Free Loving Sarah by Sandy Raven

first stroke of the razor and couldn’t very well stop, so he continued, albeit very cautiously.
    Then he thought of the reason he had the blade to his throat while skating swells and troughs in the mid-Atlantic. The blue-eyed temptress now occupying his cabin. That uninvited, very enticing bit of fluff had played a big role in his dreams the past two nights.
    He simply had to stop thinking about her. Either in his bed or undressed. To do so only made him realize how long he’d been without a woman. He’d be hard pressed to refuse her if she invited him to share his quarters with her. Not that that was likely to happen. He doubted she’d ever even kissed a man, being unwed, and more importantly the unmarried sister of the Duke of Caversham, her brother. That man impressed him as a fierce protector of his family. A man no one wanted to cross swords with.
    Another reason to avoid the lady altogether: his intentions were as dishonorable as his grandfather thought he was.
    But even with every reason in the world not to socialize with her, minutes later, freshly shaved, he found himself with his hand poised to knock on her door, to ask her to stroll in the mid-day sun. What madness had overcome him? Why had he promised her a stroll? And now that he had, it wasn’t as though he had to keep the promise. He could back out, say an important matter needed his attention and strolling with her would take him away from the work at hand. It sounded like a perfectly reasonable excuse to him for canceling.
    Still, he knocked.
    He heard her shuffling, and she soon opened the door with a charming blush on her cheeks. What had she been doing, or more likely thinking of, to have such an alluring look about her? Perhaps she was still embarrassed? No. If she were, she wouldn’t have that soft smile curving her lips or that veiled look to her sapphire-colored eyes.
    “Ready for some sunshine?”
    She smoothed her hands on her trouser legs and nodded, then reached for her coat and hat. After she’d put both on, he held the door for her. Once above deck, he offered his arm and they strolled for a minute in silence. He spoke to a crewman coiling a line, and another as he performed his duties. When they were alone on the quarter deck, he said, “If it would ease your embarrassment, no one knows you allowed me entrance into the cabin while you were…inappropriately attired.”
    She turned an adorable shade of pink as she turned her blue eyes to him and said, “Thank you.” They watched his crewmen at their various tasks for a few minutes, and he explained some of what they were doing. “I have wanted to come above and sit in the sunshine and watch as you work,” she said during a lull in the conversation. “If I promise not to get in the way, may I?”
    “One day when the weather is calm, certainly.” She needed more fresh air and sunshine. It was good for a person. Besides, she had this healthy glow about her that told him she was accustomed to it, so he didn’t fear for her health if she were to spend some time with him on deck.
    “You know I’ve read everything in your library except your mechanical arts and engineering tomes, ocean charts, and financial ledgers. You also need to keep better ship’s logs. I found them incomplete for starters, and what entries there were lacked excitement and adventure.”
    Ian chuckled. “The entries missing are from this race only, and that’s because you are in my cabin. As for exciting tales, you’re looking for a journal, and I don’t journal. Usually, when I go to my cabin at night, I’m so tired I barely have the energy to make an entry into the log.”
    “As a child, the logs from Ren’s grandfather, his uncle, and cousins stirred my imagination. Captain, you must keep a journal of your travels for future generations. Just think, one day your grandchildren will come across them and find them fascinating and think you dashing and brave.” She turned that damn adorable smile up to him