His body stiffened around her. “Is that what you think? That I’m no good?”
He grabbed her elbows, turning her and forcing her to slide in the saddle so that she struggled against his hold. Lord sidestepped, protesting loudly the struggle on his back.
“Is this a show to impress me and prove me wrong?” she demanded, sliding more until she panicked and clawed at the air when she was certain she’d fall off the horse and land hard on her back. “All you’re doing is confirming what I already saw as the truth.”
Jordan moved with a calm swiftness that stunned her. Lifting the leather reins with one hand, he clucked with his tongue and whispered to the horse. At the same time he brought his arm around Amber, pulling her against him. She still felt like she wasn’t centered on the horse, with one leg hanging farther off and the other sticking out in the air on the other side. But letting go of his shirt, which she hadn’t realized she’d grabbed ahold of, and pulling herself back onto the horse, seemed a feat she wasn’t sure she could pull off at the moment. Instead, she hung precariously, staring at Jordan’s perfectly chiseled features. It was no wonder his confidence level soared beyond anything anyone could tolerate. Not only was he damn near the best-looking man she’d ever laid eyes on, as he soothed the horse with words soft enough to calm a baby he prevented Amber from falling off the large animal and quite possibly severely hurting herself.
“I’m not the despicable man you believe me to be,” he said after a moment, shifting his blue eyes that looked more gray at the moment to her. He penetrated her with a compelling stare, as if he possessed some hidden gift to reach deep into her soul and learn what made her tick simply by gazing deep into her eyes. It was unnerving at best and she blushed, feeling the heat spread over her flesh, traveling quickly until it swelled between her stretched legs. The seam of her jeans rubbed against her crotch, adding pressure to the swelling. Jordan studied her face, his features relaxing. “I’m honestly curious to know what action on my part convinced you I was no good.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, regaining her composure when he placed the ball in her court. Certainly he wasn’t so full of himself that he didn’t realize how despicable his actions were just being out here with her. Especially when he continually implied something sexual could exist between them. “Possibly it could be you’re hitting on the woman you hired to be your social organizer for you and your fiancée.” She stressed the last word and let go of his shirt, reaching for the saddle and then forcing herself upright and forward once again on the horse. “How do we turn him around? I’m done with this charade.”
“I didn’t hire you, my grandfather did,” Jordan said, his voice softening to a deadly tone.
If he weren’t directly behind her and she could see his face, Amber would guess her accusation, as true as it might be, pissed him off.
“You didn’t know you would have a social organizer while on the island with your fiancée?” Again she stressed the word.
“Yes, I knew. Grandfather arranged for you to be on this island when he made arrangements for me and Princess Tory to be here.”
Amber noticed Jordan no longer held the reins. In fact, his arms weren’t around her at all, but behind her. Other than his legs brushing against her outer thighs, he wasn’t touching her at all.
She fingered the leather straps, wondering if maybe she shouldn’t touch them either. Lord would respond to any tug from the straps, and she didn’t know all the signals. He continued walking, his body moving underneath her like a warm, solid muscular wave flowing from between her legs to her tailbone and then back again. If anything, Lord’s fluid, relaxed movement as he continued along the edge of the beach nearest a wall of tropical trees and foliage indicated he possibly understood the tension between the two humans on his back. Amber imagined the horse probably put them out of his head, instead focusing on whatever horses thought about as he enjoyed a nighttime stroll under the bright moon.
“How do you justify your behavior when you know the woman you’re going to marry is showing up tomorrow?” More than once in her life Amber had been accused of being a bit too direct. But damn it, sometimes people needed a good smack upside the head for them to see the obvious.
She would wait out the silence, in no way offering him any help in coming up with a believable answer. As aware as she was that his arms were no longer around her, and in fact as little of him was touching her as possible, Amber wouldn’t allow herself to regret no longer having all that roped muscle brushing against her. She would never claim to be perfect, but one thing she wasn’t was a cheater. Jordan was sexy as hell, a distraction at the least, but he belonged to another woman.
“If you knew in your heart that I wasn’t engaged, would you still find me despicable?”
His question threw her off guard, but only for a moment. “I’m not going to play games, Jordan. We’re adults here. There is no subtracting a commitment you’ve made simply to offer convenience to one evening.”
“There is nothing convenient about this conversation,” he growled.
“I’m sorry if the truth hurts,” she added, staring at her hands and running the leather straps between her fingers.
“The truth is more painful than you know.” He was angry.
But that was too damn bad. His anger was his issue. She wouldn’t enable him. Even when it hit her to change the subject, lighten the mood and talk about something less awkward and unpleasant, she bit her lip and said nothing.
“And I’ll ask you one more time. Not for convenience’s sake. You made it clear before we left for our ride our evening wouldn’t be sexual. But if you believed I wasn’t engaged, would you still find me despicable?”
“I never said you were despicable.”
“Would you find me unappealing?”
“You’re not unappealing.”
“Good enough.”
“What is good enough?” she demanded.
“It’s actually not good enough, but for now it will have to do.” Jordan’s serious manner, his not touching her, and the matter-of-fact attitude he’d assumed with this conversation offered light to a side of him Amber hadn’t seen when they’d first met. “Knowing your only reason for thinking me a rogue is your belief I have no scruples because of an engagement.”
“And you think it’s okay for someone to seek out something on the side?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then why are you trying to do it?”
Again he was silent. Amber blew out her frustration. This conversation wasn’t going anywhere. If she did get him to admit his actions were wrong, it wouldn’t stop his behavior. A cheater was a cheater.
“I think we should head back now,” she said, no longer enjoying the ride. And oddly enough, for a few minutes there, she had to admit she was getting used to being on Lord’s back.
“I’m not so sure.” Jordan shifted behind her and then reached around her, taking the reins from her hand. “You seem to have relaxed since we left the barn. I’d hate for my unscrupulous behavior to ruin your opportunity to learn the love of riding horses.”
She dared glance over her shoulder. Jordan stole her breath
