by Linda Ladd
"We have to swim for the boat," she heard him yell, and could only nod as clubs of pain beat her head until it felt swollen to twice its size. She could hear Christian and the other men in the water yelling and splashing near them as sporadic shots rang from the wall hidden in the fog above them.
"Hold on, Caitlin. I've got you," Trey whispered over and over, but Caitlin heard his voice as if from a great distance while she tried to raise weighted arms to swim. Her vision went dark and blurry, and she began to flounder until Trey's strong arm crossed over her chest. Cannon fire still thundered over the water as the early morning sun tried to burn the mists off the surface of the sea, but Caitlin only heard the ringing in her ears and the panting reassurances of her husband as he towed her ever closer to the waiting longboats.
She gradually lost all contact with reality, staring dully at the gray mist, thinking it all a terrible nightmare. She wondered briefly if she would awaken soon in Trey's arms, but a wave surged over her face, making her choke and cough. She began to cry, not really aware that strong arms were lifting her limp body into the boat or that Trey was holding her tightly against his chest. When he pressed his palm firmly over the bleeding head wound, she roused enough to complain that he hurt her, then slipped slowly into peace as winds of oblivion blew awareness out of her grasp as softly and gently as the breezes filling the sails that would take her away from the hell of El Morro.
Epilogue
When Caitlin started awake, Trey's muscular arms encircled her at once, drawing her into the warmth of his body. She had awakened in such a way many times in the week that had followed their escape from El Morro, and he had made sure he was with her each time.
"Ssssh, love, I am here," he whispered against her ear, his lips making a warm circuit of her cheek, and Caitlin snuggled closer into his embrace.
"Will the dreams ever end?" she murmured, trembling from the visions of the dark cell with slimy walls and Enriquez's black eyes.
Trey smiled as he fingered a red gold curl that lay over the clean bandage that stretched across her forehead.
"They will someday, but dreams will not hurt you. We will reach Windsway soon, and I will never let you walk into such danger again."
Caitlin shivered nevertheless, and Trey's arms tightened around her.
"There is nothing to fear now. You are safe here with me. And I do not think it is too soon to say that Christian is fully recovered. He has already complained of the absence of women aboard."
"Meghan will not like that," she said, smiling, but her eyes closed as he took her lips in a tender kiss. Her breathing came shallowly as his warm mouth feathered down to the side of her throat.
"Do you remember when we first met?" she asked softly, and Trey stopped his caresses to prop his head in the palm of his hand as he looked down into her face. He grinned.
"If I recall, you called me a few names I'd rather not remember."
"I hated you then."
"I know."
"You tried to change me into someone I wasn't."
Trey's blue eyes grew serious as he raised her hand and pressed her fingertips to his lips.
"I know, but I was wrong. You are perfect now, and you were perfect then."
His words sent a glow of happiness through Caitlin, and she reached up to lay her palm upon his cheek.
"But you did change me. I am very different now."
Trey waited, sensing that she needed to talk, to tell him something that had troubled her in the last days.
"All those years before I met you, I hated Enriquez so much that it was all I lived for, and now that he is dead, now that the Anna is gone, and I love you so very, very much . . ."
She paused, emotion breaking into her voice, and a hard lump rose in Trey's throat. Their eyes met, then their lips, and her next words came from beneath his mouth.
"Now I live for you," she whispered. "Now I want to be a lady for you. I want to give you a child."
Her soft words touched Trey's heart as nothing ever had before, and his own voice came huskily.
"You have always been my lady."
They were quiet for a time, then Caitlin spoke softly. "Do you want a son?"
Trey twisted until he lay atop her soft body, taking her face gently between his palms. His blue eyes glinted with humor. "I cannot see how it can make much difference; all our children will no doubt wear breeches and shirts, be they sons or daughters."
They smiled at each other.
"Of course, you really should be willing to make some promises to me," he went on softly. "No more leaping from the walls of Spanish fortresses, I think, and no more sword fights or plundering armed galleons. And, most of all, no more daggers strapped to your thighs to prick me while we're in bed."
Caitlin's lips curved in a devilish way, her eyes glinting like burnished gold.
"I will gladly forfeit those things, milord, but you must do the same with your bad habits. No more will I stand for your stupid embroidered samplers, nor ever again will I put flowers in a basket. And, most of all, I will tolerate no hateful blonds who wear your boat in their hair."
Trey laughed a low and wicked sound, his mouth already nibbling lightly on the naked flesh of her shoulder. His goal was the heaving softness of her breasts, and long shivers of delight rippled over every inch of Caitlin's body as he found what he sought.
"Do not fret, my sweet Caitlin, for we shall be far too busy with pleasures such as this to worry about those other things," he murmured, taking her lips to his, and Caitlin slid her arms around his strong neck. She closed her eyes, her lips parting with pleasure under his touch, his lips and hands bringing alive the sweet passion that only he could awaken in her.
She held him to her eagerly, feeling safe and warm and cherished, riding to the very brink of paradise and beyond with a new gentleness of heart and purity of spirit. For, in truth, all was well with them as it had never been before, and if any woman had been blessed in this life, it was surely she. Even such tender thoughts were stolen from her soon, and she sought only her destiny in the arms of her love.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1986 by Linda Ladd
Cover design by Open Road Integrated Media
ISBN 978-1-4976-1612-7
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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New York, NY 10014
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LINDA LADD
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