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Alex watched him stride back to the river’s edge to collect the shirt she had discarded. He was the most magnificent of men; his taut, muscular body and strong, chiseled features never failed to make her pulse flutter. And, here, he was hers.
The future and all its uncertainties loomed ahead. Would they succeed in reaching Canada alive, and if they did, what fate awaited them? Their old lives had been snatched away from them. Yet here on their island they had been able to live as husband and wife, with all life’s harsh realities held in abeyance. Would it be possible, in spite of then-drastic differences, to build a new life together?
She honestly didn’t know.
Drake lay awake far into the night, staring at the wooden roof of their lean-to. Beneath that crude and hastily constructed roof Drake had experienced a happiness and contentment that had been denied to him beneath the palatial, gilded ceilings of Allonshire. And now he would return to that austere world, to make a customary visit prior to another trip at sea.
If all went well, he and Alex would soon arrive safely in British territory. Then they would make their way to Kingston, where he could acquire another ship for their journey back to England … to Allonshire. The thought made him ill.
He sighed, shifting his weight on the soft grass. The movement disturbed Alex, and she mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep and snuggled closer against her husband’s warmth, her hair draped across his chest. Drake smiled tenderly. Who would believe that this tiny, utterly innocent-looking angel had been an abandoned tigress beneath him less than an hour past? He had felt her urgency, understood it, and shared it. Their time alone together was growing short.
He had to tell her. He loathed the thought. He was a damned nobleman, heir to a dukedom, wealthier than hell— everything she had tried to escape. Perhaps she would understand that he, in his deception, was also trying to escape the rigid confines of the way of life they both abhorred.
But he had lied to her. And that she would never forgive.
He tightened his arms around her possessively. She was his. She would stay his, no matter what lay ahead. Alexandria Cassel Barrett was his wife.
It was the barking that awakened them.
“Drake?” Alex’s voice was a sleepy question.
“Obviously Blackbeard has decided to begin his day at dawn,” he grumbled back, drawing her against him. She felt so damned good—except that she was squirming to free herself.
“He never barks like that … so frantically,” she said in a worried voice. “Perhaps I should see what the problem is.” She paused. “Well?” she demanded. “Aren’t you even a little curious?”
He groaned. “You wore me out last night, princess. I need to regain my strength.”
Alex’s eyes twinkled. “Very well. I shall investigate on my own.” She
shrugged into Drake’s shirt and made her way through the trees toward the persistent sound of Blackbeard’s bark. At the clearing she stopped short. “My God. A ship.” Panic surged through her as she realized the danger they were in. She hurried forward before the ship was close enough to see her, snatched the long-limbed puppy in her arms, and raced back to their shelter.
“Drake!” Her voice was shaking.
He sat up immediately. “Love, what is it?”
“A ship. And it’s very close to shore.” She stared at him, terror in her eyes. “Do you think they’ve spotted us?”
“I don’t know.” He had already donned his breeches. “We must stay out of sight.”
They both held their breath and waited. The ship was close, very close. They could actually hear the movement of the water beneath its hull. Blackbeard whined and struggled in Alex’s arms.
“Stay still!” she ordered, holding him tighter.
The pup, who was accustomed to only the gentlest of treatment from his beloved mistress, gave a sharp bark of protest, then tore himself from her arms.
“Blackbeard, come back!” Alex was halfway out of the lean-to before Drake yanked her back in.
“Are you out of your mind?” he demanded. “You are not going out there!”
Alex looked up at him with frightened eyes. “But they’ll see him. He could get hurt”
“That is still no reason to risk your life.”
“But if the Americans see Blackbeard they’ll suspect that there are people here as well,” she protested weakly.
“That’s a chance we will just have to take.” He released her arm, convinced that she wouldn’t dare defy him.
He should have known better.
