Their reception surprised and somewhat embarrassed her. Kyle’s crew had always been extremely polite and attentive toward her, but there was a new respect in their eyes this morning that indicated word had gotten around about her action during the storm; those who hadn’t seen had heard of her daring rescue of the Tagus’s first mate. Indeed, Tiny was particularly effusive. For once he had more than a few words to say—all in praise of her—as he expressed gratitude on behalf of the crew for saving Mr. Hardwick’s life.
Uncomfortable at being lauded for an action she felt that anyone under similar circumstances would have done, Selena asked where she could find the captain. As soon as Tiny informed her that Captain Ramsey was visiting the first mate, she fled below.
She had raised her hand to knock on Hardwick’s cabin door when she heard Kyle’s voice through the paneling. It sounded so close that he must have been standing directly on the other side.
“Deuce take it,” Kyle was saying, “ten months ago I thought I would live out my days at sea, free to sail wherever I pleased. Then I was saddled with a plantation I never asked for and a wife I never wanted, either.”
Selena froze, her heartbeat suddenly too rapid and loud in her ears. It wasn’t admirable, eavesdropping on anyone’s conversation, but she couldn’t force herself to move. She missed Hardwick’s reply but had no trouble hearing Kyle.
“Sure, I meant this voyage to be a final spree before I took up my new responsibilities. Last spree, hah! More like last rites. My wedding felt like a funeral, and this bucket nearly became my coffin. You know something? I wanted to face that storm. We could have skirted the worst of it, but instead I endangered my ship and my crew.”
Hardwick murmured something unintelligible, while Selena took a stumbling step backward, tears welling in her eyes, a tight ache in her throat. She knew Kyle hadn’t wanted her, of course, but she had hoped—with all her heart—that after last night they could start anew. It appeared, however, that the passionate night they had shared had done nothing to change their relationship. That devastating night had meant nothing to Kyle.
Her breath caught on a sob. She had been foolish to confuse physical desire with love. Just because a man made love to a woman with such fierce intensity didn’t mean his heart was engaged.
A sick yearning in her own heart, she turned away, scarcely hearing as Kyle spoke again. “It would have been entirely my fault if the Tagus had gone down. I could have killed us all…”
Blindly, Selena made her way up the companionway stairs, needing to get away, to be alone with her wretched thoughts. And not in Kyle’s cabin, where he had aroused her body with such skillful tenderness and broken down every barrier of her reserve, where she would be alone with him if he should find her. She couldn’t face it or him. Not until she managed to collect herself and her battered emotions. Not until she had considered what to do.
Below, in the mate’s cabin, Kyle was still speaking. “And then that delicate slip of a lady whom I hadn’t wanted to marry did something only one man in a hundred would do—risked her life for someone she hardly knew. Do you know, she made me feel ashamed? While I was bemoaning my fate, she was off saving the lives of my men. God, I thought my heart had failed when I saw Selena throw herself in front of that wave. If that line had broken…”
“We both would have been swept into the sea,” Hardwick finished with a grimace, “instead of being bashed by a barrel and speared in the ribs by a foremast yard. I’m supremely grateful to Mrs. Ramsey, I assure you, Captain. Where is she now? Do you suppose you could ask her to call on me, so I can properly thank her?”
“When she awakens,” Kyle answered, his tone softening unmistakably. “She was still sleeping when I left her.”
Hardwick raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry my injury caused you such an inconvenience, sir. Maybe you want me to switch cabins with Mrs. Ramsey?”
“Stubble it, mate. You’ve overstepped the bounds. The arrangement is just fine as it is. Besides, it would cause you serious harm to be moved, no doubt.”
“No doubt,” Hardwick said with a grin, sitting up with little difficulty to show how unfounded Kyle’s theory was. “The men will be relieved. They’ve been wondering why you’ve been neglecting your beautiful wife.”
A private smile curved Kyle’s lips. “I won’t be neglecting her in future.”
“Good. Maybe you’ll quit snapping our heads off, too.”
“Have I been that bad?”
Hardwick laughed. “I’ll just say that if we hadn’t known we’d be rid of you when we reached New Orleans, you might have had a mutiny on your hands. Come to think of it,” he added when Horatio chose that moment to squawk, “that parrot’s company has been a decided improvement over yours, despite his limited vocabulary. Except for a few coarse words, all he can say is ‘Will you dance?’ and ‘Come to tea.’”
Kyle sent the parrot an amused glance, not bothering to mention how Horatio had learned his new words. “He does seem to be something of a society bird. I’ll wager he was raised in a drawing room.”
“I guess you’ll soon be getting reacquainted with drawing rooms yourself.”
“Don’t remind me,” Kyle said with a mock grimace.
“Well, I’ll do my best with the Tagus, sir.”
“I know. That’s why I’m leaving you in command.”
They spoke a while longer about their plans for the schooner, but not even the thought of his impending retirement from the sea could spoil Kyle’s sunny mood this morning. It was as if his foul humor of the past week had been washed away by the storm. And somehow, he found himself actually looking forward to his future for the first time since the death of his parents.
It might, Kyle reflected as he made his way back to his own cabin, have something to do with the slender, pale-haired beauty in his bed. Selena had bewitched him with her startling metamorphosis from well-bred gentlewoman to passionate lover. Their lovemaking had been unique in his experience, satisfying him totally yet leaving him longing for more.
He was disappointed not to find Selena where he had left her, for he had entertained some vividly erotic thoughts of joining her in the bunk and arousing her warm, sleepy body from slumber. But since the clothes he had fetched her were missing, Kyle concluded she had gone up on deck.
She wasn’t at her usual place under the awning, however, and he had to search the length of the ship till he finally found her at the stern, watching the blue waves of the gulf. She looked so fresh and lovely, it almost took his breath away—the sprigged muslin molding her body in the breeze, the morning sunlight shining in her hair. Kyle purposely had neglected to provide her a bonnet, preferring to see her corn-silk tresses loose or at most, tied with a ribbon. But while her head was bare, she must have found the pins he had tossed haphazardly across the cabin the previous evening, for her hair was bound in a demure knot at her nape.
That tender spot at the curve of her neck looked so appealing that when he came up behind her, Kyle gave in to the urge to taste it. Lightly grasping Selena’s arms, he planted a swift butterfly kiss on her silken skin.