Moonwitch Read Free Page A

wide-eyed, having lost the power of speech. When she remained silent, his hands tightened on her arms, and with inexorable strength, drew her rigid, corseted body even closer.
    He wasn’t entirely drunk, she realized as his lips met hers again, though he tasted of rum. The alcohol further dazed her senses. Or perhaps it was the musky odor of sweat that was making her so dizzy and pliant. Or the distinctively clean scent of his skin, a salty freshness that reminded her of the sea. Neither of her betrotheds had ever affected her in such a manner—leaving her breathless and trembling. Nor had they ever kissed her the way Kyle Ramsey was doing, with his mouth open against hers, his tongue parting her lips to probe and explore.
    His strong hands moved up her arms to her slender shoulders as he kissed her in an almost leisurely way…deeply, thoroughly, filling her mouth with his tongue, gliding his long fingers along her delicate jawline to tangle them in the pale tresses that framed her face beneath her bonnet.
    Her hair, never willing to stay pinned at the best of times, started to slip from its moorings, yet oddly, Selena didn’t care. She felt the wildest urge to respond to his overpowering maleness, to the warm animal magnetism that radiated from him. She was vaguely aware of the crowing and catcalls coming from his men and that sometime in the past few moments she had dropped her parasol, yet still she stood there pressed against Kyle Ramsey’s hard, half-naked body, submitting to his kiss, her gloved fingers actually clinging to his corded forearms—until finally, reluctantly, he released her.
    Her composure shattered, Selena stared up at him, wondering at the amazement she saw on his rugged face. Then, like a great hound shedding water, he shook his head, as if to clear his muddled senses.
    The movement brought Selena to her own senses. She felt a slow, painful blush rising to her face as she realized she had allowed a half-dressed, loutish sea captain to kiss her on the streets of St. John’s in full view of a crowd of coarse sailors and who knew what townspeople.
    With quiet deliberation Selena drew back her gloved hand and struck the captain across the cheek. It wasn’t precisely what she wanted to do; it was what good breeding and a lifetime of training compelled. Nor did her blow seem to hurt him much, for even though Captain Ramsey reached up to rub the offended cheek, he grinned down at Selena, the creases in his face deepening into slashing masculine dimples.
    “It was worth it,” he said provocatively before bending to pick up her parasol. He was still grinning as he handed the blue confection to her. “I’ll have to win now. I can’t let such a victory kiss go to waste.”
    He spun around then to bellow, “Tiny, lad! Where are you hiding? Prepare to be soundly trounced!” leaving Selena to stare after him, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, her customary serenity totally destroyed.
    As Tiny showed himself and the contest got under way once more, the crowd of gawking sailors returned to their sport. Selena, her face burning with shame, made an attempt to restore order to her sagging coiffure while she glanced around quickly to see who else had witnessed the incident. She saw no one she recognized, yet she was certain word of her scandalous behavior would soon spread. Antiguan society was small and close-knit, and very little happened that wasn’t discussed and analyzed and judged.
    Raising her parasol, this time to hide her scarlet cheeks, Selena turned away and quickly crossed the street. She greatly regretted not having gone directly to the milliner’s. Avery would be upset to learn what had happened, of course. He would consider her behavior unworthy of her birth and breeding, as well as his position in society. Yet Selena dreaded more what her sharp-tongued stepmother would say—especially since she had no defense for her actions. She hadn’t protested Captain Ramsey’s barbaric assault on