“Miss Grey…” he cleared his throat.
She moved toward him in the darkness. In an instant, she was there before him, lifting her ghost-white hand to his warm, dampened chest. Christ, his heart raced at her touch. He nearly had a fit as she snaked around his neck, threading her fingertips in his thick, rumpled hair, to guide his face down to meet hers.
Brody stalled at the last second. “We mustn’t…”
Her breath was hot on his lips. “I don’t care.”
“But I’m sick.”
“I don’t care.” She pressed their mouths together. She’d never kissed anyone before—he felt certain of it—but that did not make it any less enjoyable.
Spurred on by her encouragement, Brody opened his mouth, deepening the kiss. As their lips danced, he slid his hands to her waist, pressing her body against him. This girl was no automaton. She felt very much alive.
“Miss Grey,” he whispered against her lips.
“For God’s sake, call me Angelica. I haven’t heard my name in years.”
“Angelica.” Her name was like a balm to his heart, and a bucket of icy water over his head.
Brody pulled away in shock. He’d gone too far with her already, taking liberties while they were trapped together in her kitchen. Although she had instigated it, he did not want her to feel she had to go through with anything simply because she had nowhere to run.
“This isn’t a good time,” he confessed, untangling her fingers from his hair.
Her blank, blue eyes stared at his chin.
“Angelica, we are barred in your kitchen, on the run from the Devil himself. We’ll both be damned if we take things any further.” When she still didn’t seem to comprehend, he added, “You might think you want it now, but you won’t after I’m through with you. It would be a mistake. I’m not at my best, just now. I’d make a poor showing, and if it’s going to be your first time, I’d rather you not look back on it as a disappointment.”
She almost smiled. “So it is vanity that keeps you from me?”
“Fear, mostly. You are terrifying, Angelica Grey. You make me quake.”
Now, she laughed. The sound was sweet and husky. “All right, Captain Neill. You win. I suppose I’ll just have to make do with my first and only kiss. So, thank you for that, at least. It was wonderful.”
***
The kiss had been wonderful. He had been wonderful.
Angelica thought back to the urgent, lustful couples who visited her home. Without seeing the sexual act, she had no idea what it entailed, but, from the impassioned moans and whispered encouragements, she didn’t think those girls left regretting the thing they’d done.
She sank down onto her pallet by the stove. Now that she was safe and warm, she grew drowsy. Her exchange with Captain Neill had drained her. And, even though she was a grown-up, she’d stayed up far past her bedtime. Truthfully, seduction was fast becoming the last thing on her mind. The need for sleep was paramount.
“You’re welcome to join me,” she said, spreading the tattered blanket across her body.
He stood over her. “I won’t sleep tonight. But, I’ll lay with you if you promise to keep your hands to yourself.”
Angelica laughed. “You’re safe from me, Captain Neill.”
Sinking down onto the pallet beside her, he said, “If I’m to call you Angelica, then you must surely call me Brody.”
“Oh, no. I couldn’t.”
He snuggled up behind her. “Why not?”
“Because it is not how I was brought up.”
His arms encircled her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. His body felt so large compared to hers. He could snap her like a twig, if he wished to. It was both a frightening and disturbingly arousing prospect.
“If you’re woman enough to consider taking a lover, you ought to be woman enough to call a man by his Christian name. Mine happens to be Broderick—but anyone who knows me calls me Brody.”
It had not occurred to her that he had friends, family, and a world outside these walls. He had a life, completely separate from hers. One that, in about five hours, he would return to.
Captain Broderick Neill was no cad. He wasn’t going to deflower a girl he never intended to see again. In her heart, she knew that was his reason for turning her down. He was not coming back. There would be no ‘next time’.
If he did not want her precious gift of virginity, in seven more years, another man would come along. Perhaps he would be more amenable.
Too bad for Captain Neill, who’d missed his chance.
She liked being in his arms, though. She’d been denied human contact for so long. It was the sweetest blessing to simply lay with him, to feel his firm chest against her back, and his warm breath on her neck. She felt safe. She felt treasured. If their friendship never led to anything more, Angelica was grateful for these few uninterrupted moments of bliss.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN