His eye flashed with mischief as it looked me up and down. “We could change that.” My mouth dropped open before it flopped open and shut. He let out a yawn before he settled back in and rolled over. “Or not. Either way, I’m getting some sleep.”
My blushing bride’s heat changed into stubborn fury. “You are not staying in this bed!”
He didn’t twitch. “Then try and move me.”
I clapped my palms against his back and pushed. His body tilted, but the moment I stopped shoving, he dropped back down where he’d started.
A chuckle came from my companion. “Is that the best you can do?”
I gritted my teeth and tried again. He had rolled nearly halfway when my strength gave out. I leaned back and watched him drop back into place. “Are you hiding another ship in your pants or something?”
He rolled over, and his Cheshire cat grin made me lean back. “I’m not wearing any pants.”
My eyes invariably wandered down to the sheets that covered him from mid chest and below that. “You’re joking.”
He waved a hand at the floor. A pile of clothes lay on the planks. That included pants. “Do you really think so?”
I swallowed hard. “I-I don’t know-”
“I could prove it to you,” he offered as he grasped the edge of the sheets. He began to pull the cloth down, revealing nothing but flesh and muscle. No clothes.
“No!” I shrieked as I snatched the blanket from him and yanked it back up.
He cocked his head to one side and studied me. “Most women would be quite willing to take me as a partner.”
“Well, I guess I’m not most women then!”
He set a hand over mine that grasped the sheets, and his sharp blue eye studied me. “No, I suppose you’re not. Otherwise, Encina wouldn’t have wanted you.”
There was something in his sultry tone that stung me the wrong way. “Maybe he was wrong.”
The captain shook his head. “Encina wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble of fetching you from your faraway land unless he knew what he had.”
I wrenched myself out from under his hand and pressed my arm against my chest. “I wish I knew what he had, because I don’t.”
He studied me for a long, quiet moment before he shrugged. “Then we’ll just have to ask around at the next port. Maybe you’ll see someone you recognize.”
I highly doubted that, but his words soothed some of my frayed nerves. “I guess. I don’t really have a choice.”
That wicked smile returned. “In the meantime, why don’t we get some sleep?”
The frayed nerves were re-torn, and my eyebrows crashed down. “You’re still in my bed.”
“It’s still my bed. You’re the guest.”
“Fine!” I snapped as I grabbed the only loose blanket among the folds and jumped out of bed. My bare feet pattered across the floor toward the door. “You can have your bed! I’ll go find my own!”
He sat up and frowned. “I told you not to leave the cabin.”
I stopped at the door with one hand on the knob before I turned my head to him. “I’ll take my chances.”
I wrapped the blanket tightly about my shoulders, swung open the door, and marched out. What I beheld nearly swept my breath away.
Stars. Countless of them. They stretched in all directions with not the faintest hint of a cloud to block the view. They were so numerous that they lit up the deck like the moon. The planks were empty but for a few drowsing men nestled amongst the ropes and a few random crates. One of them was making music with his nose.
I tiptoed through their number and to the bow. The vessel sailed silently through the calm ocean waters. I gripped the railing and leaned over just a little. The starlight allowed me to see the ship flow at a leisurely pace through the waters, with no more choppy waves or bouncing.
That beautiful night sky was also beautifully cold. A cold wind came off the waves and blew over me, sending a chill through me. I wrapped the cloth tighter around myself and regretted not trying to pull more of them off the captain.
