Read Online Under Her Brass Corset by Brenda Williamson - Free Book Online Page B

globe. What did she do with it now? They were on his ship. The captain could steal it again unless she hid it. But where?
    “I’ll entrust it to your care during our journey.” She handed it back, showing him a degree of trust.
    He gave her a nod and returned it to the drawer.
    “Why don’t you get acquainted with your accommodations while I check the rigging,” he said.
    She waited until he left and then roamed the cabin. Everyday things cluttered the small space. She imagined each object held a sentimental value, for why else did one keep a dented tin cup when there were half a dozen perfect ones hanging alongside it? The cozy atmosphere made her think of home. What would become of hers while she was away? Would the bank come in and take her possessions? She had to believe they didn’t move that quickly on a foreclosure. Prior knowledge suggested the process took months, not days, from the first notice.
    Abigail shook off the homesickness gnawing at the pit of her stomach. She suffered enough days with the unsettling upset of her future. Since she hadn’t been gone from home more than a couple of hours, she had to concentrate on bigger concerns—Captain Jasper Blackthorn. As he was no more than a stranger to her, he gave her plenty of immediate worries.
    She continued to distract herself with the cabin and the magnificent sight through the oversized porthole window. When she came to an opaque glass door, she carefully opened it and found an empty closet. At the top, a dozen pipes pointed at the floor, and there, in the wood planking, spaced just as neatly, were holes. It made her wonder how much water the ship took on that the captain needed such an elaborate drain system.
    As she shut the door, she spun around at the sound of another door closing.
    “I wasn’t snooping,” she blurted, holding the captain’s tranquil gaze. It delighted her he had two eyes and that they were equally beautiful.
    “You had my permission, remember?” He moved to a small mahogany writing desk and sat. “There are no secrets on my ship, Miss Thatch. Feel free to look inside everything and touch anything you desire.”
    Her thoughts immediately sprang to touching him. She knew the softness of his hair when she wrapped it around her fingers. But what of the hardness of his body? When he held her as she cried last night, he had cushioned her with a firm torso. It had been comforting. Throughout their kiss, she had imagined raking her nails over that muscled hardness.
    While the captain dipped a fountain pen into an inkwell, she tried to ease into a normal topic of conversation. If they were going to travel together, there was no sense in trying to be at odds with him, especially since he seemed more inclined to be a charmer.
    “You like to read?” She tried to pick up the book on his writing desk to see what he liked, but it didn’t budge. “It’s nailed down?”
    He finished writing and put the pen in the holder. “It’s not what it appears.” He shuffled papers together and tucked them into a journal much like the one she had found in her attic.
    She flipped open the cover of the immovable book and discovered to her delight, it was a box containing an assortment of chocolates. “Why on earth would you hide these morsels of confections in here?” She popped one in her mouth and promptly spit it back out into her gloved hand.
    “To keep people from ingesting them.” He extracted a lace-edged handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the half-chewed goop from the lace covering her palm. “They were designed to look more approachable to my cat. He detests what cats should eat, but loves chocolate.”
    “You have a cat?” She looked around, surprised that she hadn’t seen it.
    “Yes, Merlin, and he’s no good for the job of hunting. The lazy creature prefers I do the job for him.” He scraped the goop into an inconspicuous bowl beside his desk. Several seconds later, a white-furred cat’s head poked out from behind the