Page 54 of Devil of the High Seas
She nodded. “I wish... I wish he’d known how much we missed him. It was like a piece of our hearts went missing with him when he vanished.” Gavin saw a flash of unexpected emotion in her eyes. “I caught my mother talking to his portrait once. She thought no one was around. She said, ‘I keep believing you’re just on a simple journey and that one day you will come home and laugh it all off as a grand adventure. But what if you don’t? What if you are truly gone and I never had the chance to say goodbye? Do you know that I loved you? Do you know how much I still do?’” The memory of this seemed to create such pain in Josephine that she choked down a sob.
Gavin pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead, then held her tight. He wished in that moment he could take all of her pain away.
“If this is a dream, I don’t wish to wake,” she whispered against his chest. “But I’m so afraid, Gavin.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Of losing this, of losingyou.” Her words tore at his heart. “The future has never frightened me more than it does at this moment because I have so much to lose now.”
“All dreamers must wake up sooner or later... But what if we wake to something even better than this?” he asked.
“You said you weren’t romantic.” She rubbed away her tears, and he couldn’t help but smile at her.
“Any man in love becomes a romantic.”
She lifted her head at his words. “You truly love me? That’s twice now you’ve said it.”
“I think it would be impossiblenotto love you,” he said with such seriousness. “Perhaps I should show you, since you need some moreconvincing.”
* * *
Josephine followedGavin to a deep pool at the heart of the tiny island jungle, and she stared in awe at the bright-blue water. It was clear enough that she could see down to the bottom, perhaps twelve or fifteen feet deep.
“It’s a freshwater spring,” he explained and began removing his clothes.
She watched him, truly feeling he was hers, all hers. Gavin had a strength in him that went far beyond his body, which was impressive. He moved with an easy grace, yet he bore the scars of a rough life lived on the high seas. She wanted to kiss each one. As he undressed, peeling away each bit of clothing with an almost deliberate slowness that both teased and tortured her, she bit her lip and held back a moan of longing at seeing his beautiful body.
Perhaps there was some sort of magic in the air of this island. It was Gavin’s sanctuary, and now she felt it could easily be hers too, if they had this life together they both desperately wanted. She fisted her hands in her skirts as she watched with sensual hunger as he bared his legs and arms. Her fingers itched with the memory of lazy nights aboard thePixie, where she had touched him with passion. He’d taken care to explore her body most of their nights in his bed, but now she wanted to explore him with the same freedom.
“Join me in the pool,wife,” he called out with a flirtatious grin, then plunged into the water entirely naked.
She scrambled out of her clothes, trying not to think about how silly she looked, stripping down with such haste in front of him. She had never bathed quite so freely before. When she had bathed in a copper tub, she’d had a sheet draped over her for modesty, and when she’d swum in the sea or the lake, she’d always been in a chemise and petticoats. Now she was bare, naked,free. She dipped one toe into the water and sighed at the heavenly warmth of the pool. The water was surprisingly warm.
Gavin was treading water in the center of the pool, watching her, his eyes hot with desire.
“Jump in, lass!” He swam toward the back of the pool to give her room to leap in.
With a shriek, she leapt and plunged down into the brilliant water. When she reached the surface he was ready for her, catching her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he guided them toward a rocky ledge that was deep enough in the water that when he sat on it and pulled her toward him, they remained chest-deep in the water. She straddled him as he sat, and their bodies rubbed teasingly against each other. He claimed her mouth, kissing her deeply. His lips tasted like the sea and were so wonderfully soft, while the rest of him was hard.
She fisted her hands in his hair so she could hold on to him as he moved his mouth lower down her body. He lifted her up in his arms until her breasts were level with his mouth and sucked at her nipples as though he was starving for her. The insistent tug of his mouth on her breasts sent sharp spikes of need through her.
As he drew one tip into his mouth, his palm cupped her other breast, his thumb and forefinger lightly pinching her nipple and tugging it, then gently kneading her breast. She rocked against him, almost mindless, desiring nothing more than to be taken. Her womb throbbed painfully for him.
“Please, Gavin. Please, stop teasing me.”
He let go of her nipple and grinned. “Begging for me? I like that, wife. Now tell me what it is you want.”
“I want you inside me.” She blushed wildly at the admission.
“You wish to betakenby your husband?” His coarse words sent her desire shooting even higher. How did he know what to say to make this moment even more deliciously carnal?
“Say it, wife.Begme.” He kissed the spot between her collarbones, while one of his hands cupped her bottom and squeezed. She tightened her thighs around his hips.
“Please,” she gasped. “Please take me, my husband.”
He groaned at the wordhusbandand lifted her up, settling her on the ledge. She braced her hands on the rocks at the edge of the pool. Gavin positioned himself behind her, his knees bracketing hers, and he gripped her shoulder with one hand while he used his other to guide himself into her. They both shared a groan as he sank deep.
“Oh yes,” she whimpered as his hips pressed into her bottom, sending him as deep as he could go.
