Found by Lilith T. Bell

Author:Lilith T. Bell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, erotic, erotica, fantasy, paranormal, historical, pirate, caribbean, bbw, pirates, buccaneer, curvy, voluptuous
Publisher: Selkie Publishing

CHAPTER EIGHT

WHEN Brigid returned to the inn, she remained distant, much to Liam’s chagrin. Of all the lessons that he had learned at his mentor’s knee, none had ever covered courting a reluctant woman. They certainly hadn’t included courting his mentor’s daughter. All his experience with bedding women didn’t much translate to this new and uncertain territory.

That night, he had difficulty sleeping again, as he kept hoping Brigid might come to spend the night with him. Even if she didn’t want to marry him, she still wanted him, didn’t she? Troublingly, that question went unanswered and he had to get what sleep he could while tormented with doubt.

The next morning, he went to her room to break his fast, uncomfortably aware the entire time that he wasn’t truly part of the family. He sat there sipping his tea, listening to Brigid and Ann discuss the management of their land and purchases that they needed to make. Brigid was encouraging toward him interacting with Donny, but there was a line she had drawn in the sand. There was what they shared as parents and then everything else that they would never share, because she feared letting him be part of it.

Was it reasonable for her to fear it? He mused on that, trying to think clearly rather than letting his own hurt and frustration cloud his view. Ann had given him just a taste of the struggles she had faced alone. A husband could make some of those struggles easier—Liam could lend legitimacy to her business efforts as well as pool his own wealth with hers for greater comfort—but only if he were trustworthy. Though they had worked as mates aboard the Black Pride for weeks before they became lovers, how a man treated his peers was rarely the same as how he treated his wife. He thought he had been properly attentive and protective as her lover, but he had also abandoned her. True, he thought it was what she wanted, but that wouldn’t ease her fear of it happening again, would it?

Just as knowing why ol’ Don hadn’t brought him home didn’t ease the pain of rejection. Even now, a knot of loneliness twisted in his stomach as he longed to join the family before him.

He set his cup down on its saucer. “Mrs. O’Cullane, could you watch Donny today? I’d like to spend some time talking to Brigid privately.”

Ann’s brows rose with mild surprise and a small smile graced her lips. Brigid glanced at her mother, then back at Liam. A faint wrinkle of worry formed between her eyes. “We can speak in front of Donny.”

“Aye, we can, but that doesn’t mean I want to. I’d like to talk with just the two of us.”

He saw Brigid’s jaw set stubbornly as she took a deep breath, no doubt preparing to refuse. Before she got that far, her mother stepped in. “I’d be happy to watch him,” Ann said warmly. “Take as long as you need.”

“We don’t ‘need’ any time,” Brigid corrected.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.