Page 67 of The Cornish Bride

With a desperate wail, Ysella yanked herself free of Jenifry’s hold and flung herself into Sam’s arms with such force she nearly knocked him over. “Don’t go!” Her voice was almost a scream. “Let someone else do this. It doesn’t have to be you.”

Out of instinct, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her against his chest. “I have to do it, Ysella. No one else can swim. They’re all sailors and fishermen themselves, and you know sailors can’t swim. If I don’t go, those men out there have no chance.” He nodded at the ship. “It’s breaking up. I have to get to them.”

“Don’t go. Please, don’t go.”

He shook his head. “I’m their lord of the manor now, Ysella. But they haven’t accepted me yet. If I can show them what I’m prepared to do, then maybe they’ll accept me.” He tightened his hold on her. “It’s all right for you. You’re their Miss Ysella, Elestren Tremaine’s daughter, Jago’s niece. They don’t need to accept you, because you’re one of them already. I have to prove myself.”

Her ferocious gaze met his, her lips parted as though she were about to speak. Instead, she suddenly leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. A jolt shot through him worthy of the lightning overhead. Her lips were cold with rain, and the kiss hard and determined. His mouth parted under hers and he kissed her back with all the pent-up desire of the last six weeks and beyond.

Her mouth opened in return, her tongue met his, as though she, too, were intent on making up the ground they’d left untrod. If only this kiss would never end.

She broke the kiss. He never would have. “Be careful,” she said, breathless and flushed, and stepped out of his embrace, her anguished eyes fixed on his.

“Hurry up,” Jago shouted. “She’s breaking up fast under the pounding of those waves.”

Sam dragged himself away from Ysella’s gaze. He had to concentrate. He mustn’t think about her and that kiss. Or maybe he should. Maybe he should think about it when he stepped into the water. Maybe it would keep him alive and help him save those lost souls.

Jago had gathered a covey of the strongest men on the beach, many of whom had left their wives to stake their claims on the loot now being washed ashore through the ever-growing hole in the ship’s side. The men took hold of the rope that was around Sam’s middle, to a man giving him a thumb’s up.

Swallowing hard, Sam walked into the sea.