Passion's Tide (47 page)

“So you left before showing this to anyone?” he asked after studying the document for several minutes
.

“I thought
if
I could find a husband as soon as possible, Neil would never even have to know what was lawfully his. I left things in the capable hands of Maxwell, our family butler.”

“I wish you had shown me this earlier,” he told her with a smile.

“Why?”

“Because not only would I have told you about my damn title, but I would have been able to point out that this isn’t a legally binding document.”

She snatched the paper from his hands
.
“What do you mean?”

“There are no signatures at the bottom, by his hand or any witnesses
.
It also fail
s to renounce the first will, which I assume was read at the time of his death
.
All of these factors invalidate this as a proper will.”

“Are you absolutely certain of this?”

“I read a number of books about law after joining the navy, trying to convince myself that once my wanderlust had faded I’d be able to settle down to a normal job.”

Amber was quiet for several minutes
.
When she finally spoke, her voice was soft
.
“So you mean to tell me that this piece of paper is just—”

“A piece of paper, yes
.
I assumed you’d be happy
to hear it,”
he confessed.

“I’m not certain how I feel
.
On the one hand, I am elated that I no longer have to worry about my uncle
.
But you have to understand
that
I’m just now finding out that my motivations since reading the will, everything that has brought me to this point, have been misguided and wr
ong
.
I’m embarrassed and disappointed and ecstatic all at once.” She buried her head in her hands
.
“I am such a fool
.
I never even thought to have the will looked
at.”

“But then you never would have met me,” he said with a smile.

Amber groaned
.
“Oh yes, meeting you has done wonders to uncomplicate my life.”

Laughing
, Logan placed an arm around her shoulders
.
“I don’t suppose it has, no
.
But we’ve ha
d a bit of fun, haven’t we?” Amber lifted her head up to stare at him
.
Then, without saying a word, she slid out of her dressing gown and pulled her shift over her head
.
A flash of lightning illuminated her naked body in the dark room
.
“Amber, dear, wh
at are you doing?”

“Something uncomplicated,” she replied as she began
unbuttoning his shirt
.
His hands stayed her progress.

“Are you certain you want this right now? You’ve had a long, emotionally confusing day.”

“That’s why I need this
.
I’m tired of
thinking, and for now I just want to feel.”

He nodded in understan
ding, and then he was kissing her, his hand dropping away to let her continue disrobing him. When she had finished with his shirt, he stripped off his boots and pants and pushed her gently back onto the bed.

As the rain pounded against the window he made love to her with a gentleness that brought tears to her eyes, the storm fading into the background as they moved together as one
.
They were deaf to the claps of thunder rumbling through t
he night
.
They found no need for the brief flashes that spotlighted their intertwined bodies
.
In those moments they were the only two people in the world
, and
that was all they needed.

Earlier they had been starved for each other’s touch, but now they were able to take their time, exploring and caressing one another without a sense of urgency
.
The build up was so gradual that Amber’s release caught her off guard
.
With a cry of surprise, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him clo
ser as the waves rolled through her body, leaving her weak
and shaking
.
Logan’s own shuddering climax followed a moment later
.

Satiated, they lay there in a tangle of arms and legs, unwilling to move and break the spell that had been cast over them
.
Fi
nally
Logan
rolled onto his side and gathered her in his arms,
kissing her on
top of her head.

“The storm passed,” Amber noticed as she snuggled up closer to him, placing her head on his warm chest
.

“Hm?” He looked out the window and saw the water running down the glass
.
“Oh
.
I hadn’t noticed that it was raining.”

There was a quiet knock at the door and Amber jumped to her feet in panic
.
“Hide!” she hissed, snatching up her dressing gown and pulling it around her to hide her nake
dness
.
When she turned back to the bed Logan was
gone.

Taking
a deep breath she opened the door a crack and peeked out
.
Her cousin was standing in the hallway, holding a candle and looking concerned
.

“Olivia, what are you doing up
at this hour
?”

“I couldn’t sleep because of the storm, and I was on my way downstairs to fetch a glass of milk when I thought I heard voices coming from your room
.
Is everything all right?” she asked, trying to peer around the doorframe
.
Amber moved to block her c
ousin
’s view
and smiled.

“Of course everything is all right,” she affirmed
.
“It’s no longer storming out, so why don’t you go back to your room and try and get some sleep?”

Olivia looked unconvinced
.
“You’re certain you aren’t
hiding anything in there? Or anyone?”

“I’m certain,” Amber replied, and with a prayer that Logan was still hidden she swung the door open to reveal her empty room
.
Olivia stepped inside and looked around, using her candle as a light source
.
When she co
uldn’t find anything out of the ordinary she shrugged and went back into the hallway
.

“I’m sorry for waking you.”

“It’s all right,” Amber told her with a forced smile.

“I guess I’ll just go back to bed then
.
Goodnight.” With a frown, she turned and sh
uffled down the hallway, her shoulders sagging.

“You can come out now,” Amber announced as she closed her door and locked it
.
She jumped when she turned and discovered Logan already sitting on the bed, having materialized
seemingly
out of
nowhere
.
She swiveled around in search of his hiding spot
.
“How did you…oh, never mind.” With a groan she collapsed next to him.

“Was that your cousin?”

“Yes
.
She claimed she heard voices from in here, and when she didn’t find anyone else I could swear sh
e looked disappointed
.
Is it possible she knew you were here?”

“I would say it’s extremely possible.” Her dressing gown slipped down, revealing her bare shoulder and the top of her breast
.
Logan reached for her.

“Stop
it
,” she chastised, slapping his hand away and tugging the fabric back into place
.
“Now what makes you say that?”

Logan lay
back
with a sigh
.
“Because she was the one who told me which window was yours.”

Amber reeled back
.
“Sh
e did? When? Why?”

He laughed and rolled onto his side, resting his head on his hand
.
“She approached me when I was with my father and demanded to speak to me
.
I could hardly say no to my kid sister’s best friend.”

Realization dawned on her as she remembered something from earlier that evening
.
“We were climbing into the carriage when she said she had forgotten something and ran back inside!  What did she say to you?”

“She said that if I loved you, I had better come to your room tonight.”

Amber’s heart leapt into her throat and she suddenly couldn’t breathe
.
“You love me?” she asked, her voice trembling.

He intertwined his strong fingers through her shaking ones and gave her an affectionate smile
.
“Ah, sweetheart, you didn’t know?”

Tears burned
behind
her eyes
.
“I’d always hoped, but I wouldn’t let myself believe it was true
.
I thought it would make it easier when you left me
.
But when I thought you were dead,” her voice broke, “there was an emptiness inside of me, and
I spent every day wishing I had told you how much I cared for you.”

His face was
sad
as he spoke
.
“I’m sorry
I ever caused you pain, Amber
.
But I’m here now, and I’m going to make it up to you, I promise.”

She wiped away a tear
.
“How?”

“By marrying you
.
When I was being held prisoner I had a lot of time to reflect, and thoughts of you were what made me strong, got me through it
.
I realized that a life without you in it was meaningless
.
The adventure I was living seemed s
o dull and lackluster when compared to the way my heart fills with happiness when I see you
.
I could give it all up, and
start a new adventure with you, as husband and wife
.
Let me protect you, let me take care of you
.
Let me love you.”

“Oh, Logan,” she breathed, melting into his arms and beaming with happiness.

“What are you thinking about?”

“How wonderful it feels to be loved by a roguish pirate, even if he happens to be naked at the time of his confession.”

He looked down at himself
.
“I s
uppose I am thoroughly compromised
.
Now you’ll have to marry me.”  He
smiled
at her
.
“And if you still don’t say yes I’ll have to carry you around town, kicking and screaming until you relent!”  She shrieked as he swiftly threw her over his bare
shoulder and began marching around the room
.

Amber laughed
.
“Put me down, you big
ape
.
Of course I’ll marry you!”

“You will?”  He carried her over to the bed and laid her in the middle
.

“Yes, now come h
ere before you wake the entire house!”

Logan located his pants and slipped into them, then stretched beside her on the bed
.
“I’m glad you said yes, so
I can give this back to you,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the ring that he
had taken from her earlier that night
.
He sl
id it onto her finger.

“I’ll come back tomorrow morning to ask you officially, but on one condition.”

“And what’s that?” she asked, curling her fingers through his.

“You still haven’t told me if you love me too.”

She grinned wickedly
.
“Ah sweetheart,
you didn’t know?”

Logan sat waiting in the carriage, impatiently tapping his foot. He was still wearing his silk suit, and in the midday heat he was beginning to grow uncomfortably hot
.
Where was Amber?

It had been
two weeks since he had approached her uncle to ask for her hand, and they had been wed this morning in a small ceremony
.
She had looked stunning
in
a blue dress with white embroidered roses to match the bouquet she carried, and the fresh flowers woven through her hair
.
Around her neck she
had
wor
n
the opulent diamond necklace
.