lit up his face.
She couldn’t help the giggle bubbling up her throat, and she raised her eyebrows. “A fancy would hold little consequence. I’m not of your station.”
They turned a corner down the main hall. Sweet mother! She barely came to his chest. She glanced at the tight-fitting, expensive coat, pulled taut with each breath he made. All of them were truly large. Large and handsome. She couldn’t imagine any of them actually regarding her.
“Station matters little in this family. Instincts—that is what chooses us. Rules our lives. Father is firm on it. And none of us have selected a mate for our lifetime.”
Her face flamed at such casual scandalous talk. “Sir, you shouldn’t be so informal with me.”
He gazed down at her and smiled broader. “Ah, well, that is true, but I won’t tell if you won’t.” His long lashes closed over his eyes, and the lid shape turned round.
What? She tensed and blinked to clear her vision—oh, my stars—then she stared at his eyes as the lashes opened.
What was wrong with her? This man was just a man. Madness. No one’s eyes changed shape.
“Are you well, Miss Milton? You have gone positively pale.”
“I—I…” What do I say? “I think I may have a touch of something. My vision keeps deceiving me.”
He stopped and turned toward her, his blue eyes wide, an open, concerned expression on his features. “In what way? What did you see?” His lip curved into a grin, and his eyes changed from pale, crystal-blue ovals to round, solid blue.
She jumped and stepped back away from him. Sweet mother! Chills raced down her back. “What…what are you?” The hairs on her neck stood as her whole body trembled in shock and fear.
His smile turned devious. “What an odd question to ask your host. Why, I am Devon Ursus, youngest male boar of the Clan of Tremarctos.” His eyes flashed and jumped, and the clear blue human eye returned.
“You…you…” her hand raised, and she pointed at his eyes, “are not human. What are you?” Her lips trembled, and she stepped back another step, unable to take her gaze from him in fear he would grasp her.
“Ah! That is where you are wrong, Miss Milton. I am human, only more.”
She turned and ran. She needed to get out of this house. She had no wish to know what that “more” entailed. Ever since her arrival, strange things had occurred. This house possessed evil, a witch house, a house of the devil.
She would find her way home; she didn’t care if she caught her death doing so. She didn’t belong here. She hastened her steps as she ran down the hall, Devon’s laughter echoing in the distance behind her.
“Miss Milton, I will not harm you. I only wanted you to know.”
She pushed open the large front door. The rain continued to come down in sheets. She trembled as the damp air pierced the wool of her dress, chilling the sweat gathered on her skin. She glanced beside the door. There had to be a coat, a blanket, a hat, anything she could use to shield her from the rain. Nothing.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Devon mere yards away.
“Miss Milton, please don’t be foolish. You will catch your death.”
She bolted straight out into the rain. She needed to get home to see her mother, to know that what she had just witnessed resided only in her mind. Not that being daft in the attic appealed to her, just…well, craziness seemed better than believing such could exist. Was that wrong?
The rain seeped through her wool dress in a matter of moments as she ran down the slick road fronting the house. Her feet carried her as fast as she could manage as her slippers sank into the thick mud. Just what she needed, to lose a slipper in this sludge! She curled her toes, trying to ensure the shoes stayed put as she continued her fast pace away from Tremarctos.
Thick trees lined the road. She had no idea where she was headed. Her head spun, and her vision grew hazy. She stopped to steady herself. An agonizing cry sliced through her.
Don’t leave. Where are you going? Stop!
The trees moved before her, inching in bit by bit. Her eyes widened. She’d gone mad! She swayed, the earth buckling beneath her feet as the forest closed off the road in front of her. She raised her fisted hands to her eyes and rubbed them. The forest has closed off the road. She squeezed her eyelids shut and shook her head; raindrops flew from her mane.
Pounding hooves shook the earth and vibrated through her. Sweet mother! They were after her. She darted into the thick grove of trees now covering the road. The branches were so thick she barely wiggled her way into the thicket. Her arm caught on a branch. She yanked, and the fabric of her dress tore; the bramble scraped her skin. Ouch! She wanted to cry out in pain but crushed her teeth together and whimpered instead. She needed to get farther in and hidden from the road. There was no room to turn. The branches snaked and twisted about in a thick mesh, holding her still.
She slumped beneath a large branch, unable to push against the bramble. She would never make it home! Her body shook, and she covered her face with her hands. The wet of her wool dress chilled her skin, and her teeth chattered.
Come back! Damn you! Do not fear me.
Leave, damn voice! Covering her ears with her hands, she tucked herself closer to the tree trunk and out of sight of the road. She would find shelter somewhere tonight! The pounding hooves stopped in a sloppy smash of mud. A loud whinny snort pierced the sound of the rain just beyond her shoulder, and she jumped.
“Damnation, woman!” came from the road behind her. That voice she had heard in her head; she remembered from her dream. It had been a dream…hadn’t it? The man from her scandalous dream stood in the road! She needed to look, to know whose voice, hands, and tongue had caressed her so pleasurably. Her head turned without further thought, and she peeked through the branches at the gentleman in the road.
One of the twins sat astride a draft horse and stared into the thicket covering the road.
What a mesmerizing sight! Soaked through, the horse blew fog from its nose. Steam rose from its body as it stomped its foot, mud splattering. Rain poured off the rider’s greatcoat and hat in streams. His broad shoulders and bunching muscles handled the large mount with ease. Her heart pounded, and her nipples pebbled hard. His beauty and confidence radiated power. She gasped. She’d gone daft. He was a beast. Her eyes widened as the rider’s gaze locked with hers as he swung down.
You are not mad, Jane. Though at times I think things might be easier if we didn’t exist, we do. Please don’t run from me. Let me explain who we are.
She scrambled to her feet, but before she could take a step away from him, large arms wrapped about her and pulled her from the bramble.
She twisted and thrashed in his arms but to no avail. With the ease of someone holding a feather, he held her in his grasp. His body about her, the rub of his arm against her stomach and sides, set her skin awash in heated dew. Oh! Her body wanted this man! His breath deepened to the laborious sound she remembered from her dream. How could that be? It had been only a dream, yet her body knew and craved his silken touch on her bare skin.
“Hold still, damn you.” The
