“The devil it does!” She snorted and hurled a handful of old coins at his head.
One coin caught him on the cheek and prompted him to move again, quite quickly. In fact, he was around the desk and behind her, dragging her hand out of the drawer before her fingers could close on the next missile. Safety, his own, prompted him to grasp her other hand as well and place both of them at the small of her back, where he had no trouble keeping them. That position put her rather close to him, so she still struggled for her release. It wasn’t going to happen.
“I think you owe me for this gash on the cheek,” he told her.
She didn’t believe there was one there, but she eyed both his cheeks first before she said, “What gash? You’re not bleeding, more’s the pity.”
“Feels like it.”
“It probably won’t even bruise, which wasn’t the idea a’tall, so don’t think I’m done!”
He tsked. And he was putting so little effort into restraining her in that position that his voice was almost soothingly calm.
He said, “Your problem is that you’re as frustrated as I am. You couldn’t get this angry over a little teasing if you weren’t. It’s got nothing to do with what I said. It’s got everything to do with your desire—for me. Admit it. You want me, Gabby.”
“I don’t!”
“Liar. I happen to recognize the signs—since I just went through it myself. For God’s sake, I was even jealous of Tim today for spending time with you!”
She stopped struggling for a moment and said, “Now who’s lying? A man with a sweetheart in every port wouldn’t know the meaning of jealousy.”
“I would have been the first to agree with you—before I met you,” he said.
“Timothy is rather sweet, like a big, lovable bear,” she said provokingly.
His eyes narrowed. “You’renotmaking me jealous again, wench.”
“Wasn’t trying to,” she insisted, then said heatedly, “And let go of me!”
She shouldn’t have made that demand. It brought it immediately to both their minds, just how close she was to him. His arms were already around her. Their chests were already touching. He didn’t have to move very far to bring their mouths together.
She saw it coming and tried to turn her head aside. “Don’t—”
“Stop?” he teased, finishing the thought for her.
“No, don’t—”
“Kiss you here?” he finished again, brushing his lips against her chin. And then, cupping her cheek, he tilted her head up to him. “Or here?” and she felt a feather-light brush against her cheek. “Or do you want me to kiss you here instead?” he added deeply.
His lips pressed firmly against hers now, one hand slipping around her neck to support her head, the other moving down her back to her derriere to press her closer against his arousal. What a token resistance that had been! And her anger did not keep her from responding, oh, no, just the opposite. Gripping his shoulders, she kissed him back with all the heat she’d been feeling for the last several hours, and the passion that exploded between them was amazing.
He’d been correct. She wanted him. Too much, apparently. She even helped him get their clothes off. She wasn’t sure who dragged whom to the bed. And they didn’t leave that bed for the rest of the day.
They didn’t sleep, though. Later, they were sitting on the bed, both cross-legged, both naked. He was running his hands softly up and down the insides of her thighs, caressing her. He wasn’t trying to excite her. They’d already made love. He was just touching her very softly, continuously. He did that a lot, now that she let him. In fact, his hands were rarely far from her when they were together now.
And then out of the blue, with no previous conversation to give warning of what was on his mind, Drew said, “Will you marry me?”
Without thinking, she said, “Yes, I will.”
He probably wasn’t expecting such quick compliance, because he asked, “Why?”
“I rather like the life at sea. I figure from you, that’s what I’ll get.”
He apparently didn’t like that answer, because he said, “Try again.”
“That isn’t enough reason?”
“Admit it, you just want to make the rest of my life as miserable as you’ve—”
