He told her he had a duty and asked her to trust that he’d return.
And she had trusted. Hope had long since passed. Still, she waited.
“And I do notreallywish I never met Cheverley. It’s just that, well...”
“Loss hurts.”
“Exactly.”
“I know.”
“You do, don’t you? You’ve been in love. And—bother it—if you are you, and I’m me, then we shouldn’t be—”
“I thought you said you were going to shush.”
She sniffed again. “I don’t want you to think badly of me.”
He could barely think at all. “You are weary, my lady.”
“Weary, yes.” She snuggled closer “Soweary sometimes I ache all over. But I’m not a lady. Not really.”
She was definitely a lady, just not, at this moment,his.
And he wanted her to be his.
Her breasts crushed against his chest and she traced those circles he remembered so well against the top of his spine.
Christ.Blood pooled in his groin. Temptation.
Torture.
His cock would fill. Then came despoiling, humiliation.
Tu es impuissant.You are helpless.Tu ne peux pas te controller.You have no control of yourself.
Instinct—born of countless assaults—demanded he thrust Penelope aside.
“Don’t.” She held him tighter. “Please don’t pull away.”
The red dots began to coalesce.
“Penelope,” he whispered through clenched teeth.Pen.
If he could tie himself to the mast of her name, the whispers would not kill him.
Chapter Nine
PENELOPE RESTED HERhead against the captain’s chest. His warmth was as solid as the stones, and her body responded by releasing, for a few blessed moments, her cares.
It was as if she’d been taken out of time, out of body. This wasn’t her. This wasn’t him. This was a meeting of two lost souls in an ancient, mystic place, a brief sojourn amid the chaos of life. Around them, the moon shadows danced with the mists, above them, a vast sky, glittering with celestial jewels.
Then, he withdrew. The chill rouged her cheeks.
He searched her face, his expression severe in the soft moonlight. She had no answers for questions he might ask, no truth to trade. All she knew for sure was that something inside her, something that had been buffeted and tempest-tossed, was suddenly still and quiet.
Anchored.
He bent down and kissed her temple—hot lips against a cool brow.
