Read Online Adam's Promise by Julianne MacLean - Free Book Online Page A

sound of her skirts whipping lavishly in the wind.
    Then she thought of her sister and knew that even if Adam wanted to stay here with her, too—which he didn’t—it would be wrong.
    He tried to lead her down the steep slope, but she let go of his hand and broke into a run.
    Adam laughed. “Are you all right? You practically flew down, Madeline!”
    She burst into a fit of laughter herself. “I’m fine!”
    He walked her to her horse and helped her mount. As she settled into the creaky leather saddle and gathered up the reins, he discreetly took a section of her skirt in his large hand and flipped it over to cover her leg, which she hadn’t realized was exposed almost to the knee.
    Good God. Her belly went whoosh as his hand brushed over her petticoats.
    Without even acknowledging that anything had been amiss, Adam mounted his own steed. Madeline felt a tremor of disappointment that he had not flushedor nervously cleared his throat or expressed some other kind of abashment. Then she chided herself.
    Why she should think Adam would feel awkward or shaken at seeing her leg was beyond her, for men had never stumbled over themselves with her the way they did with Diana. They looked right through Madeline as if she weren’t there. She did not stir passions in men, and that fact was demonstrated to her yet again, as Adam hadn’t even noticed her leg. He flipped her skirt as if it was the folded-back corner of a faded tablecloth.
    She wondered then what it would be like to be Diana, to always feel beautiful and to know she captivated men wherever she went. What power Diana must have felt when they dissolved at her feet.
    The horses started walking in the direction of the fort, and a moment of disconsolate silence hovered over Madeline.
    At last, Adam spoke. “Care to race?”
    Madeline shook her head. “No, I don’t really think I’m up to it.” Then she kicked in her heels and swindled a head start across the grassy marsh, just to put some distance between them and avoid any more reminders that she was invisible.
    Â 
    Adam galloped after Madeline but did not push to win the race. He intentionally lagged back a bit in order to recover his composure after the shock of his intense response to the unexpected, startling sight of Madeline’s long, slender leg.
    Desire had sparked inside him, red-hot like a blacksmith’s poker left too long in the fire.
    He immediately attributed the response to his frustration over Diana’s failure to arrive, for over the past few weeks, his eagerness to see her again had mushroomed into a burning, aching need. Madeline was a part of those long-ago days, and her presence here had no doubt brought it all closer to home and stirred what had been dormant in Adam for what seemed like forever.
    If he was aware of Madeline’s shapely leg or the creamy, soft-looking skin at her neckline, it was only because she was a woman, and he had not seen many “new” women since he’d arrived here in this remote section of the world. He would probably react that way to any feminine feature.
    Adam then tried to picture his beloved’s face, and wondered if her leg would be anything like her younger sister’s, for he was sure he had seen some firm muscle in Madeline’s calf. He suspected that Madeline didn’t spend a lot of time sitting. She seemed to enjoy the outdoors.
    He watched her ride ahead of him. She was indeed an accomplished horsewoman.
    He wondered further where he and Diana would be now if she had come as she was supposed to. Would he be riding across the marsh with her? Would she be curious about the dykes, like Madeline was?
    He preferred to imagine they would be married already and in bed together, for he had been without her too long. And after the bit of fire he’d just experienced, he decided firmly that he was even more starved for Diana than he knew.

Chapter Six
    A dam and Madeline rode up