Will asked. “He seems eager to take responsibility.”
“Because he’s not my brother,” said Neil.
“Not your brother?” Will asked, one eyebrow raised in mock surprise.
There was nothing enlightening about that revelation. The boys looked nothing alike. He presumed they had grown up together, perhaps under the same roof, but it didn’t surprise him to learn they were not truly blood-relatives.
“ He is actually my incredibly irritating, domineering, busy body sister .” Neil spat out the last word as though it were an accusation.
The breath escaped Will’s lungs in a rush as surely as if he had been punched in the gut. He tried to inhale, but his thundering heart seemed to leave no room for air
He took in “Adam” standing before his desk, wet clothes clinging to skin. Even a blind man could see the bindings underneath the loose folds of the sodden cotton shirt clinging to her chest. Her slender figure narrowed at the waist far more than a man’s and then flared out again at the hips. The cotton fabric of her men’s breeches clung to the mound at the juncture at her thighs, eliminating all doubt.
What’s more, she probably wasn’t even a girl. She had the willowy figure of a young woman, but the self-assured tilt of her chin and directness of her gaze spoke of a mature adult. He had seen this in the steely-eyed glare she gave him when they first met, but had put it down to that attitude of faux self-possession adolescent males, eager to be adults, sometimes adopted. How wrong he had been!
“I see.” He pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.
He looked down at his desk, trying to make sense of his jumbled thoughts. The room spun and, for the first time in his life, words eluded him.
He should be angry at having been made the fool, but anger only flitted at the edge of his thoughts. He tried to grasp it, to hold onto it as an anchor against his whirling emotions, but each time he tried, it vanished like the ephemeral remnants of a recent dream. Will looked up again, expecting to see Adam, the boy who had served him so well these past weeks. The boy was gone.
In his place stood a young woman of such undeniable femininity that she assaulted his senses. Her appeal, even in her bedraggled state, overwhelmed him. Fighting to hold his wits about him, he searched for the right course of action.
He needed to get her off his ship!
Yet, with that conclusion, a sense of loss enveloped him. He had enjoyed having her at his side, cooking his breakfast, keeping him company while he ate, tidying up his quarters when he wasn’t around. He had never been so well-fed, and for the first time ever, his charts and logbooks stood in organized progression on his one bookshelf.
But there was more to it than just the allure of a full stomach and clean quarters. He had done his best to ignore her when she came into his quarters, but he liked having her nearby while he ate. He had even grown to enjoy her silly chatter when she tried to get him to speak. Although he hadn’t allowed himself to admit it at the time, he loved the sound of her voice, especially when she tried to deepen it to sound like a man. He had stayed strong, saying little, sensing that to give into his desire to talk with her would bring him closer to his cabin boy than was wise.
Perhaps he had been afraid to confront the evidence that was right in front of him.
“I don’t suppose your name is Adam, is it?” The question sounded inane.
“No, it’s Amanda.”
The reply, soft and feminine, brought him to his senses, and a wave of anger broke through his confusion. Had lying become a habit of hers? Did she have so little imagination she could only come up with the name of his ship?
Seemingly reading his thoughts, she added, “It really is. I won’t lie to you anymore.”
Will studied her face, green eyes beneath soft blonde brows that, for once, weren’t knit together in vexation, a sprinkle of freckles across otherwise
“Because he’s not my brother,” said Neil.
“Not your brother?” Will asked, one eyebrow raised in mock surprise.
There was nothing enlightening about that revelation. The boys looked nothing alike. He presumed they had grown up together, perhaps under the same roof, but it didn’t surprise him to learn they were not truly blood-relatives.
“ He is actually my incredibly irritating, domineering, busy body sister .” Neil spat out the last word as though it were an accusation.
The breath escaped Will’s lungs in a rush as surely as if he had been punched in the gut. He tried to inhale, but his thundering heart seemed to leave no room for air
He took in “Adam” standing before his desk, wet clothes clinging to skin. Even a blind man could see the bindings underneath the loose folds of the sodden cotton shirt clinging to her chest. Her slender figure narrowed at the waist far more than a man’s and then flared out again at the hips. The cotton fabric of her men’s breeches clung to the mound at the juncture at her thighs, eliminating all doubt.
What’s more, she probably wasn’t even a girl. She had the willowy figure of a young woman, but the self-assured tilt of her chin and directness of her gaze spoke of a mature adult. He had seen this in the steely-eyed glare she gave him when they first met, but had put it down to that attitude of faux self-possession adolescent males, eager to be adults, sometimes adopted. How wrong he had been!
“I see.” He pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.
He looked down at his desk, trying to make sense of his jumbled thoughts. The room spun and, for the first time in his life, words eluded him.
He should be angry at having been made the fool, but anger only flitted at the edge of his thoughts. He tried to grasp it, to hold onto it as an anchor against his whirling emotions, but each time he tried, it vanished like the ephemeral remnants of a recent dream. Will looked up again, expecting to see Adam, the boy who had served him so well these past weeks. The boy was gone.
In his place stood a young woman of such undeniable femininity that she assaulted his senses. Her appeal, even in her bedraggled state, overwhelmed him. Fighting to hold his wits about him, he searched for the right course of action.
He needed to get her off his ship!
Yet, with that conclusion, a sense of loss enveloped him. He had enjoyed having her at his side, cooking his breakfast, keeping him company while he ate, tidying up his quarters when he wasn’t around. He had never been so well-fed, and for the first time ever, his charts and logbooks stood in organized progression on his one bookshelf.
But there was more to it than just the allure of a full stomach and clean quarters. He had done his best to ignore her when she came into his quarters, but he liked having her nearby while he ate. He had even grown to enjoy her silly chatter when she tried to get him to speak. Although he hadn’t allowed himself to admit it at the time, he loved the sound of her voice, especially when she tried to deepen it to sound like a man. He had stayed strong, saying little, sensing that to give into his desire to talk with her would bring him closer to his cabin boy than was wise.
Perhaps he had been afraid to confront the evidence that was right in front of him.
“I don’t suppose your name is Adam, is it?” The question sounded inane.
“No, it’s Amanda.”
The reply, soft and feminine, brought him to his senses, and a wave of anger broke through his confusion. Had lying become a habit of hers? Did she have so little imagination she could only come up with the name of his ship?
Seemingly reading his thoughts, she added, “It really is. I won’t lie to you anymore.”
Will studied her face, green eyes beneath soft blonde brows that, for once, weren’t knit together in vexation, a sprinkle of freckles across otherwise
Similar Books
