Through the Maelstrom Read Free Page A

disperse, and once they rounded the corner, alone, Captain Morgan drew her up short. He took her hand and brought her knuckles to his lips, kissing them lightly. "I must thank you, love, for the daring rescue."
    Flutters erupted in her abdomen and she shivered. He had an English accent, but it was also influenced with inflections of the Caribbean islands. A cacophony of dialects within one deliciously masculine timbre. Great. Now I'm one of the pirate worshipers.
    "Any time." She yanked her hand free of his and uncomfortably fiddled with a lock of hair. "Look, you may want to work on your whole spiel before tomorrow or they'll eat you alive."
    Captain Morgan scowled. "What devilry is this place? A gargantuan ship full of cannibals?"
    "What?" He had to be joking, but his horrified expression prompted her to add, "Oh, no. No. I didn't mean they would literally eat you alive. I mean figuratively, as in a figure of speech." Serena waited for him to laugh, fake punch her shoulder and say, "Just kidding." He didn't. Damn. He is really into character now that he isn't being mobbed . Must have stage fright.
    The pirate slid his hot gaze down her body, taking in her exposed thighs beneath her denim shorts and lingering on her floral halter top where it flirted with her midriff. He licked his lips, and Serena had to glance away and gulp air. Why hadn't she worn pants and a sweater? Never mind the ninety-six-degree weather.
    The hall was narrow, and he took up way too much of it. Her room was near the end of the topmost deck, and the urge to run started appealing to her. A man had never looked at her with so much raw hunger, and she didn't know how to act like she hadn't noticed. She certainly wouldn't encourage him and make him expect things she wasn't willing to give. Well, being willing isn't the issue. Actually acting on it is. Which left her with no other option but retreat. Safer that way. No embarrassment or awkward conversations.
    Meeting new people had always been hard for her, especially men. All the witty things she would say in a normal conversation wouldn't come to her until she replayed it in her mind later. Once she knew them for a while it became easier, but she sucked at flirting and she couldn't even hold eye contact for long, unless she was spitting mad. Anger gave her more backbone than she usually possessed. A blessing and a curse, depending on the circumstance.
    "Wench," Captain Morgan said, taking a far-too-bold, lingering glance at her chest. "Did I die and arrive upon a vessel of debauchery as a reward. Is this the afterlife?"
    Serena sputtered. Is he using pirate pick-up lines? Seriously? Furthermore, was he hitting on her? Of all the comebacks she could think of, the best she could manage was, "Did you call me a wench?" When he blinked in reply, she sighed, rolling with what she had, as weak as it was. "Of course you did." Waving her hand to shoo him away, she added, "Go debauch elsewhere. I'm going to bed. Try to get it together before going back out there among that crowd. Goodnight."
    She turned her back to him and made a hasty retreat, perhaps shuffling away a tad too quickly. Becky Ann would be appalled by her behavior. When Serena told her the pirate actor kind of hit on her and she ran away unmolested, her friend would kick her ass. She knew Serena was a failure at picking up men, but she wouldn't have let her flee like a frightened doe.
    In fact, it was probably a godsend Becky Ann had gotten sick because she would have locked the two of them in a maintenance closet until satisfied they'd hit all the bases and at least one home run. Her best friend was extremely comfortable with sexuality, too much so when it came to her method of matchmaking. It was exhausting dodging her friend's ideas of a good time when she sent them her way with a cocktail and a devil-may-care smile.
    As Serena fumbled in her pocket for the keycard, she peeked over her shoulder and squeaked. Captain Morgan had followed her and