Free A Woman Made for Sin by Michele Sinclair

pulled
     back into a ponytail. By the way Petey and Gus were standing, whoever the man was,
     he held at least some authority. Then he moved in closer, stared at her for a moment,
     and without warning, let go a stream of curses that almost caused Aimee to jump and
     give herself away.
    The man pivoted to glare at Gus and Peter, opening and closing his mouth several times,
     obviously unable to find any more words to express his anger. Taking a deep breath,
     he pointed his finger in Aimee’s direction. “I don’t know how much of what you told
     me is true, but even if one morsel of it is a lie . . .”
    Petey and Gus stood there gaping, neither of them able to find the words to assure
     the man that everything they had said was the gospel truth.
    The man shook his head and started rubbing his temples. “I mean, do you realize what you two have done? ” The large man paced for a second in front of the makeshift bed before pausing. “That
     woman,” he began in a hushed whisper behind clenched teeth, “ is the One .”
    Watching Petey and Gus look at her suspiciously, Aimee could no longer hold her curiosity.
     She slowly rose to a sitting position. “Who, pray tell, is the One?” she asked. “And
     who are you?”
    The man jumped just a bit before resting his brown gaze unflinchingly upon her. He
     was even bigger than she had first thought. His brown skin and sun-bleached hair indicated
     that he had been at sea most of his life. “I am Frank Collins, the chief mate on this
     ship. And heaven help us, you are the One.”
    Collins shook his head several times again, wondering what he was going to do. The
     captain was going to explode . . . no, he was going to do more than just explode.
     Every man aboard was going to die a miserable death as soon as he found out that his
     own men had not only kidnapped, beaten, and dragged the woman he loved aboard his
     ship in the middle of the night but also left her to starve for two days. “Good Lord,
     of all the females in England, why you ?” he asked in a croaking voice.
    Aimee watched curiously as the large man tried again to pace in the small space. Taking
     one step, he pivoted and took another in the opposite direction. After about five
     pointless turns, he stopped and stared at her as she attempted to sit serenely on
     the bed. He licked his lips and pointed at the left side of her face. It had been
     painful to lie down on that side, and based on Collins’s expression, it must look
     as swollen and bruised as it felt. Her tongue swiped the nasty cut on her bottom lip
     and Collins let out a groan. The poor man was at a loss.
    Aimee watched patiently as he mumbled to himself the few options he had in dealing
     with her. Unable to sit and watch the man’s anxiety continue to grow, she decided
     to intervene. “Mr. Collins, perhaps if you could tell me the difficulties you are
     trying to sort through, I could help. I am quite quick on my feet despite my appearance
     to the contrary.”
    Collins snorted. “Have you any idea what you look like, my lady?”
    Behind him, Petey elbowed Gus. “Did the chief just say my lady ?”
    Collins whipped around. “You’re damn right I did. Neither of you has a clue who is
     sitting on your bunk, do you? You really don’t know the trouble you have brought on
     us all.” He paused, put his hands on his hips, and hissed, “That is Lady Aimee Wentworth, little sister of our captain’s best friend and co-owner of this ship, mind you. But more than that— she is the One. You should not be worried about if you are going to die, but how . Hell, I’m worried about joining you because I didn’t throw you overboard myself.
     Pretty soon I’m guessing we all three will wish I had.”
    Aimee, tired of the threats being bandied about, decided to intervene. “Good lord,
     Mr. Collins, do you not think that you are exaggerating just a bit? I mean, as soon
     as I speak with Mr. Hamilton I am sure I can smooth over all of this