At the top, a startled crewman helped her aboard, and Carlos followed her a moment later. Valentin strode up, a question in his eye.
“Who came aboard just now?” Carlos asked in Spanish.
“Just you, sir,” Valentin replied instantly.
“No one else?”
“Absolutely not. Definitely no women.” Valentin bowed to Poppy, saying in English, “A pleasure to not meet you, señorita.”
“Thank you for not seeing me,” Poppy replied.
It was an absurd exchange, especially considering that Poppy’s dress was clinging to her like a second skin, hinting at every beautiful curve underneath. Who could pretend she wasn’t the most alluring thing on the ship right now?
“Can you sail for Treversey?” Carlos asked. “After we lose the smugglers’ ship, that is?”
Valentin replied, “There’s a fog bank coming in on a warm current. It’ll help us hide from pursuit, but I’d hate to be sailing close to the shore. This Cornish coast is all reefs and shoals. Not to mention that the tides aren’t right. We could run aground before we knew it.”
“All right, sail for deeper waters. I’m taking her to my cabin,” Carlos explained. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Why?” Valentin murmured, still in Spanish. “I know how to outrun some idiot pirates as well as you. And it seems a shame to waste the opportunity. A beautiful woman for company all night? I know what I’d choose.”
“Let’s not make assumptions about my character,” Poppy spoke in English but her words let Valentin know that she understood him. The first mate regarded her in surprise.
“I should have mentioned that the lady has been learning Spanish,” Carlos muttered.
“Uff.” Valentin extracted himself from the conversation very quickly, and Carlos led Poppy toward his quarters.
Her eyes were wide with interest on being led into the captain’s cabin, which was all heavy, dark wood, and huge beams across the ceiling—which was in fact the flooring of the actual deck above. Carlos lit a hanging lantern, which swung lazily in the constant toss of the ship on the waves.
“What if I get seasick?” she asked. “I’d hate to ruin your room.”
“It’s called a cabin. And this is the only cabin. Agustina is not a large ship. The other sailors sleep in the common area, or on the deck if the weather allows. So you’ll be staying in here while you’re aboard.”
“I…didn’t pack for a sea voyage when you threw me in the boat,” she said, lifting her sodden skirt a few inches.
“You mean when I was saving your life from pirates about to shoot you?” He stepped up to her, surveying her damp hair, now curling into little ringlets of dark gold, and noticing how soft she looked in the candlelight. He ached to touch her. “Feel free to thank me, by the way.”
“Thank you so much for taking me to a ship where I can’t escape, and I’ll be completely and utterly ruined the moment I step ashore…no matter what your faithful crewman says about not seeing me.”
“You won’t be ruined. Unless you want to be,” he added, the devil in him not wishing to miss an opportunity.
Poppy looked up, catching his gaze. She refused to look away as she said, “Yes, please. If it’s not too much trouble.”
“You mean it?” Carlos asked, not sure he heard that correctly.
“Of course I mean it,” she said, very decisively, as if she were choosing the right bolt of cloth to order. “I’m not an idiot. There will be consequences after tonight, no matter what. So I may as well get the complete experience if I’m going to be treated that way anyway.”
“So…I’m just convenient?”
“You’ve never been convenient, Carlos de la Guerra.”
And with that, his soaked and seductive Poppy leaned in to kiss him.
Chapter 17
Poppy’s mind reeled from the kiss, and she sighed as all the tension of their escape from the smugglers turned into simple need for release. She reveled in just how marvelous it was to touch him, though the sad reality of their wet outfits did hamper her enjoyment a bit.
“Your shirt is soaked,” she observed, with a little laugh.
