Johanna Lindsey - Passion at Sea: The Malorys by Johanna Lindsey

Author:Johanna Lindsey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2010-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

DUG YOURSELF A BIG HOLE, DID YOU?”

Boyd had just returned from the wharfs where he’d spent most of the afternoon with his captain, Tyrus Reynolds, getting The Oceanus ready to cast off tomorrow.

The remark, coming from James, had probably been uttered because Boyd looked a bit downtrodden. He hadn’t been having second thoughts. He’d been having miserable thoughts with positively insane remaining in his mind, while the sublime heaven had slipped away because it was so unlikely that it should never have occurred to him.

The trouble was, Katey Tyler wasn’t the least bit like other women her age, so he didn’t quite know how to approach her. Instead of thinking about settling down and starting a family of her own, she was flitting about the world. Instead of getting married, she claimed she already was, so men would keep their distance from her. Hell, she should already be married at her age, but she wasn’t and didn’t appear to have marriage anywhere in her future plans.

If Boyd weren’t so distracted, he would never have entered a room with just James and Anthony Malory in it. He wasn’t sure if he could stomach any of James’s derogatory remarks today, much less any that Anthony might add. The two brothers could easily go at each other’s throats verbally and delight in doing so—unless a common enemy was around. Then they joined forces. Nicholas Eden, who had married their favorite niece, was frequently one of their targets. So was every Anderson other than Georgina.

But Boyd needed someone to talk to about his predicament. And none of his brothers were currently in England, so he couldn’t bend their ears about it. Nor was it a subject he could comfortably discuss with his sister. But these two—two of London’s most notorious rakes in their day—well, if anyone would understand, they would. They’d probably bedded more women, and in all varieties, than most men could even dream about.

So Boyd dropped down on the nearest sofa and said, “You can’t imagine how big a hole. She nearly drove me mad with lust on that last voyage with her aboard.”

Anthony had already heard about Boyd’s “rental agreement” with Katey and said drily, “And now you’re putting yourself back on a ship with her? Smart move.”

“Rather impulsive even for a Yank,” James added.

“What choice do I have? I don’t just owe her for that mistake I made in Northampton. I want her.”

“That, dear boy, has been painfully obvious,” said James. “You behave like a bloody fool around her.”

Boyd flinched, his defenses rising. “You think I’m not aware of that? You think I wouldn’t rein it in if I could? That’s why I made such a blunder in the first place. I couldn’t trust my own instincts about her innocence that day, when all I could think about was bedding her.”

“Sounds like a man in love, don’t it?” Anthony said to his brother.

“No, in lust is more like it,” James disagreed.

“Do you love her?” Anthony persisted.

Boyd felt like pulling his hair out.

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