Free Romancing the Pirate by Michelle Beattie

the moonlight it appeared almost white. His stomach did a slow roll.
    He cursed himself all kinds of a fool even though his eyes never left her. Telling himself the reasons he should hate her only angered him more. He shouldn’t feel anything, not one damn thing toward her, least of all lust. And despite his argument earlier, he shouldn’t have been jealous either. But as sure as the breeze whispered over his heated face, he knew he’d felt both.
    Damn her, he thought, slamming his palm on the wheel. Why couldn’t she have stayed in Port Royal and left him the hell alone?
    The hatch banged again and Alicia heaved a sigh of relief. Though she’d enjoyed the stars and the fresh air, Blake’s hostility was a presence on deck and it made her anxious. It was why she’d remained at the front of the ship, watching the water fold away from the hull rather than asking Blake the questions that kept pulling at her.
    How had he known her father? Why was Blake so angry with him, and with her? Had he known all this time that she wasn’t truly Jacob’s daughter? Had the whole town?
    “May I join you?” asked a strange voice behind her.
    Alicia spun, her hand at her throat.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said.
    “No, no. That’s all right.” She took a calming breath, tried to slow her racing heart. “I hadn’t heard you approach, is all.”
    He smiled, showing a large expanse of gums and small yellow teeth. He held out a small, rather delicate looking hand. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Lewis.”
    There was something about the eagerness in his gaze that gave Alicia pause. His eyes were little daggers that stayed fixed on hers in an unnatural way. He stood too close and Alicia took a deliberate step back. However, since she’d been raised with strong manners, she took his hand. It felt much the same way she imagined a snake would feel, clammy and cold.
    “Alicia.”
    “Pleased to meet you,” he drawled, holding tightly to her hand. “I wasn’t aware there was a woman on board. Is your husband a crewman, or perhaps the captain?”
    She pulled her hand free, wiped it discreetly on her thigh. “Neither, actually.”
    “No chaperone either?”
    She angled her chin. “My travel plans are my own.”
    His smile faded. “Of course. Please forgive my rudeness.”
    Feeling very uncomfortable, Alicia was thinking of how best to excuse herself when she was saved the trouble by Blake’s arrival.
    “Lewis, is it?” Blake asked.
    “Yes,” the much shorter man answered and Alicia was very pleased to see his boldness wither in Blake’s presence.
    “A little late to be about. The others are all asleep below.”
    “I was heading there myself.”
    Blake nodded and stayed where he was. Lewis looked back to Alicia.
    “So nice to have met you, Alicia. Perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    Blake’s mouth flattened, giving him a very formidable look. “Not likely. She’ll be in my cabin.”
    Lewis’s eyes widened. “Well, then, perhaps another time. Good night.”
    Neither Blake nor Alicia talked until Lewis was below and they were once again alone on deck. Then Blake turned to her, eyes hard as his mouth.
    “You’re not here to dally with my crew. I thought I’d made that perfectly clear.”
    “It’s not what I was doing!” Alicia gasped, caught as much off guard by his words as by the furious tone.
    “I’m not blind, Alicia. I saw the way he looked at you, and from where I was standing, you didn’t seem to be discouraging him.”
    “I only met him now!”
    “I allowed you on deck for a reprieve. Had I known you were simply going to disobey me at the first opportunity, I wouldn’t have been so generous.”
    She gaped and placed a fist on her hip. “You call keeping me in your cabin for hours on end ‘generous’?” she demanded, forgetting it wasn’t wise to antagonize him.
    His jaw flexed. “You want to know what I normally do with stowaways?”
    “I’d hope you’d treat