Authors: Kitty Margo
“Captain Jordan?”
Lynna whispered
with concern etched on her lovely features.
“What?” He was finally able to force words around the tight knot that had formed in his throat and blurted, “Yes,
I’m
fine. No, it is not the sun. It is hunger. I have not taken sustenance since early this morning. Yes, our repast should be here soon. Now
… I must go.”
He knew he was rambling and was about to make a hasty retreat before he made an even
bigger fool of himself. But
before he was completely over the trauma of having her enchanting front side so near, she had presented her back to him and requested, “Before you go, Captain Jordan, will you fasten me,
s’il vous plait
? I fear I am rather lost without Gertrude.”
“Dear Lord,” Joshua silently implored, “if ever I needed your strength it would be now!” He was thankful her back was turned so she
would not
witness the trembling hands that moved at a slug
’
s pace toward her back, sorely afraid to touch the velvety skin.
“Captain Jordan?” Lynna questioned, wondering at the delay after several long, fumbling minutes had passed. “Is there some difficulty?” As she waited
,
she fiddled with a tiny locket that hung from a fine gold chain around her neck. “I fear father sent me away grossly unprepared. I cannot possibly fasten
and unfasten
the stays at my back, nor do I feel comfortable asking you to do it morning and night. But what choice do I have? I
have no other acquaintances onboard
this ship
.
”
Pity fo
r the girl was strong inside
Joshua. Had her fat
her not been at his wits end at the thought of
sending her away
,
the fact that she would need a maid to accomplish these menial tasks would never have slipped his mind. “No, no difficulty,” Joshua croaked the lie as he dropped the apple on his desk. Yet as his hands reached for the dress
,
his fingers made a powerful jolting contact with her bare skin and that was his undoing. He wondered if she felt the tremor that coursed through him, or the heat that leapt from her body to scorch his hands?
From seemingly far, far away
,
Joshua was suddenly aware of a thumping inside his head, which grew louder and louder still until it at last broke thr
ough the pea soup fog of his bra
in.
“Are ye in there, lad?” Sam shouted. “Yer meal is getting cold and I
do not
intend for my victuals to sit outside your door and be consumed by rodents. Open up!”
Sam’s shout succeeding in gaining Lynna’s immediate attention.
“Captain Jordan, will you please quit lollygagging and fasten my stays? I do not wish to be on display for every man on this ship. Oh, for
heaven’s sakes, never mind.” Instead, she grabbed a nearby shawl, draped
it over her shoulders
,
and
tied it in front.
Joshua shook his head to unloose the cobwebs, but Sam had called several more times before he made his way to the door. The impulse was strong to stuff a chicken leg in Sam's mouth and inform him that food was not what he hungered for! Instead he opened the door and allowed the grinning man to enter.
Both men knew the menial chore of delivering trays fell to the cabin boy. Normally Sam would consider the task far beneath him and be greatly affronted if instructed to carry it out. And why in the hell did he lower his standards today
?
However
,
Joshua was aware
that
the older man's curiosity had overridden his pride and he wished to see first hand if the gossip making the rounds of the ship was true.
“I am happy to see that for once the rumors have some merit. You are a bonny lass,” Sam commented, smiling broadly at Lynna as he marched into the cabin. “A winsome lass indeed.”
“You are most kind, sir, and a welcome sight
,
as I find myself quite ravenous.”
“At your service, milady.” Joshua knew that Sam was not one to waste time chatting, and having seen what he had come to see, was ready to depart. “Now if you will excuse me
,
I have about 40 more starving mouths to feed on this vessel. Enjoy your meal, lass.”
After Sam’s departure
,
Joshua sat back and observed as Lynna ate heartily of the fine fare spread before her. She paused long enough to glimpse at him and ask in between bites
of crispy fried chicken, “Will
you
not
join me, Captain? I thought you were hungry?”
Joshua poured another glass of wine and peered at her over the rim. “I find
that
I was more thirsty than hungry. Would you care for a glass of port?”
“Um…
no
,
I
do not
… um
,
yes. Thank you, Captain Jordan.”
Joshua watched her sip the wine, make a small purr of pleasure, and down the entire glass. “How delicious!” He refilled her glass as she speared a potato and pushed in past her succulent lips. Minutes later she untied the shawl and tossed it on the bed. “It has gotten much warmer in here, has it not
,
Captain?” With the back of her hand she wiped beads of perspiration from her
lovely
brow.
Joshua laughed
at her flushed face. “Perhaps you have had enough port, my dear. You would not want to drink overmuch and miss leaving the docks.” He slid the bottle out of her reach and went to pour her a glass of water, but was interrupted by a tap on the door. Thinking it was Sam again he flung the portal wide only to find his first mate.
“Captain, we are ready to set sail. Will you be wanting to steer us out of the harbor?”
“Yes, of course.” Turning to Lynna he added, “I will return within the hour.”
When he returned
,
Lynna was nibbling on a square of buttered cornbread and reaching for the nearly empty bottle to refill her glass. Joshua was taken aback by her apparent thirst for wine. Was the lady a lush
?
Some women would be falling out of their seats after consuming a bottle of wine. Lynna wasn’t falling out of her seat, but, of a certainty, she was pouring more port into her plate than she was her glass. Joshua grabbed the bottle as she took a bite of apple cobbler, licked her lips, and gazed up at him.
“Port is
sreally
very good, Captain Jordan. I was never allowed to have it at the Chateau,
F
ather said ladies should not par…part…partake of spirits.”
“Now you tell me,” Joshua moaned, shaking his head at his ignorance. Some protector he was. The girl was drunk before they had even left the docks.
“But it does make my head feel...
frunny
.” She hiccupped loudly and daintily covered her mouth with a lace handkerchief. “I need fresh… air.” She gazed with longing toward the open window as she stood and cautiously made an unsuccessful step toward it.
Joshua reached out his arms to catch her just a
s she fell into them, causing her
gown to gape open and reveal things he did not need to see at the moment. “Here
,
Lynna, allow me to fasten your stays. It seems I have been remiss in my duties.” He inhaled a deep, steadying breath, stood erect, and once again reached for her back. No, he
could not
do it. He knew better than to touch her! “Lynna, please have a seat until I return. There is one other female passenger on the ship that should be able to help you dress. I will fetch her.”
“
Non
, I want you, not a stranger helping me dress.” She waved an unsteady finger at him. “My father ass…ass…assured me that you would see to all my needs. I am to
thrust
no one else!”
She made a good point
.
He could do this.
Casually
, opening
his hand
s to see the task completed,
his thumb accidentally caressed the softness of her back. Her skin was silky to t
he touch. Smooth as glass. What
would be the harm in allowing his palms to caress for the briefest of moments the velvety softness? At present, he
could not
think of a single harm
ful consequence
that might result from his actions. He placed his hands upon her back and closed his eyes
,
savoring the heady feeling of having her skin beneath his palms. As the rest of his body immediately responded to what his hands were feeling, he was quick to realize what a grievous error in judgment it had been to touch her. Would he be able to remove his hands, which now moved of their own accord toward the gentle rise and fall of her breasts?
She should turn around any moment and land a resounding slap to his cheek. And he would welcome the pain. Better still, he prayed she would draw up her enticing knee and deliver a fierce jab to his privates. Anything to clear his befuddled head and put a halt to his roaming hands before it was too late.
Unfortunately the thought of slapping or kneeing
Joshua never entered Lynna's spinning
mind. In fact, she did not benefit from a clear
,
rational thought at all. Her head was swimming through a murky lake while still attached to her shoulders. Her eyes saw two Captains in the room with her. And she would swear on a stack of bibles that if she
did not
soon remove her cumbersome clothes she would surely perish from heat stroke. She gasped when she felt his huge
,
calloused hands
on her unclad, untouched skin, and in
her inebriated state
,
his touch felt glorious, absolutely sublime. So sublime in fact
,
that her entire body seemed to melt. Not just where he touched. The very skin where his hands rested felt singed by flames.
Every nerve in her body seemed to be centered under the palm of his hand. And those hands were moving around her sides…slowly…much too slowly. Her breasts ached, no throbbed, with each and every beat of her heart, pulsing against the thin material of her chemise, her nipples pleading and straining against th
e fabric. For what? W
hat were these unknown feelings running rampant through her bewildered body?
She had never experienced such feelings a
s these at the Chateau.
Not once! Was it the wine? Is that why her father never allowed her to drink it? Could this ship be enchanted? Was she under the influence of a magic
al
spell? Was the Captain a wizard perhaps? She knew about sorcery and bewitchment from the books she had read and Gertrude quite frequently consulted Tarot cards when her father was not around to witness the Celtic spread. Why the elderly woman even possessed a voodoo doll, which she would viciously push pins into nightly while she chanted some unknown tongue, made to a likeness of the woman who had p
ilfered Gertrude's betrothed awa
y.
Lynna could not quiet the ramblings in her head, nor fathom what was happening to her, yet there was an urgency about the feelings that was not to be denied. And she desperately yearned for more. She felt his hands fluttering at her sides and knew that where she really wanted them was on her aching breasts. Oh, just to fe
el his hands on her breasts
would surely be tantamount to dying and floating off to heaven on a wispy bit of cloud.
She was at a loss to explain the craving, having never felt it before, yet it was intense. Seeing absolutely no harm in fulfilling the desire
,
she reached up
,
and placing her hands on top of Joshu
a's, tugged them to cup her
throbbing breasts.
Oh
!
The pleasure of his hands on her breasts!