A Pirate of her Own Read Online Free PDF Page B

about?
    Hopping-hands Charlie?
    Nay, her sister wouldn’t be so cruel. “My suitor?”
    Honor grabbed her about the waist and swung her to face the crowd.
    Serenity swept her gaze across the marble and gold ballroom where dancers twirled about in time with the minuet. Candlelight flashed against jewels and brightly colored gowns and even a few outdated wigs. She saw a number of men she knew fairly well, but none of them would have elicited such a response from her sister.
    A sudden hum of voices permeated the room. Voices that grew louder and louder until the musicians stopped playing.
    Dancers faltered in their steps, and all of a sudden the dance floor cleared.
    “Holy Christmas,” Serenity breathed. It was him . And everyone in the place was obviously as entranced by his presence as she.
    And if she thought her mysterious man handsome before, she was wrong.
    He wasn’t handsome, he was…
    Whatever there was that went beyond handsome—that was what he was!
    Her breath caught in her throat and an electric charge ran the length of her body, riveting her.
    No longer disheveled and rain soaked, but still dressed in black, he had the bearing of a prince and the aloofness of a king.
    Until one noticed his eyes. Eyes that betrayed his studied nonchalance. Like some exotic predatorial beast, he scanned the crowd, taking in every detail. Sizing up every man as a possible opponent and every female as a possible conquest.
    As his gaze touched on the women, feminine heads came together behind fans that fluttered and swayed. It was obvious he was on a quest, and in that second of realization, Serenity knew he sought her .
    Her heart pounded in expectation. In excitement.
    “Oh, my word,” Heather Smith gasped from where she stood about four inches from Serenity’s right. Heather, whose virtue was more than questionable, had been talking to Felicity Jacobs, the parson’s daughter, for most of the evening. And it was to Felicity her comments were now directed. “Tell me, Felicity, have you ever seen the like?”
    “Nay,” Felicity answered back. “But I tell you this, that man is certainly a devil out to ruin some poor woman this night.”
    “Well, if he be the devil, you can chain me to his throne anytime.”
    “Heather Smith,” Felicity snapped. “You’ll lose your soul for such words!”
    Then their conversation vanished into the crowd, lost in the sudden buzz of female voices and the clearing of masculine throats.
    The sound became deafening.
    Serenity couldn’t take her eyes off the source of everyone’s speculation.
    Paying no attention to the people around him, her pirate strode across the room with a masculine swagger. He was dark and deadly and mesmerizing.
    “He is the Sea Wolf,” Honor whispered in her ear. “He’s just as you described in your story. Where on earth did Douglas find someone so perfect?”
    “Out of my dreams,” Serenity breathed.
     
    Morgan Drake scanned the women, but none of them bore any resemblance to Serenity James. Belatedly he realized that he had become the topic on everyone’s tongue.
    The last thing he needed was for this many people to take notice of him.
    His crew was ready to sail and he was anxious to leave the busy harbor before someone recognized his ship. But until he could be certain that Miss Serenity James would exercise discretion regarding his identity, he couldn’t risk another mission.
    It had taken him hours to find out where she lived.
    If only he could find her…
    His gaze darted over two young women standing just outside the center pair of French doors. He well remembered the petite blonde with her luscious curves from the paper’s office.
    There was also something about her companion that seemed oddly familiar.
    It struck him like a pugilist’s fist.
    Nay, it couldn’t be.
    Stepping closer, he finally recognized Serenity James.
    How she had changed! Gone was her hideous black rag, and in its place she wore a stylish gown of pink. Though she lacked