Devoted to the Spanish Duke by Sasha Cottman

Author:Sasha Cottman
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

He took her hands in his and met her gaze. Steely resolve shone within his eyes.

“There are many miles between here and your home. Anything could happen to us on the road ahead. But I promise I will let you know the moment we are both about to die, because, Maria de Elizondo Garza, I will still be fighting to protect you as I take my very last breath.”

Chapter Eighteen

Three days later

Off the coast of France

* * *

The yacht, which was poetically named Night Wind, was well provisioned. After Maria and Lisandro had enjoyed a supper of French cheese and bread, the captain brought them a bottle of burgundy and two tankards.

“The weather is fine tonight, so we could take these up on deck and enjoy watching the sun as it sets,” said Lisandro.

Maria smiled. “Yes, that would be lovely.”

She found herself smiling at him far too easily. Within the first day of their departure from England, they had settled into a comfortable, familiar routine.

During the day, if the sun was shining, they would sit up on the weather deck, talking to various members of the crew and, when he was not busy, the ship’s captain. Maria still privately grinned at the memory of the man’s face blushing bright red when she made mention of the yacht’s usual purpose for sailing to the continent. Anyone would think the captain had been completely oblivious to the fact that Gus used his private vessel for smuggling contraband into England.

Maria stopped as she reached the top of the ladder and took in a deep breath. The sea air was salty and invigorating.

Being below was warmer, but it still made her uncomfortable. She doubted she would ever get used to the low roof and closed in space. Her tiny cabin was the worst.

On the deck, Lisandro had a quick word with one of the yacht’s crew and they both grinned. He gave the man a friendly pat on the back. The sailor tipped his hat to Maria before moving away to carry on with his work.

Lisandro was so easy with people of all rank. The cheerful way he dealt with the crew added to her already well-formed opinion that Lisandro de Aguirre was indeed a noble man. When the exact moment had occurred in which she stopped thinking of him as being a villain and came to view him as an honorable, decent person, Maria couldn’t recall. Every day she found herself liking him more and more.

The gentle affection she felt for him was growing, blossoming into something else. She treasured these moments, not wanting to think about the time when this would all come to an end.

A slightly sheepish Lisandro ushered her toward the rear of the yacht to the private spot which they had claimed over the past few days. It was behind several large crates and was one of the rare places on the deck where they could shelter out of the wind.

His skillful fingers soon had the cork out the

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