Read Online Pirate of My Heart: A Novel by Jamie Carie - Free Book Online

of her audacity, she began to babble. “Of course I don’t want to cause any trouble, and I had no idea that I was, uh, doing that, you must believe me. But really, I cannot possibly be confined to that cabin all of the time. Isn’t there some arrangement we can make so that I can go above to get some fresh air, properly escorted, of course?”
    “I keep a sparse crew. There is no one aboard this ship who can give you a proper escort,” the captain said with a dry note lacing his deep voice.
    “Not even yourself?”
    “I am quite busy running this ship and I don’t have time to escort a woman on strolls.” But he sounded uncertain. The captain took a step toward her and searched her eyes. Kendra met his gaze and held it, waiting, knowing he was battling with the decision of what to do with her. His face changed from stiff and stoic to resigned. “As I can see that you are trying to be reasonable and compromise, I would be willing to escort you above in the early morning and after dinner when most of my men are not on deck. That is, if you don’t sleep well into the morning as most English ladies are apt to do.”
    Oh! Had there ever been a man more provoking? Patience! She took a deep breath and said in as calm a voice as she could manage, “I will have you know that I am up before the servants and will be dressed and ready at any time you wish.”
    The captain gave her an assessing look then turned to leave.
    “What about my trunks?” Kendra asked after him.
    He paused but did not turn to look at her. “Go to your cabin, Lady Townsend. I will have them brought to you immediately.”
    Her heart pounded as she hurried to the cabin. As soon as the door closed Kendra fell back on the bed with a groan. Had she really called him a heathen pirate to his face? She grimaced at the outrageousness of her insult, remembering how those silver-blue eyes held her caught and confused. The power he had to make her angry and giddy, hot and cold at the same time, was distressing. He was like no one she’d ever met.
    Shaking her head, she tried to put some sense to her thoughts. She needed to be planning her future not daydreaming about an arrogant captain. He was part of her problem anyway. If he hadn’t been so eager to take her as a passenger aboard this ship, she might have had more time to try and convince Andrew to let her stay home and stay unmarried. Why had Andrew been so stubborn and determined to get her out of his life? That was a question she had no answer for.
    She rolled over and curled into a ball, grasping the elegant coverlet with one hand. If only she had someone to talk to about these rollicking emotions. The gaping hole in her chest expanded and ached as she thought of her father. She had always been able to talk to him about anything.
    A psalm came to her mind: “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.” Oh Lord, I need that right now. Please be my Father and guide me. Help me control my tongue around that man. Help me behave in a way pleasing to You. I’ve never felt this way before. He makes me so . . . mad and frustrated and . . . thrilled and excited, all at the same time. What is happening to me?
    Chapter Five
    D orian hurried through his dinner in anticipation of his duties as escort. He watched himself with self-loathing as he shoveled in the food on his plate at record pace but he couldn’t seem to help it. There was a growing anticipation, like when dark clouds swirled and the waves began to heave, at the thought of seeing her again that he had never had with a woman before. What was it about her that held him captive, like moth to flame? He’d never been the moth; he had always been the flame. Women had tried to ensnare him for years, using every trick in the book. But none of them had ever made his heart pound as it did when he was sparring with the sharp-witted Lady Townsend.
    Minutes later Dorian stood outside her door, his door, he corrected