Again (14 page)

Her body, still remembering the sensation Jonathan’s touch brought fourth, nudged her soul to speak. 
He makes me feel so alive.  Do not deny me one more night.
  The battle had raged within, rooting her feet to where she had stood, under the trees, just beyond the port.

As if he sensed her presence, Jonathan stood on the deck, looking in her direction. 

She had needed no further invitation to join him.

“I had never before realized how beautiful it is!”
 
Catherine now stood against the ship’s railing, looking out over the ocean, its borders spreading beyond her imagination. The golden glow of the sun’s setting rays warmed her face and a light breeze caught wisps of her hair, the strands teasing the edges of her face. “I understand why you love it so.”

Jonathan, leaning on one elbow against the rail, studied her.  “Aye, she is beautiful.”
 
He gently pushed the loose tendrils away from her face. “She holds many mysteries and many moods.
 
Sometimes predictable, most often times not, but she is what she is.
 
That is why she is so enchanting.”

Whether his words were speaking of her or his beloved sea, she could not be sure, but it was his intimacy that brought a blush to her cheeks.
 
His strong hands, accustomed to heavy labor, were surprisingly gentle as he touched her face.
 
Her mind, still struggling to gain control, refused to give in to her desire to take his hands in hers.  She stepped just out of his reach, breaking the bridge of heat that was growing between them.
 
She focused on the expanse of the water. “Why do you sail, Jonathan?
 
Why a life at sea?”

Jonathan’s gaze lingered upon her a bit longer before he faced the ocean again.  He stood with his arms braced against the rail, contemplating her question. 

As the silence grew, she dared to look at him.  He looked beyond the water, seeing something she could not.  She mentally traced the straight line of his nose and the strong line of his jaw.  The breeze held back his hair, revealing his smooth, sun-darkened skin.  For the first time she noticed the small loop that adorned his ear.  Tonight he wore a shirt dyed of black to match the only other piece of jewelry he wore, a simple gold ring in which was set a black stone.
 

He finally broke the silence. “Perhaps to be closer to what I love, far from that which I prefer to avoid.”
 
He turned back to her and challenged her with his own question.  “What of you, Lady Catherine?
 
Have you traveled far from your father’s lands?”

“I have never had a desire to,” she admitted. “I have my home, my family…”
And Galen
, her mind added.  She sighed. 
What is it, truly, that makes me hold on so?
  Her eyes searched the waters below as if to find an answer there, but in her heart she knew the truth.
 
She spoke in a voice so quiet, even she was unsure she said it. “Perhaps I am afraid.”

Jonathan moved to stand behind her and wrap his arms around her waist.
 
Her body tensed as she felt his powerful chest against her back, coaxing the heat to rise once more.

“Look out there, Catherine,” he said against her ear.
 
“Breathe it all in.
 
Freedom is yours for the taking.
 
The sea gives so freely and asks for nothing in return.”
 
Fierce passion gripped his words.
 
“Take it Catherine!
 
She will give you life!”

Catherine’s chest swelled as she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.
 
She imagined the warm salty air flowing through her veins, awakening a need within her she thought had died long ago.
 
She had the urge to laugh, to cry, to dance, to live!

She was driven back to the moment by Jonathan’s kiss.
 
His lips brushed her neck and her shoulders, tender, inviting, and promising. The smoldering heat now exploded into a flame, weakening her knees - and her will.
 
A strangled protest died on her lips, singed by the very fire that consumed her now, as she melted deeper into Jonathan’s arms.
 

He tightened his hold around her
as he whispered, “Do not be afraid, milady.
 
Please.
 
Never be afraid.”

Chapter 13

Eryn was disgusted with herself.
 
A glutton for punishment, she thought.
 
Not only was she still annoyed at Brandi for being so obnoxious last night, but she was even more annoyed with herself for not canceling lunch today.
  

Sitting across from Brandi, Eryn watched her friend rattle on about all the injustices the world dished out, making her existence so difficult, waving her fork to punctuate each word.
 
Eryn glanced at her watch.
 
They had already been here an hour and Brandi’s plate was still half full.
 
Eryn sighed.

The sound of the pounding waves was muted by the windows that stood between the outdoor patio and the beach.
 
Out there, under the glare of the sun, Eryn mused, life rolled out moment by moment, in perfect rhythm, with no pretences.
 
The seagulls stole food, sandpipers poked deep for sand crabs, and beachgoers used their bodies or boards to mold with the waves.
 
Absolute perfection.

On this side of the glass, it was a different kind of perfection.
 
Conversation hummed with polite, meaningless words, napkins dabbed at meticulously painted lips, and glasses were filled with imported beers and wine.
  
This was the place to be seen.
 
A place where people paid just as much attention to others in the room as to themselves.
 
It was all about image.

Eryn noticed a new arrival at the door.  “Well, look who’s here,” she murmured, straightening up, relieved by the distraction, regardless of who it was.

Brandi whipped around in her seat to look and turned back even quicker, recognizing him right away.  She swallowed her food and wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin.  “Not married, right?”

Eryn shook her head.

“Good.
 
Do I have any food in my teeth?”  Brandi leaned forward and bared her bleach-white teeth. 

Giving her a cursory glance, Eryn again shook her head and looked back at the door.

Troy stood in the doorway, scanning the room.
 
It didn’t seem to matter where he was or what he wore, Eryn thought.
 
He always looked so comfortable.
 
So sure of himself.
 
No, she corrected herself.
 
Smug is a better word to describe his attitude.
  

When he finally saw Eryn, his face broke into a smile.
 
He wasted no time in getting to their table. “Hey, how’s my favorite photographer?”
 
Leaning in, he kissed her cheek and whispered, “Beautiful as ever.”

Eryn ignored his comment.
 
“Troy, you remember Brandi from the party, don’t you?”
 
She gestured across the table.

As if realizing for the first time there was someone else there, he looked at Brandi and tilted his head a bit, trying to remember.  “Oh yeah.  You were with Dylan Branson, right?”

“Not really
with
him.  Just
talking
with him.”  Brandi quickly made the distinction, but Troy didn’t seem to notice. 

He grabbed an empty chair from the next table and placed it between the two women and sat down.

“Will you excuse me a moment?”  Brandi grabbed her purse and with a lingering look over her shoulder at Troy, she sauntered toward the bathroom. 

Troy leaned back in his chair, lazily roaming his eyes over Eryn.
 
He smiled approvingly.

“So.” Eryn broke the silence.
 
“Did your mother like the canvas?”

He blinked and politely focused on her question.
 
“Absolutely.  So much so that the picture got the best position in her office.”
 
He held up his hands, indicating a place up high.
 
“Now she wants that family portrait we talked about to hang above the fireplace at the house.”
 
His eyes brightened.  “Looks like I’ll have to hire you again after all.”

“Sure, no problem.”  Her answer was a reflex, but then she wondered how Bryce would handle it.
 
She twirled her wedding ring on her finger unconsciously.
 
How could she tell Bryce without causing a riff in their lives again?
 
“Your family.
 
Just you and your dog, right?”

“Why?
 
You interested in changing that?”  He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, his blue eyes filled with suggestion.

That unnerving feeling of being hunted sharpened her senses.
 
She ignored his implication.  “I just thought if you weren’t seeing anybody seriously, you might want to ask Brandi out.”

He looks over towards the door where Brandi had gone through, looked back at Eryn and shook his head.
 
“Not really my type.  Actually, I’d rather ask you out.”

Eryn’s mouth dropped.
 
She held up her hand to show her ring.  “Hello?”

That little detail hardly put him off.
 
“Oh, yeah.  Bryce.  My foe.”
 
He reached for her hand and inspected her ring, then gently guided it back to the table.  “He doesn’t like me too much, does he?”  He leaned back in his chair, contemplating Eryn   “He has every right to be concerned.  He has a prize worth protecting.”

Before Eryn could say anything, Brandi appeared and plopped herself back in her chair, looking back and forth between the two, her eyes wide with curiosity and anticipation.
 
“So, what did I miss?”

Troy was the first to react.
 
“Hey, Brandi, are you doing anything Friday night?”
 
His eyes never left Eryn, a mischievous grin growing.
 

She felt a sense of impending doom.

Brandi brightened up, oblivious to the fact that Eryn and Troy were still staring at each other.  “Friday?  I’ll have to check my schedule, but I’ll be sure to free it up.”

Troy glanced at Brandi, taking a moment to look her over before nodding.
 
“Maybe we could double date.”
 
He turned back to Eryn, his brows raised.
 
“Eryn?”  It seemed more of a statement than a question.
 

Now they were both staring at Eryn, waiting for an answer.
 
The doom wasn’t impending any more.
 
It was here and now.

Eryn looked at her friend, who could barely control the pleading in her eyes, and at Troy.
Damn him!
 
He knows that if I want him to take Brandi out, I’ll have to agree to the double date.
 

Brandi was already grabbing a scrap of paper out of her purse and scribbling her number on it.

“I’ll have to check with Bryce.”
 
Eryn hedged, giving her some time to figure out exactly what she had gotten herself into.
  

Chapter 14

“Sir, a young lady is asking to see you.”

“Lady Catherine?”
 
Jonathan stood up from where he was crouched on the deck, coiling thick braids of rope.
 
He glanced down the wide expanse of the ship’s deck.

The pale blue sky held streaks of soft orange and red from the rising sun, creating a ceiling over the still sleeping waters of the blue-green sea.
 
A morning breeze was gaining strength, promising a strong hand for the crew of
La Helena.

“Nay,” said Cedric.
 
“I believe…”

“You are truly leaving, Master Jonathan?”
 
Catherine’s sister stepped out from behind Cedric.

“Sara?”

Cedric’s hands splayed in a gesture of helplessness.
 
“My apologies, sir.
 
She was insistent that she needed to speak with you.”
 
Cedric turned and scowled down at Sara.
 
“She said it was important.”

“It is fine, Cedric.”
 
Jonathan clapped Cedric’s shoulder.
 
“I will see her.
 
You go on below with the rest of the men.”

 
“Are you alone?
”
he asked when the crewmen had gone.

She looked behind her and dramatically exhaled.  “Yes.  Everyone has been so busy entertaining Lord Oakley they seemed to have forgotten about me.”  Her bottom lip pouted.

“Forgotten about you?  I find that hard to believe,” he laughed.

She sidled up beside Jonathan, leaning close enough to touch his arm.  Her eyes glistened with moisture.
 
“Oh, but they do.  They dismiss me so thoroughly that sometimes I wonder if I can be seen at all.”