I wanted to ask him more, but as if he felt my questions coming, he darted me a mischievous grin.
“Come on, race you to the top!” Already encouraging his horse, Tornado, to speed up, his mount took off.
“Hey!” I laughed, spurring Ms. Dreadful on. She was ready to be let free, her legs galloping after Tornado, her head down, set on overtaking him. I could see how she was still a bit wild. Horses for royal officers, parades, or the royals themselves needed to have that fire broken out of them. I loved her extra fire, could feel a kindred spirit. I could relate; the royals wanted to break me in as well.
My body moved with hers as we sped up the hill. The wind whipped at my hair, laughter and exhilaration bubbling in my chest. I realized for the first time in weeks, I was happy.
Free.
Chapter 18
The views of the city were stunning, the crisp air bursting my lungs with smells of wet grass, mud, and fresh air. Lennox and I raced our horses, trotted through dense vegetation, and paused at bluffs, looking down on the view. The top of palace and landmarks dotted the skyline with familiarity. The late afternoon began to dip heavier shadows within the forest.
“We should head back.” He peered back at me. I couldn’t help noticing how well his arse fit in the saddle or how confidently he rode. My first crush was one of our horse trainers. I was, like, eight. I went out every day he was there, watching and absorbing everything he did. He seemed to enjoy me out there and would bring me in the corral with him to show me tricks and techniques to break a horse. He was so kind and patient. I adored him. Talked about him constantly.
The moment I realized I liked him more than a friend, I was standing on the fence watching him climb on the horse, my eyes catching on the way his jeans cupped his butt and the way he calmed the mare as she started to reject him on her back, easing her with his hushed, low tones. He had that deep, sexy voice that had any animal or person wanting to do his bidding. I had fallen over my little riding boots for him after that. How handsome he looked mounted on the mare. Confident. In charge.
Lennox had the same quality.
Snapping my head to the side, I forced my gaze from his backside. His T-shirt and jeans fit his body far too well.
It’s okay to find him attractive. He is. You can’t not notice that. But you love Theo. He’s just fun to look at.
“Home?” He prodded, making me realize I never answered him.
“Oh. Yeah. Sure.” I agreed, but it was the last thing I wanted to do. The palace was cold and lonely.
He peered over at his shoulder at me, my eyes darting away, not able to hold his gaze.
“I have a feeling if I asked if you wanted to keep riding, camp out here all night, you’d say yes.”
I snorted, my head bobbing. “You’d probably be right.”
“Not a fan of your new home?”
“Not my home.” I shook my head. “I want to get my own flat, put some space between that world and mine.”
“You could run to a desert island, and that world will still follow you,” he said. “Just how it is now. You being with Theo makes it impossible to go under the radar. You’re not just a prince’s girlfriend, but possibly the future queen.”
“I thought we would have more time to be us, you know?” I watched his stallion’s tail swish back and forth as we slowly made our way back, the stables just beyond the tree line.
He huffed, staying quiet.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Lennox,” I growled. “Just say it.”
“Don’t ask unless you are ready to hear the truth.”
“Just say it.”
He took a deep breath, his shoulders easing down. “I told him to wait.”
“Wait for what?”
“To announce you guys. Granted, I didn’t know you, but what he told me, I thought it was too soon to toss you in so quickly after returning. I think he was hasty. And I thought you’d be a fool for saying yes to it.”
An emotion I couldn’t decipher stirred me in my seat, crunching my forehead down tighter.
Nope, I was wrong.
Anger. I could feel anger.
“Who are you to judge him or me? What, you guys met like two seconds ago, now you know what’s best for us? For me? I love Theo. I want to be with him. There was no point in waiting. And your opinion on something you know nothing about doesn’t make it the truth.”
His head curved enough to see his profile, his hazel eye appearing black in the shadows. “I told you. Don’t ask me if you’re not ready.”
“So easy to judge from your perfect perch, isn’t it? Have you ever been in love? Done something crazy because you’d do anything for that other person?”
Lennox swung over his leg, jumping down from his horse, stomping to me. I hadn’t even realized we were back at the stables.
“You know nothing about me, Baroness,” he spat, his eyes bursting with fire as he peered up. “And you know nothing about what I’ve done for someone I loved. It’s so easy to judge from your perfect perch, huh?” He tossed my words back in my face with a sneer. Whipping around, he grabbed Tornado’s lead and pulled him toward the stables.
“Oh, hell no,” I muttered, sliding off Penny and marching after him. “Don’t you dare walk away from me.”
“We’re done here, Spencer.”
“Excuse me?” I rounded him, cutting off his path. “You do not get to end this conversation because it got flipped on you.”
“Yeah.” He leaned in closer, freezing me in place. “I really can.” He moved around me, Tornado huffing, tossing his head at me like he agreed with Lennox.
A vehement scream gurgled in my throat, my hands itching to strangle him. A soft nose nudged my neck, Penny Dreadful coming to comfort me.
“Men.” I leaned my head into hers. “Am I right?”
She snorted.
“We don’t need them.” Animals, by far, were my preferred company over humans anyway. “Just us girls.”
Penny’s head lifted at the same time I heard a holler from the barn. Katy stood with a bucket of oats.
Without hesitation, Ms. Dreadful took off, leaving me in the dust.
“Yeah.” I nodded, letting out a laugh at how fast she abandoned my arse. Our bond stopped at a bucket of oats.
When I got to the stalls, Lennox and Katy were brushing down the horses together, her laughter bubbling like champagne through the stalls. Her cheeks flushed, her eyes glistening as they kept sliding over to Lennox.
“Next time, maybe you and I can go out. Be nice to go ride for fun.” She brushed down Penny’s legs but stared hopefully at Lennox.
I held back my groan. Yeah… sure she was talking about riding horses.
“Can’t remember the last I had a good ride,” she said.
I snorted, my hand clasping down on my mouth, holding in my laugh.
Lennox looked back at me, his lids tapering.
What? I innocently looked back at him.
“Yeah, that’d be great,” he tossed back at her as he headed for me, his hand circling my wrist. “Sorry to rush out, but I have to get this one home.” He spoke to her, but his taunting gaze stayed on me. “Little duchess needs to be back in her tower before sunset.”