No. No, no, no. She was not going to think about it. Not the kiss. Not the way his skin felt beneath her hand. Definitely not his hand over her breast.
Her cheeks flamed. “Can we please not talk about it?”
“I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
Too late.
“Talking about it makes me uncomfortable.”
He shifted on his feet. “I wasn’t trying to... trying to take advantage of you. I usually have much better self-control.”
Was that supposed to make her feel better? She stared at him with wide eyes.
“I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it. In fact, I very much would like—”
She groaned. “Look, Lieutenant, it was a nice kiss, but—”
“Just nice?” His eyes sparkled in the dim light.
She couldn’t help her grin. “Fine. A very nice kiss. But it can’t happen again.”
The ship groaned beneath them. A heavy rudder adjustment. Christian noticed it as well and the teasing glint left his eyes. “We’re slowing.”
Silence fell around them and Samantha spread her fingers on the floor. It wasn’t long until a series of vibrations ran up her arms. Her smile widened. “Anchor’s dropped.”
Christian peered at her as the ship jerked to a stop. “How did you know?”
“A stroke of genius, clearly,” she muttered beneath her breath. She really needed to keep her mouth shut. Time to change the subject. “So what’s the grand plan?”
His eyes narrowed for a split second before he sat. “We’ll wait to make our move until later tonight when the boy brings back the buckets.”
But Skip didn’t come back. No one did.
Chapter Fourteen
Bang!
Samantha jumped when Christian’s fist slammed into a thick wooden plank. The damp wood absorbed most of the sound. Still, she couldn’t help glancing at the deck above.
“I should have made my move when I had the chance.”
She slumped against the bars and her throat constricted. How was she to have known no one would come back with the buckets? The uncomfortable pressure in her bladder flared at the thought and she squirmed in place. Had they been forgotten?
“We could have had control of the ship and been on our way back to Savannah by now.”
Her toes curled inside her slippers. “Or we could be dead.”
“Well, we won’t ever know now, will we?”
Tears pricked her eyes. “Maybe they will still come.”
They wouldn’t. It must be past midnight by now. Christian hadn’t looked her way for quite some time. She’d ruined their only real chance of getting out.
And now the lieutenant hated her.
She should be happy. Surely, he would stay away from her now. No chances of discovering her secret.
So why did she feel so awful? She kept formulating apologies, but each time she opened her mouth to speak, she snapped it shut at the last moment. She couldn’t bring herself to speak to the rigid form standing at the wall across from her.
