I think I’ll continue teasing you a bit (we all love a good tease, don’t we?). This time, you get a small taste of “Eight Nights At Sea. Here we get to know Zephyr and Rina as they declare a truce after a particularly fiery (and steamy) encounter involving a tossed-up skirt and a bushel of apples.

She grabbed the dinner tray from Mr. Barton, opened the door to the cabin and hesitantly stepped inside. He was sitting on the chair with his feet up on the table, sharpening his cutlass. Rina set the tray down on the other end of the table, and then sat down in a chair. They stared at each other in uncomfortable silence before he finally spoke.

“So now what?”

She gave him a look. “We eat dinner.”

“And then what? I strip you naked and you attack me with the leftovers?”

Rina bit back a smile. “I’m sorry I split your lip.”

“No, you’re not.” He sighed. “And to be fair, I might’ve deserved it. I haven’t been behaving much like a gentleman.”

“You’re a pirate.” Rina reminded him.

“And a damned poor excuse for one if I can be felled by my own supplies.”

Zeph sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I don’t want to fight, Rina.”

“Neither do I.”

“And I don’t want to hear any more about the dalliances you plan to have once you hit shore.” He looked up from under his lashes at her. “Can we agree on that?”

“Yes.” Rina looked down at her hands. “I probably wouldn’t. Have dalliances, I mean.”

Zeph gave her a begrudging smile. “If you’re saying that to make me feel better, it’s working.”

Rina lifted the cover on the dinner tray, passing a plate over to him. “Time to eat, Captain. You’ll be needing your strength.”

Zeph took his feet off the table. “I will, will I?” He raised a brow, and shoved half a dinner roll into his mouth.

Rina smiled back, and demurely continued eating. Eventually, they’d both had their fill and Zeph had poured them both a generous helping of wine.

“Is the rum gone?” Rina asked.

“I’ve had entirely too much rum lately.”

“Are you sure you’re a pirate?” she teased. “First you get knocked on your arse by a woman and now you’ve sworn off rum. Shall I embroider a few flowers onto the collars of your shirts next?”

His eyes met hers over the top of his goblet. ‘You’ll pay for that impertinence.”

“I thought we’d just declared a truce, Captain.”

He put his wine down and rose to his feet, extending a hand to Rina. She took it, and he pulled her close.

“You don’t have to call me captain, you know. I was just speaking out of turn earlier.” He pushed her hair gently behind her ear before trailing his fingers down her neck to her shoulder.

Rina stared up at him. “It’s all right.” She cupped his face with her hand. “Maybe it’s better if we don’t get too personal with each other. It seems to make us both angry.”

He turned his head and kissed her palm. “I’d like to get very personal with you right now.”

“I’d like that, too.”

He stepped back, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “D’you know, I believe Mr. Barton sent a pot of honey along with those rolls. Just in case you were interested in assaulting me with food again.”

She gave him an impish grin. “Sounds promising.”

~~~

Interested in seeing where this goes?”Eight Nights At Sea is available on Amazon.com!