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“I’m glad,” she replied softly, then grinned. “We will have to imagine the crystal chandelier and the wine, however.”
“The moonglow is magnificent, and I’m already intoxicated.”
Something was different tonight, something that made Alex feel a wild sense of anticipation that transcended the mere physical. “It’s this island,” she murmured dreamily. “Its effect is devastating.”
Drake nodded, helping himself to a ripe, sweet berry. “I know. I don’t think I have ever been quite so content in all my life. It even makes losing my ship bearable.”
Alex looked quickly at his face. It was the first time he had spoken of the loss of his ship, and she wanted to gauge his reaction. “I know what a blow that was to you,” she said carefully. “She was a very special ship.”
Drake gave her a small smile. “Especially to me. She was one of the few things I could rely upon in my life.”
“Not your family?”
“No, not my family. With the exception of Smitty, who is ofttimes more a father to me than my own.”
Alex looked surprised. “You have never spoken of your father before. What is he like?”
“Weak.” Drake’s voice and his face grew harder. “Very kind, but without backbone. He has always trusted too easily and too much. My sister is much like him in her nature.”
“Your sister?”
He nodded. “Yes. She is warm and loving and too tenderhearted for her own good. I fear that one day someone will hurt her badly.”
“Did someone do that to your father?”
Drake’s jaw tightened. “How did we get onto this subject?”
“I just wanted to know more about you,” Alex told him quietly.
Drake felt a stab of guilt at the reality that her words forced to mind. In truth, she knew nothing of him at all. And those things that he had never told her could change everything between them.
He pushed the unwelcome thought away. Now was not the time. “There is nothing more to know.”
“Were there many women in your life?”
He looked stunned at the forthright question. “What?”
“Women. Have there been many women?”
“In my bed, yes. In my life, no.”
She stared. “Why?”
“Because women are infinitely satisfying in the former and heartlessly treacherous in the latter.”
His abrupt answer made her wince. He saw the movement and felt immediately contrite.
“I’m sorry, princess. It’s just that no woman has ever been so bold as to inquire about my previous, er … entanglements.”
“I’m not just any woman, Drake. I am your wife.”
He smiled. “No, you are not just any woman, love. And not just because you are my wife. You are unique.” He chuckled at her uncertain expression. “I mean that as the highest of compliments,” he assured her.
She gave him a dazzling smile. “I’m glad. It is nice to be admired rather than frowned upon for being unique.”
“Meaning?”
She sighed. “I have none of the appropriate skills of a noblewoman, which makes me a disappointment to my parents. They provided me with a string of ideal governesses, whose strict instructions were to educate me in all the social graces.”
