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Putting a hand on Aidan’s arm, she peeked past him. There were distant shouts and the faraway clopping of the occasional horse, but otherwise they were unseen in their dark corner.
Looking up at him, she slowly hooked a finger in the front of her bodice. She felt apart from her body, as though she were watching the actions of another woman. This other, sensual Elspeth moved lazily, her eyelids heavy, her wanting smoldering in her gaze.
She tugged at her bodice, pulling it a little away from her skin, freeing her naked breasts from their tight cocoon of linen. She wasn’t bared to the world, yet cool air kissed her flesh, and a ripple of pleasure skimmed her body, leaving her skin buzzing and hot.
This sultry Elspeth reached in and grasped the edge of Aidan’s paper. She’d hidden it tucked against her bare flesh, and as she slowly pulled it free, it brushed along her nipple, until every inch of her skin became hotter, tighter, the ache for his touch unbearable.
Aidan swallowed hard. He adjusted his plaid, and though she was desperate to steal a peek at what she’d felt pressed against her body, she found she wasn’t yet that daring.
He cleared his throat, asking in a gratifyingly disconcerted voice, “Which of your books taught you how to do that?”
“That’s from my own imagination. ” She gave him a slow sinner’s smile that would’ve made the sauciest of literary heroines proud.
They froze, the sound of approaching chatter a splash of cold water on them both. Aidan cursed under his breath as a group of men—fresh from the tavern, by the smell of them—wandered into their alley.
She clamped the paper to her breast, but not before one of them spotted it.
“Oi, lads! The pretty lady’s goin’ tae read to us. ” Drunken laughter echoed in the cramped space.
Aidan spun, concealing her neatly behind his back, and like a mythical beast from a folktale, he transformed into something larger and infinitely more powerful. He pitched his voice loud and low, and it echoed off the dank stone, shrinking the alleyway into something smaller and more perilous. “If you value your hides, you’ll keep moving. ”
It was the voice he’d have used on board ship. It shocked her, amazed her, took her breath away.
The men scattered like rats.
“Come,” he said, speaking once more in the gentle tone reserved for her. “Let’s away from here. ” He took the paper, and tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow, he quoted the old adage, “ ‘The day has eyes, but the night has ears,’ and right now we find ourselves somewhere twixt the two. Best to talk as we walk. ”
He guided her from the alleyway, his stride confident, but not so swift as to draw attention. She trembled, her nerves still jangling from unspent lust, still shaken from the sudden appearance of the men, and he pulled her closer to steady her.
She knew he was leading her home, and her spirits plummeted. It would mean they’d soon have to part.
With their shared kisses, the dream of one day sharing a home with Aidan had come to life in her breast. But today, she and Aidan would say good-bye instead, and she’d have to face her father and the specter of her betrothal to Fraser.
She desperately hoped they’d find solid proof that the old merchant wasn’t as reputable as he seemed. Because if they didn’t, her father would insist on proceeding with her wedding. And she had no choice but to do as her father made her—it was the way of the world. If they found nothing to damn Fraser, she’d have no choice but to marry the man.
“Let’s study this as we walk,” she said quietly. “I’m afraid we won’t have a chance to read it when I reach home. ”
With a tight nod, he navigated out from the shadows, and they traveled in silence till the buildings became sparser, gradually replaced by rolling countryside. When nobody but distant cattle were there to overhear, Aidan unfolded the paper she’d stolen from him.
WARRANT OF ENTRY
BRIDGETOWN PORT, BARBADOS
CAPTAIN WM. DERBY-PHIPPS
THE ENDEAVOR (ORIG. LEÓN DE ORO)
TYPE: XEBEC, 160 TONNES BURTHEN, 18 GUNS
CREW: 95
GUARANTOR: DOUGAL FRASER, KING’S QUAY, ABERDEEN
She’d read it a thousand times, but it was just as meaningless to her as it’d been on the first. She mused quietly, “Whatever could it mean that Fraser is in league with a British traitor?”
He stopped abruptly, and their arms tugged against each other. “You know this man?”
“Of course I do,” she said, wondering at his intensity. “Who doesn’t?”
