His gaze slipped from her eyes to her breasts. Quickly, they returned to her eyes, and then he moved across the cabin, past her. “Not long.” His reply was cool and indifferent.
Virginia hugged herself, flushing. Had that man just ogled her bosom? Shehadno bosom, and the cabin was too small for the two of them. “I thought this was my cabin now.”
He was opening the closet door. He turned toward her, his expression mild and inscrutable. “It is.”
“Then you should leave.”
Now he fully faced her. “Has anyone ever told you that you have the tongue of a shrew?”
“And you are rude. This cabin is too small for the both of us and…” She faltered, finally looking at his wet, bloody shirt. It clung to interesting angles and planes. “You smell.”
“For your edification, Miss Hughes, this is my cabin and you are in it as my guest. You did not change your clothes. Why?”
She blinked, his sudden change of topic taking her by surprise. “I don’t wish to change my clothes,” she said warily.
“You like the appearance of a drowned cat?” His dark brows lifted. “Or is it the cold you enjoy?”
“Thank you for the flattery—and the sarcasm.”
He sighed. “Miss Hughes, you will catch pneumonia if you do not get out of those garments. My intention is not for you to die.”
She jumped at the cue. “What is your intention?”
His expression changed and it was clear he was now annoyed. He half turned and before she could make a sound, he had pulled his bloody shirt over his head, letting it drop on the floor.
She backed away until she hit the door. “What in God’s name are you doing?” she cried, her gaze riveted on broad, naked shoulders and a glimpse of an equally broad, rock-hard chest.
She looked lower. His belly was flat and tight, with interesting lines, and then it began to ripple. She quickly averted her gaze, but her cheeks had warmed.
“I have the good sense to change my clothes,” he returned evenly, forcing her gaze to his.
She met a pair of pale gray eyes and knew she should not have stared. Her spirits sank stunningly, with real dismay.The face of a god, the body of a warrior.She had seen a few men without their shirts before at Sweet Briar, but somehow, a glimpse of Frank’s naked chest had never distressed her in such a way.
Of course, at Sweet Briar, she wasn’t being held a prisoner against her will, in such a small, confined space with her captor. “This cabin is too small for us both,” she repeated, aware of her racing heartbeat.
He held a new, clean shirt in his hands, but he didn’t move. In fact, had she not seen the rise and fall of his very sculpted chest, she would have thought him to be a lifelike statue. Slowly he said, “You are repeating yourself.”
Her shivering abruptly ceased as their gazes locked. The cabin had become hot. It had also become airless.
His face was taut. “You are staring again.”
She somehow looked away. “You could have asked me to step outside,” she managed, carefully looking at the floor.
“I hadn’t realized a man’s chest would be so fascinating,” he said bluntly.
Her gaze flew up. His back was to her now, encased in fine white lawn, but he was pulling one Hessian boot off, and then another. As he reached into the closet, Virginia glimpsed a sparkle of gold, and then a pair of clean, cream-colored britches were in his hands.
She didn’t speak. She whirled, about to dash out the door.
He crossed the space of the cabin in a heartbeat and placed a hand on the door, preventing her from opening it. “You cannot go out on deck that way.”
His arm was over her shoulder and she felt the presence of his large body just behind hers. She couldn’t turn around to face him because if she did she would be in his arms. “I am not going to watch you undress,” she said, and her tone sounded odd and rough.
“I am not asking you to watch, Miss Hughes. I apologize. I have forgotten how innocent a woman of eighteen is.”
Virginia froze. Was he now playing the part of agentleman?Disbelief warred with a vast confusion.
In that endless moment, she became aware of the heat actually emanating from his body, as only inches separated them. Abruptly he dropped his hand from the door and stepped back.
