Savannah Heat Read Free Page B

salon. Morgan explained to him about their newest traveling companion, then asked him to have Cookie, the ship’s cook, heat water for a bath.
    “She’ll need something dry to wear,” Morgan added. “Jordy’s about her size. Get something fromhim.” Jordan Little was his cabin boy, a youth of just thirteen.
    Once the tasks had been set in motion, Morgan stepped back inside and closed the door. “We need to talk, Salena.”
    “My name is Silver.”
    He watched her for a moment, noting the rise and fall of her high, round breasts, the color that tinted her cheeks. Even tired and bedraggled, and wet clear to her bones, she had an air about her. Morgan scoffed at the idea of aristocratic bloodlines that William held so dear, and yet …
    “If that’s the name you prefer—”
    “It’s the only name I’ll answer to.”
    Morgan ignored a pinprick of anger. If he just took it slowly, made her understand that her father had only her best interests in mind, the girl would soon settle down and accept the inevitable.
    “If you promise to behave, I’ll cut your bindings.”
    Silver nodded. Morgan slid a small stag-handled knife from the sheath at his waist and slit the leather thongs that bound her wrists. She glanced toward the door.
    “Don’t even think about it,” he warned.
    “I was just hoping the bath would hurry.” It was a lie, and they both knew it.
    “Your father was a friend of mine,” he told her, hoping to ease the moment. “We knew each other in London.” But at his words, she grew only more tense. She glanced away for an instant; then her brown eyes fixed on a point on the wall above his head.
    “What are you planning to do with me?”
    “I’m going to take you home.”
    You’re going to try
, Silver thought. “I don’t supposethere’s anything I could say to change your mind.”
    “I owe your father. It’s a debt I’ve never repaid. Seeing his daughter returned to him safely is the least I can do.”
    A shiver raced up Silver’s spine.
    “You’re cold.” Morgan stepped toward her, but Silver instinctively stepped away. “I was just going to get you a blanket.”
    “The bath will warm me enough.”
    A soft knock sounded at the door. The major opened it, and two young seamen walked in, one with a heavy copper bathing tub, the other carrying dry clothes tucked beneath his arm and two steaming tin pails. The cabin boy, a youth with auburn hair, freckles, and wide hazel eyes, arrived with a pot of tea, cold chicken, and cheese.
    Silver had to admit the bath and food looked good. As soon as she was clean and dry and had eaten her fill, she would plan her next move.
    “I’ll be just outside if you need anything,” Morgan told her when the men had left. He stepped out into the passageway.
    “Thank you, Major.” It was all she could do not to smile. The man underestimated her sorely. She’d be bathed, dressed, and away before he knew what had hit him.
    And hit him she would. One solid blow to the top of his dark blond head, and he would be out for the night. She would do her best not to hurt him, but he had left her no choice.
    She shivered inside her wet clothing and glanced at the steaming hot water. In the meantime, she looked forward with relish to the moments she would spend in the tub.

Chapter 2
    Nothing in recent memory had felt as good as the warm, sudsy water that caressed her naked body. Silver ducked her head beneath the surface, used the cake of soap to scrub her hair, then rinsed and leaned back in the tub.
    Soon she would be leaving, but for now, sitting before the tiny fire in the corner, being warmed by the water, and sipping a cup of jasmine tea seemed like heaven. Outside this cozy room, she would be faced with the storm and the task of getting safely away. Once that happened, she would dye her hair brown, head north, and lose herself in some big city. Philadelphia—or maybe even New York. The colder climate wouldn’t quite suit her, but that was the least of her