Burning Up

that Ivy wouldn’t know what courting was, and he hadn’t forgotten that—but he hadn’t truly understood it, either. He’d hoped that she would accept him as a partner. But it would probably never occur to her to imagine him—or anyone—in that position, even if she began to care for him.
    He touched her chin, made her meet his eyes. “If it failed, I wouldn’t leave you alone, Ivy. I’d come with you to shore. I’d see that you and the baby had everything you needed. And I’d stay with you, always.”
    Surprise, hope, and doubt warred across her features. “Eben, I think . . .” She trailed off, staring at him, as if searching for an answer within. Whatever she found drooped her shoulders and softened her mouth into a sad curve. “I just don’t know.”
    Though he recognized that her response indicated uncertainty rather than rejection, he had to fight the hollow ache in his chest. Determination soon filled it. She’d already come to believe he was man enough not to force her; she would come to believe he was man enough to care for her, too. Until then, he could pleasure them both without risking a child.
    “Let me up, Ivy.”
    She let him go—reluctantly, he was gratified to see. After lighting the gas lamp, Eben retrieved a heavy gold coin.
    Her eyes widened when he placed the coin in her palm. “A sous?”
    “I’ll only kiss you,” he promised, then guided her hand to the juncture of her thighs. With his fingers over hers, he tucked their hands between her legs. He watched her lips part, heard her soft gasp. “But only if I kiss you here.”

EIGHT
    O h, blue heavens. As Ivy stared up at him, the pressure of his palm increased until her hand firmly cupped her most sensitive flesh. Wetness seeped through the thin cotton of her nightgown onto her fingers.
    Need roughened Eben’s voice. “This can be my mouth, Ivy.”
    And she wanted that kiss beyond measure. Heat unfurled through her belly. She dropped the sous to the mattress, reaching for him. He caught her wrist and tugged her toward the side of the bed.
    “Come to the window.”
    Her choppy breaths, the clank of his foot, and the creak of the ship were the only sounds in the cabin as he led her to the leather armchair. So many times, he’d come in to find her watching the stars. Had he imagined doing this ?
    At his urging, she sat, perching at the edge of the seat. Eben loomed over her, his back to the window. The glow from the lamp cast soft gold over the right side of his face, leaving the other half shadowed. Just to look at him was a pleasure—but her hands would have known him, even in the dark. They’d memorized his lean features, the breadth of his shoulders, every line and hollow of his chest and stomach, packed with muscle.
    His gaze burned with intensity. “Lean back, Ivy.”
    Slowly, she sank deeper into the chair. Her hands slid along the tops of her thighs, a whisper of metal over cotton. When her shoulders rested against the leather back, Eben knelt before her. His fingers caught the hem of her nightgown and began to draw it up to her knees. Ivy shivered.
    “Cold?”
    A breathless laugh escaped her. Hardly. She was burning up from the inside. Cheeks flushed, she felt faint perspiration across her brow, but it didn’t soothe the heat building beneath her skin.
    She caught the hint of his smile before he bent his head. Her toes curled against the deck. She trembled again when his lips brushed her right knee.
    “I need to spread you open for my mouth. But I won’t force you.”
    Oh. Beneath her hands, her thighs were clenched together, as if she was uncertain. She wasn’t—and Ivy wanted to be bold. She wanted Eben to know she didn’t fear him. Gathering her courage, she let her legs fall apart and opened for him until her knees hooked over the arms of the chair. She hiked her nightgown hem to her waist.
    Eben froze, his dark stare fixed on her exposed flesh. Her name came out strangled. “Ivy.”
    Her courage almost failed. “This isn’t what you meant?”
    “It is. More than I . . . God . You’re already wet for me.” He suddenly palmed the underside of her thighs as if to hold her open to his hungry gaze. His thumbs stroked the sensitive tendons of her inner thighs. “Do you know what I plan to do now, Ivy?”
    He would put his mouth on her. She couldn’t imagine any further, but the very thought set her body quivering in anticipation. Her fingers bunched in her nightgown.
    “You’ll kiss