Natalie dashed toward him, frantically calling out his name. But she was hampered by her long skirts. She’d get herself killed along with him.

Hadrian sprinted forward, his legs pumping, his heart pounding. Time slowed to a crawl as if he were running through a bog of treacle. His mind played a prayer over and over. Please, God. Please, God. Please, God. The nightmare of Leo and Natalie lying mangled and bloody spurred him onward, the effort utilizing every ounce of his strength.

The boy looked quizzically toward her. His freckled features showed wide-eyed curiosity. Then he must have heard the hoofbeats, for he swung his tow-haired head toward the paddock and froze.

The massive stallion surged toward him, hooves hammering the packed dirt of the yard. One of the workers shouted a warning. The horse faltered for a split second, long enough for Hadrian to hurtle past Natalie and grab Leo.

He seized Natalie’s waist with his other arm, and in one continuous motion yanked them out of the animal’s path. They went tumbling down in a heap near the paddock fence.

Just in the nick of time. As Hadrian covered them with his body, the horse galloped past so close that clods of earth sprayed them. He felt a jolt as one of the hooves grazed his shoulder.

He glimpsed a groom at the edge of the yard waving his arms to stop the runaway horse. Spooked, Thunder reared again and this time succeeded in dislodging his rider. Wymark went tumbling to the ground as the bay took off like a shot across the lawn, its silken mane streaming in the wind.

Hadrian turned his attention to the rescued pair, fearing he might have injured them in the hard fall. Natalie appeared stunned, her bosom heaving, her lips parted to gasp out, “Leo…?”

The boy was already squirming to free himself. “I’m squished! What’s wrong with that horse, Mr. Duke? Why’s he so mad?”

“He needs training, that’s all.” Worriedly, Hadrian shifted position to scan the boy. “Are you all right, brat? Any pain in your arms or legs?”

“No, but I lost my cavalryman,” he wailed tragically. “I gotta find him!”

As if he hadn’t just escaped death, Leo nimbly scrambled to his feet. He scurried off, bending over to peer at the ground for his toy. Work resumed in the stable yard, and Hadrian heard the scrape of a shovel somewhere nearby, the creak of the painter’s ladder against the stable, the muted voices of several grooms discussing the near-accident a short distance away.

Then the rest of the world vanished as he turned his gaze downward at Natalie. He lay sprawled on top of her, his hard frame cushioned by her soft feminine curves. The delight of full-body closeness seared him. A lightning flash of hot blood flamed into his groin, bringing him to instant arousal. It was the very devil of a time in which to be struck by lust, but he relished the sensation nonetheless.