Free Pirate Hunter's Mistress (The Virginia Brides) by Lynette Vinet Page A

ports and visit all of the countries I’ve heard about. Have you been to America?”
    “Er, why, yes, I have.”
    “Where in America?” Marlee asked, her eyes bright and glittering like starlight.
    “Virginia, Williamsburg to be exact.”
    “Oh, how exciting! Did you see any savages? I’ve read about the heathens.”
    “Well, I’ve seen an Indian or two in my time.”
    “Were they very fierce?”
    “Not the ones I’ve seen.”
    “Oh.” Marlee sounded disappointed. To overcome the boredom of her everyday life, she’d read stories concerning savage attacks upon unsuspecting settlers and envisioned warrior chieftains prepared for battle. Suddenly America seemed as dull as the small village she’d left, and she sensed she amused Arden with her schoolgirl questions. “Have you ever encountered any pirates then?”
    The change in his attitude was immediate. His expression darkened and his fingers dug into her shoulders until she winced. “Richard—please— you’re hurting me.”
    “I’m sorry,” he hastily offered when he realized what he’d done and loosened the pressure but still he held onto her.
    “Have I said anything to offend you? If so, I do apologize but I don’t know what I’ve done. You must forgive my country-bumpkin musings, sometimes I don’t realize what I’m saying. You’re so different from me, so noble and aristocratic, while I’m—a nobody—”
    “Never say such a thing again, Marlee!” The vehemence behind his words startled her. “You’re a baroness, you belong here. And even if you weren’t a baroness, you’d still be yourself.”
    “And what am I?” she asked, not daring to move away from him, barely able to speak.
    His hands moved from her shoulders to her waist and he drew her nearer to him, so close that in a second their bodies were touching and she could feel his heart beating. With his black gaze roaming her face, she saw the hunger in his eyes and wondered if he knew how much in love with him she was. “You’re a damned desirable and beautiful woman. And I want to kiss you like I kissed you last night. You stir up something in me, something like a strong current each time I look at you—”
    “Kiss me,” she begged and wantonly pulled his head closer to hers until his lips were a hairs- breadth from her own. “Kiss me like that again.”
    His mouth came down upon hers, bruising in its intensity, but Marlee felt only ecstasy. She met his kiss with a passion she didn’t know she possessed, with a sweet yearning that flowed through her body like melted honey. When his tongue invaded her mouth and met hers, she moaned in absolute surrender. She belonged to Arden, her baron, the man with whom she’d fallen in love the first moment she set eyes upon him. Marlee literally ached for him, her body heating with each sweep of his hands across her back and down her buttocks to come upward and caress her swelling breasts. She knew now that he desired her, maybe not loved her yet, but in time he would. She’d make certain he would love her in time. At that moment she made her decision about her fortune.
    “Ah, Marlee, Marlee, you’re so beautiful,” he murmured and skimmed her neck with kisses. “I want you so much, I need you so much—”
    “I know,” she whispered and allowed his mouth full rein upon her face and neck, giving her body to him to feast upon. “I need you, too, my darling. I never thought you would want me this way. I never thought I could feel this way. Tomorrow, I’ll sign my fortune over to you. Everything I have shall be yours because I love you, Richard. I love you.”
    She began kissing him again until she realized that he was no longer returning her ardor. He’d loosened his hold upon her, and she’d been so dazed that she hadn’t noticed. Opening her eyes, she found he was staring intently at her, almost as if he was warring within himself. Finally, his hands dropped away from her until one hand took her elbow. “The hour is late.