Forbidden (Scandalous Sirens) by Tracy Cooper-Posey, Julia Templeton

boots and stockings. She tucked them beneath the stile. She scrunched her bare toes up in the grass, feeling it tickle. Swiftly, she pulled all the pins out of her hair and shook it out, then rubbed at her scalp as the weight dropped away.
    With another quick check over her shoulder, she gathered her skirt and petticoats up in one arm. The gentle breeze swept past her bared calves and knees. Quickly, she grabbed the horse’s reins, clambered up onto the top step of the stile and slipped onto the back of the horse.
    The skirts, of course, rode up high around her thighs. She re-arranged them as well as she could, but the long green field ahead of her, with its rolling slopes, beckoned her. She wanted to start as quickly as possible.
    Her excitement caught her breath in a little hitch and she kicked the horse into a full gallop, her blood thrilling.
    It wasn’t until she had ridden a good mile at breakneck speed that she finally began to relax. The last few days had been entirely too tense. And now with Rufus’ growing suspicion it could only get worse.
    Why had she put herself into this position…and how could she get out of it?
    Every day she yearned for escape from this hellish life.   Whenever she thought of reconsidering, her son’s face would appear in her mind, reminding her that if she left Rufus all the old rumors would resurface.   She knew society well enough to know that trying to get Raymond back would be futile if she left him.
    Vaughn should leave. It was the only solution.
    But the very thought of him walking out the door and never coming back to Fairleigh Hall was more than she could bear. Perhaps if he were to marry Natasha it would not be so agonizing. At least then he would consider moving in and living at least part of the year at Fairleigh Hall.
    In her mind came an image of Vaughn and Natasha making love. He would be resting over the girl, his broad bare shoulders gleaming in moonlight streaming through a window above them. His hand would tenderly reach to caress her face…
    Elisa groaned as her heart squeezed painfully at the emotion-filled scenario she had conjured up. She knew she would not be able to bear having him living in Fairleigh Hall, either, if she would be forced to witness his tenderness and endearments for Natasha.
    She willed the images away and pushed her mount harder and faster. Faster. To the point where she knew she was barely in control of the horse. The touch of fear kept her mind focused and away from the dilemmas that awaited her back at the hall.
    When the horse showed signs of flagging, she brought him to a halt beneath a stand of old oak trees. She dismounted and walked the horse, giving herself time to relax before returning to the manor. As she walked, she unbuttoned her bodice and sleeves and flapped them, letting the cool air circulate her heated body. She was strongly tempted to remove the few petticoats beneath her skirt. It was much too warm to be wearing so many layers, after all.
    Finally, with a hurried look around her, she reached beneath her skirt and removed the stiff linen undergarments. She rolled them up and tucked them behind a tree. This far away from any manor or farm cot, they might stay there and rot for years before they were discovered.
    She smoothed the velvet out over her hips and thighs, feeling both wicked and comfortable for the first time that day.
    Thunder rumbled across the fields, pulling her attention to the sky. She looked up at the billowing, angry clouds overhead. Until this moment she had taken little notice of the impending weather. At any time the sky would open up and pour.
    She looked around, trying to establish exactly where she was. She knew she’d traveled a great distance from the manor and had been gone for at least an hour.
    She should return to the manor, or risk a soaking and quite possibly be caught out in the open when the lightning began.
    She turned the horse back toward Fairleigh Hall and began to ride as hard as she