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give you some laudanum tonight for the pain. It will help you sleep,” he urged.
    “ Merci ,” she replied and watched as he went to fetch it. She sighed. She would need it indeed if she wanted to sleep. She felt so heady with a want she didn't understand and she was certain his presence might keep her from sleeping. Not to mention how her head ached so very much.
    When he returned, she drank the wine dutifully and set the glass on the table beside the bed. As he climbed onto the mattress and doused the lights, she wriggled out of her dress, corset and hoop skirt, leaving only her thin shift to sleep in. Her slippers were pinching her feet and so she kicked them to the floor.
    She felt his presence beside her, was aware of his even breathing, and wondered if he slept. She couldn't help thinking that laying there made her feel safer than she'd ever felt in her life. Within minutes, she was claimed by a drug-induced sleep.

Chapter Three
     
    She woke slowly, the light teasing her eyes open. She snuggled against a hard, warm body and though her eyelids were heavy with sleep, she looked up into the face of La Capitaine Hill. It took a moment for her to realize his eyes, which were unreadable before, laughed at her and were creased at the corners.
    She glanced around and knew instantly the reason for his ill-displayed humor. She was holding him down. Her arms encircled his neck and one exposed white thigh was thrown across his belly, which was thankfully hidden by his breeches. She felt like an imbecile, all safe and warm and curled against a complete stranger.
    Her cheeks flushed and she stammered, “I-I'm sorry...” She tried to pull away, but he grasped her waist. “Grant,” she pleaded.
    “I don't mind at all, Fara.”
    “ Oui , but I do!”
    “I see...but, you forget who started it.”
    Her face might as well have been stained red for his teasing remarks were not helping the situation. “I know. I said I was sorry.”
    “Now, there's no need for apologies, love. I am at your mercy, if you please. Please?”
    For a moment, she almost took him to task for presuming she was that kind of woman. But, his eyes still laughed at her. Faltering, she slugged him on the arm. “You beast! Now let me go, I demand it!”
    Seeming reluctant, he released his hold on her and watched as she gradually slid from the bed to gather her clothes to her bosom.
    She was careful not to make any jarring movements as her head still ached a little. “Is there not some other place I may change my clothing?”
    He laughed, a deep rumbling sound. “No, unless you want to stun my crew into submission...”
    Her jaw tightened in response and she chose to ignore him. “Then you will look away like a gentleman whilst I change.”
    He sighed and closed his eyes. “There's nothing like having a young woman around to revive oneself fully,” he said softly.
    “I would be eternally grateful if you'd cease teasing me.”
    “Eternally?”
    “ Oui! ” She checked to make sure he wasn't spying and then hastily changed. Considering she had no nursemaid to aid her, she surprised herself with her speed.
    Fara slipped her feet into her slippers. She finger-combed the tangles from her hair as best as she could. “Now, I would like to get off of this...your ship, your Voyageur ,” she gestured with a flick of her wrist.
    He stood up and grasped his own clothing, and then quickly buttoned his white shirt, the shirttails trailing over his black breeches. He approached her, smiling when she backed away. Suddenly, he grasped her waist, pulling her toward him and seemed to ignore her squeal. He did up the buttons of her dress carefully.
    She swallowed, aware that the forced intimacy between them was affecting her too much.
    After he was done with her buttons, he turned her to face him again. “Your uncle, Monsieur de Bellamont, might literally kill me if I did not feed you. Come, you must be starving.”
    As a matter of fact, her stomach was growling, but