His dark head lifted to the heavens. “Thereis a faint circle around the moon taking up half the sky,portending bad weather.”
“Rain?” she said.
“A storm is brewing.”
Beneath the glimmering of moonlight, wavesmoved like a contemplation attempting to arise on the fringe ofconsciousness, their spumes rose and tips fell away, mountains ofthem, already speeding forward into deep swells. She swallowed.Took a deep breath. “You must come in for the night.”
She pivoted and pointed. “You can sling yourhammock on the hooks anchored in the coral block. They are rustedfrom being exposed to salt air, yet sturdy.”
The wind picked up, flapping loosenedshutters, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. Storms. Shehated them especially after the hurricane at sea in which they hadalmost perished. Nick tossed his hammock in the cottage, went backoutside, closing shutters, and nailing them with spare boards.
The roar of the wind grew into a cacophony.He staggered into the house, shoved his shoulder against the doorand slammed the bar in place.
“I’ll need to work on the shutters. Theyaren’t sound enough but will be better than nothing.”
An enormous clap of thunder made her jump,and then another. Wind tore open one of the hinged panels. Palmswere bent sideways. The sky was a crying firemassive cobwebbed netsof jagged lightning ran horizon to horizon. Rain slashed inside,soaking everything. Nicholas yanked on the shutter and Alexandratied it closed.
He tore off his damp shirt, drying himselfwith a towel, and then tossed it on a chair. He stretched a knot ofhis hammock to one hook and strung it across the roomright next toher bed. Heat pulsed in her cheeks.Out of the question.
She had slept next to him on the beach.Except he was asleep then. She lit a candle.
Nicholas’s dark blue eyes smoldered. Whilehis gaze searched hers, she felt as if she were the only woman onearth.
She glanced away, then back again. Shecleared her throat.
His slow smile spread lazily across hismouth with her discomfort.
She crossed to the shelf for a quilt andplaced it on his hammock. Rain pounded the roof. A lightning boltsplit a tree near the house. Alexandra trembled. The candlelightflickered, went out with the wind that hissed through the shutters.Shivering, she crawled into her bed, pulling the quilt up to herchin. “As a child, I was afraid of the fierce storms that hailedacross the southern peninsula. Molly and Samuel would tell mestories to make my fears go away.”
She heard him climb into his hammock, hisbreathing next to hers. She could smell him, an earthy scent shehad grown to associate withhim.
“I’m quite comfortable during this storm.But the storms tearing across this island are not the storms ofhome. At Belvior, I was sheltered under a solid roof with a thickpane of glass to keep away the rains and snow. A fireplace stokedby servants to keep away the chill and a bevy of kitchen staff tofill my belly with every whim,” Nicholas said.
Her heart squeezed. He was distracting herfrom the storm.
“We saw the worst when theSantanaswas torn apart, Alexandra. We’re safe. The shutters are up. Thecottage is sound and…I’m here to watch over you.”
I’m here to watch over you.The snapof connection roared through her like the crackling of a fire and arelease of tension flowed from her body. To know he’d keep hersafe.
“What was life like for you growing up? AtBelvoir Castle.” The air was moist, heavy, as if filled withsecrets. He rested, cast in stygian darkness. Did he think thearrangement strange? He did not indicate his thoughts.
“My siblings and I had an ancient Jesuittutor and despite his age, he was extremely astute. Not many dayscould we get by him. We learned a variety of subjects. Mathematics,a good smattering of Calculus, different languages, includingFrench, Latin, Greek and Italian, and philosophy and the sciences.The priest, a strict taskmaster, sharpened our debate skills on allmatters of learning, nourishing an advantageous competition betweenus. And we did not disappoint.”
“How many siblings do you have?” Flashes oflight, showed the outline of his form. He was more filled out withthe better diet and hard worklarge and overwhelming. She couldreach out and touch his shoulder, let her fingertips move down thehard planes of his chest.
“Three. There was my brother, Joshua. He’sdisappeared in the American wilderness, haven’t heard from him in along time and I worry what has happened to him.”
“Do you think he is working with theColonists in their Revolution? I’ve heard people who have gonethere are influenced by their cause.”
Nicholas exhaled. She could almost hear himthinking about the possibility. “Not likely. Enamored with storiesof the American wilderness, Joshua travelled there on a lark to getaway from home.”
“And there’s Anthony who’s next in line fromme. He’s a genius. Rarely comes out of his laboratory to see thelight of day.”
“He is a scientist?”
“He has always tinkered with the physicalworld, since he was a child.” Nicholas laughed. “He once formulateda sleeping potion for our tutor so we could have the day off and goto the village fair.”
“What happened?”
