“Ah, I see. I had thought perhaps you had loved and lost, and that’s why you abhor marriage, but I forgot that you’re merely a true Lothario at heart.”
“I don’t abhor marriage. For some men it’s the perfect state to be in. I just realized long ago that it wasn’t for me. I’m happy in my life. Why would I want to change that?”
She shrugged and said offhandedly, “I don’t know, things happen.”
“Yes, they do. But take my mother, for example. She knew exactly what she was getting when she married my father. She knew he’d rarely be at home. And while she seemed happy enough, raising so many children, I used to catch her in moments when it was obvious how lonely she was, even miserable, missing my father. I was pretty young when I decided I’d never do that to a woman.”
It made her sad to know that he was serious. He believed every word he’d just said. But that left no room for love. Did he really want to go through his entire life without experiencing true love?
“There were two ways you could have abided by that decision. You could have just decided not to go to sea instead,” she pointed out.
“You’re joking, right?”
She gritted her teeth. “Yes, of course I am.”
“The sea is in my blood, sweetheart,” he added, just in case she missed that point, then gave her a knowing look. “You changed the subject too soon. Were you serious before? Your mother really never knew your father was a pirate?”
“Why does that surprise you? When my father visited us, he didn’t bring his crew along, which might have given her a clue. They are a ribald, rowdy bunch, after all. Besides, he was on his best behavior whenever he was in England.”
“What about you? How long have you known?”
“Not until my mother died and I left home to find him,” she replied.
“So only a few years? My, you adapted very quickly, didn’t you?”
His sarcastic tone was back. She’d told him things she shouldn’t have, she realized too late. “Fortunately, I’m a quick learner,” she replied offhandedly, trying to correct his impression of her.
She stood up, stretched sensually, then walked over to stop near him but just out of his reach. His long legs were stretched out across the floor and crossed at the ankles. His arms were crossed over his wide chest. His expression was actually wary for a moment, with her stopping so close to him, but it quickly turned sensual.
“Ready to ravish me?” he asked.
It was fortunate that his expression had warned her he was going to say something like that. She was able to reply calmly, even with a little feigned regret, “Sorry, but you’re not my type.”
His short bark of laughter said he didn’t believe her. “Then who is? Richard?”
She managed a grin. “Good grief, no. I was just playing around with him the other day and merely took him by surprise. He’s a good friend. We actually joke around like that a lot.”
“Then that pallid English snob?”
“Who? Oh, you mean Wilbur? No, I found him rather boring, if you must know. Besides, even though you’re an American, you seemed a little too at home in the London ballrooms for my taste. I want a man who will go horseback riding on the beach with me, who will dive with me into crystal-clear coves and explore coral reefs, a man who will get as excited as I do about chasing after lost treasure. I want a man who will swim naked with me in the sea on a moonlit night and make love to me on a sandy beach.”
Gabrielle realized dreamily that she really did want all that. But she’d managed to stun Drew. He’d been hanging on every word of her romantic fantasy.
Seeing that she’d turned the tables on him, she said abruptly, “Now, can I get you anything before I leave you to your lonely confinement?”
He replied abruptly, “Don’t leave yet.”
“Sorry, but I have a nice hot bath waiting for me.”
“Actually, I’ll take one of those myself.”
“Very well, I’ll have some buckets of water brought in to you. If you’re a good prisoner, I’ll even have them set down for your use, rather than tossed on you.”
Her tone implied she was dealing with a child, even the words did. It was deliberate on her part and it was obvious by the sour twist of his lips that he didn’t like it.
She left him then, but not before she stuffed her hands in her pants pockets in a casual manner. She knew very well that would lift the back of her shirt so he could see just how snugly the pants molded to her derriere. Innocently done, or so it would seem to him, and she had to fight back a laugh when she heard his groan as he watched her saunter out of the cabin.
Chapter 31
“I F MISS CARLA TELLS ME ONE MORE TIME TO GET NAKED, she’s going to find out just how cold that ocean is out there,” Margery said in a huff when she entered the captain’s cabin for dinner that night.
Margery was the last to arrive. Richard, Ohr, and Bixley just stared at her incredulously. Gabrielle drew in her breath so fast she choked on it, and she started coughing. Drew, sitting on the floor in his corner of the room, leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, but there was a definite smirk on his lips.
Then Richard started laughing and Bixley said with a leering grin, “That ain’t a half-bad idea, wench.”
The Irishman probably wasn’t joking. He and Margery shared an easy relationship that included sexual innuendo, a private drink now and then, and, Gabrielle suspected, more intimacy than that on occasion.
But Margery wasn’t going to be distracted with ribald banter and demanded, “Where did Miss Carla pick that up, I’d like to know? She said it a half dozen times today when I was in and out of Gabby’s room.”
Margery was glaring at the three pirates, one of whom she’d suspected was the guilty party. But Gabrielle saw no reason not to put the blame where it belonged.
She pointed toward Drew across the room and said, “You don’t need to look any farther than over there for your culprit. He’s been trying to get me in his bed since he met me.” She grinned to let them know she found that amusing, even added, “It’s too bad he doesn’t have one now.”
Drew actually blushed. She found that interesting, but it was probably no more than that three unpredictable men were staring at him now, all humor gone. It was Margery he ought to be worried about, though, and she even went over and kicked the foot he had stretched out on the floor.
“You’ll be keeping such notions to yourself, Yank, if you know what’s good for you. Our Gabby isn’t for the likes of you.”
Drew pulled his bare foot back to rub it and replied, “Who is she for, then?”
Gabrielle went very still. She was about to interrupt, but Margery was too quick with her rejoinder. “For the husband she’ll be having soon, which won’t be you, now, will it?”
Margery returned to the table. Drew mumbled something, but no one caught it and he was ignored after that.
Bixley started reminiscing about how long he’d been with Nathan. “Ohr vouched for me, but from that very first meeting, Nathan treated me like an old friend. He’s like that. Sees the good in everyone. I love that man like a father.”
“You just love treasure hunting,” Ohr scoffed.
“Well, there’s that, too.” Bixley grinned and teased his friend. “Tell me you don’t. Go on, I dare you.”
“I just like sailing with Nathan,” Ohr said. “You aren’t the only one who loves him like a father.”
“That’s right, you never did finish searching for your real father, did you? When that’s what brought you to this part of the world.”
Ohr stared across the room. Gabrielle thought for a moment that he might be looking at Drew, but his gaze seemed focused on something far more distant. He said quietly, “I found him, or rather, found out he’s dead.”
“Oh, Ohr!” Gabrielle cried, and moved around the table to hug him. “I’m so sorry.”
He patted her back. “Don’t be. It’s not as if I ever knew the man. And he had another family.
I may make myself known to them someday—or I might not. I have my own family now,” he ended, and gave Gabrielle a fond smile as she returned to her chair.
He meant her and Nathan, and Nathan’s crew. Richard confirmed that when he threw a napkin at Ohr and said, “I already claimed this family as mine.”
And Bixley pushed Richard out of his chair with the rejoinder, “Too bad, mate. We were with Nathan before you showed up.”
“Now, now,” Margery intervened. “Nathan’s got a heart big enough to include all of you.”
Gabrielle suddenly felt tears welling in her eyes. They’d spent so many nights bantering like this, with Nathan quick to join in the fun. But he wasn’t here now, he was in some dark, dank dungeon and…
“Don’t cry, Gabby,” Drew suddenly said. “Your father will be back with you before long.”
Everyone turned to Drew, surprised by his remark, which had sounded quite tender. The man immediately clammed up, probably annoyed with himself for speaking at all. And the rest of them repeated the sentiment until they had her laughing again.
After dinner when she left the cabin, Richard followed her out. They stopped to lean against the railing. A bright moon was peeking out through a light bank of clouds. It washed the deck in soft light and reflected beautifully on the water. She usually loved nights like this at sea, when the moon kept the dark at bay. Such a peaceful setting, but hard to appreciate it with so much turmoil inside her.
Without looking at Richard, she addressed some of that turmoil. He was her closest friend, and he’d already guessed the attraction she felt for Drew, so she told him a bit more than she was going to tell the others.
“I was actually considering marriage to him. Can you believe it? And I even knew he was a confirmed bachelor, but I was fool enough to think I could change his mind and get him to propose. But all he was interested in was a brief sojourn in my bed.”
“I will assume, out of loyalty, that he got nowhere near your bed?”
She snorted by way of answer. “I don’t even think he was serious about it.”
“But do you think that’s why he wanted to ruin your chances for a good match?”
“Trying to come up with that answer just makes me see red. I have no idea why he did it.”
“Some men are like that, chérie, especially if they take it personally, their failure to seduce the woman.” Richard peered at her closely. “You wanted him to try harder?” Her blush wasn’t obvious in the moonlight, but Richard had just been teasing and continued to speculate. “He’s a very handsome fellow. He may be used to conquests without much effort.”
“I don’t doubt he is,” she agreed. “But that certainly wouldn’t justify—”
“No, you misunderstand,” he cut in. “Emotions don’t need to be justified when they take over. It can be as simple as he couldn’t have you, so he made sure no one else would either. But I know you, Gabby. You’re not just going to shrug this off, are you?”
“No. Believe me, before this voyage is over, he’ll regret what he did, I promise you. I’m going to make him want me so much, he’ll be devastated when I wave good-bye.”
Chapter 32
T HE FOLLOWING MORNING GABRIELLE SAW EVIDENCE that Richard had commiserated with her after their talk about Drew. She didn’t doubt that it was Richard who had caught Drew unawares with a fist to his cheek later that night. The bruise was only slight, though. And as it turned out, it didn’t last more than a week.
That week passed with annoying slowness. Gabrielle knew why the time was creeping by for her. She allowed herself only a little while alone with Drew each morning after breakfast with her friends, to work her wiles on him, then spent the rest of the day eager to see him again and counting the minutes until she could. But she forced herself to stay away, to stick to her plan.
Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be working. While the expression in his eyes might become quite heated when he looked at her now, he seemed too preoccupied with his own agenda—escape by any means—to really notice her subtle seduction. The man still thought he could entice her with the sensual descriptions of what he’d like to do to her in order to get her to come near him. He was in effect doing what she was doing! It was just that his motive was different from hers.
He tried romantic words, he tried crude words, he tried combinations of both. If she hadn’t heard it all before in one form or another from pirates, she never would have withstood the sexual onslaught. But she did withstand it. Mostly. Although she usually left him in a hurry to find some cool air for her face.
Having others present didn’t help to keep her eyes off Drew either. That morning he was exercising when she came in, bending, stretching, walking around the narrow arc the chain allotted him. The single glance he gave her with those dark eyes as she passed him stirred the butterflies in her belly. And even after she sat down and Ohr began chatting with her, her eyes were continually drawn to the play of muscles on Drew’s long legs, the taut stretch across his back and buttocks. She had to force herself to stop looking at him.
She might have to get bolder. She might have to pretend that she was the one succumbing. But she was limited in what she could do for the simple reason that she couldn’t touch him. She didn’t dare get that close. But there was so much more she could have done to heat his desire to the desperation point if she had full access to him.
And then she realized there was one way to get around the restriction, at least temporarily, and she leapt on the idea the moment it occurred to her. She enlisted Richard’s help. He laughed when she told him her plan. He, in turn, brought in four other crewmen to help—it was going to take that many.
Drew couldn’t doubt something was up. The tub arrived and was filled with hot water. Towels, soap, more buckets for rinsing, everything needed for a bath. And then the men just stood there looking at him.
Gabrielle came in, and with hands on hips she said, “It’s time for a bath, Captain.”
“Go ahead,” he replied with a wicked grin. “I’ll enjoy the show.”
She chuckled. “Not me. You. You stink.”
He sat abruptly forward. “The devil I do. I’ve been using those measly buckets of cold water I’ve been given.”
“Not diligently enough, obviously. But come now, you can’t deny you’d like a nice hot bath.”
He didn’t deny it, and eyed the tub across the room. “This shackle isn’t going to reach that far,” he pointed out.
“As rusty as it already is, we don’t dare get it wet.”
“You’re removing it?” he asked with interest.
“Don’t get your hopes up. It’s only temporary, and you know damn well you can’t be trusted without some restraint. So let these fellows assist you and it will be over with before you know it.”
She left the room again. She knew that would give him the wrong impression. He’d think one of the men was going to wash him when he realized he couldn’t do it himself with his hands tied behind his back.
She didn’t return until she heard him shouting. He’d been left alone, sitting in the tub, hands and feet tied. She raised a brow at him when she entered.
“How the hell am I supposed to get clean like this?” he demanded.
She tsked to make it sound as if this wasn’t the plan. “Did the men get squeamish? Couldn’t bring themselves to touch you so intimately to get you clean?”
“How should I know?” he grumbled. “I didn’t ask.”
She kept her eyes off his bare chest as she approached the tub. This wasn’t going to work if she ended up getting mesmerized by his magnificent body.
“All right, this will only take a few minutes, so no maidenly airs, if you please.”
“You’re going to wash me?” he asked incredulously.
“I don’t see anyone else here,” she said, and then stepped behind him. But first she removed her shirt so it wouldn’t get wet—and made sure he saw her.
She heard a choking sound. “Gabby, don’t—”
“What? Now you’re going to get squeamish?”
She was enjoying the ploy immensely. She should have thought of this sooner. Able to touch him now as much as she wanted with the pretense of helping him, she was going to drive him mad with desire.
She lathered her hands. She wanted no cloth between her skin and his. And then slowly, sensually, she began to rub his body, over his shoulders, down the corded muscles on his arms, which were very taut, pulled behind his back. She devoted a long while to his back, slipping her fingers under his arms, near his buttocks. He did try to grab her with his fingers, but she was slippery now and merely smiled to herself.
Carefully she sloshed some water on his head, then built up a lather in his hair. He groaned with pleasure. She couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction as she rubbed her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp, his temples. She didn’t want to stop, but there was a time limit. She’d told Richard to return precisely twenty minutes later. Whether she finished washing Drew by then or not, that would be the end of it. And she’d already lost track of the time, she was so engrossed in what she was doing.
She rinsed his hair. And now, before she lost her nerve, she proceeded to wash his chest. She didn’t come around to the front of the tub to do it. She wasn’t going to let him accuse her later of deliberately enticing him by standing in front of him without her shirt on. But she had to lean against his back in order to reach his chest. He groaned as her breasts pressed against his back and, her hand slid over his chest. He turned his head toward her, trying to reach her lips with his. He couldn’t do it, not without her help.
“Kiss me, Gabby. You know you want to.”