Page 20 of Devil of the High Seas
What did she want her fate to be? Oh, that was a dangerous question. He had no idea how much she wanted to throw her arms around his neck and beg him to kiss her... to make her forget that her duty was to marry his brother.
“What I want doesn’t matter,” she said quietly, losing some of her fire.
Gavin’s face darkened. “Itdoesmatter. Right now, it’s the only thing that matters.” His fingertips trailed down her throat, brushing along the line of the pearl necklace to the swell of her breasts. Her breathing hitched at his intimate caress, and her breasts rose in response.
“My God, you tempt me,” he breathed. “I’ve never wanted to steal anything more in my life than I want to stealyou.”
His confession rolled over her in a slow, heated wave that made her belly quiver in heavy anticipation.
A hard shadow passed across Gavin’s eyes. “Griffin had Charity... He had his chance for happiness. This ismine,” Gavin murmured to himself before he pulled a strip of cloth from his trouser pocket.
Josephine was too lost with desire as he brushed his lips over hers to realize what he had planned until it was too late. He pulled her wrists together and the cloth was bound tight around them, trapping her hands together.
“Gavin—” She wanted to tell him that it wasn’t necessary, that she’d go with him willingly.
“Hush, lass.” He finished binding her hands, and pulled her up from her chair to stand.
He wasactuallygoing to steal her? The thought sent a riotous wave of excitement through her.
“Gav—” He silenced her this time with a second bit of cloth that he stretched between her parted lips and tied to the back of her head, effectively gagging her.
“In case anyone sees us. We haven’t much time.” He grasped her arm and guided her toward the bay window of the room, which overlooked the gardens. He forced the window open and then lifted her up by the waist and set her on the ledge. He climbed up beside her and dropped a few feet down to the ground before reaching up for her. Once she was on the ground beside him, he pointed to a horse that stood off in the distance, nickering softly at the edge of the trees fifty yards ahead of the house.
Gavin ran toward the horse, and she kept up with him as best she could.
“I’ll lift you up first,” he explained, and she reached for the pommel to steady herself while he hoisted her up. When she was firmly on the saddle, he mounted up behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist while the other gripped the reins. She braced her body against his to steady herself as the horse started to move.
Is this truly happening?Gavin had just kidnapped her the night before her marriage to his own brother. She wanted to ask where he was taking her, but the gag prevented any questions. As they rode, his cheek pressed against hers more than once as he leaned forward to guide the horse. The light stubble on his face scratched her skin, but she found she didn’t mind the sensation. The wind whipped her cheeks and her heart pounded as she tried to come to grips with her situation.
They seemed to ride for ages before they came in sight of a little village that she recognized as a place called Jack’s Cove, near St. Ives Bay. She was shivering with cold by the time they reached the small waterfront village. He removed a cloak from his saddlebags and wrapped it around Josephine. Her heart warmed with the thought that he’d taken such care to keep her warm. Until she glanced down and noticed that the way he’d tucked the cloak around her also conveniently hid her bound hands. He tugged the gag out of her mouth, and she licked her lips to wet them.
“Remember to keep quiet, lass. We don’t want to raise any alarm,” he warned.
She was tempted to tell him that she wouldn’t scream, but she kept silent because it was too quiet on the street. She feared that even speaking other than in the lowest of tones would wake up the sleeping village.
It was dark, with the moon barely a sliver in the sky, lending enough shadows to conceal her and Gavin as he halted the horse by an inn.
He slid out of the saddle and helped her down. But he waited for a long moment, watching the darkness for something she couldn’t see. He straightened his shoulders as a figure emerged from the darkness.
“Cap’n?”
“Here,” Gavin replied quietly.
A red-haired man stepped out of the alley by the inn and looked at Josephine curiously before focusing back on Gavin.
“Where’s the ship?” Gavin asked the man as he came toward them and shook Gavin’s hand with a broad smile.
“There, out in the bay. We’ll have to row out to it. It already has a crew in place.”
“Good. See that this horse is returned to Castleton Hall, and then meet us on the dinghy.”
The red-haired man grasped the reins of the horse and led it toward some stables farther down the street. Gavin escorted Josephine away from the inn and down a small dock to where a dinghy was tied up. He helped her climb down into the boat, and then he began to unwind the ropes that kept it tied to the dock. Gavin collected the oars just as the other man returned and leapt down into the boat with them. Josephine watched the two men take up the oars and row in perfect rhythm together as they headed toward the distant ship.
When they reached the ship, Gavin removed the binding from her hands.
“I don’t think we’ll need this anymore, will we?” he asked, a hint of a warning in his tone, but she knew it wasn’t necessary. She wasn’t going to call for help.
She nodded, her heart pounding hard as she stared up at the towering bulk of the ship. A long ladder was draped down the side toward them.
