A Woman Made for Sin (42 page)

Miles studied the smirk on the face of his soon to be ex-employer, licked his lips,
and shifted his gaze back to Shay’s. “I will,” he answered.

Aimee fingered the ivory satin embroidered trained gown she was wearing, unable to
temper her disbelief at its beauty. Scattered down its front were embroidered gold
sprigs that grew more elaborate toward the center of the gown. The hem was adorned
with two rows of intricate gold beadwork, but between them was a wide row of pearls
stitched in the shapes and patterns of the sprigs yet with a flower that was in full
bloom. Delicate ecru lace embellished with pearls and gold thread lined the satin
puffed sleeves set just off the shoulders and in the front was a simple bow that offered
just the right amount of adornment. The empire waist was hidden, defined by cut and
shape, rather than by lace or ribbon, enabling the back of the gown to be more daring
than found in the fashions of typical London Society. This, above all of its other
features, made the dress perfect in Aimee’s eyes, who saw herself a lot like the garment.
Seemingly beautiful and delicate, but when one looked a little further . . . much
bolder than one originally supposed.

“However did you find anything so beautiful already made?”

Annabelle gently nudged Aimee’s chin back up so that she could finish pinning the
last few coiled locks of hair into place. “You are fortunate that we were in Savannah
and not one of the many other ports we frequent. Young Americans are many things,
but among them is an eagerness to improve and outdo all that is English. You and I
know their social climb is an impossible one, but when I saw this dress last winter
when I was in port, I thought those colonials just might have done it this once, though
the seamstress certainly priced this garment as if it were one of her children.”

Aimee once again petted the satin, thinking in a way, it probably was. She had worn
fine materials all her life, but somehow this one seemed more special. She wished
it was hers, and not just borrowed for the day. “I’m sure Mr. Shay believes it was
more than worth the expense.”

Annabelle leaned down to whisper, “Don’t tell him I told you, but he said not to spare
any expense and I didn’t. And in doing so I never had so much fun shopping, even if
I was all by myself. Though I expect your brother might be more than a little displeased
when he gets the bill.”

Aimee swiveled in her seat to look at Annabelle, looking very puzzled. “You mean you
just
bought this gown for
me
?”

Annabelle nodded, twirling the comb in her hand for Aimee to turn back around. “Who
else would it be for, dear? Not me, surely. The reason we were so late leaving Savannah
was that the hem had to be let down another inch to allow for your height.”

Aimee looked down and could now see that the hem had indeed been let out. Though beautifully
stitched, it was not of the same level of quality as the rest of the gown, most likely
from being rushed. “But . . . but this means that you and Captain Shay knew Mr. Hamilton
and I would marry when we came aboard. You
knew
all this would come to be,” Aimee murmured in a soft, confused voice.

“Of course we did, Lady Wentworth. Never would either of us have allowed Mr. Hamilton
to remain aboard otherwise.”

Aimee shook her head, remembering the day they left quite well. “I understand how
you could be confident of Mr. Hamilton’s desires to marry
me
—”

Annabelle smiled at the memory. “You should have heard him demanding that he be allowed
to haul you to the church. Mr. Shay finally decided to let him, fully believing you
would say ‘no’ once you got there.”

Aimee furrowed her eyebrows trying to remember how hurt and angry she was those days
after she had overheard Reece’s easily misunderstood confession. “I suspect you are
right. But what made you think that I would change my mind? If I recall accurately,
that day you thought him to be a . . . a . . . ninnyhammer.”

“I certainly did. But remember me stating that I was going to share those sentiments
with my husband? Well, it seemed I was too late. Your Mr. Hamilton was there before
me, explaining that he realized that he made several grave errors and needed time
to make amends. That he loved you, cherished and needed you and always would. Well,
after learning how much you loved him, I had no choice but to agree to Mr. Shay’s
decision to allow Mr. Hamilton on board, knowing you would marry once all the misunderstandings
were settled. I, of course, was immediately sent out to find the perfect gown and
make sure we had everything necessary for the ceremony. You have to admit that I do
have the finest of husbands, Lady Wentworth. What other man would think of such a
thing, especially when he had no daughters?”

“Perhaps a man with a similarly wise and cunning wife, who plants such a suggestion
in his ear?”

“Perhaps,” Annabelle agreed with a smile and shrug.

Unable to stop herself, Aimee rose to her feet and clasped the woman to her and held
her close for several seconds. “Thank you, Annabelle. I cannot tell you how much my
dress—the hassle of the wedding—ensuring the happiness of my future—all of it means.”

Annabelle waved a hand in front of her face in an effort to stop her tears. “Truly
was a pleasure, my lady. And regarding the fuss of the wedding, I had to do something.
Captain Shay and I were finding ourselves rather lacking for topics of conversation
at night after weeks of the nonstop entertainment provided by you and Mr. Hamilton.”

Aimee shook her head and bit her bottom lip. “And one wedding is going to provide
enough material? Reece tells me there is at least another week before we reach London.”

Annabelle twitched her lips, unable to suppress a mischievous grin. “Perhaps Mr. Shay
might wish for something more in time, but for me? I’ll always have the story of how
I helped a daughter of a marquess secure the admission of love from her sea captain,
and then tricked them into being married at sea by none other than a famed Haskin.
It is just too delicious for words and what makes it more delectable is that it is
all true!”

Reece kicked the door to the stateroom closed with his foot as he pulled Aimee tightly
to him. His lips crushed hers in a fierce, white hot embrace. “You are mine, Mrs.
Hamilton. Now and forever,” he purred against her lips.

Aimee smiled and gave him a quick peck, but not doing anything to try to leave the
embrace. “And you are mine, Mr. Hamilton. I’ve known it all my life. It is you who
is finally aware of how things were always meant to be.”

Her smile tugged at Reece’s heart, but he needed her to know that he was serious.
“You are my life, Aimee. You are more important than anyone or anything.”

Aimee said nothing. She only let go a sigh of pure bliss, and rested her head against
his chest. Reece loved the feel of her body as it melded against his. He closed his
eyes tightly, knowing he held his whole world in his arms. “Mine forever,” he breathed
again, close to her ear, his voice incredulous.

After several seconds, Aimee lifted her head, kissed the tip of his nose and then
wiggled a little, hinting for him to give her a little space. As soon as he did she
pulled off her gloves and began searching in her hair, plucking out what looked to
be miniature weapons and laying them on a nearby table. “While I would love nothing
more than to fall immediately in your arms, Mrs. Shay must have used every hairpin
she had on board in doing my hair. I’m afraid I would be in danger of wounding you,
myself, or us both if I did not first remove these things.”

Reece chuckled and came up behind Aimee to nibble on her neck. “Take your time. I’ll
just enjoy what parts of you I can get to as they become available.”

Aimee rolled her eyes, but also loved the feel of his warm lips against her skin.
No matter how many times or ways Reece kissed her, it always sent shivers down her
spine. She knew it always would. “I cannot believe Mr. Haskin actually married us,”
she remarked breathily, trying to distract her mind from the sensations Reece was
creating with his mouth.

“I must admit to being more than a little surprised that he did not pull some type
of prank to delay things,” Reece said as he unhooked the back of her gown so he could
continue his onslaught on her senses. “I honestly thought he would,” he added right
before bending his head once more.

Aimee removed a pin and a large lock of hair fell down her back. “We would have deserved
it. We are fortunate that he has been so forgiving.”

Reece made an inarticulate sound and began running his fingers through Aimee’s freed
hair, relishing its silkiness. “You mean we’re lucky the man is so damn reserved.
Probably has no idea how to generate a passionate response from a woman.”

“Be nice,” chided Aimee playfully as she pulled out the final pin, letting the rest
of her thick curls fall free. “Mr. Haskin was very hospitable and I’ll have you know
there is something about his
reserved
demeanor that is quite compelling. If my heart had not already been claimed, I might
have been caught by the allure of his mysterious nature.”

Reece growled, spun her around, and covered Aimee’s mouth with his own. His kiss was
voracious, filled with longing as his tongue claimed hers over and over until she
was weak and trembling with need. “What was that about finding another man compelling?”

Aimee lifted her passion-filled eyes to meet his. “Never. No matter how long you are
gone—months or even longer—never will you have to worry. There has been and only ever
will be one man for me. You.”

Reece’s large hand came up and gently cupped her cheek. “Who says I’ll be gone for
such long periods?”

Aimee pulled back slightly. “But I thought . . . won’t you be?” she finally asked.

Reece slowly began to slip her gown off one shoulder and leaned down to kiss the soft
skin its vacancy revealed. “I will have to leave from time to time, but I don’t
always
have to be at sea. I am partial owner of the company and there are things that I
quite miss about living on land.”

Aimee threw her head back both unwilling and unable to stop Reece from what he was
doing physically to her. But she was afraid she had just misunderstood what she had
just heard. “But. . . but you love the sea. You never wanted to stay home before.”

“Aye, I do love being on the water,” Reece murmured against her skin. “But I was at
sea for so long due to the war and then when it was over, I could not come home.”

The second sleeve slipped down her arm and Aimee felt the gown slither down her frame
and fall to the floor. Reece’s mouth did not slow its exploration as he turned her
around. Aimee could feel herself becoming more and more lost to his sensual attack.
“Why not?” she finally managed to ask.

“I was in love with a blond beauty who could not be mine,” Reece answered as he removed
the last of her undergarments and began to lave one pink beckoning nub. “I knew if
I spent any time around her at all, I would whisk her away and make her mine despite
her family, my lack of status, and my best friend—who undoubtedly will kill me for
falling in love with his baby sister.”

Aimee felt her control slipping and decided to switch roles. Sliding out of his embrace,
she stepped behind him and began to repeat the erotic torture he had begun on her.
“So what about your ship?”

Reece swallowed as he felt her hands slip under his shirt and lift upward. A moan
escaped him as her lips pressed against the middle of his back. “The, um,
Emerald?
Collins deserves a ship of his own. And, um, uh, and . . .”

Aimee delighted in his response and it encouraged her to continue downward. “Then
which ship will be yours?”

“The
Emerald
will, um, always be mine. But this way . . . uh, I can relieve each captain for a
trip, giving them a, uh . . . Good Lord, a uh, break and me a chance to check on the
health of the ship and the crew and . . . good God woman, I can stand no more.”

Reece spun around and buried his face in her neck with a guttural sound. He could
feel the bed against his calves and fell back against the mattress, pulling Aimee
with him. The moment the bed felt the impact of their weight, the frame shifted and
immediately crashed onto the floor. Down feathers from a busted seam in the mattress
flew into the air causing Aimee to roll over and cough, waving her hands in front
of her face. “What . . . what
happened?”
she half coughed, half choked.

Reece remained lying on his back staring at the planks above him. Right above those
planks were the captain’s quarters, housing an old man and his wife—both of whom had
to be behind their current predicament.

Aimee saw where Reece was staring and sighed in resignation. “We
should
have expected them to do something. I mean they each told us quite openly that they
were bored.”

Reece laid the back of his wrist on his forehead and muttered, “Aye, but what are
we going to do for a
bed
for the next week?”

Hearing the loud boom and sharp scream, Annabelle froze for a second before putting
her brush down and turning around to seek her husband’s expression. Seeing a lack
of alarm, she calmed and asked, “Whatever could that have been? If I did not know
better, I would think that two or more of the crew were in a scuffle and a piece of
furniture got in their way.”

Shay finished removing his jacket and laid it over the back of a chair. “Wasn’t one
of the crew, my dear. Far from.” He then pointed downward.

Annabelle followed his finger and looked at the floor. Realizing what he meant, her
head snapped back up. “Oh, my . . . their bed? Good Lord, how do you think that happened?”

Shay grinned. And then he slowly lifted his finger so that it pointed above them.