Passion's Tide (11 page)

The stockier of the two men turned arou
nd. “Yes, Cap’n?”

“We don’t want a repea
t occurrence of last time, so don’t forget to feed him on occasion
.
Usually, the prisoner is supposed to live long enough to be marooned on the island.”

The pirate gave Logan a large grin, revealing a mouth that was missing several teeth
.
Lyle looked panicked now, and Amber couldn’t blame him.

“He’s lying,” came Eli’s voice in her ear
.
“No one’s ever starved to death.” 

“That’s hardly comforting,” she replied with a small smile, which vanished as Logan strode towards them
.

“If you’re done flirting, Eli, I believe Amber and I will retire for the evening.”

“Funny, I don’t recall her mentioning that she was tired,” Elijah shot back, stepping in front of Amber
.
Logan, however, still towered over his friend, and glared down at him from above
.

“I don’t recall asking you to become her guardian, Eli, and despite what you may think she is in safe hands
.
Come on, Amber.” With that, he spun around, expecting her to follow
.
She turned back to Eli and shot him an imploring look, but he raised his hands and shrugged, as if
to
say
what can I do?

With a resigned sigh, she turned and followed Logan up the stairs and into his cabin
.
Then she slammed the door shut behind her and glared at him.

“Am I to be
marooned as well?”

He
looked surprised
.
“What on earth gave you that preposterous idea?”

“How else am I to explain why you’re treating me as your prisoner?”

“I wasn’t aware that I was treating you as such,” Logan lied
.
Of course he knew.

“Oh, didn’t yo
u? What would you say then if I told you I wished to sleep with Elijah?”

“Absolutely not,” came his gruff and immediate reply.

She flushed
.
“I didn’t mean sleep with him, I only meant—”

“I know what you meant.”

“And your answer is still no?”

“If I had changed my mind I w
ould have opened the door and wished you good luck
.
Yet here I stand, and here you stand.”

“Fine.” She opened her book and took a seat at the table.

“What are you doing now?”

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m ignoring you.”

He sighed and began unbuttoning his shirt
.
“Fine, have it your way
.
You’re acting very childish, you know that?”

She turned in her seat to glare at him
.
“I’m acting childish? You’re the one…” she trailed off as she watched him pull the shirt from his shoulders, revealing a wide expanse of tan chest and a taut, muscled stomach
.
Her throat suddenly felt dry, and she licked her lips to moisten them
.
“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking a bath,” he answered, looking amused
.
Amber noticed for the first time the large copper tub that had been placed in the back corner, and the steam that rose from the water inside
.

“You’re going to take a bath right here? Now?” She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his naked torso, her gaze following the trail of black hair at his navel that dipped below the waistband of his breeches, where his hand now strayed.

“Why, do you want to watch?” His eyes shined challengingly, and she was yanked from her stupor, her temper flaring again and an embarrassed blush coloring her cheeks
.

“I’m not speaking to you,” she barked in reply, turning back to her book
.
Behind her Logan snorted.

“So you mentioned
.
You’re not doing a very good job of it, however.”  She bit back her reply and squared her shoulders
.
Something whizzed by her and landed at her feet
.
His breeches
.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and didn’t dare look up from her book until she heard the water splash over the sides of the tub as he lowered himself into it
.
Then she stole a glance at him.

Even in the large tub he was scr
unched, his lean body folded up as he leaned back with his eyes closed
.
He had pulled the band from his long hair and it now hung tousled about his head, a single black lock hanging in front of his face
.
His body was magnificent and brought to mind an image of a roman statue, a figure chiseled in marble, a perfect masterpiece in every way
.
No, not marble
.
Bronze.

She shook her head and forced herself to look away
.
From behind her came the sounds of Logan washing himself, and the smell of soap wafted through the air towards her
.
She lifted a hand to her curls and thought longingly of the hot water, then pushed the notion away
.
She would not resort to using his dirty bathwater, no matter how
much
she wanted to be clean
.

Her thoughts wandered to her uncle,
and
she
wondered how things were getting along at home
.
The butler, Maxwell, had always been smart, and she prayed that he was able to keep Neil in the dark regarding her father’s will
.
Surely he had created a viable excuse for her sudden absence
.
She would have supplied him with one, but she had been far too busy worrying about packing for her quick departure and seeing that her dresses were completed on time
.
But no, she reassured herself, she trusted Maxwell to do the right thing.

But what if Neil somehow found out?
Her thoughts became muddled with that familiar fear
she had felt for the first time in her mother’s study, holding the will between her shaking hands
.
True, the will was packed safely in her trunk, but she couldn’t lessen the anxiety that threatened to overtake her.

What if it was already too late?
What if she returned home to find her house ransacked, everything stolen or sold to pay for Neil’s gambling debts, the few remaining dollars keeping her
uncle in a constant state of inebriation? Her heart was now racing
.

The instant Neil
had
arrived on her mother’s doorstep, begging for compassion from his only sister, things began disappearing around the house
.
The presence of her mother had prevented him from taking anything too valuable, and he knew not to steal when Amber was in the room
.
But now that both of them were gone?

The room closed in around her and her vision blurred, her head spinning wildly
.
She couldn’t breathe
.
Her chest rose and fell in rapid succession as she tried and failed to inhale, but the panic was overwhelming and her bodice was still too tight.

Through the fog she heard Logan calling her name and she struggled to respond, her voice barely audible
.
“I can’t breathe!” He reacted immediately; jumping out of the bath he grabbed a knife from the baldric that lay amidst his other clothes on the floor, and in three short strides he was behind her
.

With a quick swipe of the blade he cut through the ribbon tying the back of her dress, then placed the knife between his teeth and used his hands to pull the fabric apart
.
There was no time to admire the fine craftsmanship of the corset as he slit the stays, cursing under his breath at the absurdities of female undergarments
.

As he wrenched the thick corset apart, Amber gasped, sucking in a huge breath
.
She reached out and grabbed hold of his strong forearm, steadying herself as the earth slowly stopped spinning
.
When her vision came into focus she saw the confusion and concern etched on his face.

“Are you all right?” he a
sked, and she gave him a weak nod, removing her hand from his arm
.
“Good
.
Now what the bloody hell was that about?”

She blushed, which seemed to make her hair even redder in the flickering candlelight
.
“It was nothing,” she told him, turning away
.

Logan reached out with a growl and grabbed her wrist
.
“Don’t try and tell me that was nothing
.
Y
ou were suffocating!”

It was at that moment that Amber realized that he was completely n
aked
.
Her eyes widened as she glanced down at his glistening chest, watching droplets of water stream down his stomach and over his
…

She jerked away from him, but he pulled her even closer
.
He
smiled
at her and she followed his gaze down to her breasts, which were all but spilling out the top of her loosened bodice
.
She gasped as Logan placed his hand on her back, the heat from his skin radiating through her chemise, making her shiver with the unexpected contact
.

Logan upbraided himself for his lack of restraint at the same time as he was admiring her supple chest, slender neck, and most surprisingly, her collarbone
.
He’d never been especially attracted to collarbones, but something about hers made him want to brush her curls aside and lave his tongue along it
.
He lifted his eyes to meet hers, and was taken aback to see the fiery passion sparking in their green depths
.
Surely she couldn’t be having the same less-than-proper thoughts about him?

She had stopped squirming in his embrace, but he was unsure if was because she had relented
,
or if she
had
noticed that wiggling against him only increased his arousal. His curiosity piqued
.
As he continued to stare at her he brought his other hand around to her back and enclosed her in his arms
.

Her mouth opened slightly and her eyes blazed
.
Convinced that she was encouraging him, he lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers
.
He heard her gasp, but it didn’t register until she pulled her head back, the same fire glittering in her eyes, and slapped him hard across the face
.

He jerked away from her and she stepped back, planting her hands on her hips
.
As she glared at him, Logan suddenly realized that her expression was not one of arousal, but of fury
.
As soon as the thought processed he recalled seeing the same look earlier that day when she had tried to slap him and failed, and then again when he had baited her at the helm, challenging her intelligence
.

Amber watched as Logan lifted his hand to cover his cheek, now beginning to redden from the force of her strike
.
She couldn’t tell if he was angry or amused, and it bothered her
.
He stared at her for another minute, his expression unreadable
.
Then he grabbed his breeches and hastily donned them, and without another word left the cabin, letting the door slam shut behind him.