My daughter.
It was the first time Devlin had referred to Penelope as such. But it felt right. Everything about marrying Cassandra felt right. Apart from the fact that she did not want his touch or his kisses or any of the other intimacies a man and wife should expect from a marriage.
“Of course.” Monty put on his hat and grabbed the satchel. “Heaven knows you deserve to enjoy the early days of your marriage for as long as you can.”
Although he did not feel the lighthearted fervor he ought, Devlin knew his friend had a point. Once they left Lisbon and headed for Cape Town, he’d be in higher demand on deck and have less time to spend with Cassandra and Penelope. So he wished Monty luck and went to find his wife. It wasn’t her fault his heart was weighed down by concerns for their future. She’d been honest with him from the start – had made no pretense about what he might expect from her in marriage – and he, foolish man, had believed he’d easily change her mind.
He’d believed the spark he’d felt between them right from the start simply needed stoking. Considering Cassandra’s past and everything she had told him, he ought to have known better. And it was now ten bloody days since they’d spoken their vows. Ten nights of him parading around half naked in the hope of…what exactly? That she’d melt in response to his tempting physique and beg him to take her to bed?
She obviously wasn’t going to and he was starting to think he was proving to be the biggest idiot to ever walk the earth for even supposing such a tactic might work. Wearily, he climbed the ladder leading onto the deck, took a deep breath of fresh air, and expelled it slowly. He was so damn tired of constantly wanting, his body strained and needy in ways it hadn’t been since he was a lad still dreaming of his first tup.
At least if he’d listened to her from the start, they wouldn’t be sharing a cabin, and he wouldn’t have to see her lying there, no more than two yards away, dressed only in that provocative nightgown of hers. Hell, he’d not even seen her naked, and yet the fantasies stirring his mind and body were so damn creative at this point, he wasn’t sure what to do.
With the sort of rigid control he’d never believed he possessed, he forced himself to think of his father’s parting words.You’re just like Caleb and Griffin. Utterly useless and a disgrace to this family. You’ll never amount to anything. Do you hear!
Devlin’s hands shook as they always did in response to the memory. But it did the trick. He was on deck now, damn it, surrounded by his men and with Cassandra and Penelope standing right over there by the railing. It really wouldn’t do for any of them to witness the effect his lusty thoughts were having on him.
“If you’re amicable to the idea,” he told Cassandra after exchanging a couple of words with Mr. Harris, “I thought we might spend the day ashore so you and Pe—”
“Oh yes,” Penelope exclaimed with an enthusiastic bounce. Clasping her hands together, she turned to Cassandra. “Oh please, Mama. It will be so much better than remaining on board all day, and I can already tell from here that there’s so much to see, and I’ve never been to Portugal before, and—”
“All right,” Cassandra grinned, her eyes bright with the pleasure her daughter’s eagerness gave her. And then she smiled at Devlin – as if he’d worked a magnificent miracle – and it was all he could do not to pull her straight into his arms and kiss her beautiful mouth. Her next words however, were a wonderful alternative. “I can think of nothing better than to explore a new land with the two of you.”
So he offered her his arm, which she accepted. He then looked directly at Penelope and said, “Lead the way, Penny. It looks like adventure awaits us.”
With a squeal of delight, Penelope spun on her heel and marched toward the spot where a rope ladder had been secured to the side of the ship. Two rowboats had already been readied and lowered into the water, one transporting some of the crew to land while the other began maneuvering into position the moment Devlin gave the order.
“Wait,” Cassandra warned, her voice filled with worry, when Penelope prepared to clamber over the side as if she’d been born on the ocean. “You should let Devlin help you.”
Warmth seeped beneath Devlin’s skin, spreading outward along each limb on account of her words. She wasn’t just including him, she was trusting him with her daughter’s safety in a way that made him feel capable of practically anything. Not that there was much he could really do to help since using a rope ladder didn’t required much practice, but he made sure to instruct Penelope on how to move her hands downward gradually in accordance with her feet, to not make any sudden movements that might cause the ladder to swing and, most importantly, to be careful.
Once she’d reached the rowboat and found a seat on one of the benches, Cassandra breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He gestured. “Your turn now.”
“Right.” She bit her lip, took a hesitant step toward the ladder, and peered over the side. “Dear lord.”
Devlin couldn’t help smiling. “Afraid of heights?”
“Of course not,” she grumbled.
“Your daughter did it without hesitation.”
Her brow creased. “She also leaps into the lake at Clearview from trees.”
It took some effort not to laugh when an unbidden image of Cass doing that entered his head. “Well, we can climb down together. Which is probably the best thing for us to do anyway since it will allow me to stop your skirts from billowing out.” When she stared at him blankly, he leaned in and whispered, “Wouldn’t want to give my rower the sort of view he’ll never forget.”
She sputtered something that made no sense and turned a deep shade of red. “Perhaps I should—”
“Come on,” he told her bluntly the moment he heard the hesitation in her voice. His hands went to her waist before she could comment, and then he was lifting her up and over the side of the ship. “Grab the rope.”
“Dev!” Her voice was filled with indignation but at least she followed his orders.
Satisfied, he climbed onto the rung directly below the one where she stood and held on to the rope on either side of her.
Because of their difference in height, having her slightly higher up on the ladder brought their faces to the same level. So he pressed in close, pretending he had to adjust his position for the sole purpose of savoring the rare proximity their current positions allowed.
“Relax. I won’t let you fall.” His voice was low, deliberately soothing, and perhaps a little seductive as well. It couldn’t be helped really. Not when he could feel her warm body against his own and smell the fresh scent of soap along with a hint of rosewater on her skin. “We’ll climb down together. When you’re ready.”
