Pleasures of a Tempted Lady Read Free Page B

of color turned into the unfamiliar shapes of a cabin she didn’t know: She wasn’t on the Defiant . He hadn’t found her.
    Someone else had.
    She didn’t know whether to cry from relief or fear. Yet, whoever it was, surely it couldn’t be as bad as Caversham finding them.
    Jake’s dark brown hair blocked her view of the room, and she struggled against the pain to raise her head. Jake grumbled softly and snuggled harder against her. She tightened her arm around him. Above all, she thanked God they were still together. She didn’t know what had happened, but there were all sorts of scenarios in which she might have lost Jake. He was the most important thing. As long as he was with her, she could protect him.
    She blinked hard. That seemed to clear her vision a bit, and she blinked again. She could see buff trousers tucked into shiny black Wellingtons, and a sea-blue waistcoat with a line of gold buttons—far finer than anything Caversham’s men wore, although Caversham himself was quite the fop. This man, though—he filled out his clothing in a way Caversham never could. Powerful thigh muscles pressed against the wool of the trousers. The waistcoat cinched a narrow waist that widened to strong, broad shoulders. He seemed endlessly tall.
    Finally, she was looking up into the man’s face. The face was familiar, like his voice, but who was he? She frowned. Something about him…
    He stared down at her; his lips parted as if he was about to speak but lost the words before he was able to push them free.
    He blinked, and her gaze riveted to his eyes—dark as chocolate swirled with bits of amber. Beautiful eyes. Eyes that hadn’t changed.
    She must be dreaming. Having visions. The days in the Defiant ’s jolly boat and the storm had muddled her mind. She was probably, at this very moment, lying on one of the jolly boat’s benches as they drifted toward Ireland.
    “Meg,” the man whispered.
    And his name—and all the memories associated with it—flooded through her in a powerful rush.
    Commander William Langley.
    She wrapped both her arms around Jake and gathered him close. The boy was her only link to reality. If she lost him, she’d have nothing. He shifted, and she glanced down to see that he was awake and gazing at her.
    She looked back up at the man—no, Commander Langley . He was still standing there, pale and motionless, his dark eyes swirling with emotions she couldn’t begin to name.
    How should she address him? When she’d last seen him, she’d called him Will. But that was years ago. Surely it wouldn’t be appropriate after so long. She swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in her throat.
    “Commander Langley?” Her voice emerged low and cracking.
    He released a hissing breath, and his hand covered hers over Jake’s back, heavy and warm. “Yes. It’s me. William Langley.”
    “How…?” She choked on the word.
    He hesitated, then gave her a tight smile. “We found you. Floating in a jolly boat with a broken mast. You’ve been unconscious since we brought you aboard.”
    “Jake?” She looked down at the boy again. “Are you all right, darling?”
    “Mmm hmm,” he said with a sober nod.
    She struggled to raise herself into a sitting position, but the world swirled around her, her vision blurred, and she groped to hold on to the bed sheet.
    Instantly, firm arms came around her shoulders, holding her steady. “There now. Lie down. I… we found a lump on your head—looks like you were hit quite hard by the mast when it fell.”
    “I think I… I’m going to…” Her body pitched forward. It was too much. Unthinkable that after so long she should be on a ship with—of all the people in the world—William Langley.
    Unthinkable that she was about to vomit all over his fine silk bedspread.
    “I’m sorry,” she groaned, willing it not to happen. But it was. As if he knew he might be the target of the imminent disaster, Jake scrambled away from her.
    “Hold on,” Commander