But…that is terrible!'

He paused to look down at her. Her heart jumped nervously, then began to beat with a quick and painful rhythm. 'Hey, what can I say?' he said softly. 'He was a drunk. I guess I never told you that, huh.'

No, Leila thought, precarious and wondering. Betsy did, but you didn 't. And little else about yourself, either. And she held her breath and prayed that he would not stop now.

He lifted his head to gaze beyond her. 'Actually, he was a pretty decent guy when he wasn't drinking. Of course, he was drunk most of the time. Although to be honest, on that particular occasion-from his point of view,