Free Full Steam Ahead by Karen Witemeyer

remained unchanged. Of course, no sea captain worth his salt would load less cargo than his ship could carry if it were available. Why would he, when more cargo meant more profit? And she’d known this.
    Hadn’t she said something about reading manifests instead of novels as a girl? Her father must be involved somehow in the shipping industry. Maybe a female secretary wasn’t such a bad prospect after all. If it was this female.
    Darius glanced up from the papers, peered at her thoughtfully, then frowned. She was still far too pretty.
    “You must not distract me from my work.” He growled the command at her, but all she did was smile.
    She smiled with such untarnished joy that he felt like a man stepping out of a dungeon to behold the vision of a sunrise cresting the horizon. Glorious. Yet so bright, he wanted to scuttle back into the hole from whence he’d come.
    “Thank you, Mr. Thornton.” She nearly clapped her hands together in her excitement. Hands without gloves, he noted. Hands that consisted of dainty fingers stained with ink at the tips. Capable hands. Delicate hands. The fact that they were both intrigued him, even as she stole them from his view by pulling them behind her back as she made an effort to compose herself.
    “The advertisement mentioned accommodations.”
    She was dictating to him again. Odd that he didn’t seem to mind. But then, he’d always appreciated people who spoke their minds instead of dallying with polite niceties. He just wasn’t accustomed to finding that trait in a woman. Especially one who looked like she belonged on a shopping excursion with his mother and sister, or sipping tea with them in the parlor.
    Darius rose from his seat. Time to do some dictating of his own. “There is a small chamber near the kitchen that should suffice. My butler and his wife, my housekeeper, room down that hall, as well, so you’ll not be alone. You will work in here”—he gestured around him at the controlled chaos that was his study—“and occasionally with me at the workshop, if I need your assistance. However . . . ” He paused to glare down his nose at her, emphasizing the importance of his next point. “You are never to interrupt me when I am in the midst of an experiment. Do I make myself clear?”
    She nodded, though the stubborn tilt of her chin did nothing to reassure him that she comprehended the absolute necessity of obedience.
    “I will leave strict instructions regarding where you may and may not venture on this property, and I expect those instructions to be followed to the letter. Should you fail to comply, you will forfeit your position.”
    The young lady schooled her features into a properly sober demeanor. “I understand, sir, and will, of course, abide by your wishes.”
    He swore he could hear the qualifier— As long as I deem it appropriate —wafting in the air about her. This was not a woman one contained with threats. No, she’d follow his commands only as long as it suited her purposes. Not that he sensed anything nefarious about her. On the contrary, she was quite the most genuine person he’d met in years. Yet there was something untamed about her. Something below the surface. Like a wild mare that had been broken to saddle even while her spirit stood ready to race the wind the moment the reins were loosened.
    Darius turned his face away from her, pretending to peer at something outside his window. The woman was interfering with his focus, drawing him into her puzzle with her bright smile and hidden depths. He couldn’t afford to be distracted from his work, from his purpose. Yet neither could he afford to continue on without a secretary, and she was his only applicant. A far more qualified one than he had hoped to find, even amongst the local male population. That outweighed his personal . . . discomfort.
    He was master of his own mind, after all. He’d simply refuse to give her the power to distract him. She’d work in the study, and he in the