Love's Abyss (St. John Series) by Lora Thomas

unclothed before . Out of spite, he winked at her. She let out a disgusted grunt and turned her back to him. “You’re standing in front of the door, Angel.”
    “My name is Lady Madison St. John,” she reminded him.
    “I know. Move,” he said as he placed his strong large hands around her tiny waist. He picked her up and placed her several feet from the door. “Be a good girl and don’t move, or try to kill me with something.” He unlocked the door keeping one eye upon her.
    Kris burst into the room in her usually chipper form. “Breakfast,” she sang again. She held a tray above her head. She walked over to the table, took one hand and pushed the papers to the side, and placed the tray down. “Be careful, it’s hot,” she warned as she smiled.
    She spied Madison standing to the side.
    “Oh, Madison! You need some clothes. Please forgive me for not bringing any to you last night. I was . . . ahhh . . . slightly distracted,” she explained with an impish grin.
    “Please spare us the details,” Alex replied grumpily.
    “You’re in a testy mood this morning, Captain.”
    Alex scratched the back of his head and rubbed his neck. “Do you have some place you need to be?”
    “Oh, yes! I’ll bring you your clothes later this morning,” she shouted over her shoulder as she headed out the door. “We’ll talk later, Madison.”
    Alex walked to the table and lifted the lid off the plates on the tray. Kris had outdone herself with breakfast this morning he realized as he gazed at the feast before him. He looked at the redhead before him. She must be hungry. She didn’t eat anything last night. As if on cue her stomached growled. He raised one brow. “Hungry?”
    “No,” she said and turned a cold shoulder to him.
    “Good, more for me.”
    Truth be told she was starving. She hadn’t eaten anything since her crumpet yesterday morning. She had been saving her appetite for a romantic dinner with Andrew. Her stomach growled again. She was beginning to get weak from the lack of nourishment. The smell of bacon and tea invaded her senses and her mouth watered. Her stomach growled again. Alex looked at her, took a slow breath, and slid a plate her way. “Eat.”
    She sat down cautiously at the table and picked up a slice of bacon. She dare not let him see how hungry she was; it would show weakness. They ate in silence, neither talking to each other. He pretended to ignore her by picking up a letter to read. His eyes rolled as he watched her, keeping up the proper appearance by using restraint in eating. He didn’t understand why the wealthy acted like eating was a chore, instead of enjoying the delightful tastes of the food presented to them. He watched her fingers slowly pick up each slice, inching closer to the butter knife. As her fingers wrapped around the handle, his hand slammed down on top of hers. The electrifying feel of his hand on hers was a feeling he had never experienced before. They both paused for a moment.
    “Caught ya,” he said.
    She quickly jerked her hand back and glared at him. He gathered the eating utensils and tossed them out the door. He then turned towards her wondering if she felt it too. Clear your head, Alex. You’ve been at sea too long. You’re just craving the warmth of a woman’s body right now, that’s all. He quickly tucked his shirt down into his trousers and headed towards the door. “Behave yourself,” he warned Madison as he headed out the door and locked it.
    She studied him, trying to figure him out. Where did he come from? His accent was something she hadn’t heard before. There was a slight British tone to it. It was very refined and eloquent, but it wasn’t British. He spoke too articulately for a barbarous pirate. Was he a mutinous member of European nobility? She couldn’t quite place his origins.
    As she walked around the room, her gaze went to the large table. She picked up various sheets of paper studying each, not paying attention to what each