Payton's Woman (22 page)

“I don’t remember
telling you any secrets.” Through half closed eyelids she looked at him.

“You did all the same.” His
fingers skimmed down her chest to the valley between her breasts. “I know every
secret curve, every hidden swell and dip of your body.”

“That tickles.” She
giggled and grabbed at his hand when his finger traced around her navel.

“I already know that. I
also know of your secret beauty mark right here.” His fingers traveled to a
place on her hip.

“It’s not so secret. My
mother knew about it.”

An amused look glimmered
on his face. “But I’m the only one who knows how sweetly you sing your song.”

“What song?”

“The song of the mermaid
as she rides the wave of ecstasy.” He placed a kiss on her shoulder. “Those
little gasps and moans you made took me right over the edge with you. It was
like the Siren of the Deep luring me to my doom.”

“Is that what I did?” She
glanced at his face, her happiness fading. “I lured you to your doom?”

“Aye. Now my fate is
sealed. I’ll never want any woman but you.”

“I’m sure there will be
others.” She turned her head away from him. “You’ll probably find several
mermaids to sing for you once you sail off in your ship.”

“I don’t want anyone
else but you.” He tugged on her chin and forced her to look at him. “We need to
talk, Julia. There was another reason why I came up here tonight.”

She squirmed around on
the bed so she could see him more clearly. Her eyebrows rose in silent question.

“I want you to go with
me.”

“Where? To San
Francisco?”

“No, on my ship when I
leave. I want you with me always.”

“I can’t.” She tried to
roll away, but his leg pinned down her thighs and prevented her from turning.

“Why not. You don’t have
any family. And it can’t be because of this job with Collins. She treats you
with such contempt that I can’t believe you want to keep working for her.”

Unable to speak, she merely
shook her head.

“If it’s a matter of
work, I’ll hire you as my navigator. You’re a quick learner. I know you’ll be
an expert after only a few months at sea. I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

“I can’t go on the ship
with you, Payton.”

“Why not?” Anger rose up
in his voice. “Or, is that another one of your secrets?”

“It’s not a secret.”

“Then tell me.”

Admitting such a major
fault was difficult. Either people didn’t believe her, or they ridiculed her
shamelessly. Although painful to reveal, she decided the best way to tell him
was just to blurt it out.

“I get sea sick.”

“That’s not so uncommon.”
He shrugged. “A lot of people, even veteran seaman, get sick. Sometimes it
takes me a few days to get my sea legs back. You have to let your body get used
to the pitching and swaying of the ocean. Once you adjust to the rolling motion
of the waves—”

“Don’t!” She squeezed
her eyes shut and clamped her hand over her mouth. Her other hand pushed him
away so she could sit up on the edge of the bed.

“Just talking about it makes
you sick?”

She swallowed hard
before she removed her hand from her mouth. “Sometimes I get sick just thinking
about being on a ship. Reggie said it was because I didn’t have any seafaring
blood in my veins.”

He crawled over the
narrow bed and sat beside her. His hand glided up her back, and he brushed her
hair aside. Gently, he pressed his fingertips at the base of her neck and massaged
at her tight muscles.

“That feels good.” She
stretched her shoulders. “The rubbing helps me relax.”

“You might find you have
some of your brother’s saltwater in your veins.”

“I’m nothing like my
brother. We were only half brother and sister. We had different fathers.”

“You never told me that.
But then, you’ve barely told me anything about yourself.” He kissed her bare
neck. “You might find you have the half that counts. Have you ever stayed out
on a ship long enough to see if the sickness goes away.”

“It’s not the ship. I
can’t even stand on a bridge and look down at the moving water. Sometimes, just
watching the movement of the current makes me ill.”

“I never would’ve
guessed you’d give up so easily on anything.”

“Don’t make fun of me,”
she pleaded.

“I’m not. It’s just that
you have such strength of character and determination. I’d have thought that nothing
would stop you from accomplishing your goals.”

“Then you’re wrong about
me.” She pulled at the corner of the sheet to wipe at a tear threatening to
spill down her cheek. “There are a lot of things I’m afraid I’ll never have the
courage to accomplish.”

He slipped his arms around
her waist and pulled her back against his chest. “Then lean on me. With you by
my side, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish together.”

Chapter Twenty

“Oh, Julia darling. There
you are.” Sylvia rushed across the clipped lawn toward her.

Julia halted near the
tables where the food spread out in abundance. She let out a deep sigh. With the
garden party underway, her duties kept her busy. She didn’t want to listen to
Sylvia’s tale of her previous night’s adventure with a gentleman caller.

“Don’t you look demure.”
Sylvia walked around her for a better view of the ivory colored gown covered in
a pattern of tiny pink rose buds. “You blend right in with the other shrubbery.
Even your hair seems to have sprouted a few weeds.”

Carefully, Julia brushed
her hand down the length of the long braid. Green ribbons and tiny rosebuds
adorned her hair, but she didn’t expect a compliment from Sylvia. “I really don’t
have time. Marcel is being very temperamental today. I’m on my way to the
kitchen right now to calm him.”

“Ah, yes. You’re the
only one who can handle that crazy chef. I don’t know how you do it. You don’t
even speak his native tongue.”

“Politeness and respect
do not require a language. Sincerity does wonders in comforting people.”

“I suppose. That is, if
one has the patience to deal with such temperamental people.”

“Exactly,” she agreed. Her
patience with this woman ran thin.

Sylvia groped at Julia’s
arm in an apparent attempt to prevent her from walking away. “Speaking of
comforting someone, your captain was very upset last night after you left. I
couldn’t bear to see him in such an unhappy mood. I did what I could to ease
his distress. We talked long into to the night. Of course talking wasn’t all we
did.” She lifted her eyebrows as if surprised. “Oh, dear. I didn’t intend to
make you jealous.”

Julia rolled her eyes
upward to the heavens as her impatience grew. Provoking jealousy was exactly
what she had intended. But she didn’t know Payton had spent most of the night
with her. He’d shown up at her window shortly after she’d arrived home, so Sylvia
couldn’t have spent more than a few moments talking with him. Whatever silly scheme
she planned to hatch, Julia didn’t feel inclined to participate.

“You don’t have to worry
on my account, Sylvia. I’m not the least bit jealous about anything that might
have happened between the two of you last night.”

“Don’t you want to know
what the captain did after you left?”

“No need to explain.” Her
lips curled into a smile she couldn’t suppress. “I think I know exactly what he
did.”

“You certainly have a
smug look on your face. It makes me think you’re keeping secrets.”

She tried to change her
expression and busied herself by rearranging some of the food on the table. “What
possible secrets could I have?”

“Precisely,” she said
while studying her carefully.

“If you’ll excuse me, I
have work to do.” She didn’t want to be the subject of Sylvia’s intense scrutiny.

“Before you go to the
kitchen...” Sylvia glanced around as if looking for some reason to delay her
departure. “These crab puffs seem salty to me. Would you taste them?”

She let out a deep sigh
while trying to hold onto her temper. The woman obviously wanted to tell her
something, but was taking her time doing it. But after saying politeness and
respect were universal, she couldn’t bring herself to be rude.

She walked to the tray,
picked up a puff, and took a small bite. “It tastes fine to me.”

“Well, perhaps it was
just the one I ate,” she stammered for an excuse before stepping in front of her
so she couldn’t leave. “Getting back to the captain, you can’t expect to keep a
man like him all to yourself if you never give him what he needs.”

“What makes you think I
want to keep him all to myself? He’s a grown man. He can see whoever he likes.”

“Are you saying that you
wouldn’t mind if I steal him away from you?”

“You’ve been trying to
do that for the past month,” she said. “Why bother to get my permission now?”

“I don’t want your
permission. It’s just that—” She let out a huff. “Oh, what difference does it
make? Even if you did give him what he wanted, I’m certain you wouldn’t satisfy
him. You act so pure and virginal. All you would probably do is just lie there
on your back and scream and cry and beg him to stop. He’ll come to me sooner or
later when he needs a real woman.”

“Sooner or later?” Her lips
twisted together in an attempt to stifle a giggle. “I thought you spent all
night with him?”

“I...I did. I just
forgot for a moment.”

Her laughter bubbled out.
“You forgot?”

Memories of last night
with Payton returned to her in a flash. A warm flush crept into her cheeks. “I
should think that if I’d spent the entire night making love to the captain, it
would be a very long time before I forgot.”

“I do remember,” she
snapped. “I just didn’t want to upset you by—Oh, look. There’s the captain now.”

Not really believing
her, she obligingly turned in the direction Sylvia pointed. She spotted Payton
walking across the lawn toward them. He’d evidently come as a guest of the
Baxters, for he just now left their company.

Suddenly, she felt
awkward. Heat gathered in her cheeks. Her heart fluttered. How was one supposed
to greet a man after spending the night naked in his arms?

“Captain,” Sylvia purred.
She stroked her fingers down the front of the crisp, white shirt he wore
beneath a black suit. “You look marvelous this afternoon. I see our little, ah,
chat we had last night did you a world of good.”

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Morgan.”

“Please, call me Sylvia.”
A smirk covered her face when she glanced at Julia. “After last night, I feel
we should call each other by our first names.”

He seemed puzzled, but
he nodded politely before turning to Julia.

“Miss Anderson, you look
marvelous this afternoon. There appears to be stardust shimmering all around
you. I trust you are well.”

“Yes, very.” The heat intensified
in her cheeks. She feared Sylvia would notice her reaction to Payton’s compliment.
Quickly, she looked for a neutral topic to discuss. The appetizer she held in
her hand caught her attention. “We were just sampling the crab puffs. Sylvia
thinks they’re a little on the salty side.”

“Perhaps I can help. I’m
an expert when it comes to delicacies from the sea—mermaids, or otherwise.”

His fingers encircled her
wrist. He lifted her hand to his mouth and ate the puff from her fingers.

“Delicious,” he
murmured.

Enraptured with his
gentleness, she watched in silence as he licked and nibbled the last remnants
from her fingertips.

“You seem to have a few
morsels left on your lips.” He stepped closer. “Allow me to assist you.”

He leaned forward until
his mouth hovered near hers, but instead of his lips touching hers, he carefully
glided his middle finger over the invisible crumbs. He touched his finger to
his own mouth, allowing his tongue to flick across the tip.

The warmth of his breath
flowed across her cheek. She saw the heat gathered in his eyes and sensed the
restrained power of his body.

“Very delectable,” he
whispered.

“Don’t you have work to
do in the kitchen?” Sylvia’s annoying voice startled her.

“Yes,” she answered
quickly. “I must go.”

Reluctantly, she pulled
her hand from him. As she hurried toward the back entrance of the house, Sylvia’s
chatter trailed after her until she heard Payton’s voice interrupt.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Morgan.
I’d like to get the recipe from the cook for these crab puffs.”

Instead of going into
the kitchen, Julia continued down the hallway. Payton’s brisk footsteps echo behind
her on the hardwood floor. She turned around just as he caught up with her. His
arms slipped around her waist.

“Payton,” she said in breathy
whisper. “I’m so glad you’re here. I wanted desperately to see you once more
before you left.”

“I’m here, Angel,” he
said against her lips. “It was all I could do to stop myself from kissing you
in front of Sylvia and everyone else.” He pulled her tightly against his body. His
mouth, warm and insistent, covered hers.

Other footsteps in the house
forced him to break off their kiss. He opened the door next to them. With Julia
still pressed against his body, he stepped into the room and closed the door.

“This is the study,” she
said, her voice a ragged whisper. “We shouldn’t be in here.”

“It’ll just be for a few
minutes. I want to hold you in my arms one last time so I can remember how you
feel while we’re apart.”

“I’ll never forget the
feel of you.” She put her arms around him and hugged him.

“I only wish we could
make love once more before I go, but the steamer I’m taking leaves soon.” He tugged
at her short, puffy sleeve. “Even if we could slip up to your room, by the time
I get you out of this fancy rigging, I’d have to leave.”