Chapter 27
A TEASING HINT of autumn’s musk perfumed the air, a September evening fit for open windows and a night spent basking in the tingling foreplay of fall. Ryman and Nardell declined the invitation to dine with Thumper and his houseguests at Montfair. Instead, the duties of the day fulfilled and the symphony of the morning’s hound music still playing in their heads, they returned to the Fair Enough cottage.
As Ryman closed the door, Nardell placed herself before him and said, “Are you sure you’re okay? I was terrified when you passed out and fell off Token.”
He reached toward her neck, unhooked her stock pin, and slowly slid the shaft through the soft white material. “I’ve never been better.” He began to untie her stock, slipping each strand out from the knot with gently playful t
