by Howe, Cheryl
Drew shrugged. “I don’t think he cared about anyone else enough to actually hate them. We all just got in his way. My father recognized me in his will, and my brother didn’t want that. Marley met his fate because he tried to blackmail the Duke of Foxmoor.” Drew glanced across the water to the distant shore. The expanse was too great to see what transpired with the naked eye, but she suspected Drew could easily picture his brother’s demise. “I’ve discovered there are worse things than being a pirate.”
Felicity turned to face him. “So, you switched places with him. Did Samantha help you?”
Drew met her gaze with a slight rise of his eyebrows. “Samantha? I didn’t know you two were on a first name basis.” He kissed Felicity’s forehead, she guessed to reassure her for something she no longer needed reassurance about. “I didn’t want her further involved. I know my way around the Linley plantation very well on my own. That’s where Solomon and I spent some miserable years toiling in the fields. We still have a few friends there who were eager to help.”
“Precisely why I’m more than ready to leave,” Solomon interrupted. “I haven’t let Hugh on deck since we’ve been in Carlisle Bay. Shall we raise anchor?”
“Absolutely. Sam told me the duke has a valet and secretary who travel with him, but everyone is used to his long disappearances. I left Linley Hall in disguise before most of the staff awoke, but I imagine someone will become suspicious before the day is out.”
“What if they discover they hanged the wrong man?”
Drew smiled. “They won’t. They’ll be happier believing the Duke of Foxmoor drowned than admit they hanged him in place of a notorious pirate. Just to be sure, some witnesses will come forward with some of the clothes he left on shore when he went for a swim.” Drew hooked his arm through Felicity’s and started dragging her toward the companionway that led below. “I need to talk to you. Solomon, get us out of here.”
“Aye, Captain.” Solomon eagerly disappeared to follow Drew’s orders.
Before Felicity could dreamily follow Drew below, her father blocked their path. The way he dropped his gaze and cleared his throat burst her bubble of happiness. “I know Felicity is a grown woman, but she’s still my daughter.
“Hold on, Ben. Let me talk to Felicity in private, and I’m sure we can straighten out everything.”
Felicity pulled away from Drew. If she followed him below, she’d surely lose her head. She didn’t doubt he loved her—his actions had proved that—but how that love would be viewed by society hadn’t occurred to her until now. She might have broken free of the strict moral shame she’d been subjected to for most of her life, but the look on her father’s face told her that loving Drew on Drew’s terms would be harder than she expected. Even so, she’d not go back to her former life. Being condemned as a fallen woman would be worth it to spend her life with Drew.
“It’s all right, Father. I love him. I want to be with him.”
Drew grinned at her as if he hadn’t expected her to defend him. “That’s good to hear.”
“At what price?” Her father hooked his arm with hers and tried to pull her away. He looked at Drew. “We survived this, but the life you lead is too dangerous for Felicity. And what if there is a child?”
Drew’s gaze swung to Felicity. When she shook her head no, he seemed to relax. Unfortunately, her father brought to light consequences she hadn’t fully considered. She untangled herself from her father’s grasp. “Let us speak in private.”
“I can settle this. Of course, I preferred to do it in private so I didn’t have to make a fool of myself in front of the crew.” Drew dropped to one knee. He glanced at her father. “Am I doing this right?”
Her father nodded, the grin on his face telling her he realized what Felicity could hardly believe. Drew took her hands in his. A few sailors had stopped what they were doing to gape openly.
“You’re ruining your bloodthirsty reputation, Drew. You’d better get up before your crew thinks you’ve gone mad.” Felicity’s voice sounded calm, though her insides were jangling uncontrollably.
“That’s all right. We’ll have to get a new crew when they find out I’m leaving piracy. All except for Solomon and Hugh, of course. Will you mind being a boring merchant’s wife?”
“Boring sounds wonderful to me. But what about you?”
Drew glanced at Ben. “Can I get up now?”
Ben nodded, but continued to stare at them both with a grin on his face.
Drew stood and pulled Felicity against him. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to provide all my excitement from now on. New Orleans doesn’t have much in the way to offer for entertainment, but it’s a young city. And more importantly, it’s not British. A good place for all of us to start over.” Drew wrapped his arm around her waist and urged her against him. “Fortunately, keeping me in a constant state of...” Drew glanced at her father, then cleared his throat. “Keeping me entertained seems to be a specialty of yours.”
Her father’s cheeks flushed. He bowed politely. “I’ll leave you two alone now.”
The sails unfurled in a protesting flap before they caught the wind and pushed the Rapture away from Barbados.
“Are you sure about this, Drew? As much as I love you, it’s hard for me to imagine you as the domestic sort. And for you to settle down with one woman…” She let her sentence go unfinished and shoved on his shoulders so she could gaze into his eyes. If she witnessed a hint of regret there, she’d have to find the courage to let him go.
He didn’t relinquish his tight embrace. “Oh, no. You’re not getting away from me this time. You’ve ruined my taste for other women. No one has ever seen through me as effectively as you have. Nor loved me despite it.”
The honesty she glimpsed in his sincere gaze left her mouth dry. She touched his lips with her fingers. “How could I not love you? You’ve done the same for me.”
He grabbed her hand and kissed the center of her palm. “So, are we settled? It will be Monsieur and Madame.” He paused. “There’s one problem. When we reach New Orleans, who shall we be?”
“All I want is to be your wife and for you to be yourself.”
Drew took her arm and dragged her into the relative privacy of the companionway in front of his cabin. Alone at last, he kissed her with slow, possessive adoration. When he pulled away, they both had trouble breathing. “I’m counting on you to help me figure out exactly who that is. In the meantime, I’ll discover the rest of what you’ve been hiding, my passionate little Puritan.”
She reached down and toyed with the top button of his breeches. “Let’s start now. I think I have a few freckles you’ve missed.”
He dipped down and swept her up in his arms. After he wrestled the portal to his cabin open, he grinned wickedly, then nipped her shoulder through her clothing. “Freckles suit you. If I have my way—and I will—that’s all you’ll be wearing for a very long time.”
She buried her face in the crook of his neck. This time, she believed every word.
IMPROPER PLEASURES
By
Cheryl Howe
Lady Astra Keane ruins herself a second time by seducing her late husband’s younger American cousin when he arrives in England to inherit a title and the estate she loves. Discovering she has no funds to start a new life, Astra justifies her proposition to secretly become James’s mistress in bed, in addition to his estate, as the only hope of providing a stable environment for her daughter. Her arrangement with James Keane allows Astra to remain the mistress of her home while she explores her long denied passions with a man she finds irresistibly attractive . Though warned not to fall in love with her paramour, Astra soon discovers she’ll never make a proper mistress to James. Her heart has become involved but she refuses to give up the affair.
James Keane knows Astra is hiding secrets about her past, but he finds he can’t resist her offer to become his mistress. He makes it clear that he’ll be returning to America as soon as he turns around the bankrupt estate he�
�s inherited. Though he has no reason to trust her, James doesn’t believe Astra could be involved with the string of accidents that have befallen him since his arrival. Rumors of the Keane Curse leads James to believe his misfortune has a human source, one that he intends to uncover. He only hopes his investigation doesn’t reveal he has fallen in love with a woman who wants him dead.
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Other Books by Cheryl Howe
Secret Pleasures
After the Ashes
The Pirate’s Jewel -coming July 2013
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cheryl Howe writes sexy historical romance novels with strong characters in sensual settings. She is an avid reader and would rather bury her head in a book than do just about anything else. She published her first novel in 2003. When she’s not reading or writing, she tries to balance her time between cooking healthy gluten-free meals, not ignoring her husband, and catering to her menagerie of house pets. She lives in Southern California with an understanding husband, two spoiled dogs, a demanding cat and a bright yellow parakeet.
To learn more about Cheryl and her books, visit her blog, Whole-Healthy-Writer, at http://cherylhowe.com/
You can email her at [email protected]
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