longer. You are all gentlemen, but
that is learned behavior, not innate.” Jenna took a deep breath, her
breasts swaying provocatively under her shift. “Your urges are not
Savage Shores
27
tempered here by the opportunity for a discreet affair. I might be
innocent but I have been around soldiers before. Each one of you is
attractive, so I have no doubt you are rarely…abstinent. However,
I would not ever give myself to any man if it would betray his
marriage vows.”
For a long heartbeat, no one spoke. Jonathan felt a frisson of
pure anticipation run through his body. “What exactly do you
propose, Jenna?” Even to his own ears, his voice sounded odd.
Her hand shook slightly as she lifted it to smooth back a
shimmering strand of hair caught by the light breeze. In the
distance, thunder rumbled again, growing closer, and the sea licked
the shore nearby in a sibilant whisper. “You could share me. Back
home, I suppose that would make me a whore—”
“You are the farthest thing possible from a whore,” Jonathan
interrupted shortly, not even certain how to feel about what she had
just said. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
She continued with impressive dignity. “However, I cannot
think of another way to prevent discord. My virtue means nothing
if we never leave here. If we are rescued, I will have been here
with the three of you all this time, so my reputation will already be
tarnished even if you never touch me.”
“You do not have to do this,” Anthony Reeves said, but his
gaze suddenly glittered and his wide shoulders were tense. “We
can behave ourselves.”
“I realize you would try.” She shook her head, moving her
luxuriant hair. “But already this afternoon I saw the fury in your
eyes, Major, when you found me with Lord Charbeau. Besides,
this is not exclusively your problem, either. I am a normal female
and I cannot help but be curious over what it would be like to lie
with a man. Who knows now, with this twist fate has given us, if I
will ever marry. I enjoyed Jonathan’s kiss this afternoon and could
probably be convinced to allow him greater liberties.” Her smile
was faint and slightly ironic. “I have a feeling he is a most
28
Emma Wildes
persuasive man and recall hearing rumors of his romantic exploits
while in London last year. Do you honestly think he will not be
able to seduce me eventually? And when he does, will you not be
frustrated and angry?”
Reeves looked uncomfortable. He shoved his fingers into his
thick hair, his mouth twisting. “Since you are being so forthright, I
cannot deny you affect me. But I feel as if we are forcing this upon
you.”
She rose, graceful in the firelight, framed by the eerie
flickering lights over the water, and daintily brushed a little of the
obsequious sand that seemed to be everywhere from her arm. “We
are comrades, so to speak, trapped in a most unusual situation. You
all take care of me right down to providing food and shelter. I
suppose this is my contribution, if you will. All I ask is that you
work things out between you so there is no rancor.”
Out of sheer habit, they had also gotten politely to their feet
when she stood, old customs deeply ingrained and exercised even
on a wild island in the middle of a foreign sea.
Jenna stood there, a vision in her lacy attire, all soft voluptuous
curves and glorious beauty. “I am retiring now. I assume one of
you will join me soon enough. Good night, gentlemen.”
“Jesus,” Charles said explosively as they watched her slip into
the hut, brushing back the fronds that covered the simple doorway.
“What the devil are we going to do, my lord?”
“There is no way on earth I should ever lay one finger on
Hayward’s daughter, no matter how powerful her allure. Further
more, I should kill either one of you should you touch her.” The
major’s face showed his evident frustration. “However,” he
conceded, “I am a little afraid she is
Colleen Hoover, Tarryn Fisher