Free Desired by Shadow (A Shadow Walkers Novel) by Cynthia Luhrs

ran soapy hands down her arms and legs. No softness to her at all, she was lean and hard with small but nicely formed breasts. There were faint scars dotting her torso.
    Ah, she was born a redhead. Washing her, he cleaned away the muck and grime from her toes, he squashed the urge to take her little toe into his mouth, to nibble on the arch of her foot and make her smile. Did she ever smile? Soon she would wake, and he would find out her name and what had happened. While not willing to tie himself to her for eternity, he was more than ready to tear apart whoever had hurt her. Men who ill-used women were the lowest of scum in his book. Every man who’d marked her ivory skin would die by his hand.
    It was difficult to bathe an unconscious woman. He kept worrying she’d sink under the water. Strange, he’d been in tubs with women, relaxing as they washed each other or made love but never had a comatose woman in his bath.
    Why was she so afraid of him? It seemed she knew him though he couldn’t remember ever meeting her. Laying before him was a puzzle waiting to be solved. At least it would take his mind off the fact he was powerless for the coming week. A feeling he hadn’t felt in hundreds of years bubbled up—helplessness. Was this how Colin felt? No wonder he was so cranky when he met Emily. Now Robert had an inkling of what must have been going through Colin’s mind.
    Shifting her so he could wash her hair, he cursed. It wasn’t going to work. The tub was slick and she kept slipping, worrying him the bandage would get wet or he’d lose his hold and she’d sink under the water. Blast it. There was no way around it, he needed assistance.
    A growl rumbling from his throat caught him by surprise—he didn’t want anyone else touching her, looking at her. Robert thought for a moment, smiled and called out, “Ian!”
    The lad was never far. Was always underfoot wherever Robert went on the ship. The door opened. “Wait, do not enter. The lady is in the bath. Fetch Jaime to me. Quick now.”
    “Yes, Cap’n.”
    He supposed he could climb in with her but if she woke, he didn’t want to frighten her further by finding herself in a bath with the man she was terrified of. Instead he put his arms around her, mindful of her injuries and held her. The door shut with a soft click as Ian went to find the small boy Robert had recently taken in to his employ. Little Jamie…his thoughts drifted back to finding the lad this past summer. Discovered in a barrel of goods Robert was transporting to England. It seemed the gentleman in question had a fondness for young boys. The boy had been bound and gagged. The crew would have never suspected what was in the barrel except one of the cats on board kept pawing at a crack in the wood as it was waiting to be taken down to the hold. A sailor was curious and opened what supposedly contained cigars. Instead they found young Jamie looking up at them with fearful eyes and a tearstained face.
    The kid was five years old. His parents had given him to the gentlemen with such distasteful tastes in exchange for forgiveness of their debts. At least he was an only child; no others for the parents to use. Robert delivered the rest of the goods to the Englishman, less one small boy. When the man had the temerity to demand the little tyke, Robert’s impetuousness got the best of him, and he backhanded the man so hard, the crowing rooster left an outline in the wall. He told the rich bastard if he ever used Robert’s services again, he’d end up feeding the fish. Thorne’s silly rules be damned. The boy found a place with his cook and learned more every day. The men called him Sweet Jamie for the pies and cookies he liked to bake.
    The click of the door drew his attention. “Cap’n, you called?”
    “Ah, Sweet Jamie. Come in lad. I require your assistance with a damsel in distress.”
    The lad’s eyes grew large as he took note of the lady in the bath. “What happened to her? Is she dead?” He