Sold Into Marriage by Sue Lyndon Page B

thought.
    Emotion burned in his throat at the sight of her, even in the darkness when he couldn’t make out all her features. Guilt riddled him to have taken so long in finding her. He’d almost drowned the night of the pirates’ attack, and he’d awoken from a delirious fever state a week later in the care of a native tribe on an island known as Bunca. Apparently, he’d washed up on the shore.
    Would Meadow forgive him for taking so long? He worried the pirates had brutalized her, mayhap scared her so badly she wouldn’t be able to stand a man’s touch, even his. He tried to speak, but when he opened his mouth the words became stuck in his throat. He longed to rush to her and take her in his arms, to hold her and never let go.
    But what if his touch frightened her? Images of the horrors she might have endured while in captivity flashed through his mind, and he closed his eyes and gave his head a harsh shake, hoping by some miracle she hadn’t been treated as harshly as he suspected.
    When he’d discovered she’d been rescued by a warship from Himma, his worry had increased after he learned she’d vanished from the ship while it took on supplies in Manacover. Perhaps the ship filled with men had been too much for her. Perhaps that was why she’d left to never return, even though the warship had remained in port for an extra two days as they sent soldiers to search the streets looking for her, no doubt bound by honor and duty to assist a lady in distress.
    “Meadow.” When he finally spoke, her name came out as a whisper. “My sweet lass.”
    Something clanged to the floor, and he caught the glint of metal in the moonlight as he took another step forward. She must have thought him an intruder and been prepared to defend herself, and the fact that she still had a fight left in her made hope flicker inside his chest. If she’d been broken, she wouldn’t have taken care to arm herself.
    “Varron. Oh my God. Is…is it really you?” She covered her mouth to stifle a sob.
    He moved to her, cautiously, mindful of all she had probably been through since the attack on the Georgiana and not wishing to frighten her.
    She peered up at him, her long hair arranged around her shoulders, her white nightdress clinging to her—she must have broken into a sweat during her nightmare—and gleaming in the moonlight.
    “Am I dreaming?” she asked, a small smile curving her lips up. She released a shuddering breath and reached for him.
    It was all the encouragement he needed. He swept her up in his arms and held her to his body, nearly crushing her in his fierce embrace. He knew he should be gentler, but after missing her for a month and even fearing she’d been killed, he could no longer help himself. Fortunately, she wasn’t struggling or shuddering at his touch.
    “Meadow.” He stroked her hair and breathed in her scent. Still, after all this time, her hair smelled of roses. He pulled back and kissed her forehead, then her cheeks, and finally—oh yes, her sweet and welcoming lips.
    She moaned against him and reached up to hold his face in her hands, kissing him hard and long, delving her tongue against his as she whimpered and wrapped her thighs around his center. He moved to sit on the bed with her and returned her kiss with all the fury of his longing for her, unable to get enough of his sweet wife. His cock hardened and his desire for her had never been stronger.
    “What happened to you?” he asked after breaking the kiss. He cupped her face and wished a lantern was lit so he could better glimpse those pretty blue eyes of hers.
    “Me? What about you? I thought you were dead. I saw the Georgiana sinking. I thought…”—her voice broke—“I thought you went down with the ship.”
    “I saw the first longboat moving toward the second pirate ship, and I assumed they’d taken you, since I couldn’t find you anywhere on the Georgiana . So I jumped overboard and tried to swim toward the longboat, and then I saw