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Raphael shrugged. “I suppose it’s similar to you and Bonnie Bess. Reputations are more exaggerated than the reality. And we might share blood, but that man isnotmy family.” He cocked his head at her. “Who is Lisbeth? Quick thinking on that, by the way. Bess is much too recognizable a name in our circles.”

For a moment, she stalled as if belatedly remembering the name she’d supplied earlier. “Someone I used to be a long time ago.”

“Another thing we have in common.”

“On that subject, since when are you a duke?” she asked, curious. “And how does a duke end up as a smuggler in the Caribbean? Shouldn’t you be doing ducal things on a ducal estate in Europe somewhere?”

“Alas, I’m little more than a discredited duke without a dukedom, in fact.”

Green eyes lifted to his. “That sounds like a story.”

“Not right now, Bess.”

She pinned her lips between her teeth and then released them in a pucker to exhale a slow, thoughtful breath. That mind of hers was ticking like busy clockwork as she paced at the side of the bed, barely taking notice of him. “I suppose you should practice calling me Lisbeth, if we’re going to continue this farce that I’m not sure I’m happy about. Playing the damsel in distress is not my favorite, as you can imagine.”

He cast his eyes down her form, appreciating the backlitview from the sunlight through her near-transparent night rail. Raphael hid his grin since he knew she wasn’t aware of the tantalizing vision she presented, and the truth was he wanted to enjoy the sight a little bit more. He pressed a palm on his throbbing groin, willing the stiffness to dissipate, and barely managed to suppress his groan at the contact. Could a man faint from prolonged stimulation?

For such a shrew of a captain, she had the body of a siren—high, firm breasts, slender waist, thick legs honed with muscle, and a lush, full arse that made him want to sink his teeth into it. He could worship at the altar of that voluptuous body for hours. He recalled the way her rounded buttocks had felt against him, and bit his knuckles with a groan. How could such a tiny thing have so many curves?

“Saint, are you well?” she demanded, scowling at him. “You’re moaning like you’re in pain.”

“Tease a starving man with a banquet he cannot have, Viking, and his only state will be one of pure survival.”

Her brows crashed together, a wrinkle forming between them. “Whatever do you mean? I’m sure there’s breakfast around here. Speak plainly, or are you only predisposed to grandiose statements?”

Chuckling at her irritation, Raphael gestured at her silhouette. “Your nipples are erect.”

With a wild gasp, she glanced down at herself, realizing what he was ogling before snatching a handful of the bedsheets. “You bloody pervert! You could have told me I was on such vulgar display.”

“And deny myself the pleasure? No, thank you. I maybe honorable when it comes to the fastidious rules you’ve set between us, but I am not a monk.”

Her cheeks grew crimson as his words sank in. “You are a scapegrace. Fine, I’ll put on a front for as long as we need to with Dubois and his men to see Narina safe, but for the record, I am not interested in a relationship.” She paused. “Or coitus, for that matter.”

Raphael found it interesting that she would not meet his eyes, and the fingers of her right hand twisted into the sheets at her waist. He suspected that the attraction between them had become more than mutual, but he would always respect the lines she’d drawn. There were plenty of women on the island with whom he could slake his lust, if it came to that.

“That works for me,” he said and rolled off the bed with a languid stretch, feeling his skin pull over his sore muscles.

“Fine. Agreed. I want to see Narina.”

He glanced over his shoulder and caught her stare on his bare back before her lashes dropped over her eyes. A pink tongue snaked out to wet her lips, a soft tremor leaving her body. Raphael stood and turned, giving her enough time to look away, but she did not. Lisbeth’s perusal was bold as it slowly swept from his nape to his tented groin to his feet and back up. His cock jumped, body warming under her thorough scrutiny.

“Change your mind?” he purred.

“No. Just returning the favor. See how you feel being ogled like a piece of meat.”

He flexed his pectorals. “Captain, mycaptain, I’ll happily be your personal banquet anytime you wish. Just say the word and all the tenderest cuts of me are yours.”

Lisbeth shook her head before letting out an incredulous snicker. “You are truly the most insufferably obnoxious man I’ve ever met.”

Raphael winked and sketched a bow. “Good thing I’m your hero, and you secretly hope to marry me and have seven of my babies.”

“Never mind,” she said with a snort as she headed for the privy. “You are definitely the most delusional man I’ve ever met.”

“Doesn’t stop you from wanting me, admit it!”

She laughed, the deep, rich sound taking him by complete surprise. “Never going to happen, Pirate.”

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