Read Captured by the Pirate Laird for Free Online

she did not. Her fingers lay
cold under his touch, and he held his much warmer hand there as a comfort. They
stood in silence as the sun dipped low, glowing orange-red on the horizon. He
wanted to stand there forever—touching her. Barely breathing, he watched the sun
disappear and held his hand still, unwilling to move it. Fresh air made pure by
the salty sea filled his nostrils. The sounds of rigging flapping above, the
sway of the ship—everything in this moment embodied perfection.
    Darkness
replaced the sun. Lady Anne slipped her hand out from under his, and the dark
of the evening took up residence inside him. She was not his to lust after.
“May I walk you to your stateroom?”
    “Yes.”
Her voice sounded husky. Had she felt the connection too? Of course not .
    Calum
offered his arm and that same small, cold hand grasped it. “We’ll arrive at
Raasay in the morning.”
    “Our
destination?”
    “Aye.”
    “Bran
told me.”
    Secrets
were impossible to keep on a ship. “I will send a letter of ransom to yer
husband upon our arrival.” He didn’t like how that sounded— ye are my prisoner until Lord Wharton pays for your release . But
that’s how it had to be. If he sailed up the mouth of the River Aln, he would
incite yet another war between Scotland and England, and this time his
countrymen might side with the enemy.
    When
they stepped into the corridor, warm air relaxed the tension in his shoulders.
    Anne
stopped outside her cabin door, breasts straining against her bodice with every
breath. “I’ve never met him.”
    Calum
forced himself to concentrate on her face. “Who?”
    “Lord
Wharton.”
    “What?
How?”
    “We
were wed by proxy. My uncle made the arrangements.”
    Ah Jesus .
Calum understood the way of highborn marriages, arranged for the trade of lands
and riches. “Ye ken he’s old enough to be yer father?”
    “He’s
three times my age plus one year to be exact. His children are older than I.”
    A
hundred questions flooded his mind. “Why?” he clipped with shocked disbelief.
    Anne
nodded as if fully understanding his monosyllabic inquiry. “I’m told the baron
fancied me from across Westminster Abbey during the queen’s coronation.”
    “No.” She doesn’t even know the bastard. That’s
why she wears no ring .
    “Yes.
My uncle said he kissed my hand, yet so many lords greeted me on that trip to
London, I’m at a loss to place him.”
    The
despair in her lovely eyes twisted around his heart. “Mayhap ye will remember
if we playact it.” With a halfcocked grin, Calum reached for her hand. His
mouth went dry when her silken skin met the rough pads of his fingertips.
Though a grown woman, her fingers were fine and delicate.
    When
she didn’t pull away, he moistened his lips and bowed. Hovering above her hand,
the soft scent of honeysuckle mixed with her—the unmistakable scent of woman
now more captivating than it had been on the deck—ignited his insides as if she
stood naked before him. Closing his eyes, he touched his lips to the back of
her hand and kissed. Anne’s sharp inhale made his skin shiver with gooseflesh. She
did not try to pull away but remained so still, her pulse beat a fierce rhythm
beneath.
    Calum
held his lips there longer than necessary. He wanted this moment to linger. He
wanted a memory he could cherish long after she was gone. As he straightened, his
eyes locked with hers. Her lips parted slightly, almost as if asking him to
kiss her mouth, but he knew she wouldn’t want that.
    He
stood for a moment, not saying a word. She did too.
    “Any
recollection?” His voice rasped.
    “No.”
Her voice low, she then blinked as if snapping back to the present. “You
mustn’t ever do that again.”
    “Forgive
me, milady.” Grinning, he opened her door and bowed, though he did not regret
her lack of recall.
    Anne
stepped into her stateroom. Calum could not pull his gaze away until the door
closed and blocked the bewilderment reflected in her sapphire