by Mary Martin
All was quiet after she went below. There was nothing but the sun, the deep blue water, and the wind that sighed her name. God's blood, but she was some woman, Rayne found himself thinking. And envisioning the long days and nights that they would have together before meeting up with his ship and crew, he found that for the first time in his life, he wasn't irritated by the thought of spending considerable time with the same woman. He lifted an ironic brow. Rayne Morgan feeling the first stirrings of contentment? He snorted. Not a chance in hell. It was her delectable body that made him think of her with a smile.
The wheel shifted in his grip. He sent the little ship winging in the direction of an isolated cluster of islands that were a day's sailing from them.
Their clothes lay discarded beside them. The sun was warm on her bare body. Starlin felt almost decadent lying beside Rayne beneath the canopy of blue sky without a stitch to protect her skin from turning golden brown. It was an unthinkable thing she was doing, she chastised herself, stretching sensuously.
At first, he'd said they would be staying only a day, but they'd already been here a week. And they hadn't fought once, she was to think, moving closer to Morgan's powerful form, snuggling into the crook of his arm when he urged her to him. She enjoyed his automatic response to her closeness, even though he was dozing peacefully and was not aware of her touch.
Wild and uninhabited, the small grouping of islands had looked rather desolate to her when she'd first sighted them from the quarterdeck of the Ice Princess and had turned questioning eyes toward Rayne.
"I think you'll like this place," he told her over the crashing of the sea breakers battering the hull.
"What place?" She had looked at him quite puzzled.
His smile was mysterious. "You'll just have to wait and see."
She had liked it. They'd spent idyllic days here, lost somewhere in the Atlantic. She liked to dream a bit of how it might be if theirs had been a normal marriage based on love. Yet, if it had, she doubted very much whether she'd be here with him like this. They would still be in England, she, governed by society's dictates for a marchioness. Perhaps it was to her advantage that Morgan was so unorthodox. At least life was not dull.
Rayne had even been willing to teach her to guide the schooner about the calmer inlets that graced the islands, taking the time to explain the rigging, the different sails, how to read the clouds and wind, and, with infinite patience, show her how to carefully stitch a flat seam along a torn bow-sprit sail. Starlin knew few men who would teach seamanship to a woman—and then take pride in her accomplishments.
Glancing over at Rayne, she sighed with pleasure, reveling in the delicious intimacy she shared with this man. He alone evoked feelings within her that at first had been as foreign to her as their island fortress. He proved a constant source of guidance and understanding as he taught her so many things, but foremost allowed her to experience complete freedom without society's mandates.
Starlin was a willing and apt pupil. Where once he had thought her bold, he now found that very same boldness challenging, and quite different from any other woman he had known. She embraced his lifestyle with the same enthusiasm and confidence that she did everything.
Tentatively, in the beginning in only fragments, Rayne talked about his life with her. They were lying in bed one night, completely relaxed and content just to talk and share a glass of wine. If Starlin was surprised that he appeared willing to discuss his family of a sudden, she did not show it.
Later, when she had expressed her opinions on political matters, she thought she had seen a spark of admiration for her in his eyes. It was the only time any man had looked at her in that way.
Rayne shifted on the blanket and Starlin glanced over at him. His hair had grown rakishly long and streaked with blond from the hours he spent in the sun. It lay in a honey-gold tangle about his forehead and ears. His features were relaxed, almost innocent in appearance. The tiny lines around his eyes had deepened just a bit, evidence of their sojourn here where the days were always hot and bright, and the many times he'd smiled of late—because of her, she hoped.
He was terribly handsome. But then, she'd always thought so, even that first night. His head came to rest in the curve of her shoulder, his hand automatically seeking her breast. A trusting gesture, she thought with pleasure—yet knew that sleep had initiated it. With a tiny sigh, she held him close and dozed off.
It was the clearly definable sound of something succulent being eaten, and enjoyed, that awakened her.
Starlin slowly opened her eyes and stared upward, her mouth already beginning to water.
Rayne was standing looking down at her, a pear in one hand. The rapidly setting sun backlit his powerful form, but she could see that he had dressed in dark breeches and a linen shirt open to his waist.
"I didn't realize you'd awakened," she said throatily. "Why didn't you rouse me?"
He only smiled lazily as his eyes roamed over her curves. "Why do you think?"
She stretched sinuously. "Because you know that our fresh fruit supply is about exhausted," she replied with a teasing gling in her eyes, "and you wished to enjoy your treat without having to share."
He shook his head slowly before planting one booted foot on either side of her hips to stare down at her.
"Whatever I've got is yours." He offered the pear.
Starlin felt desire awakening. "A tempting offer, sir."
"Are you accepting?'
"I don't need the whole pear, a bite will do." She smiled softly, feeling pinned beneath that heated look and the warmth of sun-kissed leather boots touching her skin. She prepared to rise, and was surprised when he preemptively obstructed her movements. Starlin froze on one elbow as he hunkered over her.
"Since this is our last piece of fruit, I insist we share it." His smile had given way to a piratical grin.
Starlin stared him directly in the eye, self-assured, almost cocky, and definitely brazen. "If you wish." She reached for his outstretched hand and took hold of his wrist. He allowed her to draw the piece of fruit within inches of her mouth, yet made no move to relinquish it. She felt like they were the only two people in the world. Woman ... the seductress Eve luring Adam. The tip of her tongue parted her lips, moistened their fullness.
Fires lit in his eyes. He jerked back gently. "I did not say that there would not be a price to pay for the sharing."
She felt hard muscle press to her skin as he reclined on one knee. She arched one dark eyebrow. "Ever devious, aren't you, Milord Captain Pirate?"
"You know me well enough by now to realize that I always demand a price in everything, and from everyone."
"I have very little. What could you possibly want of me?'
His voice dropped to a husky murmur. "Something you have not given me yet."
"And what would that be?'
"You've told me very little about yourself. I wish to know of your past. Everything there is." He traced a finger down her cheek.
"I have told you more than I have ever told anyone."
"Only certain things."
"I'm afraid the rest would bore a wordly sort such as you."
Starlin trembled as she felt the brush of his lips across her fingertips.
"You're not the sort of woman to bore a man very easily."
Slowly Starlin drew his wrist toward her until she had positioned the fruit right where she wanted it. Watching him, she saw his jade eyes darken and smolder as she bit down, sucking gently, drawing the sweet, refreshing juice into her mouth. With wicked delight in her eyes, she moistened the tip of his fingers with her tongue, teeth nibbling lightly, the taste of him mingling with the ambrosiac flavor of the pear. She raised her head, chewing the piece of fruit in a very precise manner before swallowing.
"As I said .. ." Rayne breathed raggedly, "you could never bore me." The breeze whispered soft sighs around him, urging him to touch her, hold her, make love to her.
Bright, amethyst eyes stared up at him from behind dark
thick lashes, shielding her innermost feelings from him, but revealing her desire.
His eyes held hers, hot and demanding. With a shrug of broad shoulders his shirt slid down his arms. Starlin's gaze narrowed as his jackboots and breeches were carelessly tossed aside.
Seemingly of their own accord, her eyes drifted shut. She felt his hands tangle in her riotous long hair, arching her head backward. Slipping one hand behind her neck, he slowly drew her lips to meet his. The kiss deepened, became urgently demanding. He never seemed to grow weary of making love to her. She was so lovely, how could he? He drew back to study her closely, follow the path of his hands with his eyes.
One finger traced downward, along her nose, her dew-soft lips, feather-light upon her throat. When he swirled that long tanned finger across perfect rose-tipped mounds a moan of pleasure escaped her, and his heart soared.
He bent his head to swath the firm crests with his tongue, nipping at the aroused buds until they grew hard as pebbles. He heard her whisper softly, urging him for something more. Head thrown back, she wooed him with the sensual movement of her hips to shift lower ... touch her there where the heat was most intense.
Lazily ... deliriously ... his lips moved a bit lower, exploring the smooth satin flesh stretched tautly across her stomach, the hollows on either side of her hip bones, teeth nibbling the soft skin of her inner thighs before kissing her finally where she burned hottest for him. He made the fires flare even higher with that masterful, feathery touch swirling across her moist flesh until the very world seemed to explode in brilliant color all around her. Liquid warmth surged through her, seeped into her bones and brought a cry of fulfillment to her lips.
Grasping the curve of her hips, Rayne thrust deep inside her to seek his own sweet release in a powerful driving rhythm that sent her pulse racing out of control. She held him a willing prisoner with her flesh. Squeezing ... releasing .. . drawing him ever deeper into her, almost as if she truly longed to become of one body and soul. Hips arching to meet his, she clung to him in wild, mindless abandon. He took her with him on that pleasure ride, neither of them in control any longer, their soft cries mingling as one when they reached the very peak.
After their breathing had quieted, she nestled to him automatically. He curled one arm about her and kissed her bare shoulder.
Starlin was so tempted to tell him how wonderful he'd made her feel these past few days, but when she tried to, the words would not come. Just as well, she thought, for she was certain he really didn't care how she felt about him. It would be the last thing he would want to hear.
Awake the next morning before Rayne, Starlin dressed hurriedly, grabbed up a thin shawl, and padded topside to sit in quiet reflection on the deck and stare down into the water. The Ice Princess bucked against her restraints, tossing and bobbing about the whitecaps as though anxious for an end to the idleness.
Their time together was nearly over. Rayne was growing restless. Starlin sensed it in him. There was something nagging at him, something he wouldn't talk about. She wondered if it could be the possibility of her carrying his child, but Starlin was beginning to suspect that she was not. Although there were no definite signs as yet, a woman has a certain intuition about these things, and Starlin felt nothing inside her. Surprised to experience a moment of regret, she fought back tears.
"You silly fool," she murmured. "He is on the verge of leaving you behind, don't allow yourself to care now."
Rationally she knew she could not trust him, but her heart would no longer allow her to believe he was responsible for the break-in at Eaton Hall, or her grandfather's accident.
Was it possible the macabre incidents were somehow linked in some way? And why did she feel so strongly that Rayne was involved?
She buried her face in her hands and breathed deeply. Just a while longer, please. Last night they'd lost themselves in passion's promise, yet this morning she knew they'd soon be like strangers once again.
Admitting it, free of his heady presence, Starlin had to acknowledge it was purely false hope that she harbored. There was no security in this marriage. It was a mockery. An unwilling bride who had suddenly, but too late, become all too willing. She had forgotten the future while they had been here. But now it loomed large and without promise before her.
Rayne knew instantly that she was no longer beside him. He felt as if half of him was missing without her. The realization did nothing for his mood. He scowled darkly. Assuming that she was attending to private needs, he stretched his lithe frame, placed his hands beneath his head, and waited patiently for her return.
The sun streaming in the porthole glinted on his gold necklace that she had tossed on a table beside the bunk. He suddenly remembered the stolen jewels that Ely had recovered and that Rayne now had secured away in his cabin on board the Tempest. He wanted Starlin to have them back. However, he did not want to provide explanation.
This brief escape had yielded him far more than he could have dreamed. It had gone well, but it had cost him, too. He had learned much about Starlin, even discovering that she had no idea of her important link to the treasure. But he was not the kind of man to settle down. It was time to move on. And even though Starlin was everything a man could want in a woman, Rayne was very much aware that their time together was at an end. Now it was time to take everything from the Cambridges that his family had lost. He would not forsake his family honor for Starlin. Remembering his mother, and her confinement in her rooms at the castle, he felt renewed anger. She would never again be sane. She was mad! Carl Cambridge—the bastard—had driven her insane!
When Starlin did not return after several minutes Rayne slipped into his breeches and went above deck to look for her. Immediately his eyes were drawn to her sitting near the rail, feet dangling over the side of the schooner.
"May I join you?"
She did not turn to look at him. "Yes."
He grasped the rail and slid in place beside her giving her a long considering look. She had dressed hastily in a pale blue blouse and long skirt, and he knew there were no petticoats beneath it. She didn't wish her movements hindered in any form or fashion. Risque for some, but so befitting for Starlin. It silhouetted her long, sleek legs to his appreciative gaze at least a dozen times a day.
"Is something the matter?' he asked.
"No," she stated emphatically.
"Look at me." He went to touch her face and she turned her head away.
"I came up here to be alone for a while." She was irritated by his cool unaffected manner this morning when her emotions were in such turmoil. "Does that bother you?'
He gave her a sharp look. "In that case I'll just leave you alone and go below and see if I can find us something to eat. We're beginning to run low on food supplies so don't expect anything fancy."
She turned abruptly to find herself staring into his eyes. "One excuse is as good as another, I guess." There was a taunt in her voice.
"Now what does that mean?5
She shrugged slim shoulders. "The honeymoon is over, right?"
"So that's what has you so upset."
"I'm not upset," she quickly replied, trying to keep a steady voice.
"Without food, we have no choice," he said.
"You don't have to make excuses, Rayne."
He stood abruptly and started to walk away. "I don't want to argue with you. Til go see about that breakfast."
"I just want to ask you one thing," Starlin said, confused and strangely frightened.
He stopped dead in his tracks. "What?" He turned to face her.
"Are you planning on leaving me there forever?" she asked point-blank.
To her surprise, he favored her with a wolfish grin. "Not unless you want me to."
"I don't find that the least bit amusing," she said, eyes flashing.
His hand reached out to her. Slowly, moving as if she were hypnotized, Starlin found herself drawn into his arms. The warmth and comforting nearness of his body was the only security she had. Rayne turned
her face upward and their lips met. The kiss deepened, became searching.
Starlin pulled free of him. She knew if he made love to her just one more time she would make a fool of herself and say all the things she didn't want to say and that he wouldn't want to hear.
"Shall we have breakfast?" she said thickly.
He looked at her assessingly. "Sure. I'll be right back."
Their supplies were low, but Rayne managed to put together a passable breakfast of sea biscuits, salt pork, and hot tea and brought them up on deck. He found Starlin sitting on the stairs that led to the helm.
"Here, it's good and hot." He hunkered down beside her to hand her a mug of tea.
She accepted it, watching him through long lashes tinged gold on their curling ends. "Thanks." The next words slipped out. "Will we be leaving today?"
He studied her closely. "Yes, we will."
"I thought as much."
He remained still, sipping quietly from his cup, avoiding her eyes.
"What happens now?" she asked softly, hesitantly.
"What would you like to happen, Princess?"
"Don't call me that," she shot back, lowering her eyes. "It... it isn't proper-sounding." And it has become like an endearment to me, her inner self cried, and I cannot hear that from you at this point and remain strong.
He reached for her.
"Don't touch me," she said quickly.
"I can't seem to please you this morning," he commented wryly.
She looked at him through night-black lashes. "Take heart, with luck you'll soon have your freedom and we'll each go back to our respective lives."
His lips twisted and he made a harsh sound. "It won't be that easy. There can no longer be an annulment."
"What... are you saying?'
"We made love ... That makes a simple dissolution of the marriage impossible," he said. "Surely, you knew."
But she hadn't! She'd thought it a matter of whether she was with child or not.
Rayne could see from the expression on her face that she hadn't. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Don't worry ... we'll find some way to dissolve the marriage without your tonnish friends hearing of the details," he said coolly.