Free Pleasures of a Tempted Lady by Jennifer Haymore Page B

let me be the judge of that.”
    She shook her head stubbornly.
    Will sighed, relenting for now. “Did you give up in your attempts to run away?”
    “Eventually. I knew it would be no use. And Sarah didn’t have the strength to run. She needed me, especially after Jake was born. And Jake needed me, too.”
    “You were a prisoner, and you were trapped.”
    “Exactly.”
    “What finally convinced you to try to escape again?”
    “After Sarah died, he grew… worse.” She took a moment to find her breath. “He’d kidnapped her and forced her to marry him, but he loved her in his own way. Her death snapped the final string of his humanity. After that, I truly feared for myself and Jake. Especially Jake.” Wrapping her arms around herself, she shuddered. “And then, two years ago, he began a smuggling scheme between the West Indies, Ireland, and England. Between his increasing violence and our proximity to home, I couldn’t resist the opportunity.”
    Will stiffened beside her. “You say he was a smuggler?”
    “A smuggler and a pirate,” she admitted, the misery thick in her voice.
    Will studied her, as if by staring hard at her he could somehow delve within her and absorb the answers he sought. “The Freedom ’s mission was to capture a smugglerwho’s been running rum into Cornwall this time of year for the past two years.”
    Meg looked away. She couldn’t tell him she was glad he hadn’t found Caversham. He wouldn’t understand. “No one told me that was why you were at sea,” she said softly. “I’ve kept you from your duties.”
    His hand, which still lay over her clasped ones, tightened, and his other hand moved up to cup her cheek, gently turning her head to face him. “It’s not important. Compared to returning you to your family, it’s nothing. In any case, Briggs will pull anchor tomorrow. He’ll head back to Cornwall to patrol the coast.”
    She hoped Mr. Briggs didn’t find Caversham. Caversham would crush the man under his boot heel.
    She’d seen it done. Caversham’s ships were vessels of war, first and foremost. She’d heard the boom of cannons and seen fiery ships slip below the ocean’s surface. She would never forget the screams of dying sailors.
    He’d always locked her, Sarah, and Jake in their quarters when they were pirating. In his arrogant way, he had assured them they’d be safest there, that his own ship was not in danger. And it never had been.
    She’d often gazed out the porthole at his victims, half hoping they would capture Caversham’s ship, even sink it. But no one had ever boarded one of Caversham’s vessels unless he was specifically invited by its captain—or captured.
    “Look at me,” Will said. There it was again—that soft command.
    She realized her eyelids had slipped shut. She forced them to open.
    His hand was soothing and warm on her cheek, andit didn’t move as he gazed deep into her eyes. “I know you’ve been taught to fear this man. I know eight years with him has made you distrustful and afraid. But you must remember, he’s only a man. Just like the rest of us, he cannot be infallible. You must trust me. Trust that I will help you, and trust that I will keep you safe.”
    She stared at him, unable to answer, unable to fathom how he could be so certain in his desire to help her. But then, he’d always been that way. Noble to a fault.
    “Please, Meg.”
    “But he’s not just a man. He has… allies…”
    He drew her closer. So close that his breath whispered over her lips as he said, “I’m not going to let him hurt you—or Jake—ever again.”
    And then he moved closer, and closer still, until his lips brushed against hers. The contact was electric, sending a jolt through her, bringing every single nerve ending in her body alive.
    It seemed to travel through him, too, because she felt him shudder. Then it was no longer a mere touch of lips. With a soft groan, he surrendered to it, opening to her, kissing her deeply, thoroughly.