Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (85 page)

Nora cocked her head and looked at him with her green eyes. He knew she was going to tease. 'Is that all you can think of to say? I would have thought a great orator like yourself would have something more original Nora smiled gamely.

'Or has The Cat got your tongue?'

'She's got more than that. The

got my heart,' he said

in a voice laden with heavy passion. 'For ever.'

'For ever,' she confirmed.

Prentiss's

Seduction

Bronwyn Scott

TORONTO NEW YORK LONDON

AMSTERDAM PARIS SYDNEY HAMBURG

STOCKHOLM ATHENS

MADRID

PRAGUE WARSAW BUDAPEST AUCKLAND

Chapter 1

Spring, 1831,

Prentiss had minutes

to live. He had

no illusions about how long he'd survive in the frigid, churning waves of the Atlantic if the ship sank.

though it might be-he threw all

his muscle into turning the great wheel of the ship in a last attempt to counter the fierce storm winds, relentlessly driving the

off course.

Above him, thunder boomed over the cacophony of waves. Jagged lightning slashed a brief illumination of the ship's ragged rigging and revealed the few men

to man the sails. In that

moment,

knew it wouldn't be long before

the ship gave way completely to the destruction of the

The

had overtaken them two days ago

despite the captain's best efforts to outrun the foul weather. When the captain's strength gave out, had taken over at the helm, struggling to keep the ship on course. But his skills and the

's Seduction

build of the

had not been

enough. Nor had it been enough to save the ship's precious cargo, the financial salvation of his family waiting in England. None of them, let alone the valuable cargo of cotton and indigo the Southern States, would see the fair shores of England again.

The ship keeled hard to the right and Grayson's feet slipped. Only his strong grip and the rope he'd knotted to his waist and tied to the ship's wheel-well prevented him from slamming into the ship's sides.

crewman screamed as he

slid past

catapulting over the edge into

the roiling seas even as

reached out a

hand to seize him.

Breathing hard, alternately cursing and praying between hard-won gulps of air, righted himself and reclaimed the wheel. He shouted encouragement to the men remaining on deck, though the words were useless, swallowed by the wind and inevitability. Around him lay shattered pieces of