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And to his deepest mortification, he realized he wanted to hear it from Serenity.
“What the devil?”
“Morgan?” Barney asked, his brow raised. “What be the matter. You look as if you’re about to meet your maker.”
“It’s nothing. I just had a bad thought.” A terrible thought, really.
Why, he could barely stand being in a room with her without wanting to strangle her.
They were as ill suited as any two people could possibly be. He was a realist, she a romantic dreamer. He believed women should mind their place and she thought women should take their place wherever they wanted to.
Just imagine what she’d teach their children! Mutiny. Sheer mutiny. He’d have daughters running around wanting to be sailors and dressed in pants like hooligans.
Of course, Serenity looked awfully good in pants, his mind reminded him. She felt even better in pants.
That thought brought another painful ache to his groin, and he lowered his head to his hands and growled low in his throat.
Barney gave a raspy laugh. “You’ve got flaming britches, don’t you, boy?”
He looked up with a puzzled frown. “Flaming what?”
“Britches.” A wide smile split his face. “That little girl done gone and made you as horny as a herd of rhinoceroses.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he snapped, not wanting to hear the truth spoken aloud. “I have no idea what you mean.”
Barney gave him a knowing grin. “Sure you do. I’ve seen the way you look at her like a babe eyeing a peppermint stick. The way your gaze lingers on her, how close you stand when she’s next to you. I may be old, but I’m not blind.”
Why did he bother to deny it?
Yet he’d been doing it for so long, he couldn’t bring himself to stop. “I’ve just been too long without a woman,” he said, half to convince Barney and half to convince himself. “You know what that’s like. I’d be aching after anything in skirts at this point.”
By the look in his eye, he could tell Barney didn’t believe a word of it.
Aloud Barney said, “Well, Cap’n, you can always take matters into your own hands.” He gave a sideways glance down at his own pants. “If you know what I mean.”
Morgan cleared his throat. The thought had occurred to him more than once, but he knew it wouldn’t satisfy him. Not in the least. “I’d rathershetake matters into her hands.”
Barney’s laughter rang in his ears. “Well then, it’s a good thing we’re going to Santa Maria. I’m sure you can find a willing woman to ease your pain.”
With that said, Barney got up and took his leave.
Morgan sat quietly, thinking over Barney’s words. There were lots of attractive women on Santa Maria. Some of whom he knew intimately. But even as he thought of them, imagined them writhing beneath him, he felt nothing.
Until he thought of Serenity.
Instantly he burned.
This was turning out to be the longest voyage of his life!
Serenity stood before the open windows, watching the dark sea swirl behind the ship. Moonlight reflected off the waves, giving them a mysterious aura of beauty. Still, she couldn’t really focus on them. Instead, her thoughts were held captive by what she’d experienced.
She didn’t know what Morgan had done to her, it was sorcery of some kind. Of that she was certain.
No wonder it was forbidden for young ladies to be alone with men. Good gracious, who would have thought such pleasure could be found?
Guilty and ashamed, she wished she had never gone topside with Morgan.
What must he think of her now? Surely no decent woman would have allowed him to take such liberty.
