A Little Fate by Nora Roberts Page B

saddle.
    â€œYou’re very strong, my lord.” She gathered her reins. “I also have a fondness for a strong man.” With another laugh, she clicked her tongue and sent her horse flying away from the stables.
    Owen, she discovered, was a mediocre rider on a superior mount. She reined herself in to keep pace with him. It was good, despite the choice of company, to ride. To feel the freshness of the air on her skin and to be away from the clatter of the castle and the smells of the city.
    Her men, she thought, would come from the northwest, using the forest for cover and keeping off the roads. Then the hills would ring with the battle and, when it was done, with victory.
    â€œYou look thoughtful, Aurora.” Owen studied her as they slowed to a trot at the edge of field and forest.
    â€œOnly admiring the beauty of this country, my lord. And wondering how pleasant it is to know that all you see is yours.”
    â€œThe woman I choose will have part in that.”
    â€œIf you will it,” she said carelessly, and walked her horse along the forest path. “There is rich land in the west, as well. My father tends what’s his with a firm hand and a clear eye. The hills reach high there, and the cattle grow fat on them.”
    â€œThe name of my bride will be announced at the masque, at week’s end.”
    â€œSo I am told.” She slid her gaze toward his, quirked her lips. And slid her power over him like silk. “Do you know it?”
    â€œPerhaps I do.” He reached to take her reins and stop her horse, then leapt from his own. While she raised her eyebrows, he circled, then lifted his arms to pluck her from the saddle. “But a prince must take care in selecting a bride. One who will be queen.”
    She laid her hand on his chest. “So he must—as a woman must take care, my lord, in who takes her favors.”
    â€œI want a woman who will stir my blood.” He pulled her closer and would have taken her mouth if she hadn’t laid her fingers on his lips.
    â€œA man’s blood is easily stirred. And if a woman gives him what he desires before a pledge is made, the woman is a fool. What man, what king, wants a foolish wife?”
    â€œIf you give me what I desire, and it pleases me, I will make the pledge. Lie with me now, and you will be queen.”
    â€œMake me queen.” She played her fingers along his jaw. “And I will lie with you. I will give you sons, and great pleasure in the making of them.”
    â€œI could take you.” He dug his fingers into her hips. “You couldn’t stop me.” His breath came short as he lifted her to her toes. “You belong to me, as every blade of grass in the field beyond belongs to me. I am your lord. I am your god.”
    â€œYou have the strength, and the power.” And though she had a dagger beneath her skirts, she couldn’t afford to use it, not even in defense against rape. “Why take by force today what would be given freely in a few days’ time?”
    â€œFor excitement.”
    She only laughed, and tapped his cheek. “To hump like rabbits in the dirt? Hardly befitting you, my lord, or the woman who wishes to sit by your side, and lie by it. The waiting will, I think . . .” She traced her fingertip over his lips. “Hone appetites.”
    â€œA sample, then.” He circled her throat with his hand, squeezed, then covered her lips with his in a brutal kiss. She tasted his desire, and his delight in force. With all her will she swallowed revulsion and fury, and let him take.
    She thought of how he would pay for this, and for the thousands of cruelties to her people, for his part in humiliating Thane. For every lash Eton might suffer.
    When his hands pawed at her, when they clamped bruisingly on her breasts, she neither struggled nor winced. For he would pay.
    â€œMy lord, I beg you.” She hoped the quaver in her voice could be taken for