An Undeniable Passion Ch. 09

The sound of clothes rustling penetrated the buzzing in her head and she opened her eyes to see Drake leaving the room. Pink rays from the rising sun poured into the cabin turning it warm and rosy, however, she felt anything but as she let the tears stream down her face.

Drake arrived on deck and squinted into the early morning sunshine. A sudden wave of guilt crashed over him as he recalled what had just transpired between them. The look of terror in her eyes as he cruelly set his terms for payment shot a bolt of shame through him. His first urge was to go to her and apologize but he doubted she would listen to anything he had to say now and he turned his attention to the damages his ship had suffered in the storm. The crew had already begun the repairs and eager to clear his mind of thoughts of Virginia and to cool his own heated passions he joined in.

About an hour later he saw Virginia's head poke up through the opening of the stairs. He rushed over to give her a hand up the last few steps. She batted his hand away. "Don't you touch me," she hissed.

A few of the crew members turned in surprise, wondering what could possibly have happened between them.

He looked pleadingly at Virginia, saw her red swollen eyes and her pale drawn face. Ignoring the looks from his crew, he said quietly, "V, please listen to me. I'm so sorry..."

"I don't want to hear what you have to say, and don't call me that!" she spat back at him. She turned and quickly walked away knowing she was as much at fault for what had happened as he was However, she refused to feel guilty about letting him fully accept the blame. If he had behaved like a gentleman in the fist place nothing would have happened, she rationalized.

She approached a member of the crew. "How much longer is this voyage going to take?"

Delighted that she had chosen him to talk to, he said importantly, "Well, that all depends, miss. A voyage can take anywhere from six to twelve weeks. Storms, like last night, can throw ye right off course, an' no wind at all can leave us just driftin' fer days. We've been out fer five weeks now, and we're doin' well, but anythin' can 'appen."

"Thank you," she said. She turned and walked to the railing, looking out at the ocean, keeping her back to Drake. She thought back to the crewman's words 'Storms, like last night, can throw you right off course.' He didn't know how right he was.

Drake busied himself, supervising the crew while they replaced a badly torn sail and didn't notice when Virginia returned below deck. At dinner time he had the first mate take a tray down to her while he ate with the crew. After dinner he continued to watch over the repairs. By the time he went down to retire he was exhausted.

He tried the door of the cabin to find it unlocked. Knocking on the door he waited for her answer. "Virginia?" he called. Receiving no response, he knocked again. "Miss Templeton?" he tried, thinking she might be refusing to respond to the informal name. Again receiving no response, assuming she was asleep, he slowly opened the door. The room was empty. Drake looked carefully but she wasn't there.

Rushing back up on deck, he quickly located Simpson, who had taken a tray down to her earlier in the evening. "Yes, she was there Captain," he confirmed. Worried, Drake searched the ship for her, asking various crew members if they had seen her. None had.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. She's mad at me, she's most likely hiding, not trusting to spend the night with me. But where is she, he wondered desperately. A sudden recollection of how she was discovered filled his mind and he realized she had most likely returned to the hold. Well, fine, let her spend a night down there if she likes, he thought. I might actually get a good night's sleep for a change. He smiled as he returned to his cabin, although his happiness was short lived as he tossed and turned trying to convince himself that she was alright.

The next morning, Virginia stood at the railing on deck watching the last of the pink sky disappear. She was breathing in the fresh morning air when she felt a hand on her arm. She was roughly spun around and found herself facing Drake. His eyes were dark with fury. "Where were you last night?" he demanded.

Tearing her arm out of his grasp she retorted, "That is none of your business."

Moving closer to her he replied, "This is my ship, everything is my business."

"Well, not me. I am not your business." She stared at him defiantly. A thought suddenly struck her. "Were you worried about me?" she asked sweetly.

He glared at her, his hands clenching at his sides. The dancing humor he saw in her eyes only made him angrier. Even though he knew where she had slept, he had been worried. He had tossed and turned all night plagued by guilt and praying that she was all right. When he had come up on deck and found her standing at the rail he could have wept with relief. But he wasn't about to let her know that.

"You are not to spend the night anywhere on this ship other than in my cabin," he growled. "If you think my conduct was not of a gentlemanly nature, wait until one of my crew gets their hands on you. And if you insist on sleeping on your own in the hold or anywhere else, now that they know you're here, it will happen." His words sent a chill through her, but she kept her cool and refused to let it show, maintaining an icy glare at him.

Her continued defiance only escalated his anger and his anxiety for her safety. He suddenly bent and scooped her into his arms, carrying her back across the deck.

"Put me down," she hissed.

"No. If you refuse to remain in my cabin of your own will, then you will be forcibly confined there." His voice was tight and abrupt and Virginia knew he was serious.

"Put me down!" she suddenly shrieked, kicking and struggling to free herself.

The few crew members who were on deck at that early hour turned at the noise and trying to hide their laughter, eagerly watched the couple.

"Let me go!" she cried again, not ceasing her struggles. Drake only held her tighter, ignoring her demands as he approached the hatch leading to the stairs that would take them below deck.