The Sea Rose Read Online Free PDF Page B

He
pulled her against him, lifting her gently so that she stood on her
tiptoes and his growing erection nestled in the cradle of her
stomach.
     
     

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Seven
     
    That sudden awareness of his arousal
brought her slamming back to reality. She placed both her hands on
his chest and pushed hard against him. He immediately ended the
kiss, but he didn’t remove his hands from around her. He slowly
relaxed his grip, loosened his hands on her, and let her move ever
so slightly away from him but still within the circle of his
arms.
    “ Have you never been
kissed before?” he whispered.
    “ Yes.” She was lying and
surely he could tell. “No. Not like that.”
    “ It was lovely, don’t you
agree, sweet Rose?”
    Roselyn didn’t answer, but she felt
her face go hot, blushing a color resembling her
namesake.
    “ Please release me,” she
asked quietly. Hoping both that he would and he
wouldn’t.
    He let his arms completely relax and
let her go. He turned and sat on his chair, leaning back until it
balanced on only two legs. He rested his crossed ankles on the
table in a pose of exaggerated nonchalance.
    “ Sit back down, we’ll eat
some fruit and finish our game.”
    Roselyn picked up her glass and drank
the last several swallows of wine and immediately regretted having
done it. “My head is swimming. I don’t want any more wine.” Now she
was embarrassed. Obviously, the kiss didn’t affect him at all. She
placed one cool hand upon her flaming cheek and sat heavily in her
chair. “I think that was more than one kiss.”
    “ Technically, my lovely,
that was only one kiss. My lips never left yours.” He used a long,
thin knife to slice an apple.
    She watched him with fascination, her
head was fuzzy from too much wine and the life-altering kiss. She
sat at the table mesmerized by the knife and the man, and blinked
her eyes sleepily. Roselyn was remarkably tired; deep down to the
bone tired. She was quite sure she had never been this exhausted.
How long ago was it that the merchant ship went down? Three weeks?
Hard to believe it was just the day before.
     
     
    Jack ate several apple slices while he
contemplated her. He released her from their embrace but he hadn’t
wanted to. More importantly, he didn’t want to think about why.
Piracy was not an occupation that lent itself to introspection. He
only allowed her escape because, when she pulled away from the
kiss, he had seen fear in her eyes. He reminded himself harshly
that women held no sway for him, and this little virgin wasn’t
going to change that. Nevertheless, she was falling asleep at the
table, and regardless of his reputation, he was not a cruel
man.
    Jack set the rest of the apple and the
knife on the table and dropped his booted feet heavily on the plank
floor. He rose to his feet, took her by the hand and drew her up.
Like a deer, she looked skittish and about to bolt.
    “ You’ve had a very long
day. I have cruelly gotten you drunk, and now you’re falling asleep
at the table.” He gently tugged her hand and she acquiesced. She
followed him slowly, if not warily. “Come on, I won’t bite you. Not
even if you ask me to. Not tonight.” He set her on the edge of his
enormous bed and she sank into the feathers. She blinked at him
with heavy eyes. “All right, my beautiful Rose.” He reached behind
her and started on the row of buttons. “Let’s get this dress off
you.”
    “ Thank you for the dress.
I’ve never owned anything so beautiful in my whole life.” She
pressed the dress on her legs and smoothed out wrinkles. “My father
would not have liked this dress, and if he’d seen me in it, he
would have had me reading bible verses on my knees for
hours.”
    Jack slid the dress off her ivory
shoulders and pulled her to her feet again. The heavy material
caught briefly on her lovely hips and then fell the rest of the way
to the floor. She plopped back on the bed in her shift and
corset.
    “ Well, I am a connoisseur
of