Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com

76 DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT
She’d been stubborn about it all day but he could
tell climbing down from the horse was a movement
that bothered her. He’d insisted on helping her mount
and dismount throughout the day, if only for the
chance to touch her, and he intended to this time but
she glared at him.
“Go away, Dalton,” she snapped when he approached.
“That’s why we have a mounting block here,
so you can stop babysitting me.”
He just smiled blandly and stood beside the wooden
block, just in case she needed him.
She seemed determined not to, though her teeth
clamped together and she couldn’t hide a wince as she
swung her prosthetic over the saddle and slid down.
Before Maggie was completely ready to take her
own weight, the mare shifted, just enough to leave her
off balance. She stumbled on the block, but before she
could fall, he leaped up and caught her, absorbing her
weight, and she steadied herself against his chest.
All day she had tried to act tough as rawhide as she
rode alongside him, but now she felt small and fragile
in his arms.
He reacted like any other normal, red-blooded man
who suddenly found his arms wrapped around the beautiful
woman who had been his secret fantasy for years—
the same woman who had tormented him all day just by
her presence.
He kissed her.
She made a small gasping sound of surprise when his
mouth drifted across hers, and then she seemed to freeze
in his arms.