Loving Sarah (10 page)

Sarah realized now was the perfect time to begin the seduction of her captain. She turned her face up to him with a limpid-eyed look she’d used frequently on Ren as a child to get her way. It was the same look she’d perfected in the mirror in her room during those interminable bouts of punishment. The look worked for a while, until he caught her teaching his daughter, Isabel, the same trick. She hoped the look would work again now.

“It’s lonely down there,” she began in a practiced tone, just short of a whine, but one that worked amazingly on men for some reason. “I’ve been cooped up in that room for days with no one to talk to. If you continue to confine me, I will go mad.” Sarah straightened her spine and gave him what she hoped was a repentant, pleading look. “I am more than ready to apologize for whatever my transgressions were.”

He stepped back out of her reach. “You would be safer below during this weather. If you get wet, you might catch a chill. Or worse.”

Another wave hit the side of the boat and pitched her forward, straight into his arms, which he wrapped around her protectively. She couldn’t have asked for a better lead in to her seduction. Looking up at his face, she realized if she stood on her toes she could place a kiss on his lips from this position. Of course, if she did and he was not as attracted to her as she to him, he would think her a desperate lady, rightfully on her way to Spinster’s Corner.

“Come,” he said with a gravelly voice. His moist, warm breath on her ear sent rivulets of arousal coursing through her.

All it would take is one kiss, she told herself. Just one, and she would be in his arms just as the women in that book of his…experiencing the passion she hoped he’d learned from reading it as well. She wanted that so desperately now.

“Let’s get you below before you get hurt,” he said as he led her to the companionway. “Get in the cabin and lock the door. I’ll return after we clear this weather. It shouldn’t take too long.”

Sarah nodded and after he left, she smiled to the empty room. She would be ready for him when he returned. A part of her realized, even before she’d left the cozy confines of the rented house in Liverpool, that by joining this race she would likely take the direct route to spinsterhood—meaning no further seasons—and likely a hasty marriage to someone who would have her after her escapade ended. Someone likely in need of her fortune and a connection with her family.

And if that was her future, then by damn she was going to enjoy the present.

I
an reclaimed his position at the wheel. Instinct took over as he issued commands to his crewmen and steered his vessel into the rain. As he fought to stay on course, his mind wandered to the woman safely tucked away below in his cabin.

Her touch still burned where it had lingered on his jaw. Why had she done that? Surely she’d seen an unshaven man before landing aboard his ship. If she hadn’t, she’d have to get used to it, because after that potentially lethal fiasco while attempting to shave for her benefit that first day out, he’d decided to do as he usually did while at sea and let his beard grow.

He’d been right about leaving her alone for a few days. It never seemed to fail him how solitary confinement worked to make a person more cooperative. So now that he had her cooperation, what was it exactly he wanted her cooperation with?

Admittedly, he’d be happy if they just didn’t argue. But he didn’t see that happening. He wanted her to be aware of what was likely to happen on their return to England. It was impossible to imagine that she could escape the societal repercussions that were sure to await her upon her return home. More likely than not, His Grace would demand a marriage.

They came from polar opposite backgrounds. Yes, he was the grandson of an earl and out of some weird twist of fate next in line to that old man’s fortune-less title. And Ian had no wealth of his own yet, though he was working on bettering his condition. He also wasn’t born in her country. He was an American, the son of a naval architect who’d designed the very ships that decimated the British Navy twenty-five years earlier. Lady Sarah was born the daughter of a duke and had grown up with all of the amenities inherent to her birth.

That position, though providing opportunities and conveniences he’d never been fortunate enough to experience, also came with restrictions, even more so because of her sex. As long as she understood the repercussions at the end of this journey were not his doing, he was fine carrying her to New York. If her name was ruined, it was her own fault. Though having her return to England in the company of her brother Lucky would only benefit his self-control, it might cause even more problems for her in the long run because Lucky was not her blood brother.

Ian had to get control of his over-eager cock, which sprang to attention each time she was near. He had to focus on the race and not the desire to have her legs wrapped around his waist or her lithe frame on top of him, riding him to the finish. Frankly, he didn’t need her type of complication in his life just yet, and that’s what she’d be. A complication.

But it seemed the fates had spoken the night before the race when she landed aboard his boat.

The winds shifted, and the rain started to fall as they entered into the edge of the storm’s boundary. His crew worked seamlessly, without requiring instruction and with the second officer making the calls to reef the sails. They knew their jobs, and most of these veteran sailors knew the sea and sky as well as any university professor knew his subject. Tacking the sails appropriately to minimize luff, they held a steady course roughly four to six minutes behind Lucky, not that they could see
Avenger
through the driving rain, but Ian knew she was there ahead of him.

The hull of
Revenge
dipped and rose as her bow sliced through wave after wave. After what seemed an eternity, they emerged on the other side of the front to find sunshine, smooth sea, and a cooler temperature. As he predicted, Lucky was still there, though his lead had lessened to approximately one minute. When Ian’s ship drew closer, he saw the reason for their loss of lead. The crew of
Avenger
was raising a main lower topsail, causing Ian to look over his canvas carefully.

And as he did so, he had a fleeting thought—one that caused a twist in his gut. He should do the right thing and run up the flag to signal Lucky to stop so he could send Sarah over to
Avenger
while he had the chance. He’d had the opportunity two days ago when
Avenger
had taken the lead, but Ian had let that opportunity pass. While he struggled with himself, trying to justify keeping her with him, the crew on the other boat worked quickly and efficiently to get that new sail up. And once it was catching the wind like all the others, Ian knew the opportunity to hand his guest over to her brother was gone.

Seeing nothing out of line with his own sails, and with the weather conditions much improved, Ian handed over the wheel to his first officer, Nigel Johnson, for the night, and headed below.

S
arah replaced the book as soon as they’d broke through the rough seas, anticipating Ian’s knock at any moment. Even though she’d read and re-read the entire text over the past days, she still went back and read the section on seduction again. Loosely following the instructions in chapter two—after all they were written for a male audience—she’d come up with a plan. Then began to put in in motion when she prepared herself for his visit by washing up, which was no easy task in the rough seas. She went one step further and removed her demi-corset and drawers, redressed in the trousers and shirt, then unbraided and combed out her hair. If she wanted to seduce her captain, she’d need to be as alluring as she could manage and let him see she was agreeable to being invited to his bed.

He desired her. This she knew for a fact. She also sensed he fought that emotion for reasons she was sure had to do with her being his friend’s sister. Well, tonight she wanted him to see her as a woman, not Lucky’s sister or a member of the
ton
. But as an enticing, willing woman. A woman he could not resist.

She unlocked the door, picked up the book of poetry she’d taken out earlier, and went to sit on the bench under an open porthole. Reclining back against the bulkhead, she arranged her hair, bringing it over one shoulder to run down the front of her shirt. Barefoot, she stretched one leg out before her and bent the other in what she hoped was a fetching position, then propped the open book of poetry up on a knee, holding the page open while she daydreamed. As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Drawing a deep breath to bolster her courage, she lifted her head and bid him enter.

Ian came in carrying a bottle and two glasses. Her eyes met his, and in the diminishing light of the cabin, she saw something—desire perhaps—flicker in them. She hoped so. It would make this entire seduction easier if he wanted her as much as she did him. Placing her bookmark between the pages, she closed the book and set it down, then stood to help him with the glasses he held.

“Seamus, our…cook, is still preparing dinner, so I asked him to bring us a tray when he was done.” He pulled the cork from the bottle and poured the wine. “In the meantime, I brought us something to drink as he didn’t have an opportunity to make grog this afternoon because of the weather.”

“Wine will do, though I was wondering earlier if you had tea. I’ve discovered I’m not fond of the grog. Even the weakest stuff is horrible.”

“I’ll ask Seamus to see that you have tea when you would like. Although, you’re likely to have to wait until the fire is available.”

“Thank you, Captain.” She lifted her gaze to his while she sipped from the contents of her glass. His eyes were such a fathomless shade of green and golden-brown, she just wanted to lose herself in them.

“What are you reading?”

“I found a collection of Byron’s and didn’t think you would mind. I had to do something to keep me occupied these past few days. So I’ve been reading.”

He nodded, then brought the flame up in both hanging lanterns; the room was beginning to grow dimmer with the setting of the sun. His eyes roved up and down her length, and she felt her body burn as his gaze traveled over her. When it settled on her breasts, her nipples tightened, intentionally bare for him under the fine cotton. She saw the knot in his throat bob as he swallowed, then again as he sipped from his glass once more. Lifting her glass, she did the same as she boldly held his gaze.

“Why enter the race? Is it for the excitement? Or the glory and accolades that go with being the winners?” She would have guessed he was in it for the excitement. He seemed the type, which was why his next words surprised her.

“I don’t come from the same circumstance as you. The winning purse for this race will fund my portion of our business venture, so it’s imperative I, or Lucky, wins. He is in this race to help me.”

“He can be very sweet at times.” She forced herself to turn away and looked down at her glass. “How long do you think it will take us to reach New York?” She reached out and wrapped a lock of her blond curls around her fingers and unconsciously began to twirl it.

“About three more weeks, give or take a few days. I would love to do it in two and a half, but that isn’t likely on an uphill passage, even if I were to lay on all the sail the masts could hold.”

“Uphill?” Sarah frowned. “But isn’t the sea flat? How can it be uphill?”

Ian grinned at her. Heaven help her, but he had a beautiful smile. “When you’re traveling west across the Atlantic,” he explained, “there are prevailing winds and currents that push toward the east. We fight them constantly as we sail westward. Such as the front we went through today. Thus the term
uphill
.”

“Now on the return, or
downhill
passage, those currents and winds are in our favor, and we can get back to Liverpool in almost half the time. It’s as though the wind and currents carry us home.”

“I remember reading about a boat once that returned in fifteen days. This was back when I was a child.” She sipped from her glass again. “It was in the newspaper.”

“You read the newspapers? As a child?”

He sounded surprised to learn that she cared about something other than ribbons and lace. Sarah wished Seamus would hurry with their dinner. She was afraid he might not remain as interested in her sexually if she had to continue discussing her education.

“Of course. My sister-in-law oversaw our education. Lucky and I had the best tutors. When he went to Eton, she hired a governess for me who conversed in five languages. Fluently. You will find I am not lacking in a comparable education to yours, Captain. I just choose not to flaunt it.”

She returned to her seat in the corner and faced him, propping her chin on her drawn up knees. He took a seat further down from her, but if she stretched her legs out, her bare feet just might reach his thigh. Maybe she should try. Lifting her glass, she took another sip of wine and felt the warming effects of the liquid start to wend its way through her veins, relaxing her. “I am looking forward to seeing America. I’ve never been, you know.”

“I’m not sure how much you think you’re going to see.” His gaze followed her foot as she began to slowly stretch her leg down the seat. Interesting. Did that mean her seduction was working? “We’re only staying one night. All boats must stay twenty-four hours, as it’s a mandatory hold to re-supply the vessel and rest. We are unable to leave before our twenty-four hours is up.”

“Surely if we’re going to stay the night anyway, we can go ashore.” She could barely think about what she was saying as they both watched her toes touch the trouser-covered outer edge of his right thigh. “Perhaps spend the night at an inn and take advantage of a real tub of hot water.”