Read Online The Pirate and the Puritan by Cheryl Howe - Free Book Online Page A

their acquaintance, her glazed expression lacked hostility…or even recognition.
Drew couldn’t conjure a witty remark, much less form a coherent thought. Once
again Felicity had got the best of him, and she’d yet to utter a word. He just
stood there, stunned and speechless.
    She struggled to lift herself off
the floor. Once she braced herself on hands and knees, she paused to pant like
a wounded pup.
    “Take me back to shore,” she
commanded the Persian rug.
    Unbelievable. Drew recovered
enough to know that, in this case, he did indeed have the upper hand with Miss
Kendall. Not only that, she was aboard his ship, subject to his domain. At
least he now knew who tampered with the lock. She no doubt thought to find
something to discredit him. Instead, she’d landed herself completely at his
mercy. He’d be the one giving orders, not the other way around.
    “Sorry I can’t oblige your
request. Seems we’re in the grips of a nasty...”
    She emptied the contents of her
stomach onto the plush carpet, splattering his boots in the process, and Drew
forgot what else he’d intended to say.
    As if to remind them of the
tempest, the ship lurched to its side, then just as abruptly righted itself,
banging the armoire doors closed. Drew absorbed the motion by balancing his
weight on his splayed legs. Felicity was thrown to her side, where she remained
unmoving. In fact, she lay so still, her eyes glazed and unfocused, he feared
her dead. He bent down and lifted a clump of hair from her face. At his touch,
she curled into a ball, her hands clutched to her stomach.
    “Maybe some fresh air wouldn’t be
such a bad idea after all.” He crouched, waiting for her reaction.
    If her unusual silence wasn’t
hint enough, the perspiration that beaded her upper lip along with her chalky
pallor warned she’d soon be retching again. He scooped her into his arms. “Come
on, sweeting. You’ll feel better with a little water splashed on your face.” Or
a lot, as the case might be.
    Drew carried his bundle through
the narrow passageway, marveling at her meekness. Her cheek nestled against his
damp shirt, and the contact seared him all the way to his thudding heart.
Having Felicity on board his ship was enough to fray his nerves—having her
cradled in his arms sped his pulse to the rhythm of the constant rain. Dread
and forbidden lust formed a heady aphrodisiac.
    Two faces squeezed between the galley’s
entrance gaped at his progress. Drew turned Felicity’s face into his chest.
“Avery, clean up the mess in the great cabin.”
    “Aye, Captain.” Avery Sneed only
blinked once before he followed Drew’s orders. Red, the other crewman, slunk
back into the galley—probably to save himself from helping Avery.
    Turning his back on the men, Drew
ascended the stairs that led to the main deck. Let them think what they would
as long as they didn’t recognize Felicity. He doubted they’d appreciate having
an unscheduled passenger who could identify them. Avery had been Ben’s driver,
Red his cook.
    When Drew stepped into the
hissing storm with his limp bundle, the deck careened with what seemed like
malicious intent to knock him to his knees. The rolling waves sounded like an
army of furious tigers trapped in a hollow cave. He almost changed his mind
about bringing Felicity on deck, but the ship righted itself and the rain
slowed to a tolerable shower instead of a pelting fury.
    A glimpse at the sky showed a
patch of illuminated gray passing overhead, but black beasts were on its tail.
Drew strode to the protection of the mainmast. Felicity could gulp a few
lungfuls of fresh air before she’d have to be trapped below for God knows how
long. He eased her down the length of his body until her feet touched the deck.
Her stiff demeanor had tricked him into believing her more solidly built, but
her dead weight hardly caused him to strain.
    She leaned against him, drowning
in the heavy black material of her dress as much as the rain. Though