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He raised a brow.
“If you’d like to atone, I request you leave me in peace for the duration of the voyage.” And with that, she whirled on her heel and set off for a companionway. Ramsey watched her go, trying quite desperately not to notice the sway of her hips. He really did want to leave her alone. Forever. Every time they crossed paths he became more and more entangled. He didn’t know why. It wasn’t as though she was charming or pleasant.
But she was beautiful and seductive as hell. Damn it! If he could only forget ever kissing her. He had his own problems, and Gabrielle McCullough added to them.
And so he decided to respect her wishes.
Until two days later, when he realized he couldn’t leave her alone. He was certainly no gentleman, but he couldn’t leave her to her own devices.
They’d left the white chalk cliffs of Dover and England behind and were tossed about the open waters of the English Channel for two nights. Two nights during which he’d been awake, debating with himself. Trying to convince himself he needn’t bother with her. She didn’t want him to bother with her. He’d tossed and turned in his small, uncomfortable berth, before finally abandoning any attempt at sleep and climbing to the main deck. The dawn sun peeked over the horizon, a dark violet smudge above the black water, and in the murky half-light, he could see the shores of France. They’d made good time.
Which meant he was almost out of time.
He made his way below again, skirting the sailors rushing to and fro, until he reached Gabrielle’s cabin. It was a small ship, and she’d been assigned a cabin almost directly across from him. He stood outside for a long moment, listening, but the only sounds were the muffled footsteps of one of the sailors and the creak of the ship’s boards.
Raising a hand, he made to knock, but the door opened before he could touch knuckle to wood.
“You,” she said. “Again.”
He couldn’t help but smile at her. He liked the color in her cheeks when she was annoyed. Even more, he appreciated the flash of blue fire in her eyes. If she was ever cordial to him, he probably wouldn’t know what to do with her.
“A moment of your time, my lady.”
“Shh!”
To his surprise—and amusement—she grabbed his arm, dragged him bodily into her cabin, and slammed the door. “Well, this is unexpected,” he drawled.
“Are you a fool?” she demanded. “Do not refer to me aslady. I’m traveling under an assumed identity.”
That intrigued him, and not simply because he was doing the very same. “How should I refer to you?”
“You needn’t refer to me. We should disembark at some point today, and I have no intention of seeing you when I step foot off this ship.”
“That’s out of the question, my—citoyenne.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll not abandon you in France.” He owed George that much.
“Abandonme? I never asked you to help me. In fact, I don’t want your help.”
“Why?”
Her eyes widened, an indication the question took her by surprise. She’d obviously expected him to give in. “My business is private,” she said finally.
“Well, now I’m all the more intrigued.” And he was.
And then all the questions and doubts of the night tumbled back into his mind. He couldn’t afford to run about like a lovesick puppy nipping at her heels. He had his own business to attend to. His ownprivatebusiness.
Gabrielle glared at him, and he thought he had rarely met a more independent woman. Certainly she could handle herself. She didn’t need his help.
Of course, she wasn’t handling herself very well with Mr. Pin…
Devil take it!
“Do you really wish to know the reason for my trip to France?” she asked, surprising him.
“Yes.”
