“Lindy—”
“I’m not leaving you.” She reclined and turned her back to him, ending the discussion. If he thought he was going to ditch her and go off to play hero on his own he was crazy. She wasn’t going to lose him. No matter how skilled he was, he couldn’t possibly cover himself one hundred percent of the time. One mistake and he could be dead. He stood a better chance of surviving if she went with him.
“I won’t endanger your life.”
She felt him lie beside her. His fingers brushed down her arm. “Why, because you promised my father?”
He leaned in close, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath on her ear. “No,” his voice was so low she could barely hear him.
“Then why? Why don’t you want me to help you?”
“Because I’m in love with you.”
She lifted her head sharply, hitting him in the lips.
“Ouch!”
“You’re in love with me?”
He rubbed his lips as if trying to make sure he wasn’t bleeding. “Yeah, I am.”
“I’m in love with you too.”
He smiled. “Good.”
“Like you didn’t know.” She rolled her eyes.
“The thought crossed my mind that you might be setting me up.”
She laughed. “No, I wasn’t doing that.” At least not in the way he imagined. “Why did you wait so long?”
“Part of it was…well, you’re the Captain’s daughter. The other part was that I thought you might want somebody more scholastically educated.”
“Please,” she rolled her eyes. “You’re brilliant in all the ways that matter. I’m still Morgan’s daughter.”
“I know. I just don’t care anymore. He may hate me, he might even fire me, but I can’t deny what I feel for you.”
“I’m glad, because I don’t want you to. I want you to tell me how you feel.” She reached her hand up and traced his jaw line with her fingertips. The moon sparkled through the trees illuminating his face just enough to be seen.
“Maybe I should show you.” He leaned in; pressing his lips to hers he kissed her softly.
“We can’t,” she whispered as he pulled away. He should be keeping watch, she should be sleeping, and Nick was only a few feet away. All further protest died on her lips as Andrew kissed her once more.
His method was slow, lingering kisses as his hand brushed down her shoulder. She cleared all thoughts about the dangers before them as she lost herself in his delicate embrace. He was being cautious not to hurt her arm, she could tell by the way he gently caressed her arms. She wondered what he would be like if her arm didn’t need careful consideration. Would he explore her body so gently, navigate it like he did the ocean—mapping out all the right spots to kiss, stroke and caress? Or would he dominate her the same way he dominated the Night Owl during a storm? Would he master her completely, or would he allow himself to be mastered? She wanted to know the answers to her questions, but she wasn’t going to find out tonight.
Besides being cautious of her injury, Andrew obviously remembered that he needed to be cautious and keep watch for the pirates chasing them. He pulled back and said, “When I get you safe I fully intend to continue this.”
“I can’t wait.” Her own voice sounded husky just as his had. “But I’ll try not to come without you.”
He laughed. “You fail and you’ll just have to come again, Love.”
“Now that’s a highly titillating scenario.” She caressed his arm. “You focus on keeping watch and I’ll get some sleep.” She would have kissed him, but if she had she probably wouldn’t have been able to stop.
“By the way, my dad could never hate you.”
“True, but he could fire me.”
She conceded, “True,” she said before closing her eyes. “But I don’t think he will. Besides, I have final say in everything except my being captain.”
“Is being captain really that important to you?”
“I just want my dad to see that I can do it. I want to make him proud.”
“He is proud of you.”
She started to turn over to face him, but she remembered her arm would have the mother load of pain if she did. Instead, she turned on to her back and stared up at the sky.
“My dad wanted a son…another Captain Morgan in the family. He got me. If I could just prove to him that I can be as good as ten sons I would have accomplished something.” She had gone away to college and achieved a terminal degree in her field, mostly to make her dad proud, but somehow she still felt as if she were letting him down.
“Your father’s more proud of you than you realize. While you were away he never stopped talking about you. Every semester he proudly shared with us what classes you were taking and the grades.”
“Really?”
“Every A, every recognition, he couldn’t stop talking about you. When you decided to come home to start the business, you should have seen him.”
Lindy closed her eyes and listened to Andrew speak. She had spent most of her life trying to live up to some idea of what her father wanted her to be when in reality he had been happy with her just as she was. “Thank you, Andrew. Thank you for telling me this.”
She drifted off to sleep, satisfied, and for the first time, feeling complete.
Chapter Eight
Andrew spent most of the morning restraining himself from physically adjusting the professor’s attitude. By afternoon he needed to physically restrain himself in a completely different fashion. Lindy had ditched her sweater the moment the weather hit hot and humid. Her smaller breasts allowed her to comfortably go without a bra and the curves were very visible through her top. He told himself to remember the danger; he hoped it would help him keep his mind off his increasing desire to explore her body.
“How much longer?”
This time it wasn’t the professor’s voice he heard, it was Lindy’s.
“About a day or so.” At least he thought it was a day or so. He couldn’t be sure since he was lost the first time going, but he was fairly sure this was the same route they had taken back. “Are you okay?” He turned around once more to look at her. As had been the case all day, his eyes gravitated toward her breasts.
“Sluggish, a little winded. I guess I lost more blood than I thought.”
She had and he knew that. “Do you need to rest?” He knew they shouldn’t, but he also knew she didn’t look as if she could go on.
“I have to.” She leaned forward and placed her hands atop her thighs for support.
“Okay. Ten minutes and we’ll have to move on.”
She nodded in agreement.
“We can stop for her,” Nick snapped. “I had to pee.”
“So go now,” Andrew’s tone stayed dry and easy. He figured dry and easy was a huge accomplishment given what he really felt.
Andrew placed his hand on Lindy’s shoulder.
“Maybe I should play decoy. You and the professor can—”
“No. You’re not doing anything stupid. I’ll be fine.”
Andrew shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just trying to make sure you have enough energy for what I’m planning to do to you.”
She grinned. “Well quit dragging me up a mountain and you wouldn’t have to worry about me having energy for what I might let you do to me.”
He laughed. “That’s my girl—feisty as always.” He winked at her. “I think I can convince you to let me do what I want.”
“I’d like to see you try.” She put her hands on her hips, stretching her tank top across her breasts.
“I bet you would.”
“Do all of you men only think about what you want?”
He finally had an answer to one of his questions. The professor hadn’t met all of her needs. Andrew planned to meet all of her needs and a few of his own too. “Most people do consider their own needs, but a skilled man remembers to satisfy his woman.”
“And am I your woman?”
“Hell yes.” He didn’t
need to frost over the situation. She was his and he was hers.
“Well then I guess I’ll see how skilled you are when we get back.”
He wasn’t sure he could wait that long. He wanted her naked with her legs wrapped around him right now. The only thing stopping him from stripping her and taking her was the danger behind them. They couldn’t afford to stop during the day for more than ten minutes and he would need more than ten minutes to explore her body.
“We need to move on.”
“I’m ready.”
She wasn’t completely ready; he knew that. If he could afford to wait he would, but waiting lost time and lost time would mean their death.
“Nick,” Lindy called. “He should have been back by now.”
Andrew grunted. How far had the professor gone off? Just his luck, the professor was probably lost and he was going to have to go in search of him. He couldn’t leave Lindy behind. He would have to take her with him, which meant she would have to exhaust more energy in the search.
“He’s probably lost,” Lindy added as they walked deeper into the direction Nick had gone.
“Perfect,” Andrew mumbled. “We’re losing time because the professor couldn’t take a piss nearby.
“Would it hurt you to call him Nick?”
Andrew mumbled to himself.
“What was that? I couldn’t understand you.”
“Nothing.” He stopped walking, turned to face her and said, “What did you see in him anyway?”
“He’s smart.”
Andrew snorted.
“He is. Maybe not in the common sense in danger way…”
“Definitely not.”
“He’s very book smart.” She continued. “I guess when I first met Nick he reminded me of you.”
“Ouch.”
She laughed. “In that he was confident in his choices and he went after what he wanted.”
“Including you?”
“Well, I kind of pursued him at first. I wanted to get over you. So, I uh…well I made good use of my newly developed boobs; B-cup becomes me; and I flaunted a little cleavage without being trashy. I got a job as his assistant just to spend more time with him. Then one day he noticed and he pursued me.” She placed her hand on his forearm. “I have a confession to make.”
He stood frozen. Was she going to tell him she was in love with the professor at some time in their relationship? He didn’t think he could take that revelation.
“I never got over you. It’s why I broke it off with Nick. I guess after years of dating I realized I’d rather be near you than without you. Maybe, that’s the real reason I decided to open my business here instead of Hawaii.”
“Hawaii?”
“I had an offer…I turned it down. Anyway, and don’t get angry…I asked Nick out to help me make you jealous.”
He laughed and she slapped his arm hard.
“No, it’s just…” he laughed harder. “I thought he…”
“He does.”
Andrew stopped laughing.
“The plan—my plan, was to make you want me. His plan was to get me back.”
His expression turned serious. “Any chance of that happening?”
“No.” She added quickly, not leaving any room for doubt.
“Good,” he added before moving ahead.
“Nick!”
Andrew winced. The sound of Lindy’s voice was sweet like honey, but the fact that she was calling out Nick’s name almost made him sick with jealousy. This was in no way a sexual longing call, but it made him think about the nights the professor had been with Lindy. He knew he had no right to be jealous. He had been with his fair share of women; he couldn’t deny that Lindy had the right to a history of her own—especially when he had never given her a reason not to. Still, what Lindy had with the professor had lasted much longer than any of his past relationships. Now he knew just how much she wanted him, but still he felt this purely primal need to possess her so no other man could.
Andrew stopped abruptly at the sight of the professor with a gun pointed at his head.
“That’s right, come on out here.”
Andrew contemplated his options. The man was tall, and skinny, but appearances were often deceiving and Andrew had no doubt the tattooed, gun wielding pirate could handle himself in a fight. Still, he wasn’t afraid to try, but if he did somebody would get hurt and he wouldn’t take the chance that Lindy would be that somebody.
He stepped forward being sure to stay in front of Lindy.
“Boss will be proud. The others had to stop to sleep, but I was smart. I kept going. I got a little off your trail, but as luck would have it, this one came right to me.” He waved the gun in the air. A slow, steady grin stretched his lips. “No hiding now.”
Andrew felt Lindy move from behind him. He wanted to shield her, to keep her safe.
“Good girl.”
Andrew took his eyes away from the threat long enough to see why his first words weren’t drop the gun. Lindy no longer had the rifle in hand. She must have left it in the bushes at the first sight of the trouble they were in. Smart thinking because they didn’t need this guy to get another gun and he didn’t need Lindy to get shot.
“Nice,” he surveyed her once again. “I’m Rogelio. When the boss finishes with you maybe he’ll let me have a go.”
Andrew felt as if his blood were boiling. If anybody thought about putting so much as a finger on Lindy he would rip them apart.
“Couldn’t take a piss closer could you?” If the professor had stayed closer they wouldn’t be in the hole right now.
“We’re going to walk back that way, Honey,” he nodded in the direction he traveled from. “I don’t particularly need either of you.” He pointed the gun at Andrew.”
“No,” Lindy stepped in front of him before he could stop her.
Rogelio laughed. “Don’t worry; I wouldn’t dare deprive Jack of the chance to execute either man, not unless I have to.” His last words were meant to solidify his position as the man in charge. He had his finger on the trigger and Andrew knew he was just waiting for a reason to pull it. Unfortunately the professor picked the moment to play hero. He lunged at Rogelio, knocking him slightly off balance and causing him to release the trigger. Lindy fell back into Andrew and they both hit the ground.
Andrew knew the professor would soon be dead, but no sooner than Rogelio gained his composure, an arrow pierced through his heart.
“Oh God,” Lindy held on to her arm.
“Lindy.” Andrew knelt beside her.
“Who gets shot in the same arm twice?”
“It’s okay, just hold on.” He gently unfolded her hand from the wound. To his surprise the bullet had clipped the exact same spot.
“How long have you been there?” Andrew asked without removing his eyes from Lindy.
“Have you gone mad?”
“Not you;” he looked up briefly to indicate which “you” he was actually addressing. There stood a short, bronzed primitive man decorated with tribal symbols on his arms and chest.
“Since he got the blond one. Had we known he was your friend we would have helped sooner.”
Andrew nodded. At least they remembered him. “Thank you.”
“Your woman is injured.”
Lindy and Andrew locked eyes. For a moment he thought she might take offense, but she hadn’t. She managed a partial smile despite her pain. “I hope he won’t hold that against me.”
“He won’t.” He helped her to a sitting position.
“I am Wanaki.”
“I’m Lindy.”
“There will be more like him behind us.”
Wanaki nodded his understanding.
“Do you still have the radio?”
“Yes. Come;” Wanaki motioned.
Andrew helped Lindy to her feet. “We’ll bandage this again as soon as we’re clear of this area.” If he hadn’t wanted to kick the crap out of the professor before he did now. Twice Lindy had been shot and both times h
ad been the result of the professor’s actions, or inaction. He kept Lindy to the left of him, ensuring she stayed close. “You’ll be okay,” he said for his benefit as well as hers.
“Yes, I will.”
He smiled. “That’s my girl—stay positive.”
“No reason not to.”
He chuckled. “You’re kidding right?”
“Well, the way I see it all those years of wanting you to be mine and now you are—I figure my luck is looking up.”
“And getting shot in the arm twice?”
“Lucky, considering both times could have been worse.”
She was right; he knew that. He didn’t even want to think about what could have been. When he heard the shot and saw Lindy go down, both times he thought she might be dead and both times he felt a gut wrenching emptiness as if losing her would have been losing a part of himself.
Chapter Nine
“You’re not going by yourself. “Lindy refused to move from in front of the hut door. If Andrew thought he was getting past her he was dead wrong. She was not going to lose him.
“Lindy, I have to lead them away from this village.”
“I’m going with you.”
“You’re staying here.” His words left no room for debate, his eyes showed no signs of compromise. Still, she wouldn’t back down. She was a great shooter, better than Andrew, and he needed her. She didn’t need to say anything to plead her case. She knew the only way he would get her to stay and she knew he would never hit a lady.
Lindy picked up her rifle; “Let’s go.”
Before leading the way he mumbled something she didn’t make out, but she was sure was a series of curses, before leading the way. He made a point of reminding her to stay behind him, not in front. She took slight offense, but decided it best not to argue. It wasn’t that she wanted to be in front, she just didn’t like the implication that her getting shot was her fault. Although he probably had implied no such thing.
There was definitely something to be said for the rearview. Andrew had a body worth caressing and his butt lived up to the rest of him. She was well aware she needed to focus and so, with much regret, she tore her eyes away from his behind. Did he really love her? She loved him, and she was in love with him. Love, guilt or obligation was the only explanation to her recent bout of stupidity. Her insisting she go with him had to be stupidity because it wasn’t bravery. A smart person would have stayed behind at the camp. A woman in love had insisted she go to help keep the man she loved safe.
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