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pushed open the door, stepped into the cabin, and stopped dead in his tracks. Arianna sat on the floor in disarray. His eyes feasted on the expanse of creamy white skin exposed from her ankles to her knees where the skirt had ridden up. He would love to smooth his hands along the shapely limb.
    Arianna flipped the skirt over her legs and material replaced the enticing vision, jerking him out of his daze and the damned lust that grabbed him whenever she was near. “What the bloody hell are you doing on the floor?”
    She flung her hair back and curled her legs protectively to her side. “If you hadn’t been so bloody impatient, I wouldn’t be here.”
    His face hardened at her words. “I don’t condone swearing from a woman.”
    “And I don’t condone being sworn at by a man.”
    He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. She was right. What had he been thinking? He never swore in the presence of a lady, even if the lady didn’t act like one. His only explanation was she drove him crazy.
    Arianna struggled to rise, and he reached down to help her. She ignored his offer and gained her feet with her own resources. Morgan pursed his lips. He should have known she would reject his assistance. “May I ask why my cabin has been rearranged? Again.”
    He was afraid to leave. No, he was terrified to return. He never knew what he would find. And he hadn’t wanted or intended to this time, but he had taken pity on Mark and rescinded his order. He was the captain. He had been into battle and faced the enemy, and yet, he had contemplated sending a boy to do his duty.
    She began tugging on the remaining chest. “I wanted to be sure…” She grunted and panted as she pulled. “You didn’t…walk in…while I dressed.”
    He gently nudged her to the side and dragged the chest back to its original spot, using muscles she didn’t possess. And she thought she could perform the duties of a seaman?
    Morgan turned to face her, and for the first time, he noticed how the outfit outlined her magnificent shape. She had curves in all the right places. Her breasts were a perfect size to fill his hands. Her waist curved inward, and her hips were nicely rounded. He knew exactly what her rear looked like. The pants she had worn earlier left nothing to the imagination. He would have enjoyed walking in on her while she dressed. A glorious sight to behold.
    Her hands nervously smoothed wrinkles and creases. Then with a slight tremble, her fingers swept through the magnificent golden hair that tumbled around her like a waterfall. He had never seen it set free. He yearned to sink his face into its silky depths and breathe deeply of the faint smell of lavender that surrounded her and feel the curly strands caress his skin. From the way she had dressed when she first appeared on his ship, he didn’t think she cared about her appearance. The heart of a woman beat within her after all.
    His gaze floated up her lush figure to her face, and he spied the deep red blush his scrutiny caused her. He had forgotten himself again. Morgan was surprised she hadn’t taken him to task for it.
    He cleared his throat before he spoke. “That outfit suits you.”
    She nodded. “Your sister must be my exact size, although it is a bit long.”
    “Apparently so.” But his sister didn’t look anything like Arianna. And the garment would not mold to her as it did to Arianna or perfectly match her eyes. Arianna possessed something that drew him from the first moment he met her, but he couldn’t understand what it was. He preferred women who knew their place and followed his orders.
    Morgan hated the way his body yearned for her. He would fight against it and win.
    “Your cabin is in perfect order.” She indicated the entire room with a wide sweep of her arm.
    “I hope it stays that way.”
    She nodded. “It will. Would you like me to do anything else?”
    Did she realize what she asked? Join him in bed should be his answer. Instead, suspicion blossomed, and