Page 48 of The Pirate Takes A Bride

“Yes.”

“I’m not so inconstant.” But even as he said it, he realized he must have seemed so to her. “I want you, Ashley. I will want you no matter what you look like, whether young or old, thin or swollen with my child.”

“Nick!” Her eyes widened.

“Come out of the water.”

She looked down, seemed to consider, and then finally rose out of the water. It lapped at her waist, revealing nothing of her legs, but in the sunlight, he could see the perfectness of her round breasts.

He swallowed, his throat suddenly going dry. He’d known they were full but seeing them now, so firm and tipped slightly upward made him hungry for her. Her nipples were a dark rose against the white of her skin, and all of her was so perfectly formed. Her long arms, her small waist, the flare of her hips.

He felt himself harden, and said, “Do you see how much I want you?”

Her gaze had been locked on his cock, and he knew she saw. Her lips parted and she licked them quickly, and it was difficult not to imagine what she might do with those lips and that tongue.

“You haven’t seen my leg yet.”

“I have scars and injuries.” He pointed to a scar on the side of his abdomen where a knife had slashed him. It was still pink even after two years. His arm bore the scar of a pistol ball that had grazed him, and his legs had assorted nicks and cuts. “Do you want me any less?”

“No.”

“Then let me prove to you how beautiful I find you. Let me prove to you I am not so shallow as you seem to think.”

She shook her head and looked down.

“I’ll make the effort worth it, Ashley,” he said, voice husky.

She looked at him then, desire in her eyes. “Fine,” she said. “Fine, but don’t say I did not warn you.”

He held up his hands, palms out. She began walking toward him, her eyes closed and her face tight with effort. “No,” he said. “Open your eyes. I want you to look at my face. I want you to see my reaction.”

She shook her head, her jaw set and her lips pursed together. At that moment she probably hated him as much as she desired him. She moved toward him, up the slight slope that led to the small strip of sand and grass beside the pond. Gradually, the lower section of her belly was revealed, then her sex, lightly dusted by blond hair. He could see the cleft there, and he ached to delve inside it, inside her. And then her thighs rose out of the water, and he had the first glimpse of skin that was not perfect.

She continued walking, and he made no pretense of not looking at her injury. He wanted her to know he’d seen it, and he wanted her to know that it made no difference to him. He wanted her despite what she perceived as ugly.

The injury was not pretty. He had seen burns before. He’d known many men who’d been burned in battle, and this burn looked little different. It must have been painful because he could see that though it had healed and was not a recent injury, it was still mottled red. Parts of her thigh were shiny where the skin had been seared and stretched to cover damaged areas as part of the healing. Other parts were corded and seemed to overlap one another. Her right thigh was perfectly shaped, but the injured thigh was smaller and shrunken. She had lost some muscle, and it was a wonder she did not limp or show any ill effects.

“Does it still pain you?” he asked.

“Sometimes.”

His gaze rose to her face, and he held out a hand and pulled her close. His cock, still hard as a rock, nestled against her belly. “As you see, I still want you. Tell me what happened.”

“It’s not a badge of honor,” she said. “It was borne out of foolishness. I was ten and four, playing with my younger brothers Devlin and George. I grabbed something away from Devlin—I do not even remember what it was now, that is how foolish it was—and held it aloft. I was taller than he then, and I thought it amusing to watch him jump for it.” Her head was down and her voice soft, almost childlike. How Nick wished he could have been there at that moment to catch her, save her, protect her. But he was here now. Perhaps she needed him now more than she ever did then.

“I didn’t realize how close to the hearth I was, and I spun round, my skirts twirling out. They caught fire and before they could be put out, my leg was damaged.”

He notched her chin up. “How did you survive the pain?”

Tears welled in her large eyes. He did not think she would shed them, but he’d seen them. “I’ve seen men with severe burns who give up the will to live because of the pain.”

She nodded as though she understood. “Dying was not an option,” she said simply.

He smiled. “Of course not.”

“And I had my cousin Catie to keep me company during my convalescence. Maddie and Josie came every day as well. They never told anyone what had happened to me. My mother wanted to keep my disfigurement a secret so as not to scare away prospective husbands. I kept telling her I was never going to marry!” She frowned at him. “You ruined that plan.”

“How thoughtless of me. If you recall, I tried to marry Lady Madeleine.”

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