One Night to Remember Read Online Free

Scott know, Thomas had fully intended to introduce himself after dinner. Had Thomas been at liberty to escort first class ladies on deck, he would have asked her to accompany him on a walk around the promenade. “How could I have let you pass me by?”
    “If I had smiled and said that you were the most handsome man I’d seen in all my days, what would you have done?”
    His heart pounded hard, thumping through his ears. “Miss Scott, I hardly think—”
    “Elizabeth,” she corrected. “If you were bold, you’d call me Elizabeth.”
    “If I were bold, yes.” A war raged in Thomas’s middle. He wanted to dive into her mouth and ghost his hands over her body. He wanted to sink into her, and take what she was offering. But he was bound by duty. He was a seaman responsible to the shipping company. Excuse after excuse assailed his mind. What a coward he was. “If I was bold, Miss Elizabeth, there are a lot of things I’d be doing.”
    “Well then…” She licked her lips, settling the pink tip of her tongue in the corner. “Let us pretend that you are bold and I am more than taken by you. Let us pretend that we are secluded within the four walls of this stateroom and whatever happens within these walls stays here.” She paused and Thomas could’ve sworn her breath hitched. “What would you do to me then?”
    His control snapped clean like a twig. “This.”
    He tunneled his fingers through her hair, caught the back of her neck, and dragged her lips to his. She moaned into his mouth, her lips going pliant as he tilted her head to the side to deepen the kiss. Her tongue brushed along his, tasting, teasing. The expertise of her mouth lured him in. Invited him deeper. Tied his insides into one big knot.
    She whimpered as she leaned against him, giving him all her weight. And as her teeth hooked his bottom lip, Thomas’s stomach dropped to his boots. Miss Scott—Elizabeth—knew exactly what she wanted and went after it.
    She was bold, determined, and knew exactly how to seduce a man who knew what he wanted but didn’t yet have the courage to take it.
    As Elizabeth masterfully swirled her tongue along his, Thomas tasted hints of vanilla and smoky wine. He feasted on her mouth, matching her stroke for stroke. She tasted like wild abandon. Like sailing turbulent seas with nothing but a prayer and a broken compass. She was golden opportunity wrapped with a shiny red bow of promise.
    When he boarded the ship in Southampton, he was ready to fulfill his duty. He was not ready for the likes of Miss Elizabeth Scott.
    Pulling back, he said, “Let me release you,” and looked to her bound wrists. The last thing Thomas wanted was for Elizabeth to feel like she was a prisoner in his bed. She didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to do.
    “No, I think not.” Elizabeth licked a slow line across the crease of his lips. “But you’d be wise to lock that door.”
    He’d completely forgotten! He shared his stateroom with two other seamen. If they came barging in at the wrong moment, this fling —or whatever it was—could land him in the brig. Lucky for him, they were on duty until eleven thirty. Although Thomas had worked his shift earlier in the afternoon, he was scheduled to relieve their position on the bridge. If he didn’t get there in time, they’d know something was up…
    He checked his watch. Ten twenty.
    Thomas’s insides balled into a fist when he realized he wouldn’t be able to take his time. They’d have to hurry a bit so she wouldn’t be discovered leaving the stateroom.
    Is that what he’d do when they were finished? Thomas wondered. Let her walk out? Would he really let her go free, knowing full well that she’d steal again given the chance?
    He dared say he would…with or without the encounter they were about to have.
    By the time he’d locked the door, Elizabeth was standing near the rich oak bed, her hands crossed in front of her. Glowing gold hair fanned across her shoulders in a