The Prince's Texas Bride Read Free Page A

getting enough exercise.”
    â€œI don’t need you to inform me about my position. I make time to ride Black. It’s as much for me as it is for him,” he said, revealing more than he’d intended.
    She stared at him for a long moment. “So is this about your ego, or about how going for a midnight ride saves you from the craziness of your position?” she asked softly.
    He felt as if she’d stabbed him. What right did she have to judge him? His rides with Black were the only time he felt truly free.
    â€œI’m not trying to step on your toes or prevent you from the pleasure of riding Black. I’m just being realistic. He’s a prize of an animal, smart, powerful and fast,” she said, glancing toward the horse. “But he’s fullof energy and if he isn’t exercised more frequently he’s going to be miserable. I don’t think you want that.”
    He clenched his teeth then sucked in a quick breath. “How did you do it? No one has been able to ride him except for me.”
    She lifted her lips in a smile that made his gut twist. “That’s my secret,” she said. “I’m a horse whisperer,” she said in a self-mocking tone. “That’s why you hired me.”
    â€œFor the others,” he said.
    â€œHmm,” she said with a nod of understanding. “Looks like you have a decision to make. Let me know by morning, and I’ll take the first flight back to Texas.”
    He caught her wrist as she turned around and she glanced at him in surprise. “You’re not getting out of the job that easily,” he said. “Ride Black, but do so at your own risk. I’ll let you know which nights I’ll ride him.”
    Her gaze searched his face. “So you do have a reasonable bone or two in your body,” she said.
    His lips curved in amusement despite the fact that he was still irritated with her. “Of course I do. I’m forced to be reasonable day in and day out with government leaders and advisers.”
    â€œWhich is why you really need those rides with Black,” she said.
    Her perceptiveness was both a bother and a relief. There weren’t many, if any, people who Stefan allowed close, and he’d been told by more than a few that he was difficult to read. The truth was that his passions always felt as if they were just beneath the surface, ready to burst through, so he felt he had to exert enormous self-control.
    Gazing down at her, he saw a combination ofcompassion and challenge in her dark eyes. Her lips were pursed as if she were trying not to smile. His hand still encircled her wrist and the skin there felt soft in contrast to her spine of steel. What an odd mix of a woman, he thought. He wondered what she was like in bed. He wondered what she would do if he kissed her. A hot visual of her naked beneath him whipped through his mind.
    His immediate surge of desire took him by surprise. Eve wasn’t his type. She was argumentative. She had zero understanding of palace affairs. For God’s sake, she worked in a barn. In that flash of an instant, he glimpsed a shot of awareness that deepened her already dark eyes. In the next second, he saw the same surprise he’d felt.
    Taking a breath, she stepped back and pulled her hand from his. “If you can let me know by 8:00 p.m. on the nights you’ll be riding him, that would help me,” she said.
    â€œWaiting till that late will tie up most of your evenings,” he said.
    â€œI don’t have anything else on my calendar. You see, I have to get ready for this parade my boss neglected to tell me about,” she said in a confiding tone.
    â€œThat’s why I required you to come to Chantaine within two weeks,” Stefan said, mildly amused.
    â€œIt would have been nice of you to let me know ahead of time,” she said.
    â€œI’m not that nice,” he said. “Would it have made a difference?”
    â€œI