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He was glad to hear her say that. He moved to stand in front of her and pull her back into his arms. “Neither will I.”
She rubbed her hand over the hairs of his chest, lifting them with her fingernails. She looked down at her hand, refusing to meet his gaze. “I hope you’ll always remember me fondly when I’m gone.”
“Where are you going?” he asked, his heart hammering at the thought of her leaving.
How could she, after all that had happened?
After all they had shared.
“Home,” she said with a wistful sigh. “The colonial ship leaves tomorrow and I plan to sail with it.”
“What?” he roared.
“Don’t get angry, Morgan. You know as well as I do that we can’t go on like this. Especially not now.”
“You can’t leave,” he insisted.“Especially not now.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” She left him standing there naked and began pulling on her clothes.
“Me?” he said, grabbing her by the shoulders. “I’m not the one thinking of leaving.”
“Aren’t you?” She took his hands one by one off her arms and stared deeply into his eyes.
He could see the pain inside her, the fear. But worse than that, he saw her determination. The raw determination that she always got once she had set her mind to something.
“Don’t try and tell me that even as you stand there you’re not thinking about going back to sea and to your life.”
“Yes, I am,” he admitted, “but you’ll be on board this ship with me.”
“As what?” she asked, her voice laced with bitterness. “Your mistress? Your whore?”
His jaw tensed with anger. “Don’t ever say that word.”
She looked away from him and shook out her dress. “I’m not trying to drag you to the altar, Morgan. I could never hurt you. But if I stay here, I’ll never be able to return home.”
“So don’t,” he said, taking the dress from her hands. “Stay with me.”
With a low, warning growl in her throat, she snatched her dress back and placed it on the chair.
“I can’t do that,” she said, retrieving her camisole and corset. “I’ve seen how you live. I’ve seen how you fight. What if one day you’re killed in the middle of battle?”
She turned to face him. “What would happen to me then? Would your men respect me?”
She pulled her camisole on and moved to stand directly in front of him while he searched his mind for something he could say to make her change her mind.
“Or what if you’re taken prisoner by your enemies, Morgan? I’ve heard tales of what happens to the captain’s whore, and believe me, I don’t want to be passed around a British crew.”
He was aghast at her words. “Where have you heard such stories?”
“It’s not important.”
“I would never let you get hurt.”
“But you can’t guarantee me that. Ever,” she said quietly. She reached out and laid her hand against the stubble on his cheek. Her eyes searched his and he ached for a way to settle this, but deep in his heart, he knew the truth.
“Anything can happen at sea,” she continued. “Kit told me that it’s hard to win a sea battle, that you’ve often picked up survivors from the victory ship.”
Damn her for telling the truth and damn her for being reasonable thisonetime!
