Free Lost Honor by Loreen Augeri

her.
    “I can’t dress with you in the cabin.”
    “Well, I am not leaving. You wanted to be a seaman. They do not dress in private.” Why was he doing this to himself? His hand clenched the quill tighter.
    “Then turn your back.”
    “I’m busy at the moment. I’m not going to look. I have weightier issues on my mind.” He continued to stare at a blank page and tried to sound bored, but anticipation raged. It screamed.
    She turned her back to him. Not able to stop himself, he glanced at her as she pulled a pair of brown pants and a blue shirt from her bag. He refused to allow her on deck with those garments on. He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. He couldn’t resist the urge to watch her remove her clothes.
    She shook out the pants, shoved her legs into the openings, and tugged them up under her skirt. Her shirt would be trickier. She fought with the buttons running down the back of her bodice.
    “Do you need help?”
    She stilled. “I thought you were busy with your accounts.” Suspicion rang in her voice.
    “I am, but your movements distracted me.”
    “Well, don’t let me bother you.” She resumed her efforts.
    He leaned back in his chair and smiled with enjoyment as she twisted, stretched, and bent. The stubborn virago would struggle all night before asking for his assistance. Pushing himself out of the chair, he crossed the room to stand behind her. “Be still.”
    She jumped and spun, her hands flying to her chest.
    “Turn around.”
    “What are you doing?”
    He held her shoulders and maneuvered her until her back faced him. “Helping you with the buttons.”
    “I don’t need it.”
    So she said. But she didn’t squirm while he attacked the fastenings. The material parted to reveal an inch of pure white skin. His penis sprang to life. He hadn’t given her a corset or chemise with the skirt and bodice, and he hadn’t felt either beneath her pants and shirt when he had thrown her over his shoulder. His penis grew harder and more rigid as he uncovered more of her silky, soft flesh his hands itched to caress.
    By mistake—not quite—his fingers grazed her naked back as he released the next button. The sizzling heat shot through the tendons of his hand and up his arm.
    She shivered and then stiffened.
    What was he doing? Apparently, he had been too long without a woman. But it really hadn’t been that long. Susan…
    He had to think of her. Of her possible condition right now and their future life together. He had to rescue his brother and get back to her. He wouldn’t leave her to suffer alone.
    Summoning all his willpower, he quickly finished slipping the buttons from their holes and turned away from Arianna and the tempting, tantalizing, white seduction. “I’m finished.”
    ****
    Fire seared her back and simmered the blood rushing through her veins. In fear or desire, she wasn’t sure. Even though what he did frightened her, she relished the glorious sensation of his strong, secure fingers skimming across her cold skin.
    A delicious feeling she must banish. She was a member of his crew and could never allow him liberties. She wouldn’t permit any man to deter her from her set course.
    Glancing over her shoulder, she spied Captain Danvers working on his books, a quill in his hand and a frown on his face. She dropped the opened bodice, threw the cotton shirt over her head, and shrugged her tired, aching arms into the sleeves before he turned his head. She brushed the snarls from her tangled hair with her fingers and quickly wove it into a braid. It was sticky and dirty, but she didn’t have the time to deal with it now. Arianna grabbed a pea jacket from her bag and headed to the door. As she placed her hand on the handle, Captain Danvers’s stern, firm voice rang out.
    “Where do you think you are going?”
    She spun to face him. “Up on deck. I still have three hours left on my watch.”
    “You are not going anywhere.” His head bent, he perused his accounts.
    She stepped