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Chapter 11
Late that night Serenity came awake with astart. “Who’s there?” she whispered, her heart thumping against her breastbone as she strained to see into the darkened room.
“It’s all right, Serenity. It’s just me.”
She calmed as she realized Morgan stood just to the side of her bunk, his lean body silhouetted by the faint moonlight that spilled in through the windows. His faced was masked by shadows, but she could feel his gaze on her like a physical touch. It was as if he searched her features for something.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, wondering what had brought him to her bed in the middle of the night.
“No, I just wanted to show you something.”
There was a hint of mystery to his voice, and if she wasn’t mistaken, there was also a note of playfulness. A playfulness that she’d never before heard from him.
Grateful she was still dressed in her brother’s clothes, she climbed out of bed. Morgan lit a small lamp and held it up over his head so that she could see.
“I thought I told you to lock the door,” he said in a chiding tone.
“I honestly forgot.”
Instead of the glower she expected, he smiled. “For once I’m glad you didn’t listen to me.”
Then he took her hand. A strange warmth fluttered in her stomach at the gentle pressure of his callused hand wrapped around hers.
The only sounds she could hear were the gentle lapping of the waves, and the thundering of her own heart.
Morgan led her topside. He blew out the lamp and pointed up to the sky.
Following the line of his hand, Serenity gasped. Above her head a thousand stars twinkled. But more surprising than that was the shower of sparks in the sky. It was as if a hundred stars were falling at once. Never in her life had she seen anything so miraculous.
“It’s incredible,” she said breathlessly.
“I thought you would enjoy it.”
“What is it?”
“Old sailors call it the star dance. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does…”
“Oh, thank you,” she said. “I’m glad you woke me.”
His smile widened.
Serenity stared up at the stars that twinkled and fell. They were breathtaking.
Morgan pulled her by the arm and led her over to where he’d placed a blanket on deck along with a small midnight picnic. Serenity laughed at the sight. “What is all this?” she asked suspiciously.
He shrugged. “Who says we can’t enjoy a quiet evening alone?”
“The town gossip, Mrs. O’Grady, were she here. I say, Captain Crook, but it looks like you’ve got more than the stars on your mind.”
“And if I admitted that I did?”
Her heart stilled at his deep voice.
How easy it would be to succumb to him. And how disastrous. Biting her lip, she reminded herself of Chatty, of the horrible things people had said and done to her after she’d been caught alone at the lake with her beau. She’d done absolutely nothing and yet everyone in town had treated her like Jezebel.
Even so, Serenity couldn’t quite silence the nagging voice in her head that told her a night in Morgan’s arms would be well worth the price.
If only it were that simple.
