She could barely keep her eyes open. "How else are we alike?"
He tucked the blanket around her. "I want you." He gently smoothed her hair away from her face, the touch sending shivers down her spine. "You want me, too."
Drake spent a portion of each day checking on Thea and forcing her to take sustenance. Even in her weakened condition, he found her more alluring than any other woman he had ever known. Both vulnerable and independent, she fascinated him.
Looking out over the ship's rail at the rapidly passing water, he felt satisfaction course through him. If they kept up their current pace, they would make port with time to spare. He turned and walked to Thea's cabin.
The maid had thanked him profusely for his help, saying that without it, she would not have gotten her mistress to eat anything. He didn't doubt the maid's words. Thea made a terrible patient, too stubborn for her own good.
His suspicion that she wore no petticoats had been confirmed the first evening when he returned to her cabin and found her dress in a pile on the floor. He had picked up the garment and folded it. There had been nothing else to put away. He should have been scandalized by her wantonness or at the very least convinced that she was no better than she should be. He was neither. He'd made that mistake once already.
Thea's innocence screamed from her clear, blue eyes when they widened at his teasing. She let him touch her, to feed her and care for her, but when he caressed her arm or touched her lips, she turned skittish. And every day he spent in her company increased his desire for her.
As oblivious to her own appeal as her uncle had claimed, she peppered him with questions about his ship and how the steam engine worked. She wanted every last detail and he found unexpected pleasure in sharing them with her.
He knocked on her door, surprised when it opened immediately. Thea stood on the other side. Dressed. Her Capucine gown hung loosely under a shawl of light cotton.
"What the bloody hell are you doing out of bed?" He followed his question with a glare meant to make her see sense, but she responded with a blinding smile.
"Isn't it lovely? I finally feel well enough to get up." She looked ready to fall over. "I'm going for a walk. I want to see the ship I've been sailing on for weeks."
"I'll take you to a chair on the passenger deck."
Her face fell. "But I wanted to tour the ship."
"You need to work up your strength. Perhaps tomorrow."
Her mouth set in a mutinous line, she shook her head. "I don't want to lie on a deck chair like an invalid."
"Where is Melly? I can't believe she has agreed to accompany you on your little jaunt."
Thea's pale skin gained a little color. "She didn't. She's gone to visit friends she's made on board."
The knowledge surprised him. Not that the maid had friends. Thea insisted that Melly leave the cabin each day for meals and a "bracing walk," as she called it. To his knowledge, the maid never walked farther than the passenger parlor. What surprised him was that the maid would leave Thea, knowing he was due to visit soon. He came at nearly the same time every day.
"She'll be back soon, I'm sure."
"I've told her to spend the afternoon as she wishes."
"You were planning to go alone?" Unexpected anger seared him. "What if you had gotten ill? Who would look after you?"
"I had intended to walk with you." She smiled charmingly at him. "You are not too busy, are you?"
He had no doubt that if he refused, she would go alone.
"I would like nothing better than to escort you to a chair on deck."
"I want to go for a walk."
"Let's see how you feel when we get outside, shall we?"
She looked ready to argue, but then she nodded. "Fine."
When they stepped onto the deck and into the sun, Thea stopped and tossed her head back, her eyes closed. She breathed in deeply. "Fresh air. It's a luxury I no longer take for granted."
He couldn't resist running his finger down her cheek. Her head snapped up and her eyes opened. She stared at him in silence. He dropped his hand. "Come along before I forget that my mother tried to teach me to be a gentleman."
"Your father didn't teach you?"