Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (87 page)

Elena joined a group

out along the

beach looking for survivors. It was not impossible as this ship had met its fate not far shore.

She could even see flames from a fire on deck. If

Scott

the sea were calmer, a

boat could

reach it. But for tonight, the

made such a

journey too risky. Beside her, an older woman muttered prayers to Santa

the patron

Saint of sailors.

There was a loud exclamation a short way ahead of her. Elena looked up, shading her eyes against the slant of the rain. "Senora! Senora!

Come quickly!"

woman ran up to her, grabbing

her hand. "There's a man. He's alive but barely."

Elena followed her, tripping over rocks. She pushed her way through the little crowd and held her lantern high to illuminate the For a

moment in the

the lantern highlighted his

features and she'd thought wildly the man was Alejandro. But as she steadied the light, she realized the man was a stranger. She bit back her own disappointment and said nothing. Whether or not the man was Alejandro, he was in need of attention.

The seas had shredded much of his clothing, giving her a substantial glimpse of a muscled physique. Long dark hair lay plastered against a well-sculpted face. It would be a shame to lose such a splendid specimen of a man in his prime; he was too young to die.

He groaned and Elena

knelt at his

side, reaching automatically for his hand. She

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chafed it in her

feeling the extreme cold of

his skin. She spoke

words,

him

to speak again but no sound came.

Elena looked up at the villagers and called out instructions. "We must get him She

pointed to four men in the group. "Carry him to my house. It's closest." She tried to rise as men came to

him but the stranger's hand clenched around hers and refused to relinquish it, showing an incredible amount of

They made an awkward entourage as they carried the man up the hill toward the pazo-four with a man slung between them and the senora walking alongside, her hand caught in the unconscious man's grip. Even before they'd arrived at the pazo gates, the speculations started.

Elena could catch snatches from those who crowded close to them, eager to see the stranger:
"Even unconscious he grasps her hand
like he knows her with the devotion of a
husband He's got dark hair

had hair

like that, wore it long too like this man.

had wide shoulders.

Elena was glad when the iron gates of the pazo swung shut behind her. The man wasn't Alej andro, though he looked remarkably like him.

But she was hesitant to deny the villagers' hopes.

The whole village knew of her situation with Don