Lynna's Rogue Read Free Page A

softly and slowly opened the door.
                  For the love of God!
                  What charade was this!
                  Had he been duped?
                  The vision before him was certainly no homesick and grief - stricken child! He would bet his ship on that! What was the reason for this masquerade? His jaw dropped and he stood perfectly still, inhaling sharply as the exquisite creature before him beamed a radiant smile. Surely the ravishing beauty on his bed could not be Rhodes's reclusive daughter! She looked anything but upset at the thought of leaving her father, or her country , behind .
                  Joshua had viewed beautiful women in ports all over the world, but Lynna Rhodes far surpassed them all. She had been blessed with smooth, cre amy skin and breathtaking vivid blue eyes that sparkled up at him, enticing moist , pink li ps, a dainty upturned nose, and waist - length, feathery go lden curls that hugged her enchanting curves. And she was far from shedding the copious amounts of tears he had assumed would be flowing in earnest at the thought of putting an ocean between herself and her father.
                  “Oh hello, you must be Captain Jordan, enchante’ .” Her soft lilting voice startled him. “I am Lynna Rhodes. But I’ m sure you must already know who is occ upying your cabin in your stead.” S he giggled, tumbling from the bed and standing to offer her hand. “I can hardly wait for us to set sail. Will it be very much longer?”
                  Joshua closed his mouth and opened it again in a determined effort to reply, but no words fell from his lips . Instead , he accepted her smooth delicate hand as h er sparkling azure gaze held him captive and he stood motionless . Then, as if she had read his mind and sought to fulfill his wildest fantasy, she moved into his arms , pressing her soft , full , very femi nine curves against him and molding her body to his. “Thank you, Captain, for giving up the comforts of your four-poster. I was dreading the very thought of trying to find ease on one of the hard bunk beds. I hope your new quarters are suitable.”
                  Joshua glanced toward his bed and thought yes, his quarters were quite suitable. Where had she gotten the erroneous notion that he was leaving his cabin? Her father had given him strict orders that he was to share the cabin with her, sleeping on a hard cot in the corner , of course, but always within sight of her. Certainly her father had not been remiss in sharing this knowledge with his daughter ?
                  Once again his eyes strayed toward the body of the woman, who seemed to posses s the innocence of a child. This was a hazardous combination , to be sure. Her embrace was a cordial display of affection, nothing more. No coy flirtatious move designed to send a man's blood racing and have him drooling at her feet. (The first of which was presently happening with a vengeance, and the latter of which he was struggling desperately not to execute . ) He would bet every coin Nathan Rhodes had deposited in his safe that she did not possess the slightest notion of how her affectionate hug had affected him. Her father's words repeated over and over in his mind. “If you find my daughter lacking i n worldly ways, Captain Jordan…
                  “Oh, Captain Jordan, I am terribly excited about this voyage.” Her blue eyes danced up at him. “ But… but you are not at all what I expected.”
                  “An understatement if ever there was one, my lady. But, pray tell, what did you expect?”
                  “ Um…s omeone much older, saltier perhaps. More rugged . Yes, that’s the word I was searching for. More rugged from the many years spent on the deck of a ship. ”
                  “I have spent many years on the deck of the Windjammer , to be