Free Surrender To A Scoundrel by Julianne MacLean Page A

she remembered those rumors about the men in his family being such an unhappy lot.
    “And to be at the helm…” he continued. “Well, there is nothing quite like those moments when all hell is breaking loose, and the sea is wild and the spray is stinging your face, yet you know you are proficient enough to keep the boat safe from harm and bring her back in once piece.”
    For some reason she could not explain, Evelyn felt a painful twinge in her chest. A pang of apprehension for his future perhaps, because he took risks? For no one could control the sea. He of all people should know that, having wrecked two boats in the past.
    “Promise me you’ll go sailing while you’re here,” he said, his voice becoming light again, which helped to allay her misgivings. “You’re in Cowes. You can’t go home without trying it.”
    “Oh, no, I couldn’t,” she replied. “I’m just here to watch the race.”
    He turned to face her, and his gaze swept from her eyes down the length of her gown, then back up again, slowly, as if taking in every inch of her and finding her appearance greatly to his liking.
    A nervous fluttering arose in her belly, for men never looked at her that way. She was not accustomed to admiration.
    “You can’t go through life watching other people have all the fun,” he said. Then he leaned closer and whispered in her ear and the moist heat of his breath sent gooseflesh tingling down the entire left side of her body. “Don’t you ever want to try new things? To explore and feel truly alive?”
    Evelyn breathed in the cool night air, mixed with the musky scent of his shaving soap or cologne or what ever it was, and felt a dizzying thrill run through her, from the top of her head straight down to her toes. It made her want to do everything he was suggesting—and more—because when had she ever done anything new? When had she ever felt as alive as she did at this moment?
    She swallowed hard over the shock of her response though she should not be surprised. He was a handsome, mysterious, virile man who sailed boats on stormy seas, looked at her with sexual prowess like he wanted to devour her, and he’d been a hero in her eyes since she was a girl. He was like no other man in the world—charming on the outside, but dark and enigmatic under the surface—and there was something about him that touched her deepest desires. The ones no one knew about. The ones she couldn’t even admit to herself because she feared them.
    All at once she realized the conversation had become too intimate. Yes, she had wanted to be more amiable and less aloof, but surely she had letthings go too far. He was speaking to her deepest thoughts and emotions when she should have kept her guard up and maintained a reasonably safe distance at least. Especially from a man like him, who knew how to seduce and did so on a regular basis.
    “I could take you,” he said in a low, silken voice, surprising her yet again with his direct manner when he should not be suggesting such a thing, and certainly not like that —with such heated persuasion, as if he were insinuating all kinds of other activities that would take place on board his boat after he’d dropped anchor in a secluded cove. “I could even teach you. Show you how thrilling it can be.”
    There was no point pretending not to recognize what he was proposing—that they could enjoy more than just a cruise on the water. It was shocking to the depths of her soul.
    “I’m not looking for that kind of thrill,” she said, angling her head at him with a warning, and retreating into her customary cool demeanor.
    He grinned and stepped back, giving her some space at last. “Ah, yes, the virtuous widow. I forgot with whom I was speaking.”
    They stood in silence for a moment, leaning on the rail and looking down at the quiet water until Martin nudged her with his elbow.
    She could not help herself. Her lips curved into a smile, then she laughed.
    “My God,” he said, “I