Page 47 of The Pirate Takes A Bride

“It’s as good as new.”

“No!”

He set her down. “You don’t want my ship repaired?”

“No. You’ll leave now. I want you to stay forever and ever.”

He crouched down in front of her, and she threw her arms about his neck. He almost toppled over but caught himself in time. “I want to stay with you too. It’s just for a little while that I go away. And when I come back, I’ll take you to England with me. We’ll always be together.”

She stuck her lip out. “You’ll be gone a long, long, long, long time.”

He rose and held his hand out. Her small one slipped into it. “Not so very long if you know how to keep busy. Will you walk with me to collect shells? While I’m gone you can make a necklace out of them and remember the time we spent together.”

They walked for an hour or so, and when she yawned and complained she was tired, he carried her back to the beach camp. She fell asleep on his shoulder, and he placed her in the care of one of the women to watch her while she slept. He hadn’t seen Ashley all morning, and he asked about her now. The woman gestured toward the bathing pool and made a comment to the effect that Mrs. Captain was too modest to bathe when the other women went.

Nick set off after her, thinking of her leg. He did not know what had happened to her, what sort of disfigurement she suffered, but she obviously went to some lengths to keep it hidden. She had probably not needed to when she lived in England. A lady did not dare even show an ankle, but here no one cared about modesty.

Except Ashley, of course.

He stepped into the clearing and spotted her almost immediately. She must have heard him coming because she was submerged in the pond up to her shoulders and watching the path. Her shoulders sank, and she sighed when she recognized him.

It took Nick only an instant to realize she was not wearing any clothing in that water. Her shoulders were bare, and he had to move the shift she’d hung on a low branch aside to enter the clearing.

“Oh, it’s you,” she said. “I thought all the men were still on the ship.”

“Not all,” he said, standing at the edge of the pond and crossing his arms over his chest. “I came to speak with you.”

She made no move to stand in the shallow water or to come toward him. “To say goodbye, you mean.”

“I have to go.”

“You choose to go. Your daughter cries herself to sleep thinking what might happen to you when you battle Yussef. You don’t have to do this.”

Her words pierced him like a cutlass to his heart, but he pushed the pain aside. She still didn’t understand. “Yes, I do. I won’t give him another chance to come back and destroy my island again.” Anger rose in him, and he pushed that away as well. “Not to mention, the men want a prize. His ship will fetch a nice profit.”

“And neither of those are the real reason you’re going. You want revenge. Even before he attacked Isla de las Riquezas you wanted revenge and would stop at nothing to have it. Perhaps it’s time both of you stopped fighting.”

He didn’t want her suggestions or advice, and he sure as hell didn’t want to argue. “Perhaps it’s time you came out of the water.”

She shook her head. “I’m not done with my bath.”

“Come out of the water, Ashley, and allow me to say farewell properly.”

She studied him for a long moment, and he could almost see her thinking how to escape. “Throw me my shift.”

“No. I want to see you.”

“That’s hardly fair. I’m naked, and you are fully dressed.”

He shrugged. “Is that the problem?” He sat and removed his boots, coat, shirt, and then with a wink, his breeches. When he stood naked before her, he crossed his arms again. He could see her eyes devouring him. If the way her light eyes had darkened was any indication, she wanted him. He could feel himself hardening with need for her. “Your turn.”

“Nick...”

“Is this about your leg again?” he asked as though he did not already know exactly what held her back. She was no longer a maiden, and he didn’t think she’d ever behaved like most scared virgins did. He’d been between her legs last night, and she had been more than willing to act quite the wanton. But that was in the dark. Now, in the light, she was ashamed. “Show me.”

“I can’t.” She shook her head, her eyes wide with something that looked too much like fear.

“Do you honestly believe there is anything about you that will make you less attractive to me? Less beautiful?”

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