Olivia woke as dawn tried to seep through the thick layer of clouds. Colton was gone, and by the feel of it, the ship was moving again. She sat up and found land to be growing more distant behind them as they headed for home. Elation suffused her.
Devon began to grumble as the light grew stronger. He tossed his head side to side and slung his arm over his eyes.
“Where am I?” he called out.
Olivia sat by his side and patted his knee. “You’re on Colton’s ship. We’re heading home.”
“What?” He squinted his eyes at her. “Olivia? What the devil are you doing here? Is father here?”
Olivia shook her head. “I came to help...alone.”
He gave her his blackest of scowls, and then pinched his eyes closed. “God damn it! Why is it so bloody bright in here? I can’t handle this right now, I need a bloody drink.”
“Does the light hurt your eyes? I can have Willy cover the windows,” she offered.
“That or take an ax to my skull.”
Olivia got up to pull the bell cord. She had expected more of a response about her presence here, but perhaps he was too ill to give much thought to it.
Willy responded quickly and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Olivia called.
Willy stepped into the room and eyed Devon warily.
“Willy, this is my brother, Lord Wilhelm. He feels quite unwell and the light bothers him. Would it be possible to hang the curtains?”
“Certainly, I’ll get right to it.”
“And a drink,” Devon grumbled.
Olivia stood and poured some water into a glass. “Here.” She picked up his hand and shaped it around the glass. He shakily brought it to his lips. He took one sip and threw it across the room, glass and water shattering everywhere.
“I said a drink, dammit! I need a bloody drink, brandy, whiskey, gin, rum, wine.” He rattled off angrily, and then turned over to bury his head beneath the pillows.
“Uh...” Olivia and Willy stared in astonishment. “I’ll see what I can do.” Olivia stood slowly and took Willy by the shoulders before herding him out of the cabin.
“Perhaps you should fetch Captain Colton,” she told him after closing the door. He ran off and Olivia waited in the hall, a little afraid of the surly man who used to be her affable brother.
Colton arrived swiftly, his brow creased with concern. Mr. Timms followed him. “What’s the matter?”
He set his hands on her shoulders, and she instantly felt better. “He is awake and rather unruly. He wants a drink, and I don’t know what I should give him. Offering water did not go well.”
“He’s sobering up,” Timms offered. “He’s not going to like it.”
“Have you dealt with this before?” Colton asked over his shoulder.
“A time or two. His body needs it now, and without it, he will feel like trampled horse dung.”
“His body needs what?” Olivia asked in confusion.
Colton turned back to her, and his hands slid up and down her arms in soothing strokes. “Devon’s been smoking opium. It’s a drug that people can easily become addicted to. Now that he is not smoking it, he will feel it withdrawing from him, and it will make him very sick.”
She looked between Colton and Mr. Timms with panic. “You said his body needs it. Will he die without it?”
“No.” They both reassured her.
Mr. Timms continued, “But it will be hell for him while it leaves his system, and he will be very sick. We will have to help him through it, but there is no way to ease the process.”
“Oh. If we give him spirits, will it help?”
“No,” Timms stated. “It will make him worse.”
Olivia sighed. She had no experience dealing with someone with such a malady. She felt scared and helpless. “Well, I suppose there is no help for it then.”
“We have laudanum on board. If we give it to him in decreasing doses, it should help a little. We can mix it in tea.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Olivia said in relief. “The light bothers him. I’ve asked Willy to hang the curtains.”
“Even with the curtains, the light is still bright. If you move him to the smaller cabin, the port hole can be covered, and the room will be nearly black.”
“Your help with this matter will not go unrewarded, Timms. I think we need you.”
Timms nodded. “I’m at your service, Cap’n. You and I can handle the more indelicate matters until he is on his feet.”
“I want to help too,” Olivia demanded.
“Oh, you will,” Timms assured her. “He will need all of us.”
“I am indebted to you, Mr. Timms.” Olivia stepped forward and took his hand.
“And I am indebted to your dear cap’n, m’lady. ’Tis the least I can do.” Timms went to find Willy and make new preparations.
Colton turned back to Olivia and ran his hand along her jaw and into her hair. “How did you sleep?”
“Wonderfully. I didn’t even feel you get up. I was surprised when you weren’t there beside me. How did you sleep?”
“The same, although I got up while it was still dark and roused the crew to ready the ship.”
Olivia smiled and stepped closer to him. She slid her arms around his waist and rested her head against his broad chest. His arms came around her and squeezed tightly.
“The real thing is so much better than dreaming it.”
“Pardon?” Colton chuckled.
“Having your arms around me, I mean. I used to dream about it.”
“Your dreams were rather tame compared to mine.”
Olivia gasped, but when she looked up at him, she smiled delightfully. “I’d love to hear about your dreams.”
“You’re going to have firsthand experience, my love.” He bent his head to steal a kiss.
She clung to him, wanting more, but he pulled away reluctantly. “They will return any moment.”
She sighed. “You’re right, and there is glass to be picked up.”
They entered the cabin, and Devon was still huddled under the pillow. “Olivia!” he shouted from under the pillow. “Where is that bloody drink?”
“It’s coming.”
“Don’t be an arse, Devon. You made your bed, now lie in it and do it like a man.”
Devon stiffened under the blanket. “Colton? You rat bastard. Why in the devil is my sister here, and how in bloody hell did I get here?”
“We can discuss your sister later. Right now we’re moving you to the smaller, darker cabin.”
“Thank God,” Devon mumbled.
“Now get out here and stop acting like a coward.”
Olivia bit her lip apprehensively. She had never heard them speak to each other so heatedly before.
Devon wiggled to the edge of the bed and sat up. He wobbled as he used one hand to cover his eyes and groaned.
“Keep your composure,” Colton warned.
“I don’t think I can,” Devon said, his skin changing from white to green.
Olivia fetched the basin in case Devon had to cast up his accounts.
Colton pulled a scarf from his closet and wrapped it around Devon’s eyes. He took one arm and slung it over his shoulder, hefting Devon up until he found some balance.
“Why did you come for me?” Devon asked.
“Because you’re needed at home,” Colton grunted.
Devon grabbed Colton’s shirt in alarm. “Why?”
“Because that is where you belong,” Olivia answered.
“Why the devil are you here?” he sneered.
“I wanted to help, foolish I know, but it’s better than sitting at home waiting for you to ruin everything on your own.”
“So you sought to help me by ruining yourself as well?”
“If you had let me help you in the first place, none of this would have happened, you wretch. You’re lucky we love you enough to come get you,” she said.
He dropped his head and didn’t speak again. Colton assisted him to the other cabin. Timms had covered the window and made up the bed with fresh sheets. There was a tray of tea steeping and a plate of biscuits.
Olivia didn’t follow. She was overcome with emotion and trying to keep herself together. Colton returned shortly to ask how she was doing. Willy brought her some breakfast, and after she finished eating, she went to check on Devon. He was sleeping. Colton had reported that he had drunk the tea with laudanum and eaten one biscuit. She felt his brow for a fever, and although sweaty, he was normal to the touch and restful. She returned to Colton, changing the sheets in their now shared cabin.
“You should get some rest as well.”
“I did.”
“Not nearly enough.” He finished tucking in the sheet and with a flick, covered the whole bed with the blanket.
“It all feels surreal now, being with you, having Devon back, and returning home.”
“Are you scared to go back?”
“Heavens no, just... I don’t know. I suppose I’m just nervous.”
“You’ll have to face the hangman’s noose sometime.” Colton pulled her to the bed and they sat.
“I don’t intend to be hung,” Olivia said belligerently.
“Perhaps, but—”
“No perhaps, no but. I’m marrying you whether they like it or not. I will not take no for an answer.”
Colton chuckled. “Livie...”
“Don’t Livie me. I finally have what I’ve always wanted, and I’m not letting you go. Don’t you want that too?” She turned to him.
“Desperately, but I think you are getting ahead of yourself. Let us return with Devon and let things settle. I can court you properly with your father’s permission—” He could see her bristling.
“I don’t need his permission.”
“But don’t you want his blessing? Do you truly want to enter into marriage with conflict in our families?”
“Well no, but neither do I want to give them any room to argue.”
“Do you think they will argue our wish to marry?” He looked down into her eyes.
“You did, didn’t you?”
“I did before, but now I simply don’t care. That is to say, I don’t want any conflict, but I will marry you regardless. I will have you, Olivia Brentton.”
Olivia sighed contentedly as he leaned down to kiss her. She would never grow tired of Colton’s kisses. It started slow, with teasing brushes and slides against her lips. She opened to him, eager to feel his tongue against hers. He didn’t deny her and claimed her mouth confidently. She shivered excitedly, quickly falling under the spell of this new intimacy between them. There was something so entrancing about his lips and being held close to his body. She would never get enough of him. She pressed herself closer, fascinated by the sensation of his hard body against hers and his strong arms around her.
He tipped her back and she fell back onto the bed. He followed her, his body covering hers and molding to hers. It was a maelstrom of emotion and sensation, a strong need for the press of his weight and the urge to get even closer. His hands roamed her body and she did the same. Her small hands greedily touched his back, marveling at the sinewy muscle that moved and flexed under her fingers. She slipped her hands under his collar and felt the glorious warmth of his skin. She wanted more—she needed more.
“Olivia, wait,” he stopped.
She wanted to groan in frustration.
“We can’t do this here, not right now.”
“But why?” She tried to curb the petulant whine in her voice.
“You deserve more than a tupping in a cabin on a ship. We should be in our marriage bed.”
Olivia thought about that. She’d never heard the word tupping. It did sound distasteful, but nothing they shared between them could ever be distasteful, not to her. “I don’t see it that way.”
“Perhaps not right now, but years from now you might.” He brushed unruly curls from her face.
“Don’t you want to marry me?”
“More than my next breath,” he said.
“Then make me undeniably yours, right now, in this cabin. This cabin is you, the real you. In our hearts, we are already married. There is no if, there is no but. It’s just us. We found that here in this cabin, and that means this place will always be special. There isn’t a better place than where we are right now.”
He swallowed, his expression betraying his shock. “You’re right.”
“I am?” she said with surprise.
“I’ve spent hours awake longing for her in this very bed, paced the boards of this ship with you on my mind countless times,” he said. “Here is where I feel most at home, even when sailing foreign oceans.”
Colton said nothing as he pulled away from her and stood. He turned to the door, locked it, and then returned to stand at the foot of the bed. He slowly began to pull up his shirt as she watched, her frown of confusion melting into a look of absorption. He removed his shirt and crawled over her as she lay back until he was on all fours over her, watching her intently.
Olivia tried her hardest to remain calm. She had never before seen him without a shirt, or any man for that matter, and was having trouble drawing breath. His skin was bronzed, his chest sparsely dusted with golden hair. It was difficult to take him all in, and at the same time, all she could think of was what it would feel like to press her bare chest to his. She felt her cheeks flood with warmth as well as the place between her legs. She never knew she could feel such things, but at Colton’s hands, she was learning a lot quickly.
He smiled down at her. “You can touch me, if you want.”
She smiled back. “Oh, I fully intend to.”
Colton chuckled.
She tentatively touched his chest, first with one hand and then the other. She explored him gently with soft strokes, and Colton eased down on top of her, leaving her access to take her time. As she discovered the effect of her touching his nipples and their pebbled response, he slowly pulled up her skirt.
Olivia became distracted by his hands on her legs and was eager to be as equally undressed. “Take off my dress,” she urged him.
“In due time.”
“Right now,” she moaned.
Colton sat back. “There’s no way you’re going to just lay back and let me manage the reins of your seduction, are you?”
“Absolutely not.” She sat up and began to fumble with her laces. “If I left it up to you, you’d still be throwing yourself on the sword of honor while keeping me at arm’s length.”
Colton laughed heartily. He couldn’t help it.
Olivia scowled. “Are you going to undress me or not?”
Colton sighed, helping her with the laces. She tugged her bodice down, wriggled her dress over her hips, and kicked it to the floor.
“Where are your stockings?” he asked with surprise.
“I took them off last night while you were sleeping.”
“You’ve been running around all morning without stockings?”
She nodded and smiled wickedly. “And barefoot, too.”
He groaned and pulled her to him roughly. She giggled and squirmed against him.
He grew serious and tugged at her chemise. “I’m taking this off.”
“Aye, captain,” she said cheekily.
Colton was no longer amused. Olivia pressed her body against him. He lifted the hem slowly, slipping her chemise over her head with a whisper and off the bed..
“Nothing will keep us apart now, Olivia.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “I never asked you... I’ve loved you for so long. Will you marry me, be my wife and the mother of my children?”
Olivia smiled, her heart bursting with happiness, and tears coming to her eyes. “Yes. I’ve never wanted anything else in the world as much as I want you. I love you too.”
He kissed her fiercely, taking her mouth like a conqueror, claiming his mate and possessing her thoroughly. She did the same, accepting him eagerly, and making her own demands. She pressed herself against him, parting her legs, and wrapping them around him. He hungrily kissed her and sought her softness with his hand. She was ready for him, her dewy flesh glistening with her need and aching for his touch. He touched her gently, exploring her in ways he hadn’t before. She gasped when he entered her with one finger and stilled. He broke the kiss, and she met his eyes.
He watched her eyes widen as he entered her with a second finger and slowly reached deeper, stretching her. She licked her lips and kept her eyes locked on his as he thrust in and out in a steady rhythm. Olivia closed her eyes, pressing her head back into the pillows and letting desire claim her body. He kissed her breasts, nipping and licking until her skin was pink and her nipples standing hard. He licked his way up to her earlobe and sucked. She sucked in her breath and moaned, her hips bucking with the rhythm of his hand.
“Colton,” she panted.
“This is only the beginning.” He returned to her breasts and feasted some more.
Olivia felt like her body was spinning out of control. She wanted more, wanted to do more. She didn’t want to just lay back and accept the pleasure, she wanted to participate and make him feel as wild as he made her feel. She boldly reached for his waistband, running her fingers through the trail of hair leading inside his breaches. She could feel his hardness against her thigh, and she wanted to touch him. She slid her hand down the length of him, shocked and enthralled with her exploration. Growing bolder, she squeezed his length and was rewarded with a groan as he thrust against her.
“God, Olivia, you’re going to push me over the edge.”
She smiled. That was exactly what she wanted to do. She reached for the buttons to his breeches and undid them. He obliged her by taking over the task of removing them. She watched excitedly as he stripped them from his muscular legs, her gaze catching on the evidence of his arousal. She wasn’t aware her mouth was hanging open until she tried to lick her lips. Colton returned to the bed and stretched out beside her. He adjusted them until he could pull the blanket out from under them and they were lying further up on the bed. He covered them with the blanket and pulled her close.
“Have I told you how beautiful you are today?” He nuzzled her neck.
“No.” She smiled blissfully.
“I could eat you alive. I could kiss you from the top of your curls, to these curls.” He dipped his hand between her legs, and she parted her legs eagerly. “To the tips of your toes.”
“Oh?” she said with a gasp. She wanted to do the same, and it gave her an idea.
“Colton?”
“Yes, my love.”
“Can I kiss you...like you kissed me?”
He pulled back, a brow raised in question.
She let her hand wander over his erection in answer, and he closed his eyes. He looked to be in pain. “Does it hurt?” she pulled her hand back.
“No... It feels so good I can’t stand it. Do it again.”
She smiled naughtily and did it again. He sucked in a breath when she ran her hand down his length, and then gasped when she cupped him. Feeling powerful and bold, she pushed him onto his back and set her lips to his neck. She didn’t know how long he would let her torture him, so she wasted no time kissing her way lower, although she did pause at his nipples to lick and tease them, and then followed the trail of hair to his groin where the object of her fascination stood proudly. She took him in her hand.
“Wait. Turn sideways so I can reach you. I have to touch you.” He pulled at her hips until she was perpendicular to his body and his hand slipped between her legs.
Olivia couldn’t stop a moan when his fingers slipped inside her again. She took him in her hands again, and remembering how he had kissed and licked her most sensitive flesh, she did the same to him. She ran her tongue down the length of him, and then kissed her way to the top. Experimenting, she took him into her mouth, and he growled. She smiled and repeated the motion. He started moving beneath her, thrusting in time with the rhythm of her mouth on him and matched it with his fingers.
It was getting hard to concentrate. Her body had that building urge again, the one that made her restless and frustrated.
“Olivia,” he groaned. “I need to be inside you,” he said desperately.
Olivia reluctantly let go of him as Colton moved her beneath him. He spread her legs, tenderly parting them and moving each knee high before settling in between.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she panted. She was ready, and scared, and excited, and so many other emotions too.
She felt the head of his erection press into her, and she tried to relax. He entered her slowly, stretching her in a way she had never felt, filling her.
He stopped when he met resistance and locked eyes with her. “This may hurt.”
She nodded, too caught up in sensation to speak.
He pressed forward, careful and slow but firmly. He stopped and pulled back, sliding against her slick folds. He put a hand on the hood of her sex and played with the sensitive nubbin. Olivia relaxed, and her hips opened a little further. He continued to thrust gently, only halfway entering her and pulling out. She began to pant again and her hips moved against him in answer to his. Pulling out almost all the way, he thrust hard until he was buried inside her.
“Oh!” she cried, more reflexively than out of real pain. It hurt, but it was more of an irritated sting. She pushed past it as he continued to thrust and focused on the pleasurable friction.
Colton leaned down and caught her lips, kissing her until she was breathless and moaning and had forgotten all thought of pain. She arched, chasing the pleasure that spread through her body as the tension inside her coiled tighter.
He thrust harder, grinding his hips against the part of her that was most sensitive.
“Come on, Livie,” he begged.
Olivia answered him with a moan, gasping his name and digging her nails into his shoulders as she worked her hips against his thrusts, pushing herself to completion.
She cried out, burying her face in his neck, her nails biting into his skin. He groaned, deep and guttural, and followed her. He thrust one last time, and then collapsed on her.
Together they lay, the silence broken only by their breathing, their limbs tangled together like ivy.