Read Online Lillian's Light Horseman by Jasmine Hill - Free Book Online Page A

and nibbling on it until she moaned.
    He gave himself a mental shake and gulped the remainder of his brew, anxious to change his train of thoughts and distract himself.
    “How are you feeling?” he asked.
    “Much better now, thank you. Although I can’t seem to totally shake this cold feeling.”
    “The temperature is low, particularly with nothing to protect you.” He fingered the fabric of her dress. “This might be adequate for the day but will not keep you warm during an outback winter night.”
    She nodded, put her tea to one side and crossed her arms around herself in an obvious bid for additional warmth.
    William couldn’t stand to see her suffer and he couldn’t deny himself the feel of her body any longer. He needed to reassure himself that she was here with him and in one piece.
    “Come here,” he ordered softly, opening his arms in invitation.
    She hesitated briefly before she scuttled over and into his waiting embrace. He tugged her onto his lap and circled his arms around her, relishing the feel of her lush body against his.
    After a moment, she relaxed against him, her head falling back on his shoulder as she sighed deeply. He kissed the top of her head and massaged her arms in order to assist the blood flow to her limbs. Her slender back was pressed against his chest and he felt her shudders start to abate until eventually they stopped completely.
    “Better?” he asked softly against her ear.
    “Much, thank you.” Her voice was low with fatigue.
    That husky voice and the fact that her gorgeously rounded backside was currently perched in his lap sent him wild with need for her. He couldn’t seem to stop his rising erection. He tried desperately to think of something else but his cock was growing harder by the second. He moved restlessly in an attempt to relieve some of his discomfort.
    “Am I too heavy?” Lillian asked, mistaking his agitation and trying to struggle out of his lap.
    “Not at all.” He grasped her around the shoulders to stay her retreat. “Your proximity is just making things a little…uncomfortable.”
    She wriggled her bottom then gasped as realization obviously dawned.
    “I’m sorry, my sweet,” he mumbled into her hair. “It seems to have a mind of its own.”
    He knew he should release her, understood that it was the right thing to do, but her scent combined with her curvaceous body pressing so close to him was like a drug, making him heady with lust for her. He’d thought, after her father’s revelations all those years ago, that he’d never see Lillian again, let alone have the opportunity to hold her so close. Now feelings of fear and possessiveness had suddenly hijacked his common sense.
    He sighed deeply and tried to regain control of his raging emotions to work up the determination to remove Lillian from his lap. Then, as he was about to do just that, she sighed in contentment and relaxed into him further.
    He stiffened when the scent of apples wafted on the air, tickling his subconscious and searing him with a fierce sense of déjà vu . Fuck, she’d always smelled like apples. It was forever a scent he’d associate with her and with it, a dozen bittersweet memories washed over him.
    “William, are you all right?” she asked softly, turning her head so she could look at him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just called you William, it’s just…” She made her own attempt to extricate herself from his hold.
    “Lilly. Don’t,” he said roughly, tugging her back. It was no use denying his feelings. It was killing him. So was the fact that she’d just apologized for using his given name. “I want you to call me William,” he murmured and wrapped his arms tighter around her. “I like the way my name sounds on your lips. I always have.”
    “Oh.”
    He could sense her confusion and hesitancy and he needed to make her feel secure, to make her feel safe in his arms. “Please, Lilly, I need you near me right now. It scared the hell out of me when