Gripping her hips, he guided her movements until he was dizzy with pleasure.
She was perfect, her body complementing his in the most intoxicating way imaginable. He could get drunk on this feeling, on this love that had blossomed between them. And he had to tell her, had to remind her of how much she mattered to him.
“You’re mine, Cass. I’ll cherish you forever. For as long as I live. I—”
“Dev!” His name was part gasp, part benediction.
One second later, he followed her over the edge with a heartfelt, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she told him soon after, once they were stretched out on his bed. It was narrow, but cozy. They were lying on their sides, her back to his front and with his arm curled over her waist. Snug and warm.
Eyes closed, Devlin felt himself sinking as sleep crept toward him. A thought, or rather a worry, roused him just enough to ask, “Does this mean you’re not leaving me when we reach Cape Town?”
She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. “It means you’re stuck with me, I’m afraid. Forever.”
“Good,” he muttered against the back of her neck.
Reassured, Devlin inhaled Cassandra’s sweet fragrance and finally, blissfully, allowed himself to rest.
Chapter 17
“May I go up there?”Penelope asked. She gestured toward the top of the main mast. “Please?”
They’d docked in Sydney harbor two days prior and were due to depart the following morning. Deciding to join Devlin when he’d gone to call on Governor Macquarie, Cassandra had been quite surprised by the colony’s development since it had only been established roughly thirty years earlier. Yet she spotted a couple of rather nice churches, a bank, and a series of shops that looked as though they’d been plucked out of Bond Street.
It was surprisingly civilized when considering Sydney’s past as a penal colony. Intrigued, Cassandra had taken careful note of the people, aware that many were emancipated convicts who’d been given land and had chosen to stay.
“I don’t know,” Cassandra said in response to Penelope’s question about the climb she wanted to make. “It’s very high up.” Since leaving Cape Town, Penelope had begun climbing the rigging with Devlin whenever the weather was calm enough to allow it. But she’d only been up in the crow’s nest once and was now keen to go up again.
“The view from up there will be stunning,” Penelope pleaded.
“You’ll have to be tethered,” Devlin remarked. “And someone must go with you.”
“Not to criticize you for interfering,” Cassandra murmured, “but it does sound as though you’re volunteering.”
“Trevor can take me,” Penelope said.
Cassandra narrowed her gaze. “Trevor?” The name left her mouth as if it were foreign.
“Mr. Bronswick’s son?” Penelope offered.
“I know who he is,” Cassandra said. Locating the youth, she gave him what felt like a much too tight smile. “I’m just not sure if he’s…um…I mean…” Grappling for words, she looked to Devlin for help. “Is he capable?”
“You can trust him to bring her back safely,” Devlin assured her. He followed the statement with a wink directed at Penelope.
Penelope grinned and Cassandra sighed. She wasn’t sure who doted more on whom, these days. “Very well. You may…” Penelope was already off, hurrying across the deck to where Trevor stood waiting.
“I reckon she’ll marry him one day,” Devlin murmured.
“What?”
“She does seem to favor his company.”
“Pfft. That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Doesn’t it?” Devlin caught Cassandra’s hand and together they watched Penelope climb up the rigging with Trevor directly behind her, his hands on either side caging her in and keeping her safe.
“She’s only just turned thirteen,” Cassandra muttered. “It’s much too soon to think of her marrying. And besides, he’s got to be twice her age at least.”
