Samantha James by Gabriels Bride

lecherous rogue that I cannot sleep next to a woman without ripping the very clothes from her back and ravishing her.”
    Each word struck home like a hooked barb. Her heart rebelled, though Cassie was wise enough to recognize when she’d been beaten. “Fine,” she muttered. “But I’ll thank you to at least turn your back!”
    The taut line of his mouth did not ease. “You’re hardly the first woman I’ve seen in her natural state.”
    “You have not seen me in my natural state—nor will you!”
    He made a sound of disgust. “I hope you do not insist on maintaining this pretense of shy embarrassment. It’s wasted on me, Yank.”
    More than anything, Cassie longed to cry that it was no pretense. Oh, she knew what he believed her to be—a bar whore. But what would he say if he knew it were not so? Would he be angry? Would he even care? She admitted she knew littleof this man she had married—save that he was unpredictable! No, she would not take the chance he might turn the ship around and head back to Charleston, for then where would she be?
    Back at Black Jack’s, that’s where, she acknowledged bitterly. And given the earl’s present mood, she feared he needed little provocation.
    But at least he had turned his back. Cassie hastily pulled off her boots and hose, then tugged her gown over her head. It would be just like the beast to change his mind before she’d finished! She felt meagerly attired indeed wearing only her chemise and a thin cotton petticoat. She scurried to the far side of the bunk and nestled beneath the covers, pulling them to her chin.
    “All right,” she said rather breathlessly. “You may turn around.”
    He obliged, but paid her no further heed. It gave her a start to see that his shirt was already unbuttoned. She surveyed him warily as he shrugged it from his shoulders. His chest and belly were brazenly masculine, matted with dense, dark hair. It took several heartbeats before she could fully catch her breath. When his hands went to the buttons of his breeches, it was shockingly apparent he had no intention of stopping.
    She flounced to her side and presented him with her back. All went dark when he extinguished the lantern swinging from the beam. She squeezed her eyes shut and did not open them, even when she heard him climb into bed beside her.
    She tried desperately to still the frantic throb of her heart. Their skin touched nowhere, but she couldn’t rid herself of the fear that touch they mostcertainly would—and all she could think was that he was naked! Seeking not to draw undue attention, she eased this way and that, seeking to inch sideways, scooting as close to the edge of the bunk as she could possibly get.
    A strong hand descended firmly on the curve of her hip.
    His whisper, taut and furious, rushed past her ear. “Yank, I suggest you be still at once and go to sleep, or I will most assuredly see that you make your bed upon the floor!”
    Cassie froze, afraid to move, to even breathe. The feel of his palm burned through the thin material of her chemise. Sleep? she thought wildly. With this man beside her? ’Twould be impossible!
    Yet strangely enough, it was not long before the steady surge of the ship through the waves lulled her to drowsiness. Sleep she did…and quite soundly.

Chapter 6
    C assie roused slowly the next morning. The mattress beneath her was downy and soft, and a hazy warmth enfolded her. She lay on her side, cuddled against a solid heat that made her feel cozy and safe; never before had she been more comfortable. For an instant she could not remember where she was, only that she was not in her pallet at the inn. It took another moment for her sleep-befuddled mind to register that she was not alone—and to recall the man against whom she lay curled so tightly.
    Her eyes snapped open. Her cheek lay snug against the sleek hardness of his shoulder. Her hand, looking impossibly small and pale, rested in the midst of his bronzed and hairy chest. The