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

had before. If the rain settled in for days, as it was wont to do this time of year, this would be her last moment of freedom for some time.
    She had traveled a long arc on her outward leg of the ride and now she found herself approaching the hall from the front. It stopped raining just as she topped the last crest before the manor and cantered down the long, gently sloping field before her. Half way up the next hill, the hall was spread before her.
    Elisa saw two people walking the wide, luxurious lawn spread before the building. They were hand in hand. And there was no mistaking Vaughn’s wide shoulders and height.
    Natasha and Vaughn. Hand in hand.
    Elisa’s stomach turned. She would not get jealous, she told herself. It didn’t matter that he’d kissed her senseless, or that he’d taken liberties with her she had never granted to any other man. She could not afford to have Vaughn in her life in any other capacity than that of a stepson.
    Her gaze shifted from the couple to the high drystone wall at the end of the field. It had been at least four years since she’d last taken a jump on horseback. Back then she’d ridden every day and it hadn’t intimidated her. Yet it loomed before her now.
    Taunting her.
    Thunder rumbled ominously.
    With a glance at the couple, she put her knees to the horse’s flanks and flew toward the wall. Her heart hammered with every gallop. Even as she felt the thrill of the challenge, she questioned her wisdom. She had never jumped this gray before. What if he was a poor jumper? He was a big horse and just like humans, the bigger animals were often clumsy…
    Fear touched her. But it was too late. She was committed to the jump.
    Vaughn heard the galloping horse and turned to look towards the sound. Just beyond the drystone wall that marked off the field from the formal gardens of the hall was Elisa—astride a horse and racing towards them.
    An invisible hand gripped his throat and chest and squeezed as he realized she intended to jump the wall.
    Insanity.
    “Good lord!” Natasha murmured, her gloved hand at her mouth. “What is she wearing? And her hair!”
    Irritation flashed through him and he let her hand go. “For god’s sake, she’s going to jump!” he told her, starting towards the wall.
    “Well, I don’t see why that excuses…”
    But he didn’t hear any more of Natasha’s indignant words, for he was racing forward, his heart hammering in his chest, echoing in his throat and temple. Fear was a live snake in his belly.
    “No, Elisa! Don’t!” he cried. But it was too late.
    The horse tried valiantly to take the wall. He watched the big beast gather himself, the powerful hind legs bunching and pushing off, the woman in blue clinging to his back like a burr. He saw Elisa’s white face and big eyes as the horse lifted. Fear and exaltation were fighting for expression.
    The gray almost made it. Almost.
    His forelegs smashed through the capstones of the wall. If it had been a mortared wall, the animal would have been brought to a solid, crashing halt, but the loose stones pushed away and the horse was reaching for solid ground on the other side, whinnying.
    He landed hard and Vaughn heard the wet crack of breaking bone. The horse and Elisa both screamed. As the horse went down Elisa was thrown over his head.
    Vaughn watched with sick horror as she curled herself into a protective ball. She hit the ground with her shoulder and rolled for several yards before coming to a halt.
    He didn’t remember covering the ground between him and her still figure. He was just suddenly there, gathering her into his arms, too scared to even breathe.
    She was conscious and as he lifted her she opened her eyes and gasped. “I am unhurt,” she told him as he brushed at the dirt on her cheek.
    “How could you not be hurt?” he whispered, his voice strangled by the tension in his throat—in his whole body.
    She gave another gusty sigh. “I learned how to take a fall before I turned