Free Even In Darkness (Between) by Cyndi Tefft

his crewman, then returned to me.
    “Lady MacRae,” he began. My reaction to the unfamiliar title made him pause. “That is your name, is it not?”
    “Yes,” I answered, not feeling at all like a lady in my dirty clothes, with my hair flying wildly about my head.
    “Do you love your husband?”
    My jaw dropped open. “Do I…” I sputtered. “What kind of question is that? Of course I do!”
    “And you would do anything to help him, I presume?” His face didn’t give away what he was thinking, but my imagination started spiraling out of control. Though it was a cool day, sweat trickled down my back. He couldn’t… he wouldn’t… Would he? Would I?
    “Wh. ..What do you want?” I glared at him defiantly, but the tremor in my voice gave me away. Straightening my shoulders, I clenched my jaw and waited for him to spell out his demands, knowing I had no choice but to go along with them.
    “ Only a kiss,” he replied. Just then, the boat dipped and rocked against a wave. I stumbled backward, hooking my foot on the edge of my skirt, and barely caught myself. My glare of disgust only seemed to amuse him further. “Ah, perhaps your husband is not as important to you as you would have one believe.”
    I wanted to kill him with my bare hands. “Let me get this straight. You want me to kiss you and if I do, you’ll have your doctor take care of Aiden.”
    A self-satisfied grin was my answer.
    “Fine.” Before he could blink, I stepped forward and planted one on him, then moved back. “There. Your turn.”
    His mouth fell open momentarily before he snapped it shut. At least that smug look was off his face, though the anger in his eyes should have turned me to ashes on the spot.
    “Is that how we’re to play the game, then?” he said, straightening his shirt with a hard yank at the shoulders, like it had suddenly become too tight. “Very well. While I am tempted to honor my side of the bargain as well as you have honored yours…” He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips.
    I had visions of him tossing a dirty wad of bandages at Aiden and calling it good. What had I done?
    “ My word is of greater value to me than that. I shall honor the spirit of my promise and not merely the letter as you have done. The prisoner will be cared for as though he were one of my own men. And while I cannot guarantee that he will not expire from his wounds—you said yourself that they are substantial—I can promise you this.” Something dark and dangerous moved behind his eyes, a terrible, magnetic force that pulled at me. Fear skittered down my spine, along with something that was not quite fear—excitement, maybe? What was that about? I couldn’t make sense of it, so I chose to ignore it. Eagan feathered his fingertip across my lips. My skin burned under his touch. “Our next negotiation will not end in a similar fashion,” he said, a velvet voice over steel. “Do we understand one another?”
    I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a response, so I lifted my chin and doled out a haughty stare instead. His dark brown eyes held mysteries in their depths. There was more going on here than I understood, and it frightened me more than I wanted to admit. Hating myself, I broke contact first and looked away.
    “There is the matter of my coat. I should like it returned,” he said, snapping me out of my thoughts. My gaze flicked over the deck of the ship, taking in the working men, knowing that his coat was keeping them from staring at my chest. Hesitantly, I started to shrug out of his jacket, but he stopped me.
    “Not here, woman.” He breathed an exasperated sigh. “You’ll go to my quarters and retrieve your corset. Stanton will send in your kin to assist you in dressing. Bring the coat back to me when you’re properly attired.”
    Apparently, we were finished because he turned and walked off, leaving me standing alone on the deck, staring after him like a reprimanded child.
    Not knowing what else to do, I