Land of Enchantment Read Free

but Diana thought it was brown. His eyes were a different matter. One look they appeared blue and in another they were grey. Yet in all of her stolen glances one thing stood out, and that was his arrogant remoteness, as if all this was beneath his dignity. For some reason, Diana wasn't offended by his coldness that bordered on contempt. On the contrary, it fascinated her.
    'Put your left foot in the stirrup,' Rick ordered, his face concealed behind the black camera. 'Stand in it suspended beside the horse.'
    Diana did as she was told, finding she had to hold on to the rider's shoulder to keep her balance. The sheep-skin-lined jacket gave until it hit the solid muscle of his shoulder and arm. It was a strange sensation being so near this stranger. On the ground, she had thought he was no taller than the average man, but now she realized she had made too much allowance for the horse. The man was tall, easily over six foot.
    'Now, turn and look at him, Diana,' Rick instructed.
    His eyes were grey. She wondered how she had ever thought they were blue. They were slate grey - no, she reconsidered quickly. They were granite, as hard and unyielding as granite. Even the contours of his face were angular and uncompromising, too rugged to be handsome and too compelling not to be attractive. His masculinity was revealed in his strong features, just as his virility was in the sensuous line of his mouth. There was a slight bump in his otherwise straight nose that indicated that it had been broken at one time. But it didn't detract. In fact, Diana discovered it added to the look of an eagle about him, proud, commanding and free. Subconsciously she remembered that an eagle was a predatory bird.
    His study of her had been just as thorough, only slightly less obvious. Then Diana noticed his gaze lingering on her low vee neckline, and immediately her cheeks flamed with colour. It didn't take an expert eye to determine that she was bra-less. Diana doubted that this man would be shocked by the discovery, but she was. She knew the category men placed models in, and she had just reinforced it. When his gaze lifted to her eyes, she saw the look of amusement in it. But the-amusement was generated by the flush in her cheeks.
    Rick was shouting more instructions to her and Diana had thankfully to turn away. In seconds, she was once more in command of her composure, although she was intensely aware of the man in the saddle. The thought kept running through her mind that she had never been so self-conscious in the presence of any other man. What was so different about this one? He was only a rodeo cowboy.
    Just as Diana was striking another pose, one of the gates at the chutes swung shut with a loud bang. The blood bay horse that had stood with such restless restraint jumped forward, and Diana let out a startled gasp as she felt herself falling backwards to the turf. But the man's reflexes were instantaneous. His right hand shot around her waist as his left drew on the reins to check his mount's flight.
    In the span of seconds, Diana was clutched tightly against his chest, held by the iron band of his arm. Her own arms circled his shoulders with her head buried beneath his chin. The closeness permeated her with the scent of his masculinity. She felt the flexing of his muscles as he controlled the horse and maintained his grip on her. The horse was stopped now, his head tossing in agitation and his hooves beating an in-place cadence.
    The danger was over, but the blood still pounded in Diana's temples and her heartbeat had accelerated. She moved her head away from beneath the man's chin to stare wide-eyed into his calm face. Her waist was pinioned tightly against him, arching her closer. Only inches separated their faces. An invisible message was being exchangedby their eyes until Diana felt transformed by the wonder of it. His face remained as hard and remote as it ever was, but something had changed. Something had been transmitted between them and it was