Dragon Wish (5 page)

swallowed and leaned back, putting distance between them.

Did this woman believe she had such loose morals? The

answer showed in the bright look angled at her. Embarrassed

by what had occurred last night, Seren shook her head. “I

don’t think the captain would appreciate me talking about

him.”

The woman straightened, her mouth twisted into a pout

before she huffed out a sigh. “So ye know ’im well, do ye? Of

course, ye right. The cap’an ’s a secretive man. A real gent, ’e

is. But when ’e’s around us common folk, ’e don’t put no airs

on. Right favorite ’e is to us. So be careful ’ow ye treat ’im.”

In a flurry of flying skirts, the woman jumped up and hurried

to the door. “I’ll be back in a blink. Wash up, mum, ye still

got the cap’an’s smell on ye. Lovely as it is, I think ye’ll feel

much better cleaned up a bit.”

With this last comment, the woman flounced out, hips

swaying, banging the door closed behind her.

Seren fiddled with the coarse cloth of the blouse, trying to

keep the tears of embarrassment at bay. How many others

had heard them last night? She searched for the strength to

rise, clean up and go below to meet him. Strangers would

look at her. Would they know what they’d done? She stopped

moving and frowned. Why should she even care?

If what he said was true, a new world existed outside

these walls. She didn’t have to follow the same rules she

always had. There were new ones on this planet. She’d learn

to survive and be strong until she returned home.

Memories of Earth flittered in her mind. Her little girl

was buried in New Orleans. Tears filled her eyes, threatening

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to fall. Seren squeezed her eyes shut, allowing the tears to

roll down her cheeks. Somehow she had to find a way back

home.

Without fully comprehending what she did, her hands

cupped her lower belly. She frowned, hoping she hadn’t

conceived, yet she felt like a new life grew inside her. She

shook her head. That was all impossible. She hadn’t known

she was pregnant with Mandy until she had missed her first

period. But right now she sensed the joining of his sperm

with her egg.

She shoved the covers aside and slid her legs over the side

of the bed. Once on her feet, she tugged a sheet from the bed.

She wrapped it around her with the top edges tucked under

her arms, leaving her neck and shoulders bare.

Feeling dirty, she washed in the clean water he’d left for

her. Using a fresh cloth, she poured a few drops from the

pitcher to wipe her teeth and tongue. Re-wrapping the sheet

around her body, she gazed around the room. A heavy table,

the one she had noticed the night before, stood in the center.

Three carved wooden chairs, two pushed in while the one

he’d used still stood sideways to the others, were situated

around the scratched round surface. Dust gathered in the

corners of the room. The bureau’s counter and the table

carried a layer of dust. She wrinkled her nose, but continued

her scrutiny of her surroundings. Her survey stopped on a

satchel sitting on a faded cushion of the window seat.

The dark brown leather was worn with several crease

lines. She glanced at the door. He’d never know if she peeked

inside. Her curiosity propelled her forward until she reached

the bag.

Hands trembling, she unclasped the belted hooks and

raised the flap. A metallic blue shirt, exactly like the one he

put on this morning, lay wadded on top. She smiled. He

wasn’t perfect then. She had expected neatness, instead she’d

found disorder. Pulling the shirt free, she brought it to her

face and inhaled. His scent filled her mind.

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Unexpected desire flared. She wanted him again. She

longed to feel him joined with her, moving until she reached

the blinding pleasure she had experienced the night before.

She swallowed, lowering the shirt and eased down onto

the thin cushion of the window seat. With the side of her

head resting against the pane, she looked outside.

The sky and ocean met on the horizon, the varying blues

merging into one hazy color. The Inn had been built on a

high bluff overlooking a bustling city. To the right, the cliffs

dropped off. She tried to see the beach, but it lay hidden out

of sight. Cut from white stone, wide water channels sliced

through the streets rowed with two-story, some three level

houses along with businesses. The narrow canals emptied

over the edge of the cliffs. It seemed strange that the people

here had built above the water’s edge. She tried to find a

logical explanation, even searching her memory for a

resemblance of any place on Earth.

A noise below brought her stare down and she saw her

rescuer-kidnapper, the captain, walk from a doorway

somewhere beneath her window. She followed him with her

steady look until he stopped in the middle of the busy yard.

People dressed in out of period clothing hustled back and

forth. Some shouted instructions or welcomes while others

worked at loading and unloading barrels, baskets, and an

assortment of boxes from wooden wagons harnessed to

huge, long-haired beasts that reminded her of oxen. Their

clothing brought to mind those worn during the eighteenth

century.

The wind gusted, lifting the sides of the captain’s frock

coat. The shorter strands of his light gold hair fluttered over

his shoulders.

Her breath caught in her throat. He appeared so tall, so

easy to look at. Her body throbbed, igniting with need.

Wetness gathered between her legs. She craved his touch—

now. She squeezed her eyes shut, battling the

embarrassment in her mind and the passion growing

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throughout her body. How could she feel like this? What

kind of person was she? One she no longer knew, or did she?

Had a darker part of her soul been born last night?

She opened her eyes, hoping to stop her thoughts, and

found that he had turned and now stood staring at her. Their

gazes met. She refused to yield. Temptation reared its head.

She wanted to crook a finger at him, telling him to come to

her. Just as she was ready to give in to her desire, a broad-

chested man jogged from the doorway below her to the

captain’s side and said something. The captain half-smiled at

her then followed the other man inside. Relieved she hadn’t

given in to her baser sensibilities, she stuffed his shirt back

into the satchel without looking at anything else. With a flip

of her wrist, she closed the bag. Disappointment soon

followed, mingling with her relief.

Her thoughts wandered to how the inhabitants in this

new world would treat her once they learned she came from

another planet? She would have to work to fit in until she

returned home, but she didn’t know what this meant to these

people. Most of all, while she tried to acclimate herself to this

place, she would make sure she never had another child.

Which meant the intimate moments with him were at an

end.

She had learned a hard lesson with Mandy. One she

swore she’d never forget.

Alice swung the door wide, and flounced across the room.

“’ere ye go, mum.”

Seren jumped, her hands clutching the sheet tighter

around her. Heat rose to her cheeks at being caught near the

captain’s belongings.

“Ooo, goodness, ye are a tiny bit of t’ing. I’d say ye’d

barely reach the cap’an’s shoulder, ye would, iffin ye stood

side by side. Well, come on, let’s see ’ow ye look in t’eses.”

The woman held out a pair of pants similar to narrow-legged

capris in one hand. A white billowy shirt was draped over her

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other hand.

“Thank you,” Seren said, accepting the woman’s offering.

She pulled the shirt over her head and tugged it down. The

seam across the shoulders fit, but the length came to the top

of her thighs. A little too short for her tastes, but she had no

other choice.

Under the cover of the sheet, she slipped her feet into the

pants. Using one hand, she slid them up. They were a little

snug, but she could deal with that, she decided, buttoning

the double-sided front flaps. She raised the hem of the shirt

to study how she looked. Yes, they’d do.

“Do ye want a bindin’ for yer chest? I don’t t’ink ye need

one. Don’t ’ave much up t’ere to bind.”

Seren glared at the woman. Maybe she was small busted,

but the captain hadn’t minded last night. “No, I don’t need

any binding.”

Alice handed her a pair of thick wool socks along with a

black cap. “Well, now, ’ere’s ye a ’at. The cap’an’s down below

waitin’ for ya. ’E’s ordered ye a right ’effy morning repast, ’e

’as. Now, come along. Don’t wanna keep ’im waitin’.”

“Wait, I don’t have any shoes. I can’t go down in socks.”

Seren dug in her heels. Fear interlaced with uncertainty

rushed through her. She wasn’t ready to see him. Not again.

Not so soon.

“Come on wit’ ye. We’ll stop in my room. It’s just above

us. I t’ink t’ere might be a pair of clogs t’ere. It’s all I gots.”

The woman grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the

door.

Realizing how useless it was to argue, Seren allowed Alice

to guide her down the paneled hall. At the landing, the

serving woman veered to the right, thumping up a short

flight of stairs. “Come on, up ’ere with ye.”

The slight detour took just a few minutes. Seren

reveled in the small delay. At the top of the stairs leading

below, she inhaled a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves.

Once steady, she proceeded down the stairs. The time to face

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Dragon Wish

the captain had arrived.

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Dragon Wish

“So ye’re still determined to return her body to her

family?” Calis Mer asked.

Paladin glanced at the barrel-chested man sitting across

from him. Short dark hair stuck out from his head, and keen

gray eyes studied the contents inside his mug. A large, beefy

hand curved around the gray tankard. Eyes, similar in color

to the mug, rose to meet his look.

“It is my duty as her husband. My last duty,” Paladin

replied. He sliced a thin sliver of beef steak and ate. His first

mate would never understand. Paladin took his marriage-

bond duty seriously. His honor required it of him even

though the woman he’d married had broken those same

vows time and again. Calis understood the skies from all the

voyages they went a journeying on. The man comprehended

life and death, but honoring a woman who was also a wife

seemed impossible for him to comprehend.

Calis grunted before he took a long pull from his tankard,

straining the foam through his front teeth. The man had little

manners, but Paladin hadn’t hired him for his social

refinements.

His first mate arched a bushy black brow at him, his tone

teasing. “Heard ye had a bit of fluff during the night.

Where’d ye find her? I don’t recall any new faces in the place

last evening.”

Paladin half smiled. He refused to meet the other man’s

look. His ship was set to sail in less than an hour. If time had

permitted, he would have brought the strange woman the

clothes instead of asking the serving wench to do it. He

should have known she would have rattled her tongue to

others. “She isn’t anyone you know,” he commented. He cut

another slice. He took his time chewing it. The food carried

no taste to him. The texture was dry, even tough.

Last night still haunted him.

He had inquired of the innkeeper to see if anyone

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complained of any strange happenings in the night, but the

man had shaken his head. Satisfied none of the locals

suspected what had occurred, he had proceeded to order his

morning meal along with the bill for the room.

He chewed another bite, hiding the disgust floating in his

gut. He had taken a chance by touching her.

The night before, he had been unable to stop himself

from comforting her. Her lips had caressed his skin in a

soothing, gentle way which managed to dissolve all his

resolutions with the heat of his need. Her palms on his chest

had stirred the embers of his passion until they flared to a