Read The Captain's Lady for Free Online Page B

and no moon. I remember looking around for the other man, but he wasn't there."
    She spoke evenly, going on to describe with vivid clarity the moment she realized they were very much alone on the boat. “I was so frightened. The look in his eyes...."
    Abby began hyperventilating then. A cold dampness beaded on her skin. He laid a protective hand on her shoulder, trying to pull her away from the bleak memories. He moved from the chair and sat beside her on the bed. “Take a deep breath, just slow down. There you go, that's it, just breathe.” He rubbed her arms gently, as someone might a child's. “You sure you want to continue?"
    "Yes."
    "Tell me how you got away?” he asked softly, drawing the information out, slowly and in a way that gave her the ability to unburden her soul.
    It was intoxicating, this power he possessed to make her nightmare disappear. Then came the niggling in the back of her head, the uncomfortable voice that said what a fool she was to open up to him, to expose all the secrets. Then with a sigh, pushing the thought away, she allowed a warm unexplained sensation to flow. Eyes squeezed shut, the painful memory pulsed: of the stifling claustrophobia, of wearing the veil. Without thinking, she'd removed both the veil and abayah. The wind suddenly picked up, tossing her hair lightly as the rhythmic splash of the waves slapped against the side of the boat, luring her to a peaceful haven, where time stood still.
    "I don't even remember looking at him, I just remember him yelling. And being so scared because he was furious and shouting in Arabic. I couldn't understand what he said, but knew it had something to do with me removing the veil and abayah. It happened so fast; he grabbed me by the hair and struck me,” she touched an index finger to the purple spot on her cheek and winced, “and knocked me down. I hit the deck so hard it knocked the wind out of me."
    Reaching up with a shaky hand, she touched the swollen lip, then closed her eyes, remembering the painful sting of the moment. “I don't remember when he hit me here.” Abby gestured to her arm.
    "He grabbed me by the front of my dress and hit me again and again, he punched me so hard in the ribs he knocked the breath out of me. I don't remember doing it, or how I got there. I only remember standing over him with this piece of long metal tubing. I have no idea what it was for. I must have picked it up from the deck...” Her eyes attained a faraway look. She sighed. “But he didn't move; he just lay there. There was some blood on the side of his head. Funny, at the time, it felt as if I was watching the whole thing happen to someone else. I don't even remember hitting him. When I looked down at him, I felt nothing."
    His touch was so gentle and caring, as with just the backs of his fingers he carefully traced the bruise on her cheek. It was an involuntarily instinct to lean her head into his hand and she could not stop from doing so. The warmth from his fingers spread a vibrant tingle through her.
    He handed her a tissue and she wiped her eyes. “I can't explain it, but it just didn't seem real. I remember letting the pipe drop and hearing it strike the deck. The sound scared me and shocked me to the reality of what I'd done. I was terrified he'd wake up. I somehow managed to get into the dinghy tied to the back of the boat. I still don't know how I untied it and dropped it overboard. I drifted from the sailboat praying it would move faster before he woke up."
    Suddenly filled with an overwhelming remorse, she lowered her grief-stricken face, and buried it in her cupped hands. “It was the first time in my life I was happy about hurting someone. I may have killed him. I never stopped to look. I hated him so much."
    Watching her flush with guilt for hurting the man who held her captive sparked an unbridled anger. Taking hold of her chin firmly, he turned the red and blotchy tear-streaked face to him. “Look at me, Abby.” The tone was firm