Nicole Jordan (41 page)

“Yes, we’re agreed.”

His smile was blinding. He gave her a lingering kiss filled with promise and anticipation of the future to come. When he drew back, his eyes were dark with desire.

She shook her head. “I still think I might be imagining this. Are you sure you truly love me?”

“More sure than of anything in my entire life.” His mouth curved in a tender smile. “I think I’ve loved you from the moment you first shot me.”

Flushing, Raven shut her eyes. “Please, don’t remind me.”

Laughing again, Kell tightened his arms around her, reveling in the intense pleasure of holding her. He loved her more than his next breath. But he would have to prove it to her. To make her believe. He would have time to show her during the long voyage, though.

Tenderly he kissed the top of her head. “I know I’ve given you little reason to trust in my love before this, but I swear I will make it up to you.”

“Will you tell me again?”

“I love you, my darling vixen. So much my heart hurts.”

She smiled against his shoulder, shaken by the enormity of the emotion that surged through her. “I feel the same way.”

“Then tell me.” He tilted her face up to his. “I need to hear you say it.”

“I love you, Kell.” She declared it with abandon and joy as she twined her arms about his neck. “I love you, I love you, I love you,” Raven murmured before she gave herself up to his passionate kiss.

Epilogue

Montserrat, British West Indies, July 1814

Raven caught her breath as Kell rose from the foaming surf, his magnificent nude body silhouetted against the aquamarine sea. He was so beautiful, he made her ache.

His gaze riveted on her, pinning her where she lay on the beach beneath a palm, and Raven smiled in secret joy. Her pirate lover had become Kell in the flesh; he had risen from the sea to claim her woman’s heart, just as in her fantasies.

As she met his intense, soul-dark eyes, she felt her love swell for him until it was something painful. She wanted him as she wanted sunlight and air.

How perilously close she had come to missing his love! She had been so afraid of losing herself as her mother had, of being overwhelmed by the mind-numbing power of passion. But she had been wrong to fear it. Love was a vital part of life; passion was a joy. If anything, that was the primary lesson of the journal.

It was more than worth the risk of pain to find the kind of soul-shattering union she had found with Kell. Without risk, she never would have known the ecstasy of true love. Indeed, the pain and sorrow in their past gave her present feelings for Kell even more depth and intensity.

And the things that had once seemed so important to her—wealth, possessions, titles, position—all of that counted for little if you were lonely, if you were not loved.

Kell had shown her that. She had tried to mold herself into what society expected of her, into something she was not, but he had liberated her from the false notions and oppressive strictures that had governed her life.

His passion had freed her imprisoned, lonely heart, and she could not have loved him more.

Raven watched with eager anticipation as he strode through the silver foam and across the crystalline sand to where she awaited. For a moment, he stood above her, vibrant, magnetic, intense, his hair very black against the golden light, his gaze heated, his engorged male flesh clearly proclaiming his desire. She had only to look at his virile, aroused body and she grew wet, her nipples tightening to aching peaks.

Kell understood exactly the effect he had on her, she knew. Desire crackled in the dark depths of his eyes as he knelt beside her on the blanket.

They often came here, their own private cove below their new home, to dive in the lagoon, search for sunken ships, or comb the beaches, hunting for buried pirate treasure.

“Did you have any luck?” she asked as he stretched his hard length against her.

“I have all the luck I need right here,” he murmured, his voice husky. “You’re the treasure I’d like to bury myself in.”

His wet, sleekly muscled body was cool against her overheated skin, but his mouth was hot and moist as he bent to suckle her bare breast.

A whimper of pleasure sounded from deep in Raven’s throat. Her skin felt acutely sensitive wherever he touched, and he touched her everywhere, his caresses dangerously, wildly sensual as they roamed over her body.

And then his mouth moved to that throbbing, most feminine part of her. Gasping, she arched against him and clutched at his hair. His lips felt hotter than the sun, the blistering heat searing her flesh. And his tongue…She felt it stroking, circling, sending ripples of pleasure through her aching flesh.

When she would have pulled him away, he caught her hands and held them at her sides. She gave a keening moan when his tongue stabbed deep into her, her hips writhing.

She withstood his primitive assault until she could bear no more. “Kell…Oh, God…please…”

He looked up, his eyes smoldering with barely leashed passion. His smile was knowing as he covered her body with his own. Parting her thighs wide, he slowly impaled her with his pulsing masculine flesh.

She was so aroused when he came into her that she nearly climaxed at once. With a sob, Raven rocked upward to receive him, needing him to fill her. His intense gaze burning into hers, he withdrew his slick shaft and sank forcefully into her again, thrusting completely home.

Raven nearly screamed with pleasure.

Desperate now, she wrapped her legs around his hips to hold him more tightly, meeting his powerful surges, her hunger matching his own as his mouth came down hard upon hers.

His kiss was wild and deep, his fierce intimacy driving her higher and higher toward the shattering peak.

Breathing in sobs of frantic need, Raven cleaved to him, their thundering heartbeats melding as their spirits soared. Kell not only took her, he claimed her, possessed her, enveloped her. The essence of him was fire, an irresistible fire that consumed her.

They came together, fused by the incredible heat, the delicious rapture. As their last shudders faded, Kell collapsed upon her, his gasping breath mingling with hers, their fierce hunger momentarily sated.

In the afterglow, a warm sea breeze blew across their heated bodies. Raven sighed in repletion as Kell gathered her in his arms. There had been a beautiful, animal passion to their coupling, yet it was the love between them that gave their joining such shattering bliss.

Her heart aching with love and tenderness, she reached up to cradle Kell’s scarred cheek in her palm. She belonged to this man. She needed him as she needed her next heartbeat.

Long moments later, Raven found her thoughts stirring, drifting back over the months since their arrival.

The island of Montserrat had proven a good choice for them to settle. With such a large Irish population here, Kell was welcomed rather than shunned for what the English considered his inferior blood. And while rumors of the scandals had followed them, the gentry here was far more accepting than England’s upper crust. The title helped, of course. Baron and Baroness Frayne were invited everywhere, and their invitations eagerly sought in return.

They had bought a large house with a magnificent view of the Caribbean, and it had begun to feel like home. And Kell had filled the stables so that she could ride to her heart’s content.

Kell had not been able to forget his brother or the role he’d played in Sean’s death, but he was learning to forgive himself. As for Michael O’Malley, Raven missed him dreadfully. But they had erected a small memorial for the Irishman on the grounds, and Raven took flowers there often.

She missed her other friends as well but was cheered by the letters she’d begun to receive from both Brynn and Emma and from her grandfather. Dare, they hadn’t heard from at all, possibly because he was too busy.

Raven had been astonished when Kell told her how Dare had been occupying his time: he was hunting for a traitor, a treacherous Englishman known as Caliban. It was hard for her to imagine the charming, thoroughly wicked rake known as the Prince of Pleasure immersing himself in espionage. But Dare reportedly had become involved in the search for Caliban at Lucian’s request. He’d interrupted his search to fetch Kell in Ireland, and she could only be grateful to him for helping Kell reach her in time for them to sail together.

The ocean voyage had been magical. They’d spent the long hours not only making love and indulging in passionate delights but truly coming to know each other: their secrets, their hopes, their fears, their deepest emotions. Their love had seemed to grow each day.

Raven didn’t think her cup of happiness could be much fuller.

She was not so certain about Kell, however. He loved her deeply, she had no doubt, but she worried that even love might not be enough to keep him content over the years. Already he seemed to be growing restless with a gentleman’s life of leisure.

He needed something more, she knew. Just as Dare’s new assignment had reportedly given him a purpose.

“Kell, I’ve been thinking…” she said finally.

“Mmmm?” The quiet murmur suggested he was nearly asleep.

“What would you say if I suggested you start a foundling home?”

Kell opened his eyes, suddenly awake. “For orphans?”

“Yes. There are numerous children in the West Indies who have lost their families. It’s positively criminal the way they must forage for survival on the docks. Some are even forced into labor on board merchant ships.”

Intrigued, he eased away from Raven’s naked body and raised himself up on one elbow to stare down at her. “Do you mean start a home here on Montserrat?”

“Possibly, although one of the larger islands might be better, since there it would be easier to hire teachers and staff…. Antigua, perhaps.”

He contemplated her for several moments, noting how serious her blue eyes were. “You seem to have given this a good deal of consideration already.”

“Well, I admit I’m concerned about you. Establishing a foundling home would give you an occupation. Without your gaming club to claim your time, you have often been at loose ends since coming here.”

Kell couldn’t help smiling at her. “Are you trying to be rid of me, my love?”

“No, not at all. I simply think you would be happier with a challenge to give you purpose. Rescuing creatures in distress is your dearest challenge. And you could do a great deal of good at the same time.”

He regarded her in silent awe, wondering what he had done to deserve her. Perhaps it was indeed fate that she had wound up in his bed as a result of his brother’s destructive machinations.

He gazed down at her, admiring her vivid beauty. A light breeze teased the ebony tresses spilling around her face in a glorious tangle.

“I would help you, of course,” Raven added when he remained silent. “I don’t know much about raising children, but I know how to manage a household. And it would be excellent practice for when we have our own children.”

The thought warmed him. Not simply the prospect of having children with Raven, but that Raven had changed her mind so profoundly. She was adamant that no child of hers would endure the bitter experience she had suffered at the hands of her stepfather. It gladdened Kell that she wanted him as the father of her children, that she trusted him enough.

It amazed him that she had truly come to love him.

With tender solemnity, he drank in the sight of her, his eyes sweeping every tempting curve of her body. He had vowed to keep her heart safe always, and he renewed his vow silently as he bent to nuzzle her neck.

Raven was still trying to speak, however. “We could begin with boys at first, and then if that is successful, we could add a wing for girls…. We could even name the home after Sean, if you like—”

He made a sound of pleasure as he savored the salty taste of her ivory skin.

“Kell, are you listening to me?”

“Yes, vixen, I am listening avidly.”

“So what do you think?”

“I think you are perfectly amazing.”

“Kell, I am serious!”

“So am I, my darling. So am I.” He cradled her face in his hands. “Have I told you lately how very much I love you?”

“Not in several hours.”

“Well, then, allow me to remedy my lapse.” His mouth found the rosy peak of her right breast.

“Kell, I think we should discuss our future—” She drew a sharp breath as his tongue laved her nipple.

“There will be time enough to discuss our future,” he whispered huskily against her flesh. “Just now, however, I want to make love to my beautiful wife, so I’ll thank you to stop arguing.”

“I,argue?” Raven retorted with a laugh that became a sigh of rapture as she surrendered to her demanding husband’s caresses.

An Ivy Book

Published by The Random House Publishing Group

Copyright Š 2002 by Anne Bushyhead

Excerpt fromThe Prince of Pleasure by Nicole Jordan copyright Š 2002 by Anne Bushyhead

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Ivy Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

Ivy Books and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

www.ballantinebooks.com

eISBN-13: 978-0-345-49403-0

eISBN-10: 0-345-49403-2

v1.0

To my most favorite bookseller ever—

Gail Stordahl-Brown,

with thanks

Kell opened the door for her, then stepped aside to allow her to enter….

He’d watched Raven during the entire evening as she’d danced and charmed her way through her critical crowd of judges. She was all laughter and wit and vivacious beauty, demonstrating how she’d drawn half the population of London under her spell during her Season.

He himself had felt an unreasonable spark of jealousy.

She was a temptress, pulsing with life and sensuality.

And she was now his wife….

Kell felt every muscle in his body tighten at her disturbing nearness, his instinct for danger warring with the powerful need to take her in his arms. He knew better than to touch her, and yet…the impulse was unconquerable. Gently grasping her shoulders, he drew her against him….