When I'm with You by Nee Kimberly

Author:Nee, Kimberly [Nee, Kimberly]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Caribbean, Pirates, Servant, Ex-Prostitute, Lower-class Heroine, Prostitute
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2016-02-02T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Rafe squinted up at the sky, frowning at the gathering clouds as he moved across the Eastwind’s main deck. They were gray about the edges. In the distance, the whitecaps peaked higher as the water grew rougher. He hoped the storm passed them over.

He didn’t know how much more togetherness he could stand with his family. His mother hadn’t brought up his proposing to Sally, and for that he was grateful. But he knew it was only a matter of time before the subject reared its ugly head again.

So far, Serena hadn’t been much help. How could she, when he hadn’t had a chance to corner Katie and speak with her, his promise to stay away be damned? He didn’t want to stay away. He couldn’t. He caught glimpses of Katie, heard snippets of her sweet voice along the corridors, and each time the fire within him raged a little hotter. The desire to grab her, to wrap his arms around her and never let her go was an ache now, one that spread into a true physical pain, a longing unlike any he’d ever felt before.

It didn’t help matters that Serena was gone more than she was in residence. Lady Marchand enjoyed shopping and so monopolized her female guests’ days with almost daily excursions into the village. It amazed him how much shopping Hamilton women could do. Marriage to Sally would no doubt have been expensive.

“Where are you?” Conn asked, crossing over to stand beside him at the bow. “You’ve been staring out at the water for almost ten minutes.”

“I don’t know. Anywhere but here, I suppose.” Rafe faced Conn, turning his back to the water as he leaned against the rail. “Were you waiting for an answer on something?”

“No. I was waiting for you to blink. What’s weighing you down? You’ve been somewhere else for the last two days.”

Rafe shrugged, resisting the urge to go back to gazing at the water. “I suppose I have. I’m itching to get off this island.”

Conn grinned. “In a hurry to spend some alone time with Lady Sally?”

“No. I mean away from all of this. And all of them.” Rafe threw his arms wide and gestured all around him. A little less than thirty months separated him from his two younger brothers; yet at moments like this he felt at least a hundred years older.

Sometimes he envied their devil-may-care attitudes. He was more serious, more like Aidrian in that respect. Responsibility lay heavily on his shoulders and usually he embraced it, especially these days, with Aidrian so busy elsewhere.

When Katie had disappeared, and Aidrian had made his decision to remain on St. Phillippe, Rafe had been more than happy to travel and hadn’t cared how long he was gone. He had needed the distraction. But now distraction was no longer necessary.

He needed to resolve things with Katie. He’d lived without her for almost an entire year and didn’t want to do so any longer. He just had to untangle himself from Sally first.

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