Humbled by Renee Rose Page B

sex, then plunging his fingers deep within her. She kicked and thrashed, nearly weeping with need until she exploded with a scream, clutching his head, pressing his face into her eager sex as his fingers continued their penetration. She tore at his hair as her climax went on and on, her muscles tightening around his fingers like a fist.
    “ Quelle belle chatte, ” he murmured when she finished, slipping his fingers out and stroking her outer lips as he had when he began.
    Corinne collapsed on the bed, seeming still incoherent from her bliss.
    He rolled her back to her belly and stroked down the length of her back, around the curves of her buttocks, the pink of his spanking already faded. He slapped her tempting orbs, loving the sight of their dance under his hand. “A beautiful derrière, as well.”
    He settled beside her on the bed.
    “What about your pleasure?”
    “I had mine in the medic’s cabin when I should not.”
    “I was willing,” she protested.
    “I know, love, but I should not have spent inside you. If we are to disembark as an aristocrat and her silversmith, it would not do if you were pregnant.”
    She rolled to her side and leaned on one elbow, her breasts bobbing.
    Unable to resist, he leaned forward and nibbled one taut nipple with his lips.
    “So you think we should follow the captain’s advice?” She grasped the back of his head and made an encouraging noise.
    “Yes, I think so.” He stroked the back of one finger up the graceful arc of her throat. “I should like to become a gentleman for you.”
    While she may have given herself to him willingly, he doubted very much Corinne could be happy married to a blacksmith, and he hated to think he had stolen the possibility of a better future from her. He could not raise himself to be a silversmith without the commendations of a fine lady, and if she married him now, her commendations would mean nothing.
    She looked at him, her gaze open and trusting, her face relaxed from her climaxes. “All right.”
    “So I think I should not share your cabin. If you do disembark as Mademoiselle de Gramont, your reputation would be damaged if you were sleeping with your companion.”
    Corinne frowned. “You have defended me as your wife on this ship. Everyone knows you as my husband. We will change our identities when we disembark, not sooner.”
    He pushed her hips down and delivered two sharp slaps to her tantalizing bottom. “Just because you are sleeping in a cabin now, does not give you the right to give the orders.” He leaned over to kiss the offending cheek.
    “Oui, monsieur,” she murmured, laughter bubbling in her voice.
     
    * * *
     
    In the morning, she found Jean-Claude had already left their cabin. She climbed out of bed and tried on the elegant gowns until she found one that fit. Combing her hair until it shone, she piled it on the top of her head, tying it up with bits of ribbon and the few hairpins she found in the trunk.
    She wanted Jean-Claude to see her. Instead, Moreau noticed and came to her, offering his arm for a stroll on the deck.
    “I am glad you found something that suited you,” he said.
    “Yes,” she said. “Thank you for leaving those for me.”
    “The pleasure is actually all mine. Having beauty on my ship always brightens my outlook.”
    She shot him a nervous glance, but he did not appear to be leering.
    She sensed Jean-Claude’s irritation before he arrived at her other side, holding out his arm. She took it and dropped Moreau’s, slightly frightened by the black look on her companion’s face.
    Moreau chuckled. “Will you learn to be a gentleman, Armand? You only have a short time left to become the man you wish to be in La Nouvelle-Orléans.”
    She cringed at the captain’s interference, though she knew he was right. If they planned to introduce Jean-Claude as her father’s silversmith, he would need to improve his manners.
    “Would the ship still arrive if I threw you overboard, Captain?” Jean-Claude