aroused, aching for the comfort of her body. He lifted her leg over his hip and she roused, but made no protest. He dipped his hand between her legs, feeling his thick cream coating her sex and inner thighs. Like the beast he was, he found deep satisfaction in the primitive claim.
“Do you wish—” she whispered.
“No.” He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent. “Yes. But you’re sore. I can wait.”
“I don’t want you to wait.”
“But you will. Soon enough you’ll be begging me to cease my constant demands.”
“I’ll never tire of you, my lord,” she assured him in a sleep-heavy murmur that caused him to press against her with a groan. Olivia spooned against him, nuzzling her luscious derriere against his enflamed cock with a trust that left him breathless.
His stomach clenched. She’d entrusted him with her life, and he’d endangered it already.
He had to put as much distance between them as possible and at the soonest opportunity.
“Who is she, Dominique?” Pierre asked, staring after the vanishing ship.
“The Countess of Merrick. What would you wager that Phoenix has gone to ransom her for a fortune we won’t get our share of?”
“I don’t make bets with you. You always win.”
Dominique smiled. “And we’ll win this time too.”
“How so?” Pierre asked curiously.
“You’ll see, brother. You’ll see.”
Chapter Four
Sebastian stepped onto the deck and turned completely around before spotting Olivia. Sitting on a barrel at the foredeck, she looked pensively over the water. He deliberately made his steps heard so as not to startle her. He smiled as she lifted a bottle to her lips and drank from it. “Care to share, love?”
She passed him the wine. “How was your dinner with the captain?”
“I’m not certain. I was distracted.”
“Oh? With what, may I ask?”
“With visions of you, naked in bed, eating supper without me.”
“As if I would ever eat naked,” she scoffed. “And in bed no less. I, for one, do not relish crumbs on my linens.” Her mouth curved in a contented smile. “Do you never think of anything other than sex?”
“Certainly. Just this afternoon I wondered what you were doing in the West Indies.”
Her smile faded.
It was the first time either one of them had broached the subject of their pasts. There had been a silent agreement between them to live only in the moment, but they approached England far too quickly. Soon they would present themselves to the world as Lord and Lady Merrick, yet they were hardly more than intimate strangers. He knew her body in minute detail, but her past and visions for their future remained a mystery.
Olivia sighed. “My father maintains a plantation there.”
“And you prefer it to London?”
“I enjoy the freedom.”
Sebastian frowned. There was something she wasn’t telling him. “And what of the Season? You are a diamond, my love. Your popularity is assured.”
Even as he said the words, his gut clenched. Men would swarm around his wife like bees to honey, her marital status making her even more desirable. The thought of other men drooling over Olivia while he was at sea made him murderous.
She looked out over the water, avoiding his gaze. “In the past, I’ve enjoyed the Season. I simply didn’t feel up to it this year.”
There was more, he knew, but Sebastian hesitated to press her further. Their time on the ship had been idyllic, and he didn’t wish to ruin it. Harsh reality would intrude soon enough. “And now that you’ve wed, do you intend to make England your home?”
That comment brought her gaze back to his. “Of course. Your home is my home now.”
“My home is at sea.”
Olivia nodded her agreement without hesitation, causing a sharp pain in his chest.
What had he expected ? That she would cry and beg for him to remain with her? Hadn’t he capitulated merely to sate his lust, with the added bonus of acquiring the wife and heirs his cursed title demanded?
“Do you wish—” she whispered.
“No.” He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent. “Yes. But you’re sore. I can wait.”
“I don’t want you to wait.”
“But you will. Soon enough you’ll be begging me to cease my constant demands.”
“I’ll never tire of you, my lord,” she assured him in a sleep-heavy murmur that caused him to press against her with a groan. Olivia spooned against him, nuzzling her luscious derriere against his enflamed cock with a trust that left him breathless.
His stomach clenched. She’d entrusted him with her life, and he’d endangered it already.
He had to put as much distance between them as possible and at the soonest opportunity.
“Who is she, Dominique?” Pierre asked, staring after the vanishing ship.
“The Countess of Merrick. What would you wager that Phoenix has gone to ransom her for a fortune we won’t get our share of?”
“I don’t make bets with you. You always win.”
Dominique smiled. “And we’ll win this time too.”
“How so?” Pierre asked curiously.
“You’ll see, brother. You’ll see.”
Chapter Four
Sebastian stepped onto the deck and turned completely around before spotting Olivia. Sitting on a barrel at the foredeck, she looked pensively over the water. He deliberately made his steps heard so as not to startle her. He smiled as she lifted a bottle to her lips and drank from it. “Care to share, love?”
She passed him the wine. “How was your dinner with the captain?”
“I’m not certain. I was distracted.”
“Oh? With what, may I ask?”
“With visions of you, naked in bed, eating supper without me.”
“As if I would ever eat naked,” she scoffed. “And in bed no less. I, for one, do not relish crumbs on my linens.” Her mouth curved in a contented smile. “Do you never think of anything other than sex?”
“Certainly. Just this afternoon I wondered what you were doing in the West Indies.”
Her smile faded.
It was the first time either one of them had broached the subject of their pasts. There had been a silent agreement between them to live only in the moment, but they approached England far too quickly. Soon they would present themselves to the world as Lord and Lady Merrick, yet they were hardly more than intimate strangers. He knew her body in minute detail, but her past and visions for their future remained a mystery.
Olivia sighed. “My father maintains a plantation there.”
“And you prefer it to London?”
“I enjoy the freedom.”
Sebastian frowned. There was something she wasn’t telling him. “And what of the Season? You are a diamond, my love. Your popularity is assured.”
Even as he said the words, his gut clenched. Men would swarm around his wife like bees to honey, her marital status making her even more desirable. The thought of other men drooling over Olivia while he was at sea made him murderous.
She looked out over the water, avoiding his gaze. “In the past, I’ve enjoyed the Season. I simply didn’t feel up to it this year.”
There was more, he knew, but Sebastian hesitated to press her further. Their time on the ship had been idyllic, and he didn’t wish to ruin it. Harsh reality would intrude soon enough. “And now that you’ve wed, do you intend to make England your home?”
That comment brought her gaze back to his. “Of course. Your home is my home now.”
“My home is at sea.”
Olivia nodded her agreement without hesitation, causing a sharp pain in his chest.
What had he expected ? That she would cry and beg for him to remain with her? Hadn’t he capitulated merely to sate his lust, with the added bonus of acquiring the wife and heirs his cursed title demanded?
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