Suddenly she wanted to see him as vulnerable as she felt. With a boldness that astounded her, she unbuttoned his waistcoat and pulled his shirt free from his breeches. She tore his shirt off so fast that the cravat stayed wrapped about his neck. Morgan laughed before he untied it and added it to the growing pile of clothes on the floor.
His chest bare before her, she drank in the warm sight. His refined muscles rippled with every move he made. There was one jagged scar about three inches long that ran along one collarbone. Reaching out, she traced its path, her fingers brushing against his warm skin.
Morgan lifted her fingers and placed a gentle kiss on her palm. Serenity smiled at the tenderness in his eyes and sighed happily.
He trailed his kisses up her arm, bit by bit until he reached her throat. His lips were soft and firm as they played upon her flesh, raising chills and turning her will and body into mush.
Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back, savoring the feel of him, the scent of him.
He was a man like no other.
Morgan drank in her sweetness. Never in his life had he tasted anything better than the salt of her skin. She ran her hands over the flesh of his back, raising chills in their path.
Groaning, he picked her up one last time and carried her to the bed, where he carefully laid her down.
He stared at her, her hair spread out over his quilt. Never before had he taken a virgin, and if he admitted the truth, he was afraid.
He didn’t want to hurt her. Didn’t want to taint her, but there was no way he could walk away from her now.
He needed her as much as he needed to breathe.
He would deal with whatever repercussions on the morrow. Tonight there would only be them.
He removed his pants.
Serenity gulped at the sight of him. Her face flaming, she couldn’t stop staring at his…
“It’s huge!” she gasped before she could stop herself.
Morgan gave a low rumble of a laugh. “Only for you it is,” he whispered, crawling onto the bed beside her.
He took her hand then and placed another kiss on her fingers before he led her hand down…there.
Serenity gulped at the hard velvety feel of him in her hand. Closing his eyes, he let out a half growl, half groan, and she reveled in her power over this man who feared nothing. Who answered to no one.
Bold from the knowledge, she moved her hand lower. Morgan sucked his breath in sharply. “Careful, Serenity. You keep that up and we’ll both be disappointed.”
With a wicked grin, he lay down on the bed and pulled her on top of him. He lifted her skirts until her bare belly touched against his hard hips. She moaned at the strange feel of him between her legs, of his short hairs teasing her nether parts.
She stared at his eyes, which glowed with a deep warmth, and ran her hands over his chest while he loosened her stays.
“Kiss me,” he commanded.
Leaning forward over him, she let her hair fall around them, forming a canopy. Morgan nipped her lips as he removed her corset and chemise, and with one swipe over her head, her gown.
Serenity shivered as the cool night hair hit her skin. She was bare before him. Self-consciously she pulled back, covering her small breasts with her hands.
“Don’t,” he whispered. “Don’t hide your body from me.” He removed her hands and raised up. He covered her right breast with his lips, and chills shot the length of her body as he suckled her gently.
Heat tore through her body, pooling into an inferno between her legs. Instinctively she rubbed herself against his hardness. His shaft pressed against her core.
They moaned in unison.
Morgan pulled back and gave her a desperate look. “You’ve no idea how much I want to savor your body, but if I don’t have you now, I swear I’ll die from it.”
She didn’t understand what he meant.
He gave her a desperate kiss, before laying her down against the bed. He ravaged her mouth as he separated her legs with his thigh.
Burying one hand in her hair, he ran his left hand down her body to the core of her aching. When he touched her at the apex of her thighs, her eyes flew open and she gasped until his fingers began a gentle assault on her body.
She couldn’t stand the remembered pleasure. He plunged his finger deep inside her and whispered in her ear. “You feel so sweet,” he murmured. “So tight and ready.”
And then he slid into her. Serenity tensed at the unexpected feel of him inside her body.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked.
“No,” she answered honestly.
He smiled and dipped his head down to nuzzle her breast. She moaned as he flicked his tongue first over her right breast and then her left. Without thought, she brought her legs up and wrapped them around his waist, plunging him deeper into her.
Morgan moaned as if in great pain.
Slowly he began to move against her hips. She bit her lip in pleasure. Never had she felt the like. He surrounded her and filled her.
With each thrust of his hips against hers, her pleasure built until she was sure she could stand no more, and still he continued his exquisite torture.
“Oh, Morgan,” she gasped, running her hands down his back, to his hips, to urge him faster and deeper into her.
Then just as she thought she would indeed die, her body burst again, just as it had done that night on deck. Serenity screamed out in release as her entire body shuddered and quivered.
A few seconds later, she heard Morgan groan and shudder over her.
They lay abed for hours, exploring each other’s body.
For the first time since he could remember, Morgan felt sated. At peace.
There was no fear, no nagging regrets.
He shook his head and gave a short laugh.
Serenity lifted herself up on one elbow and stared down at him. “What?” she asked, her brows knitted.
Morgan reached up and rubbed away the crease in her brows. “I was just thinking that for the first time in my life I have serenity.”
Her frown returned.
“Never mind,” he said with a smile. “It was a stupid thought.”
She looked as if she doubted his sanity. “Where did you get all the scars on your back?”
He brushed his hand through the soft tendrils of her hair and sighed. “They’re a souvenir from my days in the navy.”
“You’ll never be able to forgive them, will you?”
Something inside him felt freed by her question. As if something had been trapped and her question had released whatever it was. Whatever happened, he no longer felt angry or vengeful. It was like he’d just let go of it all. Like none of it mattered anymore.
“Kiss me and I’ll forgive them all.”
Smiling, she leaned forward and obliged him.
Though it pained him, he pulled away from her. He pushed himself off the bed and held his arm out to her.
She offered him her hand and he pulled her from the bunk. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Something I’ve dreamt of since I brought you on board.” He led her across his room, to the open windows.
Serenity stared out at the moonlight rippling across the sea. The waves rolled in and out and the ship tilted in a sensuous rhythm of its own. Morgan came up behind her and placed her hands against the frame of the window, then he moved to stand behind her.
“Morgan?” she asked, her face flooding with heat. “What if someone should see?”
“No one can see us,” he assured her. He swept her hair over her shoulder and nibbled against the flesh of her neck. “I want to take you, Serenity. Like this with us looking out at the sea.”
“Morgan—”
“Sh,” he whispered in her ear. “Listen to the music of the night. Of the waves and sea.”
She did.
His arms came around her, covering her own, and he took her hands in his. He pressed himself tightly against her back and she could feel him growing against her buttocks. His w
arm laugh sounded in her ear.
“Say my name,” he demanded.
“Why?”
“Because I want to hear it from your lips. I want to hear you tell me you need to feel me inside you again.”
“But Morgan—”
His lips covered hers and he ran his hand over her bare breasts, teasing them with his fingers. Her body erupted, her breasts swelled with need.
And then he trailed his hand lower, down her stomach and back to the core of her.
Her body on fire, she pulled away from him long enough to whisper, “Now, Morgan, I want to feel you inside me now.”
With a groan he tore himself from her lips and entered her from behind. Serenity gasped as he buried himself deep inside her, raising her to the tips of her toes.
And while he moved against her buttocks, his hand continued to play its magical harmony against her.
She moaned as he moved in and out, until he made one long deep thrust within her and paused.
“Show me, Serenity,” he whispered in her ear. “Show me what you like.”
At first she didn’t understand him, but as his hand continued to tease her nether place, she knew what he wanted.
Morgan closed his eyes in sweet torture as she drew her body tight around him and slid down his shaft. Reaching the tip, she loosened herself and took him full again.
He matched the strokes of his fingers to the strokes of her hips as she moved up and down him. The sea roared in his ears as he rubbed his cheek against her silken hair.
She was every bit as wonderful as he’d expected. More so, in fact.
Serenity heard him gasp her name an instant before he took control again. His thrusts came hard and fast, his fingers stroking ever quicker until she erupted with pleasure.
She screamed out as he spilled himself into her again. Joined, neither could move as they leaned against the window, drained and sated.
Once his breathing returned to normal, Morgan withdrew from her. He turned her to face him. “You are the most incredible woman I’ve ever known,” he said, touching her cheek.
Serenity said nothing.
After a few minutes, she pulled away from him. She moved to stand in the center of his cabin, wringing her hands. She stared at him, and he could tell by the light in her eyes that she was grappling with something terribly important.
“Morgan, I want you to know that I won’t ever regret what we’ve done.”
He was glad to hear her say that. He moved to stand in front of her and pull her back into his arms. “Neither will I.”
She rubbed her hand over the hairs of his chest, lifting them with her fingernails. She looked down at her hand, refusing to meet his gaze. “I hope you’ll always remember me fondly when I’m gone.”
“Where are you going?” he asked, his heart hammering at the thought of her leaving.
How could she, after all that had happened?
After all they had shared.
“Home,” she said with a wistful sigh. “The colonial ship leaves tomorrow and I plan to sail with it.”
“What?” he roared.
“Don’t get angry, Morgan. You know as well as I do that we can’t go on like this. Especially not now.”
“You can’t leave,” he insisted. “Especially not now.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” She left him standing there naked and began pulling on her clothes.
“Me?” he said, grabbing her by the shoulders. “I’m not the one thinking of leaving.”
“Aren’t you?” She took his hands one by one off her arms and stared deeply into his eyes.
He could see the pain inside her, the fear. But worse than that, he saw her determination. The raw determination that she always got once she had set her mind to something.
“Don’t try and tell me that even as you stand there you’re not thinking about going back to sea and to your life.”
“Yes, I am,” he admitted, “but you’ll be on board this ship with me.”
“As what?” she asked, her voice laced with bitterness. “Your mistress? Your whore?”
His jaw tensed with anger. “Don’t ever say that word.”
She looked away from him and shook out her dress. “I’m not trying to drag you to the altar, Morgan. I could never hurt you. But if I stay here, I’ll never be able to return home.”
“So don’t,” he said, taking the dress from her hands. “Stay with me.”
With a low, warning growl in her throat, she snatched her dress back and placed it on the chair.
“I can’t do that,” she said, retrieving her camisole and corset. “I’ve seen how you live. I’ve seen how you fight. What if one day you’re killed in the middle of battle?”
She turned to face him. “What would happen to me then? Would your men respect me?”
She pulled her camisole on and moved to stand directly in front of him while he searched his mind for something he could say to make her change her mind.
“Or what if you’re taken prisoner by your enemies, Morgan? I’ve heard tales of what happens to the captain’s whore, and believe me, I don’t want to be passed around a British crew.”
He was aghast at her words. “Where have you heard such stories?”
“It’s not important.”
“I would never let you get hurt.”
“But you can’t guarantee me that. Ever,” she said quietly. She reached out and laid her hand against the stubble on his cheek. Her eyes searched his and he ached for a way to settle this, but deep in his heart, he knew the truth.
“Anything can happen at sea,” she continued. “Kit told me that it’s hard to win a sea battle, that you’ve often picked up survivors from the victory ship.”
Damn her for telling the truth and damn her for being reasonable this one time!
He hadn’t been able to protect his sister because he’d been at sea, and he couldn’t guarantee Serenity that he would never lose a fight.
Grinding his teeth, he saw an image drifting before his eyes of his ship the Rosanna sinking last year. Just like she’d said, they’d won the fight, but in the end the damage to his ship had sunk her. He hadn’t lost many men to the sinking, but he had lost some.
She dropped her hand from his face, her eyes wistful. “We both know you can never settle on land. The sea is in your blood. It’s who and what you are. I would never ask for you to give more than we both know you can.”
She stepped away from him. “I have to go.”
And with those softly spoken words, she finished gathering her clothes, dressed, and left his cabin.
Nay! his soul screamed.
He couldn’t let her go.
Grabbing up his pants, he began jerking them on.
“Where be you headed, majana?”
Morgan paused as he listened to Ushakii talking to Serenity just a few feet from his door. Ushakii’s watch had probably just ended and he was no doubt headed for his bed.
“I’m leaving, Ushakii. ’Tis time I went home.”
“You can’t be thinking of heading out alone, child. It’s the middle of the night. You might get hurt. Why, you can’t even row yourself ashore. Let me escort you back before something terrible happens to you.”
Morgan could imagine how she must look, the tender smile that was no doubt curving her lips as she gazed up at Ushakii with doleful eyes.
“Thank you. I would deeply appreciate it.”
Then their voices drifted off.
She was gone.
He let his pants fall to the floor as the significance hit him squarely in the chest.
Chapter 19
Morgan didn’t sleep at all that night. He lay quietly in his bunk, one arm raised above his head, as he stared up at the ceiling lost in torturous thoughts.
Over and over he saw Serenity before him, her eyes flashing, her body writhing beneath his.
The look on her face as she’d walked gracefully out of his life.
He drew a deep breath against the pain that la
cerated his chest. It felt as though his heart had been torn out.
She was gone.
And he had let her go. He had just turned his back and let her walk out of his life.
“So,” he whispered to himself. “I’m a coward after all.”
But deep inside he knew it was for the best. She’d been right. Even if they married and she traveled with him, sooner or later she would become pregnant, and then what?
He couldn’t raise a child on board a ship. He didn’t even want to try.
God forbid, what would happen if they were attacked and the ship went down with both Serenity and their child on board with no way to save them?
What if they were lost at sea and he was forced to watch them starve in a lifeboat while they waited for a rescue that never came?
No, he could never stand that.
He must let her go.
He would survive. He always survived, and pain was nothing new to a man who’d lived most of his life with it.
Morning came too soon to Serenity. She watched the sun creep up over the island from the windows of La Grande Maison. Downstairs, she could hear the first stirrings of the staff as they set about opening windows and preparing breakfast.
Kristen had been good enough to donate several gowns to her for the trip home, and a valise, which now was set on the bed packed and ready to go.
When she’d returned in the wee hours, Kristen had been waiting up for her, and Serenity had confided to her new friend what had happened between her and Morgan. And the fact that she was determined to leave.
Kristen had done her best to change her mind, but one thing about Serenity—her stubbornness knew no equal. Somewhere in the early morning hours, Kristen had finally given up and retired.
A soft knock sounded on the door. “Miss James?”
She recognized the voice of Kristen’s maid. “Come in,” she called.
The maid opened the door a crack. “The coach is waiting for you, miss.”
“Thank you.” Serenity forced herself away from the window, and on trembling legs, she walked to her valise. This was really it, she was going home.
Picking it up, she left the room.
Kristen was waiting at the foot of the stairs, her face sad, her arms wrapped around her. “I didn’t think you could really go through with this. Even after our discussion.”
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