“I never thought I’d see you again!” she cried when he took the kerchief out of her mouth.
“My love, my sweet,” he crooned and undid the ropes on her feet and hands. “You’re safe now. Rolfe is dead. We can go home.”
“How did you find me?” she asked wonderingly.
Cort held her tightly against him and wiped her tears from her face. “I remembered that Rolfe had a favorite childhood haunt, a place he took me to once, then taunted me that he always managed to escape his chores and come to this isolated place while I worked. This was my final hope, and thank God, I found you.”
“Oh, Cort, is it really over?” She clung to him, fearful to let him go.
“Yes, my love, it’s over. Let’s return to Lindenwyck.”
“Yes, Cort, home. Let’s go home.”
EPILOGUE
Wynter lay in Cort’s arms, totally and completely satiated after lovemaking. Her long, dark hair streamed onto his arm, and when she turned her face to his, he gently stroked her cheek. His fingers came to rest on her lips which he traced with an index finger.
“I think, little one, that you’re an insatiable wench. We haven’t left this room in over a week. Don’t you think Lyntje needs her mother?”
Wynter grinned. “Lyntje is staying with her Aunt Lucy and Uncle Dirk. She’s well taken care of and quite pampered, too, I’d guess. Dirk dotes upon her. Mikel and Lena left for New York three days ago to visit friends. But you’ve been too preoccupied to notice.” Her hands traced the muscular contours of his bronzed chest. “And if I’m insatiable, Cort, you’ve made me this way. So, you have to learn to live with me.”
A pensive smile crossed his face. After a few silent moments, he said, “If you had your life to live over again, if you could have freely chosen whether to be taken captive on the Sea Bride or not, would you have come with me?”
“That’s an odd sort of question,” Wynter commented. “It’s rather late now to even ask it.”
“But what would you have chosen?”
For a moment, Wynter wanted to spar with him, to let him wonder at her answer. But she saw that the answer meant a great deal to him. “I’d have willingly thrown myself into your arms, Captain Van Linden, if I had but known the ecstasy I’d find in them.”
The morning sun softly filtered into the room, bathing them in the golden glow of love. Cort tilted her face to his and kissed her. “From this moment on, Wynter Van Linden, you’ve freely made your choice. And from this second to the end of time, I promise that I shall love you, and trust you, and care for you. Once I make a promise, I never break it.”
She sighed her contentment. “You don’t have to promise me anything, Cort, though I adore hearing the words. Since the moment we’ve met, you’ve taken care of me. All I want is the promise of your love.”
He clasped her head against him. “That is one promise I shall never break to you, my love. You are my life.”
“And you are mine.”
Their lips met. In the shimmering glow of the morning sun, the pirate’s golden promise was fulfilled.
About the Author
Lynette Vinet is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and a member of Romance Writers of America and Creative Minds Writers. She has always been intrigued by the history of her native city and the South, as well as colonial America and the British Isles. An avid genealogist, she is also a member of the Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans. Over the last two decades, Vinet has published eleven historical romances in addition to a number of genealogical articles. She is a wife, mother, and doting grandmother.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1993, 2013 by Lynette Vinet
Cover design by Amanda Kelsey of Razzle Dazzle Design.
978-1-5040-2241-5
This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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