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Not gagging her had clearly been a mistake.
Even my men were giving the closed door to my private room a wide berth as they went about their duties.
I sucked in a steadying breath and stepped away from the wheel. “Keep an eye on things, William.”
He lifted one bushy eyebrow my way, then reached in his vest pocket and shook out a nearly pristine kerchief. “You’re going to want this.”
I took the offering, turning it over in my hand. “For?”
He chuckled, his cheeks glowing pink with humor. “I imagine it’s the only way you’ll get a word in with that one.” He cocked his thumb toward the door.
We’d been back on the ship for two hours, but somehow, the mysterious woman who claimed to be a Darling was still yelling. The vibrant, creative insults she hurled about in that empty room were enough to make even a seasoned sailor blush, and a quick glance around the deck confirmed my assessment.
“She certainly has… endurance,” I said with a shake of my head. William laughed again, a full belly laugh, and I let myself smile for a moment. “It’s good to hear that sound again, old friend. It’s been too long.”
His amusement died down to a chuckle, and he nodded as he grabbed the helm.
We had been sailing the same pristine waters day after day, week after week, for decades on end, just waiting for something to happen. That wasn’t living. It was existing, and I’d taken to medicating with an inordinate amount of enchanted rum to maintain that bleak existence.
For the first time in a very long time, I didn’t want to feel numb.
Below deck, Cook was already hard at work preparing the evening meal, and I let him know to send up a tray of food and drink the moment it was ready. Then I headed for my quarters.
The cool metal of the ornate knob centered me when I stood in front of the door. The woman’s yelling had finally, blissfully ceased, but I still needed to walk into that room and establish dominance. She needed to know who she was dealing with.
So why was I hesitating? It was my room she was in. My personal space. She was only locked in there to keep her from finding a way to throw herself overboard. That, and to give her a modicum of privacy, away from the lust-laden gazes of my men. Not that any of them were showing an ounce of interest in her after her profane tirade.
I turned the knob and shoved the door open, expecting to see Never glowering up at me from the center of the room. It took half a second to realize the room was empty before movement in my periphery caught my attention. I ducked a split second before something heavy crashed against the door frame above my head. Wooden splinters exploded every which way, raining down around me like the world’s worst confetti.
Chains rattled in the confines of the room, and something hard smashed against my shoulders, driving me forward before I had time to pull myself fully to my feet. I stumbled over something, wheeled for balance, and swung around in time to find myself face to face with a woman possessed.
Violence contorted Never’s delicate features, and she took another swing at me, using the arm of a chair as a bludgeon.
My reading chair?
I winced inwardly at the loss but managed to catch her arm before she connected. I wrenched the makeshift weapon from her grip and tossed it aside, pulling her in close.
Too close.
The thought flickered like a warning, but I shoved it aside. No one attacked me in my own home. Not even a creature as enticing as her.
Her breath came in ragged gasps. The rise and fall of her chest against mine felt unexpectedly erotic, sending a wave of fire rolling through me. A flame I’d thought was long forgotten to the endless span of time.
Her pink lips were angry and chapped, but that did nothing to quell my sudden need to taste them. To taste her.
I leaned in slowly, locking my gaze with hers before our lips met.
The flash of rage in those gorgeous eyes registered a heartbeat too late.
She whipped forward, driving the hard curve of her forehead into my face. Half a second sooner and she would have connected with the bridge of my nose. Instead, she connected with my mouth, and pain flared as my upper lip split open again. I clenched my hands tighter around her small arms.
No one had made the mistake of causing me pain in a very long time. Let alone twice in the same day. The rush of desire that had been building in me morphed into something else, dark and dangerous.
A jagged thrum of unchecked emotion coiled inside and had me grinding my teeth while I fought for control. I hadn’t let my temper get the better of me in ages.
A man in my position couldn’t afford to lose control.
But the woman seemed intent on taking every ounce of discipline I possessed and tearing it to shreds. I scowled down at her, relishing the feel of the hot blood trickling over my bottom lip.
