Desire In His Eyes

by Kaitlin O’Riley

  Although Harrison suspected the true reason for his bothered state rested deeper within him.

  Juliette Hamilton had somehow gotten under his skin, causing him to act out of character. He never had such a problem with a woman before, yet this one made him crazy with desire. She had only to look at him with those wild blue eyes and he became aroused. After their last encounter, when he had recklessly ripped open her shirt like some callous youth, he had to lock her in his cabin and give his key to Robbie to keep himself from her. The fact that he could not dally with her, made his plight that much more painful. Juliette was not a woman he could have. In any sense of the word.

  Besides, she was already in love with someone else.

  What kind of man could claim a wild heart like hers? Did the man have any idea of how reckless she was? That this beautiful woman was crossing an entire ocean to be with him? What would it be like to have the love of a woman like that?

  “What are you looking at?”

  The feminine voice shot like fire through him. Harrison did not move an inch, nor did he turn to face her, but a muscle tensed along his jaw. Silently he wondered how Juliette had managed to escape the cabin. Robbie had been very diligent about locking the door. She must have sweet-talked him into letting her out. Damn the fool.

  Harrison answered her slowly. “I’m observing the stars and clouds to predict the weather.”

  She paused a second before asking in an amused voice, “And just what is it you see in them?”

  Harrison sensed her stepping closer to him, but he still did not turn to her. “We’ve had fair weather so far, but I think we are in for some rain by morning.”

  “A little rain would be most refreshing.”

  “Oh, it will likely be more than a little rain,” he said, his tone ominous.

  She leaned against the railing next to him. A long silence ensued.

  “You’ve been avoiding me, Captain Fleming.”

  “I’ve more important things to do than to attend to your needs.”

  “You’ve been avoiding me,” she repeated, her voice throaty and low, sending an extraordinary wave of desire crashing over him.

  Harrison then made the monumental mistake of looking at her.

  Staring intently at him, Juliette smiled triumphantly, her face luminous in the pale glow of the moon and stars. No longer wearing the men’s clothing, she had on one of her own dresses, a pretty confection that outlined her numerous charms. He swallowed hard. Her long black hair hung loose around her shoulders, blowing in the breeze. Looking like she should be the figurehead on the bow of the Sea Minx, he sucked in his breath at the sight of her. He steeled himself.

  “After what happened between us, it’s best if I avoid you, Juliette,” he managed to reply.

  She nodded her head gently. The exact reason why he needed to stay away from her hung unspoken in the air. God help him, but he fought the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her sweet mouth again right then and there.

  “When will we reach New York?”

  He felt himself relax as she changed the subject. “If we can manage to bypass this storm, we should be there in little over a week.”

  She turned her face toward his. “This is a very fast ship, isn’t it?”

  He grinned at her. “One of the fastest clippers on the sea.”

  “It’s a beautiful boat.” She glanced out over the water and breathed deeply. “The ocean is so dark at night and something about it terrifies me. The vastness and mysteriousness of it, perhaps. But I’m sure you’re not afraid of the ocean anymore.”

  “It is a very foolish man that does not possess a healthy fear of the ocean.”

  Juliette turned back to face him again. “You have been sailing since you were a young boy, haven’t you?”

  He nodded in agreement. “When I was thirteen, I started working on the docks on South Street. When I was old enough I became part of a crew on a tall ship.”

  “And now you’ve traveled all over the world and have had great success with your own shipping line.”

  “Yes, that’s true,” he admitted. “I’ve come a long way from where I began as a boy.”

  “You must be very proud of your accomplishments.”

  “Proud enough.”

  “Do you ever intend to stay in one place and settle down?”

  Noting the highly inquisitive tone in her voice, he held back a smile and gave her a noncommittal shrug. “Perhaps.”

  “Do you want to have a real home on land someday?”

  “I have that already.”

  “What about marriage?” she questioned.

  “What about marriage?” he countered evenly.

  “What about having a wife and children?”

  “I had not given that much thought.” Which, oddly enough, was the truth. He had been so consumed with succeeding with his shipping line, making money, and taking care of Melissa that the thought of a wife and children had not entered his mind in any practical terms. He supposed in a vague, far off fashion he had assumed he would settle down one day when he met a woman he could love. “What about you, Juliette? Do you wish to have a husband, a home, and children?”

  “If I wanted to be married I would have remained in London!” she exclaimed with a rueful laugh. “I don’t wish to marry. At least not now. Not yet. Perhaps someday.” Juliette sighed heavily. Changing the subject, she asked abruptly, “Have you any family? Brothers? Sisters?”

  “I have a brother and two sisters.” Saving her the effort of more questions, Harrison continued in a matter of fact manner. “I am the eldest. Both of my parents are deceased. My birthday is July third. I’m twenty-nine years old. My favorite color is blue. My shipping business is quite successful. I have sailed around the world at least half a dozen times. I have a town house in Manhattan and a house and farmland in New Jersey, where I am currently building a stable for racehorses. Is there anything else you care to know?”

  Juliette, looking somewhat chagrined, shook her head. “That about does it for now, although that information begs me to ask a whole host of new questions.”

  “Well, let me ask you a few questions for a moment or two.”

  “I suppose that’s only fair,” she conceded amiably. “Fire away.”

  “How old are you?”

  “I’m twenty-one.”

  “And your birthday?”

  “Was March eighteenth.”

  A silence lengthened between them, before Harrison spoke again. “Since we are sharing information about each other, I would like you tell me something, Juliette. What is the real reason you wish to go to New York so desperately?”

  Disarming him, Juliette looked directly in his eyes. “I told you the reason already.”

  “I don’t think going to visit a friend on another continent is enough to lure a young lady from her home.” He gave her an assessing gaze. “Who is he?”

  “He? There is no he. It is difficult for me to explain why, but I simply had to leave London.”

  He stared at her for a long moment, noting the sincere look on her face. She sounded earnest enough, but he did not believe her. Her story did not make sense. This woman was on a mission and there was no doubt in his mind that it was a mission to capture a certain gentleman in New York. A woman in love following the man who claimed her heart made sense to him, but Harrison would be damned if he could figure out why any man would leave behind a woman like Juliette.

  He played along, hoping to lull her into a false sense of security. He would get the truth out of her soon enough, and definitely by the time they docked in New York. “All right then. Who is this friend you are going to see?”

  Juliette sighed easily. “Oh, I’ve known her for years. My father used to tutor her in our bookshop. Christina Dunbar is now married to an American gentleman and they settled in New York about two years ago. She invited me to stay with them, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to see a part of the world that isn’t London.”

  Harrison
could not believe this was the whole story. Surely she had dissembled or conveniently omitted certain aspects, as most women tended to do. Somewhere there was a man involved, he was certain of it. Was he a relative of this Christina person, perhaps? What Juliette did not know was that she would have no opportunity to see her friend when they arrived in New York since he would be shipping her directly back to London as soon as they docked. He humored her anyway. “Does she have any idea that you will be there in a week?”

  “I believe so. I sent her a letter days before I left home informing her that I would be arriving before long. She will be happy to see me in any case.”

  “I see.” He turned and leaned one elbow along the railing and faced her. “How long are you planning to stay in New York?”

  “I honestly don’t know yet. It’s all just an adventure for me right now.” Her smile lit up the night and caught Harrison off guard.

  Her lips beckoned him and he was sorely tempted to kiss her. He could do it so easily too. He already knew how heavenly her lips tasted and he ached to have her again. He knew that path could only lead to trouble for him. He cleared his throat rather loudly and stood up straight. “Well, I think it’s time to go below for the night.” He made a move forward to take his leave.

  She put her hand up, gesturing to stop him. “About that.”

  Harrison paused and looked at her, wishing to the good lord above that she were not so temptingly beautiful.

  Juliette hesitated for a moment. “When I boarded your ship the other night, I swear to you that I had no intention of inconveniencing you in any way. I simply needed a way to get to New York. I would have stayed in that storage room the entire voyage if that was what it took. However, I do appreciate you allowing me to stay in your lovely cabin, but I never meant to put you out of your own bed, Captain Fleming.”

  Harrison froze at her casual reference to his bed. The image of her sleeping between his sheets, naked and warm with her long hair spilling around her, almost undid him. He stated haltingly, “You have not put me out. There simply was no other room suitable for you.”

  An uncomfortable silence ensued between them. At least it was uncomfortable for Harrison. He made another motion to leave.

  “You’re bothered by me.”

  He stopped and eyed her with a careful glance. Did she know that he had barely slept the last three nights for being bothered by her? “What makes you say something like that?”

  “You have locked me in your cabin.”

  “Only to keep you from falling overboard.”

  She held up her chin. “I feel I am being held captive.”

  He titled his head toward her. “When you stow away on someone’s ship, you are taking your chances, my dear. You have been exceptionally well-treated for a stowaway, so you have no reason to complain.” He knew she had the best of the food on board, for Cook had seen to it that the “pretty lady” did not perish for want of sustenance. She was supposed to have been mending some of the men’s clothes to earn her keep, but she had proved surprisingly inept at that task. He was aware that Robbie had even filled the small bath for her earlier that day. She had been given every luxury and treated as a princess. So in essence she had been lounging about in his cabin for three days, without a care in the world.

  “Yes, that’s true enough and I do thank you,” she conceded easily. “Yet still, I was locked inside for days with no word from you.”

  Struggling with the delectable and arousing image of Juliette naked in the bath, he refocused on her recent comment. “What word could you possibly need from me?” he questioned her.

  “Oh, I don’t know…You kissed me, quite passionately I would say, and left without so much as a good day.”

  He needed no reminders from her of their heated exchange that afternoon. He had been tortured enough by his own traitorous mind ever since. “How the hell did you get out of my cabin this evening anyway?” he said roughly.

  Juliette held up a small brass key that was not unfamiliar to him.

  He nodded his head in concession while grudgingly admiring her spirit and determination. “It took you long enough to find it.”

  She twirled the key around her forefinger. “It was in the last place I would have suspected you to hide it.”

  He had stored the spare key to his cabin in a detailed china figurine of a ship that sat on the top shelf beside some books. She must have investigated his cabin quite thoroughly all right. She ought to be spanked for such behavior. He gave her a hard look, still amazed by the sheer beauty of her face. “So, I am to assume that you have gone through all of my personal possessions?”

  She shrugged in a careless gesture. “You locked me in. What else did you expect me to do to alleviate my boredom but search for the key?”

  She had been confined to his cabin for three days, so he supposed she had a point. Still, it rankled him to the core that she had looked through his private belongings. “Obviously your parents did not raise you as a respectable lady with proper manners.”

  Her melodious laughter filled the air around him. “Have you just come to that conclusion, Captain Fleming? Did you expect a respectable lady with fine manners to leave her family and stow away on a ship with a virtual stranger?”

  No, he was certain he sensed that about Juliette from the moment he met her. She was not a proper lady. She was nothing but trouble. He reached out to take the key from her, but she snatched her hand away before he could get it.

  Juliette laughed again and he realized the key was looped through a ribbon that was tied around her neck. In one quick movement she tucked the key down the front of the pretty gown she was wearing. The dark blue dress, although displaying her ample bosom quite nicely, sported a high enough neckline that the key was well hidden.

  “Oh, it’s my key now,” she taunted in a low voice. “Finders keepers.”

  Spurred on by an impulse he could not control, Harrison grabbed her hand tightly and pulled her hard against his chest. “Make no mistake, my dear, it is my key and it belongs to me. Just like everything on this ship is mine to do with as I wish. Including you, Juliette Hamilton.”

  They regarded each other warily, and their eyes locked. Harrison’s heart pounded wildly at the nearness of her, while he reveled in the feel of her warm body against his. She did not stiffen or pull away from him. Juliette stood her ground, and if he were not mistaken, pressed her body ever so lightly against his, which only heightened his desire. The scent of jasmine lingered around her and he breathed deeply of her. She stared up at him, her small chin against his chest.

  She whispered, “If you want your key back, Captain Fleming, then you’ll just have to get it yourself.”

  Good God! The audacity of her words left him speechless for a moment. The implications were staggering. He took a quick breath and muttered, “You, Miss Juliette Hamilton, are definitely more trouble than you are worth.”

  Then he crushed his mouth over hers and he was lost. Once again he surrendered all self-control.

  She kissed him as fervently as he kissed her. Her arms wound around his neck and she pressed her body hard against his. He felt her fingers spread out through his hair, caressing his head. He held her tightly, devouring her with his mouth and tongue, losing himself in the heady sweetness of her lips and mouth. Small, yet curvy in all the right places, she fit in his arms so perfectly it was as if she were made for him.

  Under the twinkling stars on the swaying deck of the Sea Minx, they kissed each other with a ravenous hunger, passionately locked in an embrace.

  Unable to bear any more, Harrison swept her up in his arms. By God, if she was going to tempt him in such a way, then she was going to get what she asked for. Without uttering a single word, he carried her with purposeful strides to his cabin. When they reached his quarters, he set her down, slowly sliding her body along the length of his, while he again devoured her lips.

  Breaking free, Juliette kissed him on the cheek and little by little pulled the key from beneath h
er dress. With a mischievous look, she locked the door to the cabin from the inside. Turning back to face him, she placed the key back down her dress.

  With a wicked smile and a gleam in her blue eyes, she whispered, “Now, you’re locked in with me, Captain Fleming.”

  Good sense dictated that he run, but in that moment he knew he was doomed. With a swift movement he grabbed her, pulling her hard against his chest.

  “Do you know what you are doing?” he growled, more aroused than he had ever been in his life. This wild, beautiful vixen had just locked them both in his cabin and placed the key down her dress. To get out he had to obtain the key, most assuredly a pleasurable endeavor, and in so doing he would certainly not have the strength to use the key to escape. The very idea of retrieving the key left him undone.

  Juliette stared up at him with heavy-lidded eyes. “Do you truly wish to leave me?”

  She was a sea siren, that was what she was. All the tall tales he’d heard all his life were true. Juliette had cast some sort of spell over him. That was the only explanation for his lack of control. His answer was a scorching kiss. It was as if a splendid fire ignited between them, glorious and hot and all consuming.

  But Harrison had a dreadful suspicion he would be the one consumed by the flames when all this was done.

  9

  Just a Little Adventure

  Juliette could not breathe and did not care. Harrison was kissing her and that was all that she wanted, or needed, quite frankly. For three days she had been trapped in Harrison’s cabin, sleeping in his bed and being tormented by the memory of his kisses.

  Now she kissed him back just as thoroughly as he kissed her. She gasped as his hands slid over the curves of her waist and along her back. She felt his fingers brush the buttons at the back of her dress. Slowly he unfastened them, one by one. She opened her eyes. In the dimly lit cabin she could see Harrison’s face, the rugged line of his jaw, as he kissed her, nuzzled her neck.