Storm on the Horizon (Fated For Love) (17 page)

“
Best to let me have a look first, m’lady.”

Olivia nodded and stepped back.

Mr. Timms entered and closed the door behind him.

“
Who the bloody hell are you?”

She heard Devon yell, followed by Mr. Timms calmer tones. It grew quiet
, and she was tempted to press her ear to the door. There was a tug on the bell, and Mr. Timms cracked the door. “You might as well return to the cabin, m’lady. Willy can help me with this uh... business”

Olivia frowned. She wanted to be of use.
“Oh... Oh.” Her eyebrows shot up. She nodded and returned to the cabin. There were some things a sister did not need to help her brother with.

After a while
, Willy came to the cabin to tell her that her brother had asked for her and that she could see him now. She smiled with relief and waited until everyone was gone before entering his cabin. It was dark. She stood by the door until her eyes adjusted, and she could see her brother lying prone on the bunk. She stepped forward and kneeled by his side.

“
Livie?” he said, his voice sleepy.

“
Yes.”

“
What are you doing here?”

“
Willy said you wanted to see me.” She watched him as he brought a hand to his head.

“
No, I mean, what are you doing on Colton’s ship.”

“
I came to help care for you. When he came to the house to tell mother and father that he was going to go get you, I decided to come along. I knew you might need caring for.”

His eyes were closed, but he scowled all the same.
“You expect me to believe he let you tag along? We are not fishing by the creek, Livie. How did you come to be here alone?”

Olivia bit her lip before answering.
“I hid inside your trunk.”

Silence greeted this. Then he was trying to sit up.

“What are you doing?” she said with alarm.

“
Come closer so I can wrap my hands around your neck.”

“
Lie down before you hurt yourself.” She shoved him back and he fell. He was so weak she had no trouble holding him down. It broke her heart. “Don’t waste your energy. Colton took me to task for my actions already.”

“
I bet he did,” Devon growled.

“
Now what does that mean?”

“
There are serious repercussions for your stupidity, Olivia Louise Brennton, and I will see that they are met,” he scolded.

Olivia actually felt like laughing
, but she restrained herself. “What repercussions?”

“
A wedding. Even if it means putting a gun in both your backs.”

This time Olivia did laugh.
“Oh, Devon. That’s already been settled.”

“
Beg Pardon?”

Olivia laughed so more.
“Are you really so blind? Never mind, it’s obvious you are, and Colton was too, for that matter. You see, I’ve loved him for longer than I can remember, and it seems he has loved me for quite some time, although he was prepared to suffer in silence due to some foolish notions. But now it’s settled. We will be married as soon as we return.”

“
How idiotic,” Devon sneered. “What do you know about love? Love is for fools, dreamers, hapless morons without a lick of sense.”

“
I would agree that you have been all those things,” Olivia returned calmly. “I won’t say I told you so.”

“
What do you mean?” He growled at her like a wounded animal.

“
I said that you would need my help, and you didn’t listen.”

“
Get out,” he snapped at her.

Olivia sighed.
“Try as you might, you won’t succeed in pushing me away.” She poured him another cup of tea. She pulled a chair close to his bunk. “I’ve poured you another cup of tea and set it hear within reach. I’ll let you rest now and check on you later.”

He didn’t say anything more
, so she left. She returned to the cabin that was still very much the same and entirely different.

***

Two days passed in a blur. The weather remained fair, but for the three charged with Devon’s care, his small cabin became a small version of hell. His mood deteriorated, as did his ability to eat, and his comfort. He was in terrible pain, and they were helpless to stop it. He was so nauseous he refused to take anything, even the tea with laudanum. They moved him to the larger cabin again, hoping that its broader space would ease his discomfort, but nothing seemed to help. Someone was with him around the clock, changing sheets, helping him use the pot, and bathing the sweat from his body. Sometimes he would fight it, but mostly he weakly accepted the help and curled into a fetal position until exhaustion would claim him for a brief respite.

When evening set in on the fourth day
, Olivia left his cabin and sat in the smaller cabin with her head in her hands, and wept. This day had been easier, less sickness, less cleanup, and altogether, less fighting from her patient. He drank a full cup of tea over three hours, and she considered it progress. He was now resting and quiet. She didn’t know how long she sat there crying, but when she finally lifted her head, it was dark in their small cabin. She turned up the lamp and splashed some water on her face. Pulling on her cloak, she went looking for Colton.

The cool wind was refreshing on her cheeks when she exited the short hall on to the main deck. The deck looked empty
, and she remembered that most of the crew would be in the galley, and only one man would be about and at the helm.

“
Is Captain Colton up there?” She called out to the lone man. He nodded his head, she wasn’t sure if he had even heard her. The wind and crashing waves against the hull made it hard to hear at times. The wind changed, whipping her curls into her face and with it, she caught the familiar scent of Colton’s cigar. She looked towards the bow of the ship and squinted her eyes. She thought she saw the silhouette of a man against the evening sky, but it could have been her imagination. Then she saw the glow from the tip of his cigar. She smiled, and her heart smiled, too. She hurried to his side, anxious for a moment to be alone with him.

Devon had taken all their time and energy from the night of that first day
, and she missed Colton terribly. They had shared that small bunk and snuggled close together when they could, but frequently one or both had to be up with Devon, or Colton had his duties to attend to.

He saw her when she was but a few feet away and put his hand out. She tucked her hand in his
, and he pulled her close, her back to his front, and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled his cloak around her, cocooning her in the warmth of his body.

“
I’ve missed you,” she said as she rested her head against his chest.

“
I’ve missed you, too. How is our patient?”

“
Better, actually. He is sleeping right now, and drank a full cup of tea.”

She felt and heard him sigh.

“That’s a relief.”

“
I told him about us.” She looked up and back at him.

Colton looked down at her.
“You did? When?”

“
That first day, after...” she just smiled.

“
Odd, he never said a word to me.” Colton frowned.

Olivia turned in his arms and wrapped hers around his waist.
“Will we reach land tomorrow?”

Colton nodded.
“By midday for certain.”

“
Oh.”

“
You sound disappointed.”

“
I am. I was hoping to have more alone time with you, but we will only have tonight, and then I will have to return home on the morrow.”

“
But not for long. Soon you will be my wife, and you can demand all the alone time you want.” He smiled down at her.

“
Promise?” She ran her hands up his chest.

“
I promise.” Colton ran his hands down her back and over her bottom. He pulled her tightly against him so she could feel her effect on him.

“
And tonight?” She gave him a sultry smile.

“
How about right now?”

She gasped.
“Right here? How”

“
Egads, Olivia, of course not right here,” Colton chuckled. “The night watchman has keen vision.”

“
Well then?” She reversed the direction of her hands and boldly stroked him.

He threw his head back and groaned.

“At least wait until we reach the hall, you minx.”

She giggled. Colton turned them and they walked—very casually, back towards the stern of the ship. The watchman at the helm saluted Colton as Colton passed below him
, and they entered the hall. Closing the hall door, he turned Olivia and pinned her against it.

He held her gaze as he slowly pulled up her dress. She smiled at him, a hot smile, a knowing smile, a smile that said she was willing to do whatever he wanted.

It blew him away, that smile. She trusted him so completely without reservation. Held back nothing from him and dove head first into their intimacy with her eyes wide open and that daring smile. There was no one on earth like his Olivia, and she would only ever belong to him.

He pulled her away from the door and carried her to their small shared cabin. Once inside and away from any interruptions or distractions, he lifted her skirts all the way to her waist.
“Put your legs around me.” He lifted her and she did as he said. He growled with need. “Where are your undergarments?”

She laughed huskily.
“I haven’t been wearing them. In case we found a moment like this, I wanted to be ready.”

He could feel the heat from the core of her body through his clothing,
and she was definitely ready. “You undo me, Olivia.” He groaned. He reached for the buttons on his breeches and quickly undid them and released himself. He held her against the wall and slowly lowered her onto his hardness, her muscles flexing and releasing him alternatively as she slid down. Her breath shivered out of her as he slid home and she licked her lips.

“
This feels different.”

“
Does it hurt?”

“
No, it’s just... different.”

He flexed his hips and a moan erupted from her.
“I’ve dreamed of this, of taking you against a wall, you moaning my name in my ear.”

She smiled.
“Cooolton,” she moaned.

“
Oh God, yes, just like that.” He pumped faster. His breathing became raged. His head swam with the vision of his dream merging with the reality in his arms.

Olivia could do nothing but cling to him. He felt wild in her arms, lost in her body,
making her a slave to his desire. She arched her hips and back, creating that delicious friction that made her pulse pound and skin tingle. She buried her face in his neck, breathed in the scent that was his alone. He was pushing her to completion. She now knew what the frantic urge was that she felt low in her stomach and how it built when he kept up a relentless rhythm as he was doing now. It overcame her, swallowed her like a wave in the surf, rolling her in pleasure, and making her feel weak and weightless. She screamed his name, and his mouth came crashing down on hers to silence it. He drank it in and then groaned his own release, finally slowing until he simply held her there. After a moment, he slid from her and her legs slipped off his hips. He still held her and Olivia was thankful. Without him, she might have just slipped to the floor, a boneless puddle of pleasure. He kissed her sweetly and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She didn’t know how long they stood there, kissing and loving, but she could feel the gentle rocking of the boat and it almost felt like they were dancing. It was another perfect romantic moment, one of many she would have with him.

Olivia watched from the shadows of the
quarterdeck stairs as a crowd gathered around the dock. Crewmembers greeted friends and family, and curious children stared in awe of the ship. Mr. Timms was summoning the carriage that Colton kept stabled nearby, and shortly, they would be on their way to the cottage Colton bought for himself as a bachelor. She heard the door open behind her, and when she turned around, she was surprised to see Devon standing there.

“
You shouldn’t be up.”

“
Hold your tongue, Livie. I need to stretch my legs.”

Olivia rolled her eyes and prayed for patience. She watched him as his eyes looked over the crowd almost like...
“Looking for someone?”

His eyes snapped to hers
, and he glared. “Are mother and father expecting us?”

“
No, how could they?”