Andrea Kane (25 page)

“Drake?” She reached up to touch his cheek, stroked her hand over his beard. “I didn’t mean …” She broke off. How could she tell him that he was everything she wanted, that she loved him so much it frightened her? He was none of the things she had been brought up to seek in a husband, and upon returning to England, she would suffer the
ton’s
scorn and ridicule … and yet, in spite of it all, she wanted him, needed him. Loved him.

She had no chance to speak. Wordlessly Drake pulled her to him, covering her mouth with his.

Alex required no urging, for she shared the same desperate feelings that shook his powerful frame. Drake made a sharp sound deep in his throat and pulled her onto his lap, crushing her against his bare chest and kissing her until she could hardly breathe.

She didn’t care if she suffocated. It had been too long since she had been able to express through her body what she felt in her heart. She dug her fingers into the longer hair at the nape of his neck and held on, pressing herself as close to him as she could, wanting to be absorbed into his body.

Drake was already out of control. He stared down at her face, suffused by moonlight. “Your head?” he gasped.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Alex … are you sure?”

“Drake, please, please … I need you.”

He was on his feet, lifting her into his arms and taking long strides toward their shelter. Alex buried her face against his chest, feeling the crisp hair tickle her nose, inhaling his wonderful masculine scent. She felt the warmth of the fire surround them as he lowered her to the soft grass that was their mattress, then dropped to his knees beside her.

Alex watched him gaze down at her with blazing desire and poignant tenderness that he made no attempt to hide. She reached for him; he covered her with himself. They wrapped their arms around each other, their mouths meeting in an endless kiss that said more than words ever could. Somewhere in the inferno that followed, Alex felt Drake unbutton her shirt, pull it from her body, then kick off his breeches, never ending the kiss. Their naked flesh met, pressed closer, ignited. Alex threw back her head, alive with sensation, as Drake buried his face against her throat, whispered her name, then licked a slow path around each swelling breast, reveling in her moans of pleasure, her pleas for more. He wet the tip of each nipple with his tongue, grazed it with his teeth, and finally drew it deep into his hungry mouth. Alex cried out his name, digging her hands into his shoulders, pulling him closer.

He was on fire, desperate to make her burn with the same intensity that throbbed through his loins. He needed her, all of her, this night. He trailed his open mouth across her shoulder and down her arm, kissing her palms, her fingers, moving then to the other arm to repeat the caress. He loved her slowly, fighting the rampaging desire that grew stronger, more insistent, each time his tongue laved her hot skin. His caress left no part of her untouched; he kissed her waist, her flat stomach, her thighs. She opened herself to him wordlessly, and he began to stroke his tongue again and again over the warm softness between her legs. He closed his eyes, inhaling her fragrance, drinking in her growing wetness. He listened to her cries of passion, felt the urgent arching of her body against his mouth. Cupping her soft bottom, he brought her closer to his seeking tongue until Alex began to cry out wildly, convulsing, shuddering against him. He felt every exquisite spasm of her body, not lifting his head until she went limp in his arms. Then he raised himself up, gazed down into her flushed, damp face. It still was not enough. With a ragged sound, Drake lowered himself to the grass beside her and pulled her over him, on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her with near-violent possession, crushing her breasts to his chest, feeling her silken limbs entwined with his strong, hair-roughened ones. He took her mouth with a hunger that transcended the mere physical, and she returned his unspoken words with her own.

Panting, Alex tore her mouth from his, pushing herself up and away from him. She saw the question in his darkened eyes and answered it.

“I want to love you, too,” she whispered. Before he could answer, she lowered her mouth to the hollow at the base of his throat, tasting the salt of his sweat, then defined his magnificent body inch by inch with her seeking mouth. She lapped lightly at each male nipple and heard him gasp with pleasure. Slowly, gracefully, she moved down, nipping gently at the taut planes of his abdomen, the powerful muscles of his thighs. She raised her head.

Drake was watching her, his breathing suspended for the seconds that passed before she acted. Then, with a siren’s smile she lowered her head and ran her tongue slowly, lingeringly, over his throbbing manhood. Drake called out her name, his whole body heightened to the very brink of sensation.

Alex was fascinated by his maleness, by his very size and potency. She wrapped her small hand around him, caressed him tenderly, then lowered her head again to explore the very essence of his masculinity. He was rock hard, yet satin smooth, and so very hot to the touch. Lightly she stroked her tongue up to the velvety tip, licking off the droplet of fluid that she found there. In one savage motion Drake reached down and pulled her off him, rolling her to her back.

Alex stared up at him, startled and unsure. “Drake?”

He parted her legs with his knees, desperately, frantically. “I’ve got to have you now,” he gasped. “This minute … right now.” He entered her in one violent thrust. Alex arched her hips, bringing him deeper, feeling the wildness take over as he filled her, stretched her delicate flesh to take all of him. Drake slid his hands beneath her, lifting her to meet the frenzied pounding of his body, claiming her enveloping softness again and again.

“Alex … oh, Alex.” He couldn’t seem to stop saying her name. He found her mouth with his, kissed her urgently, the primitive motions of his tongue matching those of his body. She met his tongue, his body, thrust for thrust, whimpering his name as he went even deeper, took her higher than she’d ever gone before. She lifted her legs, wrapped them around his waist, and clung to him as they moved toward the pulsing release that hovered just a split second away.

And then it was upon her, unbearable in its intensity. Alex tore her mouth from Drake’s and cried out, skyrockets of sensation bursting through the very core of her being. And the words were torn from her, along with her heart and her soul, and she could no more have stopped them from being said than she could have stopped herself from feeling them.

“Drake … I love you!” she gasped. “I love you!”

She felt him reach a pinnacle of sensation. His body jolted as he poured himself into her in bursts of release that tore through him and flowed to her in a moment that seemed to hold them captive forever.

She never knew if he had heard her declaration of love, for that night there were no more words, only the union of husband and wife, as Drake conveyed to Alex again and again with his body what he felt in his heart.

A
LEX STIRRED, THE FAMILIAR
sound of twittering birds rousing her from sleep. She was locked in Drake’s arms, just the way she had fallen asleep.

How many times had he made love to her? She had lost count, but each time their bodies joined, the unnamed emotion that was between them seemed to grow more powerful, more meaningful.

He had never said he loved her. Somehow Alex had known not to expect the words. But she knew she had reached him, touched something inside him, despite whatever emotional scars he bore that kept him from her. It was a start … a fragile, wonderful beginning.

She squirmed out of his embrace and ran into the morning sunshine. Happily, she stretched her arms over her head and inhaled the sweet air. Another day in paradise.

First she would search for their breakfast. Then she would help Drake work on the raft until she became restless. By midday she would be off exploring the numerous gifts that nature offered on their island. In truth, she hoped it would take Drake years to complete the makeshift boat that would enable them to make their way to the Canadian shore. Civilization seemed less and less appealing as the days went on.

She donned her newly washed chemise and headed for the water. She approached cautiously after assuring herself that no American ships were in the vicinity. The river was quiet, with just a few small boats cruising past, and she sighed with relief. Ofttimes it was different. She and Drake would conceal themselves, holding their breath, as an American ship passed by. At times like this they were grateful for their island’s somewhat secluded location, which helped to ensure their safety.

Alex stepped gingerly into the river, finding the water frigid, yet somehow exhilarating. She waded in up to her thighs, then cupped her hands and splashed water on her face, as part of what had become her morning ritual since she had gotten well.

She was just about to return to the shore and begin berry-picking when she spied a sudden movement. Curious, she paused, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand and searching for the source of the motion. In less than a minute she found it.

Clinging to a large piece of driftwood, looking soggy and pathetic and adorable, was a puppy. With a gasp of surprise, Alex waded farther out toward the log that served as the pup’s lifeboat, He was just out of her reach, being carried further away by the current. Without thinking, Alex lunged forward, wrapping her hand around the shaking pup just as she lost her footing and plunged full-length into the icy depths of the river.

Drake had just awakened when he heard her scream. He was on his feet, pulling on his breeches, and heading toward the shore all at once.

“Alex!” he shouted, gripped with fear as he saw her thrashing about in the river. “I’m coming, love!”

He took off at a dead run, his heart pounding, and prepared to dive in after her. He came to a grinding halt as his dripping wife reached the sand, laughing and clutching a squirming brown object in her arms.

“Drake, look!” she laughed, oblivious to the stark terror on his face that was rapidly turning into blinding rage. “A puppy!”

“Do you have any idea how frightened I just was?” he thundered back at her. “I thought you were drowning
again!”

Alex looked startled, then giggled. “Of course not! I really am quite a good swimmer when I’m not suffering from a concussion, you know.”

Drake wanted to throttle her, but she looked so damned appealing standing there like a wet sea nymph clutching the bewildered puppy, that he gave it up. He was just going to have to get used to living with an unpredictable tornado.

He grinned in spite of himself as he walked over to her, reaching out to scratch the dog’s ears. “Rather sad looking, is he not?”

“He
was close to drowning!” Alex defended. “I found him clinging to a piece of driftwood!”

“Yes, well, he probably survived a naval battle that resulted in the destruction of his captain’s ship. Apparently you saved his scrawny life, princess.”

Alex inspected the shivering pup and frowned. “He is thin. And cold. I have an idea!” She brightened. “You catch a fish for him to eat and I’ll warm him in the sun!”

“I’ll what?”

She gave him a beseeching look. “Please, Drake, he must be starving.”

Drake shook his dark head and started toward the water. “Why do I know I am going to regret this?” He turned back, rather enjoying the protective way Alex cradled the puppy to her own wet body. “You are one lucky dog.” He paused. “What are you going to call your new pet, wife?”

Alex chewed her lip thoughtfully, staring down into the warm brown eyes that now looked up at her adoringly. When he was dry, he would be quite the thing. He was lean and long-limbed, all golden brown but for a thatch of black fur beneath his chin. He looked like a handsome rogue. Just like …

“I have it!” she informed her husband. “I shall name him Blackbeard. He resembles you, Drake, a strong, gentle pirate.” She gave a gaping Drake a dazzling smile. “Now I have two pirates on my island rather than one!”

Drake watched Alex scurry onto the sun-drenched beach, placing a willing and eager-to-please Blackbeard beside her on the sand. He smiled as the puppy snuggled against Alex and licked her face. Turning, Drake waded out to begin his quest for Blackbeard’s meal.

“No, Blackbeard! Come back here with that blasted thing!”

Drake looked up from the tedium of his raft-building in time to see the frisky pup bound past him, Alex’s chemise held fast between his teeth. Alex tore after him, lifting the bottom of Drake’s shirt, which flapped about her knees and impeded her progress. Her golden hair flew out around her, her indecently exposed legs glowed with a newly acquired tan. Her concentration was fierce as she made her way through the trees and followed Blackbeard toward the water.

“You miserable wretch!” she shouted. “Give me back my clothing!”

Drake leaned back on his haunches and, seeing that no ships threatened nearby, grinned. Quite a sight indeed. Blackbeard, who in less than two weeks had become the apple of Alex’s eye, had apparently fallen into disfavor with his benevolent mistress. Laughter rumbled deep in Drake’s chest as he watched Alex catch up with her pet and begin a fervent tug-of-war to regain control of her undergarment.

In all his two and thirty years he had never felt as carefree as he had these past weeks. Alex filled his days with laughter, his heart with tenderness, his life with meaning, and his nights with passion. Unable to put words to the growing feeling inside him, Drake instead made love to her with an urgency that grew more and more frenzied as the days progressed. He couldn’t seem to possess his wife totally or frequently enough to satisfy his bottomless craving for her. Some nights the first golden rays of dawn were already filtering down from the skies before he would let her sleep. And even then he would keep her to him, still deep inside her, joined to her even in slumber.

Each night she told him that she loved him. He had heard those words uttered countless times from women in the throes of passion and had dismissed them as meaningless. Until Alex. When she pressed her perfect body against him, shuddering with her climax, and whispered those words against his skin, he felt the queerest emotion surge in his chest. And he knew that, despite his past and the bitterness that it held, he wanted to believe she meant them.