Free From Kiss to Queen by Janet Chapman Page A

havingto steady himself against the sudden upward shift of the ship, and stepped into the corridor and headed for the control room.
    The captain opened the hatch himself, then held Jane while Mark climbed the ladder. He turned and lifted her into the fresh air, sat down inside the sail tower with her in his lap, and immediately started talking while pulling the blankets away to let the salt-laced air touch her face. “Come on, sweetheart. It’s okay now. See, you’re outdoors. The sun is coming up, Jane. Watch it rise. Look around, angel. You can breathe now, you’re outside,” he crooned on and on until she finally stirred.
    And still he continued to talk, asking her questions, getting answering nods as she slowly came out of her stupor, her eyes blinking against the strengthening sunrise. It wasn’t until she finally spoke that Mark began to breathe properly himself.
    â€œI . . . I’m sorry,” she whispered, her face turned to the breeze.
    â€œNot as sorry as I am,” he murmured against her hair, undecided if she was finally resigned to her fate or simply too exhausted to fight him anymore. “I should have realized. I should have listened to you.”
    She looked up. “You would have let me go back to shore?”
    He closed his eyes on her pleading expression. “No. But I would have kept this ship above water, and I would have kept you out in the air, had I realized.”
    He opened his eyes to see her looking at him. “Who are you?”
    â€œThe man whose life you saved—despite not deserving it, for what I’ve put you through.”
    â€œHow long will we be on this submarine?”
    â€œI’ll have another connection by this afternoon. Then we’ll fly home in the morning.”
    She dropped her gaze from his. “You must know some pretty powerful people in Shelkova to be able to call up a submarine. Does . . . Are there nuclear missiles on board?”
    Mark wasn’t sure if she was awed or worried. “No. We disarmed and unloaded them the moment we acquired the
Previa
. Too much responsibility comes with such weapons. Sleep, Jane,” he softly ordered, cuddling her closer. “Doctor’s orders.”
    â€œWhat doctor?” she asked, only to look down and gasp. “Where are my clothes?” Then she moved her legs until her naked toes peeked out of the blanket and her cheeks turned crimson. “Who . . . who undressed me?”
    â€œThe doctor,” Mark lied without compunction. “I was taking a shower.”
    He watched her face return to its fevered pink, but also noticed that she surreptitiously tucked her right foot deeper into the blankets just as the captain came up on deck and spoke to Mark in Shelkovan. Smiling at Jane’s disgruntled frown, he answered the captain in Shelkovan and then dismissed him.
    â€œYou sound like a general most of the time, you know that?” she said, still frowning. “And in Shelkovan, you sound even more arrogant.”
    Mark felt rather disgruntled himself. “What do you mean,
arrogant
?”
    â€œYou spit out orders,” she explained, lifting her impertinent little nose. “And expect to instantly be obeyed. That nice man came up to see how I was, and you dismissed him.”
    â€œThat nice man,” Mark drawled, “came up here to complain that you’re making us stay exposed in American waters. He suggested I throw you overboard and be done with the problem before we’re spotted and shot at.”
    â€œHe did not!”
    Thank you, God.
Mark was thankful and relieved Jane was back to her scolding, arguing self.
I’ll take care of her from here,
he promised.
Forever.
“And I did dismiss him.”
    â€œSee what I mean!” she cried, getting huffy. “You’re arrogant and bossy and . . . and . . .”
    â€œAnd sorely tired,” he finished for her. “Go to