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

she
clenched her fist around his shirt, she’d have sunk to her knees if his arm
wasn’t wrapped securely around her waist. With his free hand, he pulled the
wild strands of hair plastered across her face out of her eyes. Before he
leaned down to kiss the top of her head, he caught himself.
    He shook off the foolish impulse,
questioning his sanity. To remind himself who she was, he lifted her chin so he
could look into her face. Purple circles ringed her dark eyes. The rush of
empathy that had almost prompted a kiss returned.
    “This will pass, love. Is the air
helping at all?”
    “I don’t feel well,” she croaked.
    Drew swallowed a chuckle but
didn’t bother to hide his grin. “That’s obvious.” Never could he have imagined
Felicity Kendall at a loss for words so blatantly apparent.
    “No”—she paused to gasp for
breath before she could finish the sentence she seemed desperate to get out—“I
don’t feel well right now.”
    Her words prompted Drew into
immediate action. He pried her fingers off his shirt and lowered her to her
knees, then kneeled behind her, holding her steady, while she braced herself on
all fours. Having her lean over the side of the ship would have gotten them
both washed overboard. Between the miserable dry coughs that sliced through the
pounding waves, he heard her soft sobs. Both tore at his hardened heart.
    Drew reached for the thick rope
of hair that hung across her face and spilled onto the deck. He held the mass
out of her way with one hand. With his other arm, he circled her waist and held
her rump steadfastly against his hip. His knees planted firmly on the deck
absorbed the continued rolls of the ship and anchored both their weights.
    When her heavy breathing was the
only sound that could be heard above the rain and wind, he realized the
awkwardness of their positions. Of course he’d been in similar positions with
women before, but never in his wildest dreams had he pictured Felicity and
himself in such circumstances. And never had the women been getting sick.
    A nasty wave crawled over the
deck and forced him to flex his thighs to maintain their balance. Despite the
storm that howled its return, his traitorous body interpreted the movement as
something else entirely. With his blood eagerly rushing to places it had no
business being, he reached underneath Felicity’s arms and pulled her up with
him as he stood. “Your stomach is empty, love, so I’m going to have to take you
below.”
    He lifted her in his arms, and
she sagged against his chest like a broken doll, succumbing to his will without
an ounce of protest. The drastic change in her personality worried Drew all
over again. Once he entered the protected deck below, he studied her closed
eyes and gave into his earlier urge. He placed an almost invisible kiss on the
top of her head.
    Drew returned to the luxurious
great cabin, the only chamber on the Sea Mistress furnished for the
needs of a woman. He planned on getting rid of the ship after this voyage. Too
much attention had been attracted to it and to his true identity. He laid
Felicity on the silk comforter, realizing she would have put all the clues
together, anyway. Her unscheduled trip on the Sea Mistress had only
hastened the process.
    Her docile demeanor wouldn’t
last, but that didn’t stop Drew’s desire to hasten her recovery. He hated
seeing her so weak. A dark halo spread around her as the ivory bedding absorbed
the water from her drenched clothing and hair. Drew sat beside her, unbuttoning
the high neck of her heavy gown. Her lack of protest when he began to undress
her sounded an alarm. He touched her cheeks, finding her skin chilled.
Banishing his guilt and ignoring his slight glee, he peeled off the black
casing Felicity used to shield herself from the world.
    He dropped the gown to the floor
and attacked the fastening of her stiff corset. His hands stilled as he stared
at the lushness he uncovered. Apparently no one had ever instructed Felicity