Lying on his back, James struggled to catch his breath. His heart rushed faster than waves passed the hull as he pulled Samantha tight to him. She laid her head on his shoulder, her body molding to the contours of his. Their skin damp and flushed. He buried his face in the softness of the curls crowing her head and filled his lungs with her scent. She smelled vaguely like cinnamon and strongly of him.
“Give me the words,” she murmured against his chest.
“Words?” She was asking him to think? Speak coherently? Given the intensity of what they shared, he was sure walking would take him a moment or two to re-master. Talking? Linking one word successfully to the next? “Not yet.”
“But I don’t know how to describe…”
He stroked her from her waist to her shoulder and back. Nothing could compare to the feel of her in his arms. “The way you just called out my name, described it well enough.”
She snuggled closer. Kissed his chest, brushing her lips across the flat of his nipple, sending another heated shot across his proverbial bow. His body surprised him by responding when he was fully prepared to raise a white flag to her insatiable charms.
“Are you trying to ruin me?”
She smiled against his skin. “Quite the opposite.”
He pulled her on top him, lifting her mouth to an urgent kiss, aligning her body to lie along his, pinning himself beneath the delicious weight of her.
“Is it your plan to keep me in my bed all day? Distract me from my duties?”
She nodded and brushed her lips over his. “Just until my new breeches arrive.”
He smiled against her kiss. “And after that?”
“I would love to stroll along the decks. I want to see the Lion in all her power, catching every inch of wind. And fill my lungs with that breeze myself before it’s too late.”
“It’s not even eight bells. The day is young.” He tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled. He loved her delicate ear—the sweep and swirl of its tender lobe, the tiny shiver she made when he ran his tongue along its edge. Dear God, he was spellbound. Next, he’d be writing sonnets to the sweetness of her perfect breasts.
Samantha broke through the mist of his indecent thoughts. “But before we head deck side, you have one more duty.” Her gaze focused on his mouth before lifting to meet his.
He stretched both hands lower to cup the rounds of her behind, grinding against her. “I wouldn’t call such a tempting proposal a duty.”
“You’ve waited long enough—”
Between them, his erection pulsed in anticipation. “Demanding vixen… I’d never have imagined—”
“—to officially arrest me.”
Icy seawater could not have cooled his ardor quicker. “I-I…”
She shrugged one bare shoulder. “You were waiting until I got stronger. I’m stronger.”
He frowned. “I know, but—”
“I heard the conversation with Ducky, remember? You have no choice in this.” She held his gaze with the soft brown of hers.
“I may not have a choice in the what, but I damn well have a choice as to the when.” He moved her off him and propped himself up on one elbow to look down at her. “And I don’t think minutes after I’ve made love to you is quite the time to charge you with treason.”
Samantha traced a hand down his chest. “I don’t want you to confuse the two.”
“How on earth would I do that?” His brows drew together.
Samantha sat and pulled a blanket to cover her nakedness. “I want there to be no question as to…to what we just did.”
James sat back himself, willing some of the blood back to his brain so he could make sense of what she was trying to say. “Okay, now I am confused. What are you talking about?”
She set her chin. “I’m fully prepared to take responsibility for my actions, no matter the outcome. I don’t want you to ever doubt my feelings, or my reasons for wanting to be with you. I didn’t lie with you to help my cause. I used you once, the night of the dance. I need you to know I’ll not do it again.”
His frown deepened. “I’d never think that.”
“No, but others might if they found out. I don’t want there to be a moment’s doubt in your mind. And I don’t want you to bear any guilt in doing your duty. Or take any blame for what befalls me.”
“Samantha…”
She touched his chest to quiet him. “No, please. I love you. I’ll love you for as much and as long as I am able, but that won’t change things. At some point, I have to face my future on my own.”
James lifted her hand and placed a kiss within its palm. “First, you’re not on your own. You have me.”
She drew a deep breath and pulled back her hand. “But I can’t have you. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. You’re such a wonderful man. Beautiful and loving. You deserve so much…much more than someone like me. I won’t let you risk your happiness or your career for me. I’m not worth it.”
He shook his head. The need to defend her, even to herself, ran hot through him. “Of course you’re worth it. I love you.”
“And I love you. Which is why I won’t let you jeopardize your life when I have none.”
James jumped out of bed and back into his trousers. Anger and fear pushing him. He wouldn’t listen to any more. “Don’t talk like that,” he snapped.
“You have to promise me.” She stood, dragging the blanket with her. “If you love me, when the time comes, you’ll let me go. Walk away. Don’t get dragged down with me. You’re too good…too important. I’m noth—”
“Stop.” He bit out the word. “I won’t stand here and let you call yourself nothing. How dare you minimize who you are and how we feel? I have no intention of walking away from you. Not for a second. Is that understood?” He grabbed her by her upper arms. Her eyes went wide. Dear God, he’d frightened her again. He reined in his anger and lowered his voice. “You and I. We love one another. We are together now and forever.”
“James—”
“Nothing is going to prevent us from being together,” he insisted. “You’re innocent, and I intend on speaking to everyone from the admiral to the magistrate and all the way to King George if I have to, in order to get the charges facing you dropped. I don’t want a future without you. I refuse to even contemplate such a thing.”
Samantha lowered her chin and whispered, “But Lillian.”
James kissed her forehead and sighed. “She doesn’t have my heart, and I certainly don’t have hers. Lillian is a business arrangement. The merging of two households. A tidy bank account and some fine property. A life of loveless leisure. You and I together will be ten times richer.” He cradled her face. “We’re ten times richer standing here now.”
She blinked at him with wide tear-washed eyes. “You promise not to jeopardize your career over us?”
“No…I swear to you on my mother’s eyes, I won’t endanger my commission.”
Samantha held his gaze for a long moment before giving him a watery nod. “Good.” She took a deep breath. “Then arrest me.”
He shook his head and teased. “I have extremely strict standards, Mistress Christian. It is not my practice to arrest anyone not wearing trousers.”
“Oh,” She gave a quick bite to her lower lip. “Then we’ll have to wait.”
“Indeed.” He ran a fingertip over the line of her collarbone and down the center of her chest to the shadowy valley of her cleavage, hooking his finger into the top of her blanket. “I wonder what we might do to pass the time.”
“I could put this cover back where it belongs.” Samantha began to back toward the bed.
“Let me help you with that.” He snatched the blanket from her in one clean jerk and tossed it to the side.
* * * *
“It’s huge.”
“Not monstrous, but good sized. Gets the job done.” James recovered slightly. Stood a wee bit taller. It was a proud moment, seeing his ship through Samantha’s eyes.
“I’ve never seen so many sails. She sits so tall, it feels as if the masts could catch the clouds.” She took a few steps ahead of him, looking skyward.
His gaze lowered. He’d never appreciated the vision of a woman in breeches before. Even if they did bring with them his promise to do his sworn duty and arrest her officially.
Samantha had insisted on being treated as he had the others. Earlier, she stood before his desk as he read the charges against her and asked her to state her full name and rank.
“My name is Samantha Ruth Christian. I was Captain Quinn’s cabin boy.”
Yes, she understood the charges. They both understood. It made James sick to think about the precarious implications.
“You plead innocent.” In his notes, he included all the extenuating circumstances that had brought her to the Scarlet Night. After he was finished, he pulled her back into his lap and reiterated, “If anyone else asks your plea, you’re innocent. Understand?”
She pulled his mouth to hers. “I’m not feeling very innocent at the moment.”
Watching the sway of her hips and the way her new trousers hugged her thighs, he wasn’t feeling innocent either.
“Your ship is truly impressive, James.” She turned with a smile.
Bringing her on deck had caused a minor ripple throughout the crew. If there were concerns or comments regarding a second woman aboard, the men they passed had the good sense and manners to keep it to themselves. His officers would let him know if there were any grumblings below later.
James purposely kept to the front of the ship. Samantha’s stamina was in no way restored, and Stitch had warned them both about overdoing things. And they’d already overdone this morning…three times.
He took a step back and watched her lift her beautiful face to the sun, run her hand down the polished wide railing of the ship’s gunwales, comment on the miles of thick rigging. He loved her. There was a good chance he’d loved her from the beginning and not been clever enough to realize it. It filled him with such warmth simply to look at her. And when she opened herself to him in bed…. She trusted him—even after all she’d been through in the past. To be that generous in her lovemaking, that honest…. It made him fall in love with her all over again.
Their conversations kept circling in his mind. The growing need to protect her continued to overwhelm him. He’d keep his promises, but she was his. There was no way he would let her stand alone in this. He was prepared to walk through fire for her if need be.
James scanned the length of the decks, as was his habit. He caught sight of Ducky with his company of men supervising the prisoners of the Scarlet Night.
“Let’s show Tupper something more impressive than this ship. You. Walking, talking, vertical. She’s been concerned.”
“I should be moving to the brig soon. Isn’t that where I should be?”
James wanted to pull her back into his arms and argue his selfish need to keep her with him, but he knew to keep his hands to himself while they were on deck. “You’re still recovering.”
She looked at him over her shoulder. “I was recovered enough earlier.”
He lowered his voice so only she could hear. “And I selfishly need to have you recuperate completely before I’m ready to let you go.” James eyed the prisoners once more. His stomach churned at the thought of her with them. She didn’t belong there. She wasn’t one of their crew. “Aye, a few more days.”
As they moved closer to Tupper and her crew, the men began to take notice. The first one to see her was the Scarlet Night’s first mate. William Quinn—the one they called Bump. When he saw them, he leapt to his feet. His abrupt movement caused Ducky’s men to pull their pistols. He made no other move, however, but stared at Samantha with a slightly unnerving intensity before shifting the same concentrated gaze on James. He forgot his original intention not to touch Samantha while on deck and instinctively took her arm and slowly moved her tight to his side.
Bump’s stare triggered others to follow his gaze. Two more men stood to watch their approach. The larger of the two pointed, “There’s the unlucky bitch now!”
Samantha stopped walking and shot James a nervous glance. Ducky’s men ordered the three to sit back down. “Stand down, the lot of you!” Pistols were slid from holsters.
The two that could hear the order did as they were told, but continued to complain and spit more insults in her direction.
“Be more then limpin’ if I had me way.”
“Give me five minutes wit her…make hangin’ worth the rope.”
By this time, Tupper took command. “When are you two going to quit acting like a couple of great arses? Keep it up and I’ll ask them to hang ye sorry bastards right here.” Using hand signals, she told Bump to return to his place. He did so, but never took his eyes off Samantha.
Tupper and the other two continued to exchange barbs until Ducky put an end to it all. “I’m done listening to you bastards bitch. Take them below!”
Amid the grumbles, the crew was rousted. Bump’s gaze lingered on Samantha until he was moved away.
“What was all that about?” Samantha looked to James in question.
A nagging worry tripped up James’s spine as he watched the prisoners. Ducky had mentioned the tension within the brig. Seemed it was more than simple friction. He’d give the order to double the guard. Turning back to Samantha, he ran a reassuring hand down her sleeve. “I don’t know, but I mean to find out. And I’ve just decided you’ll stay with me until I do.”