shall be the target of mockery and ridicule for an entire nation and will never again be able to show my face in society.” He paced along the shore and set me down. “But I’m not sorry.”
Reeling with dizziness from his words and the haze in my head, I realized I was sitting on the bow of a beached longboat. I wore the tattered remains of his shirt and nothing else. On that thought, my hand flew to my throat.
“You didn’t lose it.” He crouched before me, his gaze fixed on the jade stone beneath my fingers. “See? Still there.”
I released a breath. “My father gave it to me.”
“When you said you stole it, I knew better. I don’t think you realize how often you touch it.”
“It’s scary how perceptive you are.”
“Not perceptive enough. My men were extorted by Madwulf right under my nose. It’s the only explanation for his escape. He must have bribed my wardens into setting him free.”
“Recruited them more like. He would’ve offered them a share of the spoils if they joined his band of thieves. You’re not sorry for that?”
“If Madwulf hadn’t escaped when he did, you would still be in the custody of the Royal Navy.” His eyes locked with mine, the depths rotating with hot, resolute emotion. “You’re free, Bennett.”
“We’re both free. No one will ever know you killed John Dycker and his lieutenants.”
“I don’t care about that.” He looked away, the muscles tensing in his gorgeous face. “I’m losing my mind thinking about what Madwulf will do with a weapon like HMS Blitz.” His stare returned, harder and brighter than ever. “But I can’t regret Madwulf’s attack on the flagship. The admiral’s soldiers knew about the depravity happening to you and those women, and they did nothing.” His accent thickened, growing deeper. “They deserved to die.”
“The sum of a man’s actions determines his future, right? The same can be said about me. I’m a pirate. A thief. A murderer.” I gripped his flexing fist and held it on my lap. “I went down with that ship. By English law, that’s a fate I deserved. So how did I get here?”
“I was blown toward the stern, and that’s where—”
“The longboats were stowed.” I glanced down at the one I sat on, unable to imagine how he’d deployed it during a battle.
“This boat found me. It was just…there. Then I found you. Christ, it took an eternity in the smoke and chaos, and I died a million deaths thinking I lost you. But when I saw you going down with the ship, I knew my purpose, my fate.” He squeezed my hand, his Adam’s apple bouncing. “I was meant to be on this longboat exactly where I was when you fell into the sea. It was as if every decision I ever made led up to that moment when you fell, and I dove in after you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” My chin quivered, ruining my scolding tone. “You risked your life.”
“A life that’s worth nothing without you.”
“Ashley…” I leaned forward and rested my brow against his. “Was I breathing?”
“No.” One syllable wrought with anguish.
“Did you put your beautiful mouth on mine like Lieutenant Flemming showed you?”
“Yes.” His hand slid into my hair, bringing our lips together. “After I pulled you into this boat, I gave you my air over and over until you breathed again. It was the longest hour of my life.”
I smiled against his frown. “If saving drowning women is your way of soliciting female companionship for dinner, you’re trying too hard.”
He choked on a laugh. “I fell in love with you that day.”
“You say?” My head jerked back, and I scrutinized his expression, finding the bluest, most honest eyes I’d ever seen. “That was the first thing I said to you aboard your ship.”
“I remember it well. If you only knew what was going on in my head…” He cleared his throat. “And in my breeches.”
“Now you must tell me.”
“I was equally terrified and aroused by you. The intensity of feelings you stirred in me was unlike anything I’d experienced. I wanted to strap you to my bed, redden your arse, climb inside you, and confess my deepest desires. What really tormented me was that I knew you could handle my unseemly manners—the indecency I hid from the world. I knew you would enjoy every form of immoral pleasure ever invented, welcome it even, if you trusted me. I met my match the day I met you, and it took every ounce