Her breathing had turned ragged, and her cheeks bloomed with color. Seeing her reaction made him want to follow through with his promise right now. But he wouldn’t. Not while on a horse.
She inhaled shakily. “Then, will you kindly tell me where we are going?”
“It’s a surprise.” He winked.
“Mr. Easton, I don’t think you know me well enough to give me surprises.”
He chuckled. “Oh, believe me, after our conversation, and especially the kiss we shared earlier, I know you much better than most women.”
He pressed his heels against the horse’s belly, urging the animal faster. Hannah kept her focus on where they were going, and although he desperately wanted to get lost in her eyes again, he was enjoying her sweet fragrance. Roses. They were his mother’s favorite. It was all he could do not to press his face against her hair and inhale during the remainder of the ride. He resisted, unfortunately. Cuddle-time would come later. He’d make sure of it.
It didn’t take long before they entered the long drive toward his home. Bryan took pride in his log cabin, but Maverick loved his quaint little cottage in the woods. He loved the coziness of the place and the memories of his mother helping him decorate it. He’d cherish those times for as long as he lived.
As he pulled the horse to a stop, Hannah straightened stiffly again. She wasn’t meeting his stare. Although she acted like she was put out with him, he was willing to bet good money that secretly, her mind was spinning in the opposite direction.
“Welcome to my home.” He hopped off the horse before reaching up and grasping her by the waist again. She gasped and clutched his shoulders as he lifted her down, purposely, putting her right in front of him. He just didn’t want to let go of her yet.
Her hands stayed on his shoulders as he stared deeply into her eyes. He didn’t want to think of anything except how content he was at this moment. She could have been screaming and kicking him and trying to run away, but instead, she stayed in his arms. He liked that more than he should.
“Will you enlighten me as to why you felt the need to kidnap an innocent woman?” She tilted her head slightly. “Now that I know the truth about you, I’m surprised you would still want to spend time with me.”
“My lovely Hannah.” He caressed her cheek again. “You don’t know the whole truth about me, but I can honestly say that I’ve not been able to think of anything else since Bryan took you away from me.”
Her throat jumped as she took a step back and out of his arms. “I just want to know why you have brought me here.”
He motioned toward the house. “Then let us proceed inside so I can explain things to you.” He offered his arm for her to take, but instead, she gave him a quizzical look before shaking her head and walking ahead of him.
It didn’t take much to catch up with her since his long legs shortened the space between them. They walked up the steps to the wrap-around porch, and he opened the door for her to enter.
She lifted her chin and walked inside. He wasn’t impressed with her high-and-mighty attitude, and yet, the cute little twinkle was still in her eyes. Was she playing with him somehow? He hoped she was because he enjoyed the challenging game.
“Would you like some tea or lemonade?” he asked, closing – and locking – the door behind him.
“All I would like, Mr. Easton, are some answers.”
Slowly, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, but my cook doesn’t know how to make those types of cookies.”
The corner of her mouth tugged into a grin for a brief moment before she changed her expression to a more serious one. “Answers, please.”
He moved closer to her, but she didn’t move. He took that as a good sign, so he slid his arm around her waist and guided her toward the sitting room. She was a taller woman than he’d been with before, but he liked that he didn’t have to bend way down just to kiss her.
When they reached the couch, she sat, and he joined her, sitting close to her. In rebuttal, she scooted toward the edge, but then he just followed. Finally, she came to the very end and had nowhere else to go, so she folded her arms and glared at him. Once again, he could see this wasn’t how she truly felt. It appeared that she was just doing this for show. She wanted him to think that she was very upset, but he knew deep inside her, she was as anxious as he was.
“The truth, Mr. Easton.”
“Yes, of course.” He sighed and leaned his shoulder against the back of the couch as he stared at her stiff profile.
“To put it bluntly, you are not the woman Bryan should marry.”
Her eyes blinked rapidly. For a moment, Maverick detected a tear in her eyes, but then it disappeared. He could now see that his statement had hurt her.
“Hannah, it’s not what you think.” He patted her arm, but she yanked it away from him.
“Then please, tell me what I should be thinking right now because the thoughts running through my head is that you don’t think I’m good enough for your brother. But I assure you, he picked me to be his mail-order bride. And although you probably think the worst of me because of my past, I assure you, I am a lady. I can be the perfect hostess and wife, and I’d make a wonderful mother... if only someone would give me a chance.” Her voice cracked, and a tear slid down her cheek.
His chest clenched. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her, seeing that he had was killing him inside. “No, my sweet, Hannah.” He took hold of her hands, and although she struggled to pull away, he wouldn’t let
